How do I breathe life into and old and tired 7620?

[LudoCluedo]

Hey,

I don't really know how to say this, but I've just spent the last few hours with a spanking new 7321 and well, kinda preferred it to my 7620

You may be thinking, "Ludocluedo, have you gone insane?" and I don't blame you. But there was something about the 7321 that just clicked, it might have been the super low action, the shiny and dent free finish or the recent set-up. (and I realised really miss hard tails, a blocked FR just doesn't feel the same).

So I ask you wood n' steel wizards how do I refresh my 7620 to make me fall in love with it again?
It hasn't had a "service" for a very long time and I'm clueless where to start.

 

[Into Obsidian]

Clean frets/fretboard, new strings...new set of pups?

 

[sovereignsoviet]

Well, in the lower/middle price range of guitars, there's a lot of variation of quality. You might have found a gem of a 7321 and only an average 7620.

I'd say the first step would be to have it set-up. Get the frets level, oil the fretboard, polish the body, replace or clean the screws, restring and intonate it with an action to your liking. Standard stuff for a tech to take care of, but it's cheaper and more practical to learn how to do it yourself if that's not an option.

Another good step would be to replace the pickups. It doesn't directly affect playability, but the common consensus is that Ibanez tends to have...lackluster stock p-ups, to say the least.

 

[Mindcrime1204]

I'd say the first step would be to have it set-up. Get the frets level, oil the fretboard, polish the body, replace or clean the screws, restring and intonate it with an action to your liking. Standard stuff for a tech to take care of, but it's cheaper and more practical to learn how to do it yourself if that's not an option.

Another good step would be to replace the pickups. It doesn't directly affect playability, but the common consensus is that Ibanez tends to have...lackluster stock p-ups, to say the least.

This. 'cept leveling the frets requires much more knowdlege beyond basics and you'll need special tools.

The rest can easily be done at home. Tape off the fretboard leaving the frets exposed, and take 0000# steel wool to em. Set it up as good as you can, and if your action still isnt to your liking, you prolly have a/some high frets or your neck needs a truss rod adjustment.

Also, since it's a 7620, it has a lo-pro edge(duh). There's a little tool they sell online that makes intonating lo pros WAY easier. I think i paid like 15 bucks for mine online from Rich @ ibanezrules. This is of course if you go the do-it-yourself route on intonating. Otherwise just make sure you take it to someone reputable cause they will be more honest about what's going on.

 

[LudoCluedo]

Blimey, thanks for the quick responses...

Yeah, the 7321 seemed to be a nice example. It's the only one I've played so I can't really judge on the variation of quality, but I was surprised!

My first and foremost concern is playability.
I can set up a basic hard tail 6'er to an "ok" standard but I'd really like to go into depth with this one.
Where is a good place for a decent guide on how to do this? I've had a quick google but they all seem to be a brief\quick guide, I'm looking for something a little bit deeper. And yeah, I'm a cheapskate and refuse to pay someone 30 bones to set it up for me, but I'm willing to put in the £ for the tools and consumables.

The electrics in this 7620 are a little clunky too (selector and vol crackle a whole lot) and the finish of the screws\knobs leave a lot to be desired. Where abouts in the UK is a good\cheap place to pick up new pot's\selectors\screws\knobs\everything?
I'm somewhat hesitant to use ebay...

I can feel a complete overhaul looming, pickups and all...

 

[mountainjam]

All the recomendations have been good so far, but if you prefer the feel of a hard tail, Ide recomend getting a brass sustain block and a tremel-no.

 

[LudoCluedo]

Well after scrubbing her down, setting the intonation, getting the string height kinda ok and a fresh pair of strings she's feeling much better already, not quite perfect, but better.

All the recomendations have been good so far, but if you prefer the feel of a hard tail, Ide recomend getting a brass sustain block and a tremel-no.

I cut down some blocks of wood to block the trem, why I haven't done this already I'll never know. It's worked really well, I swear I'm getting more sustain and depth too... Could just be placebo though.

There's still a bit of buzz on the low B and E and I can't (daren't) touch or check the truss rod at the moment due to lack of tools\equipment.

The electrics have no hope of being saved, still cracking and popping after some contact cleaner and a wiggle. So I'm going to rip it all out and start afresh; new pots, selector and wiring, might even treat myself to some new pickups if I have the £ available.
Been looking about and still can't seem to find a sensibly priced place to pick up the parts to do it though.
Any one in the UK know of any good places?

 

[Greatoliver]

Try either the BKP site or here: Guitar parts UK Spares Online

This is a great place for tech: IBANEZ RULES!! tech - setup

I've found that the key to setting up safely is just to never ever force anything - if something doesn't want to budge, don't force it, and never do anything up too tightly.

Also, don't forget about the locking studs in the trem posts! They are very helpful for stability, but if you forget about them, you can damage your guitar.

 

[JoeyBTL]

This has plenty of info on setting up your guitar so it should be some good help.

IBANEZ RULES!! tech - setup

It'd also be good to get yourself some sort of ruler to measure string height and neck relief as well so you can be more accurate when setting it up.

 

[rippedflesh89]

for setups, the above link is a good place to go for the basics...

but if you want to make your guitar shred like never before, talk to ouija on the ibanez forum... he gave me some tips that allowed me to get my action kissing the frets

 

[AySay]

Florescent paint. If your Ibby is a mind-numbingly bright green or something, you'll forget about the other stuff.

 

[Kamikaze7]

All the recommendations have been good so far, but if you prefer the feel of a hard tail, I'd recommend getting a brass sustain block and a tremel-no.

