What Did You Do With Your Guitar(s) Today?

Converted my 2014 Am Dlx Strat back to an HSS form a Hs2 & 3 loaded SSS configuration
 

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I KNEW IT!

Read all the specs which said the Schecter strat comes with 9s stock. Played it for a bit at the dealers and thought the thing felt tight but the salesman confirmed Schecter's spec. Been playing it a month and settled in on the strings but they've still been bugging me all along.

Changed them this morning to Elixir 9-42 and sure enough, the damn thing had 10s or at least 9.5s on it cause I had to adjust the trem screws
a lot once the new set was on. Feels much more right now!
 
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"Finished" my trio of guitar updates yesterday.

For my Tele, I swapped the tuners from locking Fender to the new "Classic Gear" vintage style. These are two pin drop ins that look like vintage Fender slotted tuners. Unfortunately they have the same 3/8" screw installation so they don't have a vintage look from the front, but from the top and rear it's a lot better. They're also lighter weight and pretty smooth, also nickel instead of chrome.

Did the copper shielding throughout the pickup cavities and under the guard, then swapped back to a set of Suhr Classic T pickups. Also put the Gotoh "in tune" brass saddles on the original Fender bridge plate for a more traditional look. The wood screws were loose for the bridge so I added some toothpicks and wood glue...not the preferred method but it's extremely solid now.

Tonally it's a lot more vintage than the Dimarzios. Even though the bridge is overwound and supposed to roll off the high end, it still sounds pretty damn twangy. Had to raise it up fairly high to get some punch. Neck has a narrow sweet spot to match, but sounds good. It's a little darker to my ears, where I prefer the more Stratty style 42ga tall bobbin pickup, but I like it. Something different.

So now I have the vintage slotted tuners on three guitars, replacing thumbwheel locking tuners in two of them. I really like the vintage tuners for all the strings except the top ones. I need to figure out a better way to lock in the skinny strings.

Before:

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After:

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I decided to go with my original instinct and use this pickguard material for this particular guitar. Glad I did. I loved the black guard too but it never quite felt right. I had my friend laser cut this so I was able to move the mini cutout closer to the neck which improved the sound imo. Just slightly warmer but with a smooth bell tone that's :chef. Really digging it now.

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I decided to do with my original instinct and use this pickguard material for this particular guitar. Glad I did. I loved the black guard too but it never quite felt right. I had my friend laser cut this so I was able to move the mini cutout closer to the neck which improved the sound imo. Just slightly warmer but with a smooth bell tone that's :chef. Really digging it now.

View attachment 25032
That's close to what I'd want from a Tele. I'd probably want a middle pickup, and rail pickups for all three.
 
I decided to go with my original instinct and use this pickguard material for this particular guitar. Glad I did. I loved the black guard too but it never quite felt right. I had my friend laser cut this so I was able to move the mini cutout closer to the neck which improved the sound imo. Just slightly warmer but with a smooth bell tone that's :chef. Really digging it now.

View attachment 25032
What bridge is that? Looks nice!

I'm building a Tele right now and needed a short bridge due to pickup choice. Going with this aluminum one (not my guitar):

C3748122-DCC4-489D-BABE-BB0D1351A1CA.jpeg
 
What bridge is that? Looks nice!
Thanks. It's from a MIJ tele, '95, so probably a Gotoh I'm guessing? It was originally gold but most of it was worn off or tarnished so I just put a scouring pad on a palm sander and smoothed it out. It still has an aged looked which I like. I added raw brass saddles too.
 
Very cool. Thanks.
I'm looking at one of these now:

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:rofl:rofl
Yeah, I thought those were pretty cool!

I love purple and was thinking about purple hardware but I just didn't think that would work with this nice wood.

So it's getting all raw aluminum (brushed control plate) with brass saddles, brass knobs and switch, nickel neck plate and tuners with amber buttons.

Body and neck from Musikraft.

I've got several weeks to wait for all the parts, but trying to be patient :D
 
Yeah, I thought those were pretty cool!

I love purple and was thinking about purple hardware but I just didn't think that would work with this nice wood.

So it's getting all raw aluminum (brushed control plate) with brass saddles, brass knobs and switch, nickel neck plate and tuners with amber buttons.

Body and neck from Musikraft.

I've got several weeks to wait for all the parts, but trying to be patient :D
Raw aluminum is a good choice. Purple might be cool if you had a solid color body with a nice contrast.
Good luck with the build!
 
last night I used a gnat sized dremel razor ball to remove 1/4 inch of wood off the neck tenon under the pickup of a LTD EC-1000 evertune to make room for the cables to get a EMG 89 to sit flush with the pickup ring. then I leaned how to play laid to rest after...um. 20 years. :rawk
 
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