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Part One | Part Two | Part Three
What do we have here? It's a used Yamaha ERG121C HSH rock machine in ... wait for it ... shocking pink. I assume the previous owner was responsible for the paint job, and also some nice upgrades. He'd put in a trio of Seymour Duncans: SH-2N Jazz Model (neck), APS-1 Alnico Pro II (middle), and SH-4 JB Model (bridge).
He'd also wired in a CRL 5-way switch, CTS 500K pots, and Switchcraft #11 jack socket. The bee's knees, I'd say. Only problem was that the wiring was a little suspect, and the ERG121C wasn't "sounding as it should" (current owner's words, not mine).
And so, besides requesting a complete rewiring job, the current owner would like to have the body stripped down to bare wood and refinished natural. Okey dokey, it's another heat gun and scraper job for me. Underneath the pink was black (the original color, I guess), a silver undercoat, thick layer of sealer; and some kind of veneer. I sanded the body down to bare wood and was pleased to discover that it was a solid 3-piece job; not plywood or something similarly distasteful.
And so, besides requesting a complete rewiring job, the current owner would like to have the body stripped down to bare wood and refinished natural. Okey dokey, it's another heat gun and scraper job for me. Underneath the pink was black (the original color, I guess), a silver undercoat, thick layer of sealer; and some kind of veneer. I sanded the body down to bare wood and was pleased to discover that it was a solid 3-piece job; not plywood or something similarly distasteful.
The next step was filling the grain with good ole' Elmer's Carpenter's Natural Wood Filler. Left it to dry overnight, and sanded off the excess the next day. Then it was time to stain the body with StewMac ColorTone Liquid Stain (#5030 - Vintage Amber). Once the stain had set, it was time to settle any woodwork before proceeding with refinishing.
Stock, the ERG121C features two ring-mounted humbuckers and a direct-mounted single coil. However, the previous owner had done away with the rings and direct-mounted the SH-2N and SH-4 using wood screws that were too short and of all things; Strat pickup rubber tubing instead of springs or foam inserts. As you can guess, the humbuckers' height could not be adjusted.
To solve this issue, I first plugged the pickup height screw cavities with slightly over-tall glued-in wooden blocks. After the glue had dried, I pared down these wooden plugs until they were level with the cavity bottom. Following this, I reattached the neck, put the humbuckers in their respective routs, and strung up the high and low E strings.
Stock, the ERG121C features two ring-mounted humbuckers and a direct-mounted single coil. However, the previous owner had done away with the rings and direct-mounted the SH-2N and SH-4 using wood screws that were too short and of all things; Strat pickup rubber tubing instead of springs or foam inserts. As you can guess, the humbuckers' height could not be adjusted.
To solve this issue, I first plugged the pickup height screw cavities with slightly over-tall glued-in wooden blocks. After the glue had dried, I pared down these wooden plugs until they were level with the cavity bottom. Following this, I reattached the neck, put the humbuckers in their respective routs, and strung up the high and low E strings.
This was just a mock-up that helped me to align the polepieces and strings. The SH-2 lined up okay, but the SH-4 was a "little" off (to put it kindly). Someone should have told the poor guy that he needed a TB-4 JB Model Trembucker, and not an SH-4 (standard spacing) for correct string-polepiece alignment at the bridge.
Resigning myself to the fact that there was no budget for a new bridge humbucker, I proceeded to drill pilot holes for the new pickup height screws (shortened P-bass pickup height screws) and did a test run with Strat conical pickup springs in place. All went well, thankfully, and I sealed the deal by gluing small metal washers around each screw hole. These washers will help to keep the screws from wandering around when it's finally time to reinstall the pickups.
I'm now in the middle of refinishing the body in Tru-Oil. Stay tuned for later updates. See you soon :)
Resigning myself to the fact that there was no budget for a new bridge humbucker, I proceeded to drill pilot holes for the new pickup height screws (shortened P-bass pickup height screws) and did a test run with Strat conical pickup springs in place. All went well, thankfully, and I sealed the deal by gluing small metal washers around each screw hole. These washers will help to keep the screws from wandering around when it's finally time to reinstall the pickups.
I'm now in the middle of refinishing the body in Tru-Oil. Stay tuned for later updates. See you soon :)
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