Tuesday, November 05, 2024

Techno RD41 Headstock Repair | Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

It's October 18, and the clamps have been removed. Now's as good a time as any to start sanding off any glue residue and such. Sanding also helps smoothen the transition between the upper edge of the hardwood inlay and the back of the headstock.



Clamps Removed, Sanding in Progress



Having leveled the headstock/inlay transition, I've gone ahead and redrilled the holes for the first and sixth string tuners. A test fitting of the tuners has me all smiles, as both sit nice and flat against the hardwood inlay.



Tuner Holes Redrilled

Test Fitting the Tuners



The time is now ripe for me to begin working on blending the lower edge of the hardwood inlay into the upper neck. This is a job that not only calls for rasps of various sizes and shapes, but also loads of sanding strips; carefully working my way up through the grits from 80 to 240.



Blending the Inlay Into the Upper Neck

The End Result



Today is October 21, and I've commenced staining the front and back of the headstock with a blend of ColorTone Liquid Stains, namely; #5030 Vintage Amber and #5038 Cherry Red. This blend doesn't match the existing finish to a T, but it's close enough. You'll notice that the original faceplate has been retained, cracks and all. As such, these cracks have been sealed with ColorTone Clear Grain Filler, lightly tinted with the aforementioned stains.



Headstock Face After Staining

Back of Headstock After Staining



Stain application, light sanding, and reapplication has taken up the better part of the day, leading us to October 22. Time to begin laying down clear coats, methinks. My clear coat of choice? Samurai 1/128, of course. It goes on smoothly, and takes wet sanding like a champ.



First Coat of Clear | Back of Headstock

First Coat of Clear | Headstock Face



Oh heck, I've lost count of how many coats of clear I've applied so far. That's because the "spray, let dry, spray, let dry, wet sand, repeat ad infinitum" cycle kind of blurs into an acetone-fueled headrush after a while. In any case, November 4 is upon us, and the final coat of clear has been laid down.



Final Coat of Clear | Back of Headstock

Final Coat of Clear | Headstock Face


Sunday, November 03, 2024

Ibanez Iceman and Tokai FV Need Some Help

It's October 19, 2024. An Ibanez Iceman IC300DM and Tokai FV are here at CA Guitar Repair to be worked on. Both guitars belong to the same client. We'll start with the Iceman, then. It's heavily modified, and features a Bigsby B5-style vibrato tailpiece, brass nut, Epiphone neck humbucker, and Seymour Duncan STK-S10 YJM Fury in the bridge. The owner is planning to put the Iceman up for sale, and wants both pickups swapped out before that. To this end, he's provided me with a pair of humbuckers taken from his Tokai FV.

As the FV is now without pickups, a pair of "inspired by P90" pickups has been installed, but not wired in. It'll be my job, then, to solder them into the circuit. Another issue that needs to be addressed is fret buzz on the higher frets, which the owner believes has something to do with the truss rod. Last but not least, I've also been tasked with installing a new TOM-style bridge and truss rod cover.





Friday, November 01, 2024

Shüe Shamsul Signature HSS | Part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Shamsul Signature HSS | Audio Files

In this fourth and final post on the Shüe Shamsul Signature HSS, I'd like to share some audio files recorded in the wee hours of October 27. These recordings feature the Shamsul Signature plugged straight into a Fender Champion™ 40 1x12" combo in both "Clean" and "Edge of Breakup" modes. 




  

Amp Settings - Clean

CH Select: Channel 1
Volume: 2
Treble: 5
Bass: 5
FX Level: 1.5
FX Select: Reverb Hall



Amp Settings - Channel 1 / Clean



Amp Settings - Edge of Breakup

CH Select: Channel 2
Gain: 6
Volume: 2
Voice: 60s British
Treble: 5
Bass: 5
FX Level: 1.5
FX Select: Reverb Hall



Amp Settings - Channel 2 / Edge of Breakup


Shüe Shamsul Signature HSS | Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Shamsul Signature HSS | Tremolo Bridge

In keeping with the "gold" hardware theme, the Gotoh 510 Series tremolo bridge on the Shamsul Signature HSS is gilded. Inserting and removing the tremolo arm is relatively easy, given that it's of the "push-in" variety. Arm torque may be adjusted to taste by simply tightening or loosening the torque-adjusting hex screw. Another great feature of the 510 is the "Stud Lock" system. This system utilizes a 2.5 mm hex screw to adjust the height of both studs, and a 1.5 mm hex screw to lock the studs in place. Click the link to view the Gotoh 510T/510TS Operation Manual.



Gotoh 510 | Top

Gotoh 510 | Tremolo Block

Gotoh 510 | Front

Gotoh 510 | Back

Gotoh 510 | Right Side

Gotoh 510 | Left Side



Shamsul Signature HSS | Pickguard Assembly

The underside of the pickguard is shielded with copper foil. Components mounted to the pickguard include the three pickups, a selector switch, and control pots for volume and tone. All connections are soldered, utilizing yellow and black Gavitt-style push back cloth-insulated wire. Fig. 1 below is a simplified wiring diagram of the Shamsul Signature HSS. Black lines represent ground/negative connections, while orange lines represent signal/hot connections.



