Wednesday, October 19, 2022

RC Stromm Offset Solidbody | Part Two


Electronics Issues 

In Part One, we talked about neck-related issues on this RC Stromm Offset Solidbody. Now, let's take a look at electronics issues. This guitar showed obvious signs of saltwater corrosion, a very common malady for us east coast players. While the pickups were still working, control cavity components needed to be replaced. And so, a full rewire was effected with Alpha A500K pots, a generic toggle switch; and barrel output jack.



Corroded Control Cavity Components



Toggle Switch

Volume and Tone Pots

New Toggle Switch

New Control Cavity Components






RC Stromm Offset Solidbody | Part One


Neck Issues 

This RC Stromm Offset Solidbody was sent in for two reasons: it was barely playable and the electronics were shot. Let's talk about the first issue, then. Sighting down the headstock revealed that the plane of the fretboard was not parallel with that of the body. It seemed to slant in one direction [see first picture]. The owner had tried to correct this imbalance by adjusting the height of the saddles, resulting in painfully high action.

After carefully evaluating the condition of the neck, fretboard and frets; I reckoned that modifying the lateral plane of the neck heel might just do the trick. And so, I worked on crafting a suitable tapered neck heel shim from chengal wood. This was a lengthy and laborious process; but I finally managed to get the fretboard parallel with the body [see last picture]. That's all for this post. In Part Two, we'll talk about electronics issues.



Slanted Fretboard

Gluing on the Neck Heel Shim

Clamps Removed

Planing the Shim

Shim after Sanding


Neck Screw Holes Drilled


Neck Reattached

Problem Fixed


Friday, October 07, 2022

RC Stromm T-Style Thinline

Related Videos

The RC Stromm T-Style Thinline featured in this post came in for some fretwork, headstock mod, setup; as well as an electronics upgrade. Fretwork was focused on rounding off sharp fret ends. Electronics upgrades included swapping the stock pickups for a set taken from a Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster. Besides this, pots were upgraded to Alpha A250Ks, the tone cap to a 0.022uF K73-16, selector switch to an Oak Grigsby; and output jack to a Switchcraft. Sadly, as the budget was insufficient for a full shielding job, all I could do was add under-pickguard copper foil shielding; on the house.




Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Pickups

Neck Pickup Installed

Bridge Pickup Installed

Enlarging the Control Cavity

New Wiring and Electronics

A Closer View

Switchcraft Output Jack


Rewiring Completed

Fret End Work in Progress

Sharp Fret Ends Rounded Off

Headstock as Received

Sanded Down to Bare Wood

After a Couple Coats of Tru-Oil

Good to Go





 
 
 
 




Sqoe SETL350 Solidbody

Listen to this Sqoe SETL350 on SoundCloud

Finish: Black
Body: Basswood
Neck: Maple
Neck Shape: Slim Taper
Fretboard: Maple 
Fretboard Radius: 14"
Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo
Bridge: Fixed
Hardware: Nickel
Pickups: SQOE S-S
Hard Case/Bag: SQOE Bag





22 Medium Jumbo Frets


Neck Pocket

Bridge and Bridge Pickup

Control Cavity

14" Radius

High Frets Marked

High Frets Leveled

Leveled Frets Recrowned

All Done


Wednesday, October 05, 2022

2007 PRS SE Custom 22 Semi-Hollow | Part Two

See Also

Part Two: Servicing and Upgrades
Besides a thorough clean and polish, this 2007 PRS SE Custom 22 Semi-Hollow also received an electronics upgrade. The upgrade included Gavitt wiring, CTS 500K pots, a Mallory 150M 0.022uF tone cap; and Switchcraft output jack. Finally, as the stock speed knobs were 18-spline; they were replaced with a new set of 24-spline knobs from Allparts.




Serial Number

Pearloid Moon Inlays

Stock Electronics

Stock Electronics Removed

G&B Neck Humbucker

PRS Stoptail Bridge




Intonation Set Screws

Pickguard

Electronics Upgrade in Progress

Switchcraft Output Jack

Electronics Upgrade Completed

Allparts Speed Knobs