Gibson SG Special 2016 T: Part Two

◀ Part One

Well, folks, the previous post was mainly about admiring the beauty that is this Gibson SG Special 2016 T. However, besides needing a string change, setup and nut work; the electronics on this guitar weren't quite up to snuff. As such, I decided to take a peek inside and what did I find? It seemed that some work had been done in the control cavity. The evidence was burnt insulation on the cable from the bridge pickup volume pot to the selector switch. Besides this, there was also a rather gnarly mess of solder grounding the braid of the pickup leads to the neck pickup volume pot casing. I don't think "MP" [written on the bridge tone pot] would have done such a nasty wiring job.

Then I discovered that there was no ground connection between the bridge and neck pickup volume pot casing. Removing the tailpiece stud and bushing revealed the cause: the other end of the ground wire was missing! And with that, I decided to completely rewire the control cavity and settle whatever issues were present once and for all. Izzat agreed on Gavitt wire instead of the stock plastic-coated solid core stuff, and I was secretly pleased. 

Once the rewire was completed, I reinstalled the ground wire through the tailpiece bushing hole, resoldered one end to the neck pickup volume pot casing; and made sure there was enough left at the other end to make firm contact with the bushing once inserted. Testing for continuity with my multimeter confirmed that the bridge ground connection was once again functioning. Here's a link to a short Video Clip of Izzat and his Gibson SG Special 2016 T at an impromptu recording session with DEP [Dull Entertainment Programme]. Enjoy :)

 

Gibson SG Special 2016 T: Part One

Part Two ▶

This magnificent instrument came in for some electronics and nut work, a string change; and setup. Owner Izzat had bought it used, so that was to be expected. In this post, we'll be looking at the main features of the SG Special 2016 T [Tribute]. The details in the next paragraph are based on information sourced from the Gibson Legacy Archive; as well as my own observations. In Part Two, we'll take take this baby apart and see what makes it tick. 

Finish: Nitro, Satin Cherry [SC]
Body: Solid Mahogany [three-piece], sculpted cutaways
Headstock: Type SP2, Gold Silkscreen Logo, Volute
Tuners: "Gibson Deluxe" chrome-plated Zamak, green buttons
Nut: TekToid
Fretboard: Rosewood, 24.75" scale, 12" radius, 22 frets, block acrylic inlays
Neck: Maple, mortise and tenon joint
Pickups: Rhythm Tribute 860-13398-L [Neck], Lead Tribute 860-13399-L [Bridge]
Electronics:
Two Gibson 500K Volume Pots
Two Gibson 500K Tone Pots
Three-way Toggle Switch
Switchcraft Output Jack
Two 0.022uF Ceramic Disk Capacitors
Bridge: Chrome-plated tune-o-matic, Zamak
Tailpiece: Chrome-plated stop bar, Zamak
Strap Buttons: Aluminum 

2020 Ibanez JEM-JR Rehab | Part Three

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In Part One of this series, we perused some of the JEM-JR's noteworthy features. Then, in Part Two, we talked about what was done to get it back into fighting shape. And now, in this final segment, let's lay back and look at some pictures.

 

 

 

2020 Ibanez JEM-JR Rehab | Part Two

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In the previous post, we perused some of the JEM-JR's noteworthy features. Now, in this segment, we'll talk about what was done to get it back into fighting shape. For starters, all the hardware was removed for cleaning and servicing. Meanwhile, the electronics were treated to a generous spritz of contact cleaner.

Bearing in mind that the owner had complained of fret buzz all along the neck, my next task was to determine the condition of the frets. To do this, I'd have to first straighten the fretboard. As predicted, there was way too much relief. Thankfully, the fretboard was as straight as an arrow after some judicious truss rod tweaking.

Following this, a fret rocker was used to locate high spots on the frets; if any. Sad to say, there were just too many high spots for spot leveling. And so it came to pass that a full fret dressing was carried out on the JEM-JR as per my usual SOP. Extra time was was also taken to create adequate "fall away" in the upper frets.

After the frets had been recrowned and polished, the fretboard was cleaned with naphtha and reconditioned. I was surprised to see that almost all of the lemon oil I'd applied had been absorbed into the fretboard; it was that dry!

With that taken care of, the JEM-JR was reassembled, strung with 9s, set up, put through its paces; and tweaked as necessary. For the finale, I took a couple pictures of this pure white beauty; which may be viewed in Part Three.

 

 

2020 Ibanez JEM-JR Rehab | Part One

Part One | Part Two | Part Three 

This 2020 Indonesian-made Ibanez six-stringer came in for general servicing and fret dressing barely six months after purchase. It's a record of sorts for me as I've never seen frets so badly worn in such a short period of time. I guess the owner spent most of the many C19 lockdowns deep in practice on this new axe of his. 

For the benefit of readers, I've broken down this report into three segments: Part One, Part Two and Part Three. In this first segment, let's take a look at the JEM-JR's noteworthy features; most of which were sourced from the Ibanez USA website. 

Neck Type: Wizard III Maple Neck
Body: Meranti
Special Feature: Steve Vai's signature "Monkey Grip"
Fretboard: Jatoba, "Tree of Life" inlay
Scale Length: 25.5"
Frets: Jumbo, 24
Bridge: Ibanez Double Locking Tremolo Bridge
Neck Pickup: Quantum H [Passive/Ceramic]
Middle Pickup: Quantum S [Passive/Alnico]
Bridge Pickup: Quantum H [Passive/Ceramic]
Electronics:
500K full-sized [24mm] Master Volume and Master Tone pots
Ibanez 3SWLSP5 selector switch
Barrel output jack
Shielding: Conductive paint and aluminum foil
Hardware Color: Cosmo Black