Monday, May 11, 2020

1992 Jackson Professional Series Dinky LT Revisited

The last time I'd seen this rock machine was way back in 2017, when it was sent in for a major overhaul. I remember having to do lots of woodwork, de-rusting, de-griming and de-crudding. The electronics were working as they should, however. You can read about that experience HERE.

This time, however, the electronics were toast. They were totally rusty and beyond redemption. As I've mentioned numerous times in the past, the salty sea air of the East Coast is not to be taken lightly. It corrodes your hardware, strings and electronics in the blink of an eye. Okay, end of sermon.

To compound the issue, the Seymour Duncan bridge humbucker was virtually dead. Opening it up revealed a faulty connection. Thank goodness it wasn't a shorted coil. Yes, I knew I had to fix this. Before proceeding, I took into account the fact that the owner wasn't interested in coil-splitting; and the existing pickup wires (black/red/white/green) had become extremely brittle over time.

The most practical option was to permanently rewire both coils in series, and replace the unreliable four-wire pickup lead with Alpha coaxial cable. Clean and simple: One hot wire, one braided ground/shield; just like the humbuckers of old. And yes, Seymour Duncan did rejoin the land of the living after this mod.

The old electronics were dumped, and in went Alpha A500K pots, a generic PCB 5-way switch, K73-16 0.022uF tone cap; and NYS229 output jack. I also had to replace the existing three knobs as they were for 24-spline CTS pots; and would not fit the new Alpha pots (18-splines). That being done, the 1992 Jackson Professional Series Dinky LT was back in business.







Washburn XB-500 Bantam Bass Scarf Joint and Fretboard Repair

Though looking its age, the active electronics on this Washburn XB-500 Bantam Bass were still functioning as they should. Granted, there was some crackling when you turned the pots; but this was fixed with a squirt or two of contact cleaner in the right places.

The real problem with this bass was that the rosewood fretboard had somehow become separated from the maple neck; from the nut right up to the third fret. Meanwhile, at the back of the neck, the scarf joint had opened up quite a bit. I should also mention that someone had fashioned a crude ill-fitting nut out of black plastic. And yes, I forgot to snap a pic or two of these abnormalities.

The game plan was to reglue the fretboard and scarf joint with Titebond III and clamp everything nice and tight until the glue dried. Then there would be lots of sanding, followed by a Tru-Oil refinish on the back of the neck. A new custom nut would also be installed. And guess what? It turned out okay, thank goodness :)










Jackson JS30 Dinky Gets Some Love

Work done on this Jackson JS30 Dinky included fret dressing, hardware servicing, parts replacement; and electronics upgrade. As there was already conductive shielding paint beneath the top coat, I merely added aluminium foil shielding to the back of the control cavity cover; and a ground tab from the back of the volume pot to the control cavity wall.







Various Guitars and Basses - Part Two


As mentioned in Part One, I'm quite often so preoccupied with meeting deadlines that snapping pictures takes a back seat. It's only after the instrument has left my shop that I realize I haven't taken enough pictures for a proper write up. That being said, here are some more random shots I've taken over the years that I hope you find interesting.

 













Various Guitars and Basses - Part One


Folks, sometimes I'm too preoccupied with repairs to take enough pictures for a proper write up. Here are some random shots I've taken over the years that you might find interesting.















Sunday, May 10, 2020

2014 Gibson LPJ Gets Lots of Upgrades

Preamble
The 2014 Gibson LPJ 120th Anniversary Les Paul featured in this post was bought used in 2017. I emailed Gibson Support along with the relevant details and pictures, and they replied in less than 24 hours; verifying the authenticity of the LPJ. Thank you Gibson Support :). Besides a ton of cool features, including the nicely worn Cherry (Satin) finish; what really got me hooked was its fat chunky neck. Let's take a look at some stock specs now, based on information from Gibson and my own observations.

Stock Specs
Body: Maple Top/Mahogany Back
Neck: Maple/'50s Rounded Profile
Fretboard: Rosewood/24.75" Scale/12" Radius/Trapezoid Inlays/22 Frets
Nut: White TekToid
Tuners: Nickel-plated Vintage-style/Pearloid Buttons
Bridge/Tailpiece: Chrome-plated Tune-o-matic/Stop Bar
Pickups: 1961 Alnico V Zebra Coil (Neck/Bridge)
Electronics: PCB "Quick Connect" Board/CTS 500K Pots/Switchcraft Toggle Switch
Noteworthy Features: Black "Supreme Grip" Speed Knobs/Custom "120th Anniversary" Inlay

Heartbreaking Revelations
The LPJ was awfully noisy, so I guessed there might be a bad ground connection somewhere. Well, time to open her up. What I saw inside broke my heart. The pickups, toggle switch and output jack were all "quick-connect," and plugged into corresponding sockets on a PCB board. The pots had "Gibson" stamped on them, but were soldered directly to the board via three "upside down" tabs. Not your run-of-the-mill CTS pots, for sure.

The output jack was stamped "Made in China," and uncannily similar to the Neutrik/Rean NYS229s I install in guitars whose owners don't want to fork out the dough for a Switchcraft #11. Now I know why Gibson specifies the output jack as simply being "1/4" mono." Seriously? A made-in-China component in a genuine made-in-the-US-of-A Gibson?

Worst of all, I finally discovered a possible reason behind the grounding issue -- the bridge ground wire was not soldered to the board. It was just stuck into a quick-release socket. Compounding this was the fact that none of the cavities were shielded. Way to go, Gibson!

That did it. I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did not rewire the guitar to "traditional" Les Paul specs. Kindly note that I am in no way implying that there was anything wrong with the stock electronics. I'm sure there are many players out there who don't give a rat's ass about Gibson's cost-cutting measures; or obsess over the fact that their Les Paul's innards now more closely resemble a computer than ever.

Well, me being me; the stock electronics were eventually removed (very carefully) for safekeeping. And soon after, as luck would have it, someone bought the whole lot off me; and had me install them in his Chibson :)

Upgrades
The first thing I did was to order a pair of Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59s (Vintage Blues Set). Yeah, I'm that sort of guy. Other upgrades included a Switchcraft toggle switch, Gavitt braided shielded push-back cloth wire, CTS 500K long shaft pots, Russian caps (0.015uF-Neck/0.022uf-Bridge); and Switchcraft #11 output jack. Pickup/toggle switch/control cavities were shielded with conductive carbon paint; and the backs of the control cavity/toggle switch covers with self-adhesive copper foil.

Corrosion had already set in on the stock tune-o-matic bridge, and it was extremely difficult to adjust the saddles. In fact, the B string saddle was totally frozen. I replaced the bridge with a Kluson KLP-1200N. The shinier nickel plating didn't quite match the matte satin finish on the stop bar; but it worked out okay. Oh yes, I almost forgot; the stock "LPJ" truss rod cover was replaced with a Gibson PRTR-010 (blank).

YouTube Video
Kechik is a young journeyman who has honed his skills at numerous stages, clubs and pubs throughout Malaya. Here's a brief YouTube VIDEO of Kechik making this 2014 Gibson LPJ cry and sing. Enjoy :)