Category: Gear

New strap for the SG

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My wife ordered me a new Couch strap for my Gibson SG and I think she picked out a perfect one. I was very surprised when it showed up today as I was not expecting it yet. I simply love the quality of Couch straps and they are so comfortable.

Time for new knobs and truss rod cover.

NGD: My Gibson SG is here

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Got my new Gibson SG from Sweetwater today. This thing is really fun to play and setup surprisingly well from the factory. Now I’m off to the work bench to finish my Marshall Plexi pedal and these will be a perfect match.

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Modified vintage modified jaguar

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Just got done putting together my Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar. I have had this guitar for a month now and it spent the last 3 weeks in pieces. Its hard to tell from the picture but it is a Surf Green color

Here is the breakdown of what I did to it. Some of this was bought new and some of it I had on hand.

Fender Jaguar Replacement Pickups

I wanted to archive this information. Taken from OffsetGuitars.com forum

Fender AVRI
Official reissue of a ’62-ish jaguar pickup. Good quality, faithful recreation of the vintage sound. Cloth covered hookup wire.
Fender Japan
Decent recreation of the vintage sound. Are known to produce a lot of unwanted feedback when distorted.
Semour Duncan SJAG-1 Vintage for Jaguar
Good quality, faithful recreation of the vintage sound. Uses Alnico V rod magnets. Cloth covered hookup wire.
Semour Duncan SJAG-2 Hot for Jaguar
Overwound SJAG-1, resulting in a lot more output and a bit more emphasis on the lows. Uses Alnico V rod magnets. PVC covered hookup wire.
Semour Duncan SJAG-3 Quarter Pounder for Jaguar
Overwound pickup using long, 1/4″ thick Alnico V rod magnets. High output and a lot more emphasis on the mids. PVC covered hookup wire.
Semour Duncan Antiquity I for Jaguar
High quality detailed replica of an early black bottom jaguar pickup. These pickups have been slightly demagnitized to accurately simulate the sound of an aged original. Alnico II magnets. Cloth covered hookup wire.
Semour Duncan Antiquity II for Jaguar
High quality detailed replica of a mid 60s grey bottom jaguar pickup. These pickups have been slightly demagnitized to accurately simulate the sound of an aged original. Alnico V magnets. Cloth covered hookup wire.
Curtis Novak Jaguar pickups
High quality custom made vintage replicas. Although based on an original ’64 pickup, since they are custom, you can have them wound to suit your specific requirements. Options include Alnico II / III / V magnets, and enamel / formvar wire.

Note: Seymour Duncan pickups are in some cases wound differently than stock pickups, so for instance a SD neck pup and Fender bridge pup might not provide hum cancelling in the middle position, and may have phase issues. Apparently this isn’t always the case, but it’s something to look out for.

Jazzmaster Replacement Pickups

I wanted to archive this information. Taken from OffsetGuitars.com forum

Fender AVRI
Official reissue of a ’62-ish jazzmaster pickup. Good quality, faithful recreation of the vintage sound, although some feel they are a bit on the bright side. Cloth covered hookup wire.
Fender Japan
Decent quality pickups. However, these have a taller narrower central bobbin so the wind is shaped more like a Stratocaster pickup than ‘true’ Jazzmaster pickups, and this gives them a more Strat-like character with lower output and a thinner, brighter sound.
Semour Duncan SJM-1 Vintage for Jazzmaster
Good quality, faithful recreation of the vintage sound. Not quite as bright as the AVRIs. Supposedly based on the sound of a ’58 pickup. Uses Alnico V rod magnets. Cloth covered hookup wire.
Semour Duncan SJM-2 Hot for Jazzmaster
Overwound SJM-1, resulting in a lot more output and a bit more emphasis on the lows. Uses Alnico V rod magnets. PVC covered hookup wire.
Semour Duncan SJM-3 Quarter Pounder for Jazzmaster
Overwound pickup using long, 1/4″ thick Alnico V rod magnets, and a narrower and taller coil than a standard jazzmaster pickup. High output and a lot more emphasis on the mids. PVC covered hookup wire.
Semour Duncan Antiquity I for Jazzmaster
High quality detailed replica of an early black bottom jazzmaster pickup. These pickups have been slightly demagnitized to accurately simulate the sound of an aged original. Fairly dark tone. Alnico II magnets. Cloth covered hookup wire.
Semour Duncan Antiquity II for Jazzmaster
High quality detailed replica of a mid 60s grey bottom jazzmaster pickup. These pickups have been slightly demagnitized to accurately simulate the sound of an aged original. Brighter tone than Antiquity I. Alnico V magnets.Cloth covered hookup wire.
Curtis Novak Jazzmaster pickups
High quality custom made vintage replicas. Although based on an original ’63 pickup, since they are custom, you can have them wound to suit your specific requirements. He aslo offers P-90, PAF, Charlie Christian and standard humbucker pickups that will fit inside a jazzmaster pickup cover, with no modification required.
Jason Lollar Jazzmaster pickups
High quality custom made vintage replicas. Can also be wound to suit your requirements.

NPD: Xotic SP compressor

This came in the mail today by way of Amazon. It was a gift from my aunt in San Diego area. She bought one a month ago and she was really surprised by it. I am a huge fan of Xotic’s EP Booster and you can’t beat the size of it. I expressed interest in the SP since it had a blend knob and had tons of options VIA DIP switch. Long story cut kinda short, she bought one for me. Just got it today and deciding what settings to leave it on.

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New bench tool

I just picked up a Atten ADS1062CAL and it is more than I will ever need and to tell you the truth I don’t know even the basics of using it. I have started some basic online tutorials on how to use a oscilloscope to troubleshoot electronics and to tune frequencies. I got the oscilloscope at a good price so I just look at it as another tool for this DIY adventure.

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Here is a shot of my bench after a quick clean up and hooking up the oscilloscope.

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