Mymozika Frankenstrat Build | Part One

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

I seem to have a number of regular clients who are not only into run-of-the-mill kit builds; but also mix-and-match "Frankenstein" mutants. Fine with me, always give the client what he/she wants. I do get a thrill putting together one-of-a-kind instruments; such as the Frankenstrat Partscaster and Yamaha EG112C - OLP MM1 Hybrid.

So here we have an old Applause Strat copy, the body of which has been decorated front and back with Mymozika head honcho Wan's own sticker design. For those who aren't familiar with Mymozika, they're an up-and-coming local rock band. Do check out their Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

Back to the Applause, then. The sticker design is pretty intricate, and reminds me of the '60s for some reason. The body is all Wan wants retained. To complete this build, he's brought me a custom '70s Strat-style reverse-headstock Canadian hard rock maple neck, black pickguard, gold hardware; and three pickups. The neck and middle are from a Japanese Fender Stratocaster; while the bridge pickup is a used Fender SCN ST-BR Samarium Cobalt Noiseless.

As the leads on all three pickups are woefully short, I've removed them and soldered on longer hot (+) and ground (-) leads. And, for simplicity's sake, I've bridged the triangular and square solder terminals of the SCN for a common ground (black lead), and maintained the round terminal for the hot lead (white). 

At the owner's request, the stock black pickup covers on the neck and middle pickups have been swapped out for a pair of StewMac Parchment Pickup Covers for Strat. They do contrast nicely with the black pickguard, and more or less match the aged white SCN cover. Okay, that's taken care of. Now, on to the wiring.

I've upgraded the electronics with Alpha A250K pots, a Russian K73-16 0.022uF tone cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. The neck and middle pickups work together well, and the middle is RWRP (reverse-wound, reverse-polarity) -- nice! So far so good; or so I think. Then, when I kick in the bridge pickup; all hell breaks loose. There's only the faintest of signals, drowned in hum and noise.

What do I do, what do I do? I decide to reverse the leads on the SCN. Now the square and round terminals are the common ground (black lead), and the triangular; hot (white lead). And, who would've guessed; the SCN is behaving as it should. No more weird noises and annoying hum. I heave a huge sigh of relief!

We've settled the wiring issue, but there's still lots more to be done. Do stay tuned for future updates on this Mymozika Frankenstrat Build. See ya real soon :)

Note: Fender®, Stratocaster®, Strat®, Telecaster®, Tele®, P Bass®, Precision Bass®, and the distinctive headstock designs of these guitars are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

 

Clevan Bass - Rusty Bridge and Shorted Wiring

Sometimes instruments are sent to me for the bare minimum due to cost concerns. Such is the case with this Clevan PJ four-string bass. It lives in a jamming studio and has been used and abused by countless would-be bass players since day one. So, it's no wonder that the bridge is a rusted wreck; and the pickups dead. I've been tasked with replacing the bridge and rewiring the whole thing. And if the pickups are well and truly dead; replace them. The thoughtful studio boss has even provided me with a set of P and J pickups, plus a replacement bridge.

Well, I've replaced the bridge after lots of careful measurement. You know, measure twice, cut/drill once; that sort of thing. As for the pickups, lo and behold -- they're still alive and kicking! Turns out it was shorted wiring that put this bass in a coma. Sometimes, less is more when it comes to the amount of solder one uses. Use too much, and the overflow/drip can create unwanted connections; shorting out your pots or other electronics. I'd have liked to have done more for this bass, like replace those tiny crappy pots with Alpha A500Ks; and the output jack with at least a Neutrik/Rean NYS229. However, the bottom line is that you do what the client tells you to do -- no more, no less.

Yamaha ERG121C Makeover: Part Two

Quick Links: Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In Part One of this series, I'd put down about a half dozen coats of Tru-Oil; and this included a light scuffing with 0000 steel wool every 3 coats or so. Well, after 20 coats of Tru-Oil, I lost count and just concentrated on achieving the desired finish thickness. After the final coat, the body was set aside for a week to allow the finish to cure. Then it was time to take care of the conductive paint shielding and grounding tabs.

