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Post by cynical1 on Dec 5, 2022 5:50:00 GMT -5
First thought that comes to mind is to drop the pickup as low as it'll go and cross my fingers...but then I found this thread: Taming Seymour Duncan Livewire metal bridge active pup. Are these the same pickups from your thread? If they are, I'm thinking eBay...and the joys of these becoming someone else's problem... On the 25th of last month you noted, "I am kinda of ... in a hurry cause we are having a live show on 10th of December". With 5 days to go I think your idea of using the EMGs is your best shot for the show with this guitar. By all means, bring a backup guitar you trust. I would recommend that to anyone bringing a new, or newly modified and untested instrument to a live show. Even, and especially if I did the work. CYA And screw the sound guy... HTC1
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 5, 2022 10:07:17 GMT -5
First thought that comes to mind is to drop the pickup as low as it'll go and cross my fingers...but then I found this thread: Taming Seymour Duncan Livewire metal bridge active pup. Are these the same pickups from your thread? If they are, I'm thinking eBay...and the joys of these becoming someone else's problem... On the 25th of last month you noted, "I am kinda of ... in a hurry cause we are having a live show on 10th of December". With 5 days to go I think your idea of using the EMGs is your best shot for the show with this guitar. By all means, bring a backup guitar you trust. I would recommend that to anyone bringing a new, or newly modified and untested instrument to a live show. Even, and especially if I did the work. CYA And screw the sound guy... HTC1 Yep, the pup is all the way down. This is me in this old thread, this is my old account Cyn1.
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 5, 2022 11:27:22 GMT -5
How did you come to own those pickups anyway? Are they any better with a preamp? Or is there a preamp in there now?
HTC1
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Post by thetragichero on Dec 5, 2022 23:49:07 GMT -5
if those livewire metal pickups are like the later blackouts then yes they're pretty much only for super high gain metal tones. they're great for that though
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 6, 2022 0:15:22 GMT -5
How did you come to own those pickups anyway? Are they any better with a preamp? Or is there a preamp in there now? HTC1 The set (livewire neck, livewire metal bridge) working on 100k pots and 18V battery, came with the Kramer 210 I bought back in 1990. Then I tried a few times to change the pups, in various forms : - EMG 81 / 85 - EMG 85 / 81 - SD livewire normal bridge/SD livewire neck
After trying the EMGs, I bought the non-metal SD livewire bridge pup (common livewire bridge), which never came, I got a refund, so I bought it again from another source and when it came I fitted this to the Kramer. All good. So I was left with the livewire metal pup. Then months and months later the bridge pup that I had initially bought and never came, finally came. I paid the guy his money. I realized this pup had the same band on its wire as my original neck pup. So I had a full set of livewire/livewire metal pups as in the beginning. Which begged for a new project!
What I did yesterday was to add a miniature 100k volume pot to the bridge wiring, set to about 2 (out of ten). This resulted in a semi-balanced and OK sound. I realized it needs more tweaking, meaning moving this a little louder to 2.5 maybe, I'll try tonight. The problem is this requires removing the strings, then the pickguard, over and over again!
I tested this morning with the additional vol pot set to 2 out of 10 against the Aria strat and it was on par in volume with the dimarzio fast track 2, fast track 1, the chopper. Testing against the carvin, it was just weaker than Dimarzio Super Distrortion (full size) / Air Norton (mini).
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 6, 2022 0:16:56 GMT -5
if those livewire metal pickups are like the later blackouts then yes they're pretty much only for super high gain metal tones. they're great for that though
they were good back in 80s, with those amps of the time. Today with all this amp modelling and digital circuitry they are a pain to build a solid sound on top of those.
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 6, 2022 8:15:41 GMT -5
Yeah...same old story...you can make a clean pickup dirty...but it just doesn't work as well trying to clean up a dirty pickup. I have a set of the old Kramer Quad Rails I was going to stuff into a semi-hollow Les Paul to make the slide guitar from Hell. Funniest thing I ever heard was a customer trying to play Country with a Super Distortion in the bridge...had a Dimebag Bubba feel to it...but I digress... An out of phase switch will sap the output...but that also changes to character of the output as well... The word "L-Pad" comes to mind. I'm not that versed on this side of the guitar to be too exact, but I'm certain someone here understands it better than I. Essentially, you do with resistors what you're doing with the pot...provided I understand the concept... I saw it mentioned in a Seymour Duncan forum : Livewire Metal HSS setI hope you can tame that monster before the show. HTC1
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 7, 2022 2:41:15 GMT -5
Yeah...same old story...you can make a clean pickup dirty...but it just doesn't work as well trying to clean up a dirty pickup. I have a set of the old Kramer Quad Rails I was going to stuff into a semi-hollow Les Paul to make the slide guitar from Hell. Funniest thing I ever heard was a customer trying to play Country with a Super Distortion in the bridge...had a Dimebag Bubba feel to it...but I digress... An out of phase switch will sap the output...but that also changes to character of the output as well... The word "L-Pad" comes to mind. I'm not that versed on this side of the guitar to be too exact, but I'm certain someone here understands it better than I. Essentially, you do with resistors what you're doing with the pot...provided I understand the concept... I saw it mentioned in a Seymour Duncan forum : Livewire Metal HSS setI hope you can tame that monster before the show. HTC1 hi Cyn1, I adjusted the bridge mikro-pot, it brings some terribly boosted mid-range, it is ok for distorted solos, and for some cleans, but where it really shines are the rocking riffs.... it rules in this department. The neck pup does fantastic cleans, and shedding distorted tones. So I am good. I change strings, bring the other strat as backup and I am ready to go!
