Gibson SG pickups
Hey Benoit, just a thought, get the tech to check the ohms on that bridge pu, it could possibly be an old Dimarzio, I hope it sounds alot better for you when the guy gets done, noisy humbuckers just ain't cool........
# 1
You know what. A few people also though that pickup was a Dimarzio. I'll be sure to check that out.
# 2
Well I had to take my guitar to the workshop.
As I said before the neck had been broken before and I saw yesterday that the tension of the strings were reopening the broken neck. Scared the $%?t out of me.
I decided to rebuild it, I went and took it to the shop so they could work on the neck. Next I'll buy original Gibson keys and get the original pickups.
Since I got a Yamaha now, I can put some work into keeping that '75 guitar in top condition and still be able to jam.
It's gonna cost me a little money but it's worth it.
I got a question for you guys. The original finish was Cherry red. When I bought it the last owner had it finished in brown, which is still good looking but not the original color.
Should I go and finish it Cherry red or would that be a bad idea. All this in the purpose of making it "original". I know nothing about finishing I wouldn't do the job myself but do you see possible problems with this. would that mess up the wood?
# 3
The most basic reason a finish is applied to a guitar is to protect the wood. There are a lot of very good products available now that should be just fine. Browse around at StewMac to get some ideas.
You could probably find out what the original material was, if you want to be authentic about restoring your guitar. Myself, I would want the best stuff available now rather than using what was state-of-the-art almost 30 years ago. Unless you find that it is worth a huge amount of money, I think you are likely to keep it for sentimental reasons. That frees you to fix it up the way you want it, without being limited by resale considerations.
To paraphrase your sign-off, you should be allowed to focus on the joy you get from this guitar.
Enjoy! :)
L
You could probably find out what the original material was, if you want to be authentic about restoring your guitar. Myself, I would want the best stuff available now rather than using what was state-of-the-art almost 30 years ago. Unless you find that it is worth a huge amount of money, I think you are likely to keep it for sentimental reasons. That frees you to fix it up the way you want it, without being limited by resale considerations.
To paraphrase your sign-off, you should be allowed to focus on the joy you get from this guitar.
Enjoy! :)
L
# 4
found this the other day which is good on repairing Gibbos .. http://www.dbeweb.com/guitar/index.html
page 3 is where he start painting.
Pity he hasn't got an email adress up..
Just to let you know I usually paint houses ,when i'm working and i ain't bad,but..tried to paint a guitar with less than great (OK ..but not quite as intended) results [NOT with Gloss/Emulsion]..but,if you get the right tools and working conditions I don't see why you couldn't.
I'd say get some scraps of mahogany/body wood from a lumber yard to practice on, this will give you an approx idea how the body will "take" the paint,of course diffrent woods react differently.
Lord is right-on as long as you get you wood prep'd and sanded right-taking all the dust out,with a tack rag,natch- you'll eventually be sealing the wood and protecting it.
This is good http://reranch.com/
Good Luck.
page 3 is where he start painting.
Pity he hasn't got an email adress up..
Just to let you know I usually paint houses ,when i'm working and i ain't bad,but..tried to paint a guitar with less than great (OK ..but not quite as intended) results [NOT with Gloss/Emulsion]..but,if you get the right tools and working conditions I don't see why you couldn't.
I'd say get some scraps of mahogany/body wood from a lumber yard to practice on, this will give you an approx idea how the body will "take" the paint,of course diffrent woods react differently.
Lord is right-on as long as you get you wood prep'd and sanded right-taking all the dust out,with a tack rag,natch- you'll eventually be sealing the wood and protecting it.
This is good http://reranch.com/
Good Luck.
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 5
Got some info I would like to run by you guys.
I asked around for original keys and original pickups for my SG.
What I got is 100$ CND for a set of original keys and 140$ CND for the pickup. Do you think it's fair?
Also, the tech tells me that my guitar wasn't refinished brown but The Cherry red finish faded with the years! Is that possible? I wanted to refinish it but if it's still the original finish, I won't do it. A hint is that behind the buttons it's still cherry red and where the keys were, you can cleary see a discoloration.
