Edika
Well-Known Member
Hi all, I have finally decided to do some upgrades on a few of my guitars and I'll need the help of my fellow SS.org-ers. Some of these might have been covered in other threads and you might reprimand me for my laziness of not doing a sweep over the forum to find my answers but I though some people might benefit from my inquires below.
The changes I'm planning to do soon are mainly on pickups and electronics. I'm also planning to change parts like tuners, bridges, pots and string ferules so I though instead of making one thread at the pickups and electronics thread and another one here, I'll just make on here and ask all my questions and have a discussion on stuff.
My first and simplest mod is replacing the pickups in my Ibanez puzzle top. The Dimarzio/Ibanez are not bad but I've gotten tired of them. Plus the bridge pup, while, tight, is a bit scratchy and tiny. I seem to like big sounding pups and I've narrowed it to the Tone Zone for the bridge and the Air Norton for the neck. I don't have any experience with the Tone Zone but I loved the AirNorton 7 I had in my 7 string. Since it has an Edge Pro floating trem I'll be buying the F spaced Tone Zone.
My question is for this mod, since there is an F spaced Air Norton, is that for the bridge position or is it also for the neck position?
The reason I'm asking is because on the Dimarzio site the pole spacing for F space and regular spacing is uniform and it's not mentioning bridge or neck position. The same pole spacing diagram exists for the Tone Zone and the Air Norton and I know people use the Air Norton for the bridge too. I've also read that the distance of the strings changes slightly when the reaching the edge of the fretboard and I'm not sure if an F-spaced Air Norton is the correct way to go. Seymour Duncan seems to not have a Trembucker model for the neck position pickups which is leaning one way but complicates things too. The difference in inches is 0.09 or 2.3 mm between standard and F-space poll pieces.
That's one mod lol.
The second mod I'm planning to do is upgrading the bridge in my Carvin DC400. It has the Wilkinson VS-50 which, if not used, keeps the tuning with the Sperzel tuners. Vibrato is not a problem but diving brings the guitar out of tune. I'm thinking of getting the Gotoh-Wilkinson VS-100 that everybody is saying is vast improvement.
My first question here is whether the blades are actually more durable and if the bridge actually keeps the guitar in tune with the Sperzels when diving?
I have seen wear on the blades of the VS-50 with it having minimal use, just by sitting on the posts. The VS-100 in not as expensive as a Floyd but it's not cheap either.
My second question is, are there any tuners that are a drop in replacement for Sperzels that are good quality ad have a better gear ratio?
Sperzels do their job relatively well but are a pain to fine tune. As I don't want to drill and fill any holes in the guitar I'd rather keep them in though.
I'm still contemplating changing the color hardware to black as I'm sick of chrome. I feel it cheapens the instrument. I'm thinking to go all black, but since it's brown and has a gold logo I could go all gold. I'm just afraid I'll get tired of gold too and feel it gives it a cheap look too.
If I go all black is there an all black quality three way switch?
The Switchcraft ones I have found online seem to have only a black tip and maybe a black washer but the body seems to be chrome too. The same goes for mini switches, as it has three of them. I wouldn't mind keeping them chrome though and just changing the washers. It might look cool.
The last guitar I'm planning to slightly mod is a bit more of a feeler. One thing is for sure I'm planning to change the pups. The Duncan Design are acceptable and I like the playability but if the guitar doesn't sound quite improved with new pups there won't be a need for new mods.
First question would be, what is a good neck pickup to combine with the SD Alternative 8?
I found it at a good price and thought to give it a go. This seems to be quite high output and the classic neck pickups SD has, the Jazz and 59, seem to have a vintage output which I'm not sure they'll work well. Of course I can't know this until I've tried and I wouldn't want to put in the neck something that will sound harsh and won't give nice clean sound or work well in the middle position.
Since this is a Jackson KVX10 I'm thinking of upgrading the electronics too. I'm thinking of CTS log pots. However there are several models and it's a bit confusing.