^ I would go with this as opposed to using chunks of wood to block the tremolo. The ESP M307 I had years ago had a wood blocked trem, and the posts were bent as a result. Using wood to block the trem puts a lot of pressure on the posts, causing them to bend. You'd be better off using the brass block for more sustain and the Tremol-no to lock the trem in palce. Will be much more beneficial than trying to do it with wood...

...The electrics in this 7620 are a little clunky too (selector and vol crackle a whole lot) and the finish of the screws\knobs leave a lot to be desired. Where abouts in the UK is a good\cheap place to pick up new pot's\selectors\screws\knobs\everything?
I'm somewhat hesitant to use ebay...

I can feel a complete overhaul looming, pickups and all...

I am one of those who has had NO issue of buying parts, electronics and stuff (guitars included...) from Ebay. As long as you deal with people who have a 95% or better rating, you won't have a problem. Not to mention, PayPal is a buyer protection. If they don't ship after you pay for it just file a claim with PayPal and PayPal will give you your money back and the seller's account gets frozen until they pay back PayPal the amount they gave you back.

As for the cracking/noise/ect of your current parts, you can go to nearly any electronics store and get a can of contact cleaner. Spray the contact cleaner into the pots and switch and it'll clean all the contacts when you move the pot shafts back and forth, and the same with the switch as well. But if you decide to go with new pots and everything I'd go to a repair shop or a music store that has parts for sale and get 2 new 500K ohm pots. Be sure to save the capacitor from your original pots for the new tone pot. The selector switch you should really try and keep and use the original one if you can. The wiring on these switches is an Ibanez specific wiring that is hard to get and do on any other switch. If you clean the one you have and it's still acting up, try getting a hold of Rich Harris of IbanezRules.com and see if he's got one he can sell you. Or if your local music shop is a reputable Ibanez dealer, you can get the switch right from Ibanez, and the part # is listed on Ibanez's site. It's the same switch as in the RG7321.

 

[LudoCluedo]

Try either the BKP site or here: Guitar parts UK Spares Online

This is a great place for tech: IBANEZ RULES!! tech - setup

This link proved invaluable! Followed it to a T for all the parts I could actually do.
That spares shop isn't bad either, might get a few bits to get my beater 6'er working again.

for setups, the above link is a good place to go for the basics...

but if you want to make your guitar shred like never before, talk to ouija on the ibanez forum... he gave me some tips that allowed me to get my action kissing the frets

He sounds like a guy I need to PM, thanks for the tip.

Florescent paint. If your Ibby is a mind-numbingly bright green or something, you'll forget about the other stuff.

This. Oh yes this. The idea of stripping the body and either staining it if it has nice grain or painting it bright blue has crossed my mind since the first time I picked it up. I'm not really a fan of "Vampire Kiss".

^ I would go with this as opposed to using chunks of wood to block the tremolo...

As for the cracking/noise/ect of your current parts, you can go to nearly any electronics store and get a can of contact cleaner.

...The selector switch you should really try and keep and use the original one if you can. The wiring on these switches is an Ibanez specific wiring that is hard to get and do on any other switch.

...It's the same switch as in the RG7321.

The wood is a quick n'dirty fix. I will be on the lookout for a brass block and tremol-no, both look like they'll have to be imported though.

Already gave em a squirt and wiggle with the cleaner, it tidied up the pots a little bit but the selector still crackles away. Thanks for the heads up on the switch info though, I almost took the plunge on an average 5-way. I'll try and hunt down a real Ibanez one.
If I'm looking at new pickups in the near future, would the Ibanez type still be good to use? I wouldn't mind playing around with the coil-tapping etc.



Thanks again chaps.

 

[Greatoliver]

The brass block really helped my RG, the sustain is really good, and it helped fatten the sound a tad.

 

[Bevo]

I had good luck trimming a piece of wood for both sides of the trem, just make sure you get the right string height. Once that is done head down to the local metal supply shop and have them cut you the brass in that width, you may have to file it a bit but the metal is very soft so easy to do.
Aluminum will also work well, its another soft metal and much lighter than brass.

For the electronics, you don't need Ibanez, just get good quality with the same specs as what you have. The Ibanez quality is not bad but you can do much better.

 

[TomAwesome]

If you were mainly clicking with the hardtail on the 7321, how about trading your 7620 for a 7621/7421?

 

[Randomist]

Unless you want the exact wiring the guitar has now, I wouldn't worry too much about the switch being ibanez. Have a look at wiring diagrams online (there are usually some on manufacturer's websites), find one with the options you want such as coil tapping or series/parallel, and see what they use. You might end up with a 3 way blade switch and some push/pull pots instead of fiddling about trying to do the same thing on a 5-way.

guitarelectronics.com is often recommended here for diagrams and info: 2 Pickup Guitar Diagrams

I have used AxesRUs before and can confirm they're a decent little place, though they sell some gems and some... not such high quility pieces. They're quick and pretty cheap, though my wilkinson trem came in just a plastic bag with no real packaging but it was fine otherwise, and brand new.

 

[GSingleton]

1) Pucker your lips together
2)....blow

 

[RuffeDK]

Clean the fretboard and give it a round of Dunlop Lemon Oil ? New strings, adjust bridge/neck, even new pickups ? CL/LF or D-Activator ?

 

[datalore]

It hasn't had a "service" for a very long time and I'm clueless where to start.

The frets are probably worn and uneven from years of playing. Take it to a great tech and tell him or her that you want a setup and a fret level/dress.