Iceman Gets a Bigsby | Part One

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three

This post is the first of three on a made-in-Korea Ibanez Iceman; more specifically an IC300DM. The guitar was sent in to have a Bigsby B5-style vibrato tailpiece and brass nut installed; and some electronics modifications carried out. 

For starters, the IC300DM features a bound solid wood body and set-in neck. The neck sports a white plastic nut, 24.75" scale bound rosewood fretboard (14" radius), 22 jumbo frets; and whitish dot inlays. The rosewood on this fretboard is so dark and close-grained that it looks like ebony from a distance.

I cannot say much about the original appointments or hardware configuration on this IC300DM as it had been worked on before coming into my shop. There was a freshly-routed round cavity on the butt-end of the body just below the strap button; which I assumed was for a plate-mounted output jack. 

On the back, another round cavity had been routed for a toggle switch, as on a Les Paul; and a cover had been already been installed. I noted that the cavity had not been routed deep enough for a toggle switch to poke through to the front, and besides that; a hole for the toggle switch itself had not been drilled.

The two pickup routs suggested that the body had been designed for two full-sized humbuckers, and these would have been paired with the existing electronics: a three-way toggle switch, plus master volume and tone pots. 

Meanwhile, the presence of string-through holes and bridge post bushings indicated that stringing was through-body; and the bridge most probably of the tune-o-matic variety. That's about it for this post. In the second post of this three-parter, I'll show you what was done to this Ibanez IC300DM Iceman in fulfilment of the owner's wishes.

Acknowledgement

BIGSBY is a registered trademark of Fender Musical Instruments Corp (FMIC)

ESP Floyd Rose to Hardtail Conversion | Part Five

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

This post is the fifth and last of a series regarding the recently-concluded Floyd Rose to Hardtail [fixed bridge] conversion on a used ESP GrassRoots G-HR-49 solidbody. After the body had been refinished, it was set aside on March 6 to allow the finish to cure. 

Then, on March 21, I resumed work by reinstalling the electronics, neck, hardware; and what-have-you. Took me the better part of two days to get the guitar ready for testing, and when I finally did put it through its paces; a feeling of joy mixed with relief coursed through my veins. I was indeed thankful to have satisfied the owner’s five requests:

One, remove the entire Floyd Rose assembly, including the locking nut, springs and claws.
Two, fill the trem and spring cavities completely with suitable wood to create a true solid body.
Three, install a strings-through-body hardtail bridge.
Four, install a Strat-style nut, remove the paint on the back of the neck and refinish it natural.
Five, make the guitar presentable and fully-functional.

Thus said, in this post, we'll just sit back and look at some pics. I’ve also put together a YouTube video to complement this post. The video highlights both clean and overdriven sounds of the G-HR-49; plugged into my trusty Fender Champion 40 amp. Do check it out. Muchas gracias :)

Ibanez RG370AHMZ | Part One

Part Two ▶

According to Darrell Braun Guitar, "... this RG is straight up blue-tiful!" I couldn't agree more, Darrell. I was grinning from ear to ear when one of these beauties came in for a string change and setup recently. Now, without further ado, let's peruse some specs, based on information sourced from Ibanez and the Ibanez Wiki; as well as my own observations.

Body: Solid ash, bound

Finish: Top - Blue Moon Burst (BMT), Back and Sides - Natural

Neck: Maple, Wizard III profile, bolt-on, All Access Neck Joint (AANJ)

Fretboard: Maple, 16" radius, 25.5" scale, 24 jumbo frets, black dot inlays

Bridge: Edge Zero II tremolo bridge with ZPS3Fe "counter-tension tuning stabilizer system"

Pickup Configuration: HSH

Bridge Pickup: Ibanez Quantum Bridge (humbucker/passive/ceramic)

Middle Pickup: Ibanez Quantum Middle (single-coil/passive/alnico)

Neck Pickup: Ibanez Quantum Neck (humbucker/passive/ceramic)

Controls: Master Volume/Master Tone/5-Way Pickup Selector

Hardware: Cosmo Black

Well folks, that's about it for this introductory post. In Part Two, we'll take a closer look at the Edge Zero II tremolo bridge, ZPS3Fe "counter-tension tuning stabilizer system;" and also the electronics. Meanwhile, do enjoy the pics :)

Cort T35 Five-String Bass

Here's a brand-new Indonesian-made Cort T35 in gloss black. It belongs to an ex-student of mine, who's been active on the local indie circuit for a few years now. The bass was unplayable and buzzing badly in the lower frets. Seriously, the strings were virtually laying flat on the fretboard. He'd just changed strings, and they were of a much lighter gauge than the ones that the bass was originally set up with. I reckon the B string was a flimsy 125. 

So now, the tension of these strings wasn't enough to counteract the tension of the truss rod, and the neck was back-bowed. The solution then, was to loosen the truss rod gradually until the fretboard had enough relief; and then only proceed with string height and intonation adjustments. 

One very interesting feature about the T35 is that it sports a 35" scale. Yes, I measured and it's exactly that. In effect, using the same tuning and same gauge of strings, you'd be able to set string action lower sans buzzing on a 35-inch scale as opposed to the standard 34 inches. 

Now, as the bass was already in the shop, I couldn't resist taking a peek at the innards. I also did some research on the web, and coupled with my own observations; have been able to come up with the following specs:

Body: Agathis

Neck: Bolt-on, Canadian Hard Maple, heel-end truss rod access

Fretboard: Rosewood, 16" radius, 35" scale, 24 jumbo frets, White dot inlays

Bridge: EB7(5)

Pickups: PDX-5/F and PDX-5/R passive humbuckers

Electronics: 2-band active EQ

Power Source: 9V Battery

Controls: Master Volume, Pickup Pan Pot, Bass Boost/Cut, Treble Boost/Cut

Jay Turser JT-220 Overhaul | Part Two

◀ Part One

In the previous post, we were introduced to a Jay Turser JT-220 solidbody that was badly in need of an overhaul. Now, in this post, I shall briefly outline what was actually done to make this instrument playable again.

For starters, both humbuckers were dismantled, relieved of their covers; and given a thorough cleaning. I also rewrapped the coils in fresh black pickup tape from StewMac. Now that everything was looking much better, the pickups were reassembled without the covers; something I knew I'd do all along. The rest of the hardware and plastic parts were scrubbed clean and polished where possible. 

As for the electronics, they were all presented with a letter of appreciation and given an honorable discharge. After bidding farewell to the retirees, it was time to welcome the new recruits; which included good 'ole Alpha A500K full-sized pots. I also used caps of different values for the tone pots: 0.015uF (neck) and 0.022uF (bridge). And yes, quality shielded cable was used extensively in the rewire. I guess that about sums up this Jay Turser JT-220 Overhaul. Thanks for dropping by. Now, before you go, do pop over to SoundCloud and listen to what the guitar sounds like in both Clean and Overdrive mode.