Greco EG550B Restoration: Part Three

Quick Links: Part One | Part Two | Part Three

This is the third and final instalment concerning a restoration job carried out on a lovely Greco EG550B. I'm thankful to report that this guitar now plays and sounds as good as it should. Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

I'll start with the electronics, then. Everything was replaced, period. Among the upgrades were Alpha A500K Long Shaft pots, K40Y-9 0.015uf and K73-16 0.022uf tone pots; plus a Neutrik/Rean NYS229 jack socket. Wiring-wise, the original pickup leads were retained, while the rest was replaced with Gavitt Vintage Stranded Core Push-back Wire and Alpha RG174 Coaxial Cable (longer runs).

Next, hardware. Let's see now. The bridge and tailpiece were replaced, as were all pickup screws and springs. I managed to find a suitable replacement neck pickup ring, and added a new Gibson PRPG-020 Les Paul Custom Pickguard. Making the Gibson pickguard fit properly was a real challenge; as there was a lot of filing and sanding involved. Last but not least, the cracked output jack plate was replaced with a shiny new StewMac Plastic Jack Plate for Gibson® Les Paul® (the real deal, folks).

After the fretboard and frets were reconditioned, this Greco EG550B was strung with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys (10-46), tuned, set up; and put through its paces. I first tried it unplugged, and was surprised by the lively acoustic tone. I'd observed similar tones playing Strats unplugged, but this was the first time I'd ever heard a solidbody LP-style sing like this. Anyway, here are three YouTube videos I uploaded in honor of this guitar:

Greco EG550B demo - Unplugged

Greco EG550B Demo - Clean

Greco EG550B demo - Overdrive

Hope you enjoy the videos, as well as the pics I've posted below. Working on this Greco EG550B has been an unforgettable experience, I tell you. There's just this unmistakable build quality you sense with vintage Japanese instruments that's missing from their modern-day counterparts. They sure don't build 'em like they used to! Take care, and do drop by again soon :)

Strat Copy - Partial Fret Dress

Yes, it's another Strat copy; this time from a jamming studio. Notes played on the 18th fret upwards were dead, ie all you could hear was just a dull 'thunk.' Neck relief was spot on, so that wasn't the problem. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the fretboard had no 'fall-away' built in, and as such; the upper frets were making contact with the strings whenever you fretted above the 17th.

The obvious solution was to dress the offending frets and create a fall-away. This was done from the 15th fret upwards, to smoothly blend in the fall-away with the rest of the frets. After the fretboard was straightened, the frets were leveled with a leveling beam and then re-crowned and polished in the usual manner. I'm glad to say that this partial fret dress took care of the dead note problem.

The other issue was with the output jack socket. Plugged in, output was weak and intermittent. The jack socket itself was loose, even after tightening the hex nut. Everything looked nice and shiny on the outside, but it was a different story once I removed the jack plate. The output jack was totally rusted and was in danger of disintegrating. So into the bin went the old rusty socket, to be replaced with a Neutrik/Rean NYS229. That's about it for this post. Thanks for dropping by, and have a nice day :)

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.

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.

Custom Neck-Through Tele Rehab: Part Two

Related Posts    

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

To date, I've completed the Tru-Oil refinish, fabrication of a control cavity cover, and slight neck pickup cavity enlargement to fit the new humbucker-sized P90 clone. Conductive shielding paint, copper foil and grounding tabs have also been utilized to reduce rogue interference as far as possible. 

I've also adjusted the neck pickup in its cavity for optimal string/polepiece alignment with the help of "dummy" low and high E strings. Electronics-wise, the guitar has been rewired with a new 3-way switch, Alpha A500K pots, poly film 0.022uF cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. 

Everything works as it should, thankfully. All that's left now is to string this guitar up with a set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (10-46) and do a full setup. I think I'll take care of that tomorrow; now it's time to take a break and listen to some Nat King Cole. Thanks for reading this, and I'll see you soon :)

TGM JPM100 Copy Needs an Overhaul

Here's a decent-looking HSH locking trem-equipped 6-stringer by TGM Guitars. A little investigation on the web tells me that it's a faithful copy of a 1997 Ibanez JPM100 P3 John Petrucci Signature Picasso electric guitar; save for the 5-way blade selector switch. No, I'm in no way promoting copy guitars. I do, however, appreciate that not everyone has the dinero to score a true-blue "branded" guitar. So, if a copy of their dream guitar is all they can afford; I'll humbly do my best to get it up to snuff.

This TGM came in for an overhaul, so to speak. The pickups and electronics had seen better days, the fretboard needed reconditioning, and the Floyd-Rose licensed locking trem was crying out for a thorough servicing. Turns out the middle pickup had a broken coil and magnet. I managed to replace it with an old vintage-output single coil I had lying around.

The trem and locking nut had a few parts that needed to be replaced. As luck would have it, the owner brought me two trems he'd salvaged from somewhere; so all I had to do was cannibalize them for the needed components. The TGM was also missing both its control and trem cavity covers. I DIY-ed suitable replacements from a piece of black pickguard material I had on hand.

There was just enough left in the budget for an electronics upgrade, so in went Alpha 500K pots, a five-way switch; ceramic disc tone cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. Then, after reconditioning the fretboard, this TGM was strung with 9s and given the usual setup.