Custom Explorer Bass Makeover | Part Five

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Welcome to the fifth and final post on a custom Explorer-style five-string bass makeover. The refinish is finally complete and shielding has been taken care of. It's now time to install the electronics and hardware, reassemble the beast, string her up; and see what she sounds like.

DCR readings for the seemingly-identical humbuckers are 16.21K and 17.94K. I've put the one with the higher DCR in the bridge position. The electronics comprise three Alpha A500K pots (Volume/Volume/Tone), a 0.033uF tone cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. This custom bass is tuned A E A D F# (low to high).

To listen to what this Explorer-style bass sounds like straight into a Laney RB2 with the EQ flat, check out this SoundCloud audio file. I'm only playing on the E, A and D strings as I'm all at sea where the low A and high F# are concerned ;)

Although it has taken me nearly eight months to complete this makeover; it's been time well spent and a valuable learning experience. Thank you for supporting me thus far, and I hope you'll visit from time to time to check on what I've been up to. As always, stay home, stay safe; and God bless.

 

 

MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster | Part Three

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Here is the third and final post on this totally awesome MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster. Happy owner Enche' Nodi dropped by after the photoshoot and entertained me with a bit of spanky cleaned-toned stratolicious noodling. I managed to shoot a short video of Enche Nodi's adventures in Stratland; which you may view HERE. Well, folks, that's about it for this post. Thanks for visiting. Stay home, stay safe; and God bless.

 

 

MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster | Part Two

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In Part One, we saw just how badly this MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster was in need of an overhaul; so to speak. I started off by dismantling all hardware and electronic components. The neck and headstock were cleaned with naphtha, rosewood fretboard reconditioned; and frets polished. Then, as the pickup covers were being removed for cleaning; I noticed that the fragile coil windings were totally exposed. This simply would not do, and so they were gingerly wrapped with black cloth pickup tape.

The body cavities were shielded with conductive shielding paint; and the whole underside of the pickguard with aluminium foil. As for the electronics, everything was replaced save for the pickups. Among the new components were Alpha A250K pots and a Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack.

There was also a rather large teardrop-shaped patch of wood exposed just below the "football" output jack plate. The nice part about this "injury" was that the wood showed a distinctive grain pattern. So, it definitely was not basswood. I'm guessing it's either alder; or even Japanese Ash (Sen). This was indeed an exciting discovery (for me, at least). The exposed wood was stained with ColorTone #5030 Vintage Amber and sealed with several coats of super glue.

Perhaps the most challenging part of this job was restoring the vibrato bridge. The saddles were corroded right down to metal as most of the plating had gone the way of the dodo. It took me more than 8 hours to remove the frozen saddle-height adjustment screws and derust the saddles to where they looked presentable enough. As it turned out, the saddle-height adjustment screws, as well as intonation screws and springs; had to be replaced.

Once all that needed to be done had been taken care of, this MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster was reassembled, polished; and strung with Ernie Ball 009-042s. In Part Three, we'll look at a mini photo shoot of sorts; where this lovely guitar was kind enough to pose for a few pictures :)

 

MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster | Part One

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

One fine day, legendary Kuantan muso Enche' Nodi came a calling, bringing along his latest acquisition; a fine-looking MIJ Squier Stratocaster. He wanted the Strat restored to gigging/recording condition; as he is a working guitar, bass, and oud (gambus) player. 

According to Guitar Insite, this guitar was manufactured by FujiGen in either 1990 or 1991. I was also pleased to discover, thanks to Planet Botch and the Squier-Talk Forum; that this guitar was one of the early MIJ Squier Silver Series Strats that "did not have a 'Silver Series' identifier on the headstock." Besides this, I'd managed to determine a number of specs, as shown in the next paragraph.