Can someone that's using them in a Jackson give me the CTS models that will fit in there? Maybe the model number for the push/pull split coil function too?
I know I'll need to change the cap too (orange drop) and most probably the switch and jack. I can get a three way Switchcraft but I have no clue of a decent sturdy jack, so any suggestions welcome.
If things go well sound wise and end up keeping the guitar, I'm thinking of changing the hardware to black. If the chrome hardware look cheap on the Carvin they seem awful on the Jackson. Like plastic covered with this shiny chrome color. The Jackson tuners don't really seem to do their job correctly but the nut might be the issue. I do however feel that whenever I'm tuning the guitar that some of the tuners just need a slight nudge to go off tune, as they don't have enough "strength". I don't know if they're different quality from the ones in my DK2M, but those are behind a locking nut so they're not representative.
In this case is the Gotoh or Tone Pros bridge a direct replacement for the Jackson JT390? Since the Gotoh seems quite cheap is it of similar quality with the Tone Pros? If I'm going to go all black on the hardware, are the string ferules (string through body design) easy to remove without damaging the guitar or are they glued in?
That's all for now, these are the questions I more or less had. As I mentioned I already have the bridge pickup for the Jackson and I just bought the Tone Zone for the Ibanez. I'll be updating the thread with photos when I do changes and I'll try to record some sound samples before and after the pick up swaps. It might take me a bit of time as for the pickups I'm trying to source them as cheaply as possible. Also concerning the hardware changes they're bottom in my list as I can live with what's on at the moment and I need to finally make the decisions and gather some funds.
TL;DR: I want to do some changes in some of my guitars, I need some info, I will be posting progress but it'll take time as I tend to over think changes like these.
The changes I'm planning to do soon are mainly on pickups and electronics. I'm also planning to change parts like tuners, bridges, pots and string ferules so I though instead of making one thread at the pickups and electronics thread and another one here, I'll just make on here and ask all my questions and have a discussion on stuff.
My first and simplest mod is replacing the pickups in my Ibanez puzzle top. The Dimarzio/Ibanez are not bad but I've gotten tired of them. Plus the bridge pup, while, tight, is a bit scratchy and tiny. I seem to like big sounding pups and I've narrowed it to the Tone Zone for the bridge and the Air Norton for the neck. I don't have any experience with the Tone Zone but I loved the AirNorton 7 I had in my 7 string. Since it has an Edge Pro floating trem I'll be buying the F spaced Tone Zone.
My question is for this mod, since there is an F spaced Air Norton, is that for the bridge position or is it also for the neck position?
The reason I'm asking is because on the Dimarzio site the pole spacing for F space and regular spacing is uniform and it's not mentioning bridge or neck position. The same pole spacing diagram exists for the Tone Zone and the Air Norton and I know people use the Air Norton for the bridge too. I've also read that the distance of the strings changes slightly when the reaching the edge of the fretboard and I'm not sure if an F-spaced Air Norton is the correct way to go. Seymour Duncan seems to not have a Trembucker model for the neck position pickups which is leaning one way but complicates things too. The difference in inches is 0.09 or 2.3 mm between standard and F-space poll pieces.
That's one mod lol.
The second mod I'm planning to do is upgrading the bridge in my Carvin DC400. It has the Wilkinson VS-50 which, if not used, keeps the tuning with the Sperzel tuners. Vibrato is not a problem but diving brings the guitar out of tune. I'm thinking of getting the Gotoh-Wilkinson VS-100 that everybody is saying is vast improvement.
My first question here is whether the blades are actually more durable and if the bridge actually keeps the guitar in tune with the Sperzels when diving?
I have seen wear on the blades of the VS-50 with it having minimal use, just by sitting on the posts. The VS-100 in not as expensive as a Floyd but it's not cheap either.