# 6
A few minutes at StewMac got me prices for Tuners and P-90 pickups in US$.
If those tuners are indeed almost 30 years old, the plastic knobs may be fragile, and not very good for regular use. The Grover Keystones look very similar, and are likely to be much better quality. I had an old SG, and those tuners were miserable pieces of merde. The new Grovers would be considerably less expensive, even with the exchange rate, shipping, and taxes. Are you restoring a museum piece, or do you plan to actually play it?
Your mini-humbuckers would be smaller versions of the P-90's, I think. The price comes out about the same as your quote. If it fits your guitar's cutout, its probably a good deal.
Guitar Trader (888-448-4828) is offering 'faded' Gison SG guitars in Brown or Cherry. So I guess you are already there.
I suggest you get hold of someone who can appraise the value of your guitar, to help you decide what you want to do to fix it up. It would be a shame to reduce the value of a sought-after collector's item. It would be a disaster to spend big money on vintage parts that reduce the playability of an instrument that is not particularly collectable. I think it comes down to whether you would rather look at it, or play it!
If those tuners are indeed almost 30 years old, the plastic knobs may be fragile, and not very good for regular use. The Grover Keystones look very similar, and are likely to be much better quality. I had an old SG, and those tuners were miserable pieces of merde. The new Grovers would be considerably less expensive, even with the exchange rate, shipping, and taxes. Are you restoring a museum piece, or do you plan to actually play it?
Your mini-humbuckers would be smaller versions of the P-90's, I think. The price comes out about the same as your quote. If it fits your guitar's cutout, its probably a good deal.
Guitar Trader (888-448-4828) is offering 'faded' Gison SG guitars in Brown or Cherry. So I guess you are already there.
I suggest you get hold of someone who can appraise the value of your guitar, to help you decide what you want to do to fix it up. It would be a shame to reduce the value of a sought-after collector's item. It would be a disaster to spend big money on vintage parts that reduce the playability of an instrument that is not particularly collectable. I think it comes down to whether you would rather look at it, or play it!
# 7
The mystery guitar strikes again, I would have never guessed that the finish color could fade that much, so many old SG's keep their color, you just got lucky! Musican's Friend had Gibson Vintage style replacement tuners on sale for $59.95US, that might be a slightly better price, a set of those mini-buckers probaly ain't gonna be found for cheaps, sales volume isn't exactly high on those, might try scrounging as many repair shops as possible, there was a time when alot of people were replacing those with the full sized buckers and no one wanted them, an ad in the newspaper might turn up a couple of jewels.........
# 8
Just surfing and found the same guitar but with all original gear on it.
http://www.fretsguitarcentre.com/index.html?target=p_361.html&lang=en-gb
The neck of my Gibson is now repaired and very strong. I know now why it was always detuning. 4 days under the press was enough I guess :)
You can still see the crack but it's now glued shut. Don't have to worry about that now.
The tech told me there's about 150 pounds of stress on a guitar neck. Now I know why the crack opened up with time.
# 9
Benoit -i bet she'll play fantastically now and you didn't have to pay £895 for her::--
Live mid-market rates as of 2002.05.08 13:24:37 GMT.
895.00 GBP = 2,047.58 Canada Dollars
----------------*gulp* I STILL think you've got a little bit of a bargain despite the troubles you've had with it..
cheers.
Live mid-market rates as of 2002.05.08 13:24:37 GMT.
895.00 GBP = 2,047.58 Canada Dollars
----------------*gulp* I STILL think you've got a little bit of a bargain despite the troubles you've had with it..
cheers.
Accuracy,you say? hmm interesting concept..
# 10
You're right. I've been playing that guitar for 8 years probably and never put a dime on it. Even if I have to choke out 400 $ to make it original, I still got a really, really good deal.
Always remember that there are precious vintage laying around in music stores. With some restauration, you can have a great guitar.
One thing for sure, even if I'm making it original, you can bet I'll still enjoy playing it. Whats the use of having an old guitar hanging on the wall if you don't enjoy the sound!
Pretty expensive decoration if you ask me :)
# 11