PonyOne
12-08-2000, 01:28 AM
I just got a 12-string hollowbody (1967 Aria Diamond) that is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and has wonderous resonance.
Unfortunately, it looks like the moron who had it before me knew **** about maintaining and repairing or upgrading a guitar... the wiring is just plain destroyed, it looks like he redid it, but it all goes to the wrong places, there's no grounding, and he cut each wire down the center, stripped it, and then tied the bare wiring from all into a big braid, and sodered it together.
It's pretty sad.
The pickups (two singles) look to be shot, but the magnets are REALLY strong despite the fact they have a little rust on them. The body is in great condition, and the neck doesn't appear to be warped. I haven't had ANY experience with 12-strings or hollowbodies, only 6-string solids. My SG has a pair of P90's that I installed, so I know a little bit about installation, but I don't know anything about hollows and don't want to destroy this baby.
Any suggestions on how to resurrect this old beast? I really like it a lot and don't want it to just end up in a corner of my room. Any advice on what pickups I should use (I prefer double coils), types/brands of wiring, about how much it'd cost to get it all installed, best strings for this type, etc. would be a huge help. In case it matters I listen to a wide variety of music but most of it is on the Tool/Deftones/Failure/Radiohead scope plus some REM, Eric Burdon & the Animals, Buffalo Springfield, early 'Stones and Blur, with some hardcore like Refused thrown in.
Unfortunately, it looks like the moron who had it before me knew **** about maintaining and repairing or upgrading a guitar... the wiring is just plain destroyed, it looks like he redid it, but it all goes to the wrong places, there's no grounding, and he cut each wire down the center, stripped it, and then tied the bare wiring from all into a big braid, and sodered it together.
It's pretty sad.
The pickups (two singles) look to be shot, but the magnets are REALLY strong despite the fact they have a little rust on them. The body is in great condition, and the neck doesn't appear to be warped. I haven't had ANY experience with 12-strings or hollowbodies, only 6-string solids. My SG has a pair of P90's that I installed, so I know a little bit about installation, but I don't know anything about hollows and don't want to destroy this baby.
Any suggestions on how to resurrect this old beast? I really like it a lot and don't want it to just end up in a corner of my room. Any advice on what pickups I should use (I prefer double coils), types/brands of wiring, about how much it'd cost to get it all installed, best strings for this type, etc. would be a huge help. In case it matters I listen to a wide variety of music but most of it is on the Tool/Deftones/Failure/Radiohead scope plus some REM, Eric Burdon & the Animals, Buffalo Springfield, early 'Stones and Blur, with some hardcore like Refused thrown in.