My second question is, are there any tuners that are a drop in replacement for Sperzels that are good quality ad have a better gear ratio?
Sperzels do their job relatively well but are a pain to fine tune. As I don't want to drill and fill any holes in the guitar I'd rather keep them in though.
I'm still contemplating changing the color hardware to black as I'm sick of chrome. I feel it cheapens the instrument. I'm thinking to go all black, but since it's brown and has a gold logo I could go all gold. I'm just afraid I'll get tired of gold too and feel it gives it a cheap look too.
If I go all black is there an all black quality three way switch?
The Switchcraft ones I have found online seem to have only a black tip and maybe a black washer but the body seems to be chrome too. The same goes for mini switches, as it has three of them. I wouldn't mind keeping them chrome though and just changing the washers. It might look cool.
The last guitar I'm planning to slightly mod is a bit more of a feeler. One thing is for sure I'm planning to change the pups. The Duncan Design are acceptable and I like the playability but if the guitar doesn't sound quite improved with new pups there won't be a need for new mods.
First question would be, what is a good neck pickup to combine with the SD Alternative 8?
I found it at a good price and thought to give it a go. This seems to be quite high output and the classic neck pickups SD has, the Jazz and 59, seem to have a vintage output which I'm not sure they'll work well. Of course I can't know this until I've tried and I wouldn't want to put in the neck something that will sound harsh and won't give nice clean sound or work well in the middle position.
Since this is a Jackson KVX10 I'm thinking of upgrading the electronics too. I'm thinking of CTS log pots. However there are several models and it's a bit confusing.
Can someone that's using them in a Jackson give me the CTS models that will fit in there? Maybe the model number for the push/pull split coil function too?
I know I'll need to change the cap too (orange drop) and most probably the switch and jack. I can get a three way Switchcraft but I have no clue of a decent sturdy jack, so any suggestions welcome.
If things go well sound wise and end up keeping the guitar, I'm thinking of changing the hardware to black. If the chrome hardware look cheap on the Carvin they seem awful on the Jackson. Like plastic covered with this shiny chrome color. The Jackson tuners don't really seem to do their job correctly but the nut might be the issue. I do however feel that whenever I'm tuning the guitar that some of the tuners just need a slight nudge to go off tune, as they don't have enough "strength". I don't know if they're different quality from the ones in my DK2M, but those are behind a locking nut so they're not representative.
In this case is the Gotoh or Tone Pros bridge a direct replacement for the Jackson JT390? Since the Gotoh seems quite cheap is it of similar quality with the Tone Pros? If I'm going to go all black on the hardware, are the string ferules (string through body design) easy to remove without damaging the guitar or are they glued in?
That's all for now, these are the questions I more or less had. As I mentioned I already have the bridge pickup for the Jackson and I just bought the Tone Zone for the Ibanez. I'll be updating the thread with photos when I do changes and I'll try to record some sound samples before and after the pick up swaps. It might take me a bit of time as for the pickups I'm trying to source them as cheaply as possible. Also concerning the hardware changes they're bottom in my list as I can live with what's on at the moment and I need to finally make the decisions and gather some funds.
TL;DR: I want to do some changes in some of my guitars, I need some info, I will be posting progress but it'll take time as I tend to over think changes like these.
, I finally went ahead and ordered all the necessary parts to change all the yucky (for me) chrome parts to black ones. It was quite the adventure as I was trying to find the cheapest prices possible. I ended up ordering the Sperzels through the US and after tax and import duties they came the same price as in the UK 
.
. I contacted the guy as the picture he had was of a black one, I tried to find info on a Cosmo black Wilki but couldn't find any hoping it would be black, it came out as you'd expect. Cosmo black. So he was understanding enough and I've sent it back, got a refund (still waiting for border force to sent me back the tax I paid) and ordered another unit from a local store that had it about 45 pounds less than the other stores. It cam in a box with, but not the original box, however everything seemed legit.