Following this, the pickups and electronics were installed. Now, since a complete rewire was on the cards, I decided to do a minor upgrade and put in a Russian K73-16 0.022uF tone cap, Gavitt cloth-covered pushback wire for short runs; and Gavitt single-conductor braided shield wire from the volume pot to the output jack. I felt that it was only fitting as the owner had already spent his hard-earned money on bona fide Seymour Duncan pickups, CTS 500K pots, CRL 5-way switch; and Switchcraft #11 jack.

As I type this the rewiring's been completed, tested; and everything checks out okay. What's left is to reattach the neck, string her up with 10s; and do a complete setup. Do stay tuned for updates on this Yamaha ERG121C. Till we meet again in cyberspace, stay home, stay safe; and avoid crowded spaces.

ESP LTD M-10 Electric Guitar: Part Three

Quick Links: Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In Part One of this series, we identified the main issues that needed to be addressed whilst tackling this ESP LTD M-10 repair/restoration/upgrade job. Next, in Part Two, I proceeded to handle the various tasks involved in getting this guitar back into shape again; so to speak.

Since then, I've restrung the guitar with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys and given it a proper set up. Loosened the truss rod to give the fretboard a smidgen of relief; as it was as straight as an arrow even under string tension. The action was also unplayably high even with the bridge posts screwed all the way down. 

This problem was solved by inserting a shim in the neck pocket below the neck heel. For more information about modifying neck angle/pitch via shims, check out this enlightening Premier Guitar article by John LeVan.

You know, I've never really gotten into the specs of this ESP LTD M-10. So, here we go. Can't determine what material was used to construct the body; but it seems to be three pieces of solid wood. The bolt-on neck is definitely maple, and the fretboard; rosewood. 

The fretboard features a 22.5" scale, 12" radius (I measured), 22 nicely-dressed jumbo frets, dot inlays; and an attractive pearloid 12th fret inlay etched with the characters "M-10." The contoured and slanted neck/body bolt-on joint is less obtrusive than most; and makes playing the highest frets not at all uncomfortable.

Hardware is some kind of black-plated metal. I think ESP should have stuck to simple nickel or chrome-plated hardware. It's quite obvious that the black plating wears off and tarnishes easily; making cleanup extremely time-consuming. Meanwhile, stringing is through-body, and the bridge; a generic tune-o-matic clone. That would be just about all I've noted about the M-10.  

In this third and final installment, I'll share with you a couple pics of this rejuvenated M-10. I've also uploaded a YouTube video of owner Zinuun Tojid trying out his axe. Do give it a view. Thanks for dropping by, and hope to see you again real soon :)

ESP LTD M-10 Electric Guitar: Part Two

Quick Links: Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In the previous post, we took a long, hard look at this ESP LTD M-10. Yes, there was lots that needed to be done, and in this post; I'll show you exactly what I did. The very first step was putting 0000 steel wool, 3M Flexible Polishing Papers and Autosol Metal Polish to work. Of course, there was also lots of elbow grease involved.

The most challenging task was separating the frozen bridge stud from its bushing. I'm glad to report that alternately heating the bushing with a mini-blowtorch and "shock cooling" in water finally did the trick. Thorough scrubbing with a steel-bristled brush got rid of any corrosion and caked-on gunk, and after a good lubing; everything was fine and dandy.

The pickups? Yes, they were actually Belcats in disguise. On the plus side, the pickup and control cavities were adequately shielded with conductive shielding paint. However, as I've noticed on other ESP LTDs; grounding tabs were missing. That being the case, I wired in new ground tabs terminating in the control cavity wall; with a jumper cable soldered to the back of a pot. Also added a piece of conductive self-adhesive copper tape to ensure good contact with the foil shield on the back of the control cavity cover.

New electronics comprised new Alpha A500K pots, a 3-way switch, 0.022uF poly film cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. I've tested the electronics sans neck and strings, and everything seems to be working well. Got a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinkys (009-042) at the ready for the next step; which should be restring and setup. But that will have to wait until tomorrow, at least. Till then, stay home, stay safe, wear a mask; and avoid crowded places.