SX Callisto LP JR/Special Clone

[1150lefty]

I went ahead and bought this lefty to help with my therapy/rehab. I have some sort of vascular leak in my brain, and I'd hoped to be thru surgery by now; it's been 5 weeks and I'm still waiting on another MRI next Friday 3/2/12. I have trouble with my right side and I'm doing my best to relearn everything.

Anyway, this thing is a beauty aside from its $140 natural finish (too much clearcoat, pooled under the neck). One I got the extreme boredom-braveness to actually set it up, it sounds much better. The truss rod was loose and rattling. 10-60 Zakk Wylde Dunlops are what I had laying around, and although they are big they sound GREAT! The P-90's are very clear and raw. I don't know if even the Kinman P-90 noiseless I've heard could sound better. I've ordered a new Nashville-style bridge piece to hopefully help with the tuning issues. The only other thing I can think of is to put new tuners on it and have it professionally setup with slightly lighter strings.

More than I expected for $140.

Now, what can I do about the buzzing? Turning the volume knobs down seems to help.

[newey]

lefty-

Welcome back!

When you say "buzzing", are we talking about 60 Hz AC hum?

If so, shielding is the answer (potentially), but it's tough on a rear-routed guitar, you run the risk that the shielding will be too close to your pickups and may tend to choke them a bit.

Certainly, you could shield the control cavity easily enough, that may help a little.

[1150lefty]

Thanks Newey! That's what I figured. They are just FAT single coils. FWIW, anyway.

I've been messing around with this guitar quite a bit lately, and then picked up my #1 strat...oh boy, what a difference! I don't know if I'll ever get used to these shorter scales. The volume knobs are really what keeps these soapbars in check. There is a huge difference, IMHO, than everybody's opinions of P90's and (at least) these; they are not "in-between" a SC and HB, they are their own animal.

I haven't taken the P-90's out to see what kind of room I have to work with, but right now the 60hz hum is a moot point. I bought this mostly for clean tones, and there's plenty to be had with the volume knobs below 4. There is lots of range with distortion and overdrive, too. I need to see what kind of caps this baby has and see what kind of tweeking I can do with the wiring.



Seems these cheapo sticks are catching on - the lefties are sold quick! If I woulda just shrugged this one off again, I woulda lost it. Her black sister was gone as soon as the guy put the picture up! The quality is there, just the price keeps the quality control at a minmum. I might have to sand it smooth and do my own re-do. Satin clearcoat would look better, anyway.