Torino Red finish
Solid wood body
Zero shielding save for some foil under the pickguard
Individual cavities for each pickup
Gotoh tuning pegs
Vibrato bridge with no branding on the saddles
Ceramic single-coil pickups
Gotoh YM-50 five-way switch
Full-sized 250K pots
Plastic-bodied "Made in Japan" output jack
Truss rod adjustment on the headstock face
Maple neck with "skunk stripe"
7.25" radius rosewood fretboard
21 vintage-size frets

Time and tide had certainly taken their toll on this fine specimen of stratiness; and I knew that I had my job cut out for me. Grime, crud, rust and corrosion were the order of the day; as can be seen in the pics posted here. In Part Two; we'll take a look at what was done to get this Strat back into shape.

Mymozika Frankenstrat Build | Part Four

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

After eight months, the Mymozika Frankenstrat is finally ready. Having finalized the position of the bridge and body-mounted hardware, the control cavity was shielded with conductive shielding paint. Once the paint was dry and the grounding tab screwed in, I was able to wrap up the wiring end of things.

Meanwhile, there was the issue of the gnarly satin finish on the fretboard, back of neck; and headstock. To protect it while in transit, someone had wrapped this beautiful Canadian hard rock maple neck tightly in plastic cling film. As a result of this, the thin finish had crinkled up and developed unsightly lines. 

I'd actually put off dealing with this problem until the very last; as just looking at the damage made me very depressed. Thank goodness a few hours of gentle buffing with 0000 steel wool got rid of most of the lines and smoothened out the finish somewhat. Following this, the whole neck was waxed and buffed.

One interesting feature of this neck is that it sports a vintage 7.25" radius. Based upon the size of the frets, I was expecting the radius to be at least 9.5". In any case, after stringing the Mymozika with Ernie Ball 10s; a routine setup was carried out. Now, what does this Frankenstrat sound like? Ballsy and full of stratty spank, methinks. If you're curious, do check out these two YouTube videos: Mymozika Frankenstrat - Clean Tones and Mymozika Frankenstrat - Overdrive.

It's been a long and bumpy ride, but well worth it. Never thought that those Japanese Fender pickups would work so well with the Fender SCN ST-BR (albeit after some rewiring); but they do. That about wraps it up for this Mymozika Frankenstrat Build. Thanks for dropping by. As always, stay safe, stay healthy; and God bless :)

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.

Taylor 214CE-G Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Here's a fine made-in-Mexico acoustic-electric that not only has the looks; but plays just as well. It was brought in for cleaning and polishing, fretboard reconditioning; as well as a setup. The guitar was nestled in a sturdy plush foam-lined "Taylor Quality Guitars" gig bag that could best be described as a semi-hardshell case. 

Curious about its specs, I did some research online and found lots of useful information on Taylor Guitars and Reverb. Strangely enough, there's no information on the kind of wood used for the bridge. I'll hazard a guess that it's some species of rosewood or ebony. Well then, let's take a look at some of the more pertinent characteristics of the Taylor 214CE-G.

Body
Shape: Grand Auditorium with Venetian Cutaway
Length: 20"
Width: 16"
Depth: 4-5/8"
Top: Solid Sitka Spruce (Natural Gloss Finish)
Back/Sides: Layered Indian Rosewood (Satin Finish)
Bracing: Forward Shifted Pattern
Soundhole Decoration: Three-Ring Rosette
Pickguard: Faux Tortoiseshell
Binding: Black/White/Black(Top), White (Back and Heel Cap)

Neck
Material: Tropical Mahogany (Satin Finish)
Width: 1-11/16"
Joints: Neck/Headstock - Scarf Joint, Neck/Body - NT Neck Joint
Heel Length: 3-1/2"

Fretboard
Material: West African Crelicam Ebony
Nut: Nubone
Scale Length: 25-1/2"
Radius: 15"
No. of Frets: 20
Inlays: 4mm Dot Italian Acrylic

Headstock
Peghead Overlay: Layered Indian Rosewood
Tuners: Die-Cast Chrome
Truss Rod Cover: Rosewood

Bridge
Material: Solid Wood
Black Bridge Pins
Micarta Saddle

Electronics
Taylor Expression System® Preamp
9V Battery Box/Endpin Jack Combo