Shamsul Signature HSS Pickguard Assembly

Fig. 1: Shamsul Signature HSS Wiring Diagram



Shamsul Signature HSS | Pickups

All three pickups in this guitar were handwound by Ray C himself, and comprise two Ray C SK-1 single coils [neck/middle] and a Ray C Custom Maggi Goreng humbucker [bridge]. DCR values are as follows: Neck - 15.28K, Middle - 15.22K, and Bridge - 12.76K. 



Neck | Ray C SK-1

Middle | Ray C SK-1

Bridge | Ray C Custom Maggi Goreng



Shamsul Signature HSS | Electronics

The pickguard-mounted electronics on the Shamsul Signature HSS, as examined, comprise a pickup selector switch and two full-sized pots [Fig. 2]. We'll begin by examining the five-way selector switch, which is a Gotoh DM-50. Its operation is as follows: Position 1 - Neck Only, Position 2 - Neck/Middle, Position 3 - Middle Only, Position 4 - Middle/Bridge, and Position 5 - Bridge Only.



Fig. 2: Pots and Selector Switch

Gotoh DM-50 Selector Switch



Next up is the CTS B500K volume pot, the "B" designation signifying linear taper. The tone control, meanwhile, comprises a CTS A500K pot coupled with a 22nF [0.022uF] tone capacitor. Here, the "A" pot designation signifies audio taper. Last but not least, though not strictly a pickguard-mounted component, is a Switchcraft #11 output jack.



CTS B500K Volume Pot

CTS A500K Tone Pot

22nF Tone Capacitor

Switchcraft #11 Output Jack



Shamsul Signature HSS | Shielding

The pickup and control cavities, as well as the underside of the pickguard, are adequately shielded with copper foil. To ensure continuity, overlapping areas such as the bottom of cavities and sidewalls, have been soldered at several points. Copper foil tabs have also been added to establish contact with the pickguard shielding when the pickguard is screwed on. There is a downside, though, in that continuity between body cavity and under-pickguard shielding is totally dependent on those tiny tabs.  



Pickguard/Control Cavity Shielding



Shamsul Signature HSS | Grounding

Grounding on the Shamsul Signature HSS is, for the most part, adequate. For example, the ground/negative leads of all three pickups are soldered to the back of the volume pot. The backs of the volume and tone pots are also connected through the outer braid of the coaxial cable connecting the middle lugs of both pots [Fig. 2].  

Subsequently, the pickups, pots and selector switch are grounded via contact with the copper foil on the underside of the pickguard [Fig. 2]. Finally, a black lead, one end soldered to the ground/negative lug of the output jack, and the other to the back of the volume pot; establishes a permanent connection between the two [Fig.1, Fig. 3]. 

There is one concern, though, regarding the grounding of the bridge, specifically; the tremolo claw. Under normal circumstances, a tremolo bridge will be grounded via a length of wire, one end soldered to the tremolo claw; and the other to the back of a pot. However, on this guitar, the tremolo claw ground [yellow] terminates in a solder point on the copper foil lining the bottom of the middle pickup cavity. This means that bridge grounding continuity is totally dependent on the copper foil shielding.



Trem Ground Soldered to Shielding



Therefore, it is imperative to create a more sturdy and reliable ground connection for the bridge. To this end, the short length of Gavitt wire [yellow] connecting the tremolo claw to the copper foil shielding has been desoldered. In its place, 10" of black Gavitt wire has been installed. One end has been soldered to the tremolo claw, and the other to the back of the tone pot, as illustrated in Fig. 3 below.



New Bridge Ground | Trem Claw End

New Bridge Ground | Tone Pot End

Fig. 3: Wiring Diagram | New Bridge Ground


Shüe Shamsul Signature HSS | Part 2

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Shamsul Signature HSS | Neck

The Shamsul Signature HSS features a bolt-on Roasted Rock Maple Neck. Neck attachment is via four recessed socket head bolts that screw into corresponding threaded inserts embedded in the neck heel itself. Truss rod adjustment is facilitated by a spoke wheel at the butt end of the neck. This spoke wheel can be adjusted without removing the neck, thanks to a built-in access channel.



Roasted Rock Maple Neck

Threaded Inserts

Truss Rod Spoke Wheel

Truss Rod Access Channel

Contoured Heel

Bolt-On Joint

Socket Head Bolts/Recessed Grommets

Neck Pocket



Shamsul Signature HSS | Fretboard

The fretboard on this guitar is Malaysian Blackwood, which is classified as a true ebony in the Diospyros genus. This fretboard features rolled edges, a 25.5" scale, 16" radius, 22 Jescar 57110 frets, turquoise stone inlays, and white side dots.



Malaysian Blackwood Fretboard

16" Radius

Rolled Edges/Jescar 57110 Frets

Turquoise Stone Inlays

White Side Dots



Shamsul Signature HSS | Body

As previously mentioned, this instrument's Jelutong body is finished in gloss black, as is the face of the headstock. Pertinent features on the body include an HSS pickup configuration [more on this later], gilded metal hardware, a three-ply faux tortoiseshell pickguard, brass strap buttons, and black plastic hardware.



Front of Body Up Close

Faux Tortoiseshell Pickguard

Black Plastic Control Knobs/Switch Tip

Output Jack Plate

Upper Horn Strap Button

Rear End Strap Button