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 7, 2022 15:22:10 GMT -5
I wanted to share this : the guitar is a miracle!! so so so nice!!! in most of the aspects, so much that it is unbeleivable : action height, sustain, playability, ergonomy, weight, tone.
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 8, 2022 10:51:25 GMT -5
So, I take it the trimmer pot works...
Watch yourself...this can become habit forming... One thing this type of experimentation allows is the creation of instruments that aren't available in your normal price range. I have a Mikro bass that...one day...is going to be a 5 string piccolo style bass tune A-F...but I digress...
Enjoy the show.
HTC1
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 8, 2022 16:43:59 GMT -5
So, I take it the trimmer pot works... Watch yourself...this can become habit forming... One thing this type of experimentation allows is the creation of instruments that aren't available in your normal price range. I have a Mikro bass that...one day...is going to be a 5 string piccolo style bass tune A-F...but I digress... Enjoy the show. HTC1
I know!! happy mods with your bassezzzz
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 11, 2022 12:25:59 GMT -5
So, it's the 11th. How was the guitar during the show? Inquiring minds, and all....
HTC1
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 12, 2022 2:45:15 GMT -5
So, it's the 11th. How was the guitar during the show? Inquiring minds, and all.... HTC1
Hello Cyn1! thanks for mentioning it! I felt embarrased, because the guitar failed during the sound check ... suddenly ... the tone was poor and weak. I pulled out the jack, pushed it in again, all ok, then after a few minutes again the same problem. In alert state and rspecting my band mates I rushed to put it in its bag and bring out the backup. It went well :
the next morning I could not replicate the problem, no way...
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 12, 2022 7:38:37 GMT -5
The video seems to have been removed when I tried it, but as long as the show went well, all ends well.
The intermittent nature of the output sucks. If the same setup (amp,cables, wireless...etc...) worked like a charm with the backup guitar and you can't replicate the issue at home...well, that really sucks... Troubleshooting any intermittent issue like this is always fun...
It sounds like a short or bad ground...but I'm just the wood butcher around here. Aside from testing every connection with a meter, what was different about the setup at the show from your setup at home...aside from a Euro's involved? Did the sound guy do anything different from one guitar to the other? New cable, new wireless box...etc...not that I'm suggesting anything...but he didn't seem to share your enthusiasm for that guitar... To paraphrase ChisK, troubleshooting is...
I'm glad the show went well. That's what it's all about.
Μέχρι την επόμενη φορά που θα κάνουμε πριονίδι...
Happy Trails
Cynical1
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 12, 2022 11:40:13 GMT -5
The video seems to have been removed when I tried it, but as long as the show went well, all ends well. The intermittent nature of the output sucks. If the same setup (amp,cables, wireless...etc...) worked like a charm with the backup guitar and you can't replicate the issue at home...well, that really sucks... Troubleshooting any intermittent issue like this is always fun... It sounds like a short or bad ground...but I'm just the wood butcher around here. Aside from testing every connection with a meter, what was different about the setup at the show from your setup at home...aside from a Euro's involved? Did the sound guy do anything different from one guitar to the other? New cable, new wireless box...etc...not that I'm suggesting anything...but he didn't seem to share your enthusiasm for that guitar... To paraphrase ChisK, troubleshooting is...I'm glad the show went well. That's what it's all about. Μέχρι την επόμενη φορά που θα κάνουμε πριονίδι... Happy Trails Cynical1 yes saw dust rules!!! Ι contacted the drummer to adust privacy settings for the video.
The chain was pretty forward : guitar -> boss me25 -> on-off booster ( EHX LPB-1 ) -> amp. the first two cables were mine : guitar -> me25 and me25 -> booster, the 3rd cable was what I found plugged in the amp.
The other morning, I checked the jack connections, those seemed stable, no cold solder. I tested with multimeter, all seemed right, neck pup 60Kohm resistence , bridge pup some 20Kohm (the mini pot was set at about 30%), all correct. next I will open the pickguard once again and look for bad solders. Then test the guitar during the next rehearsals.
smth tells me the boss me25 cannot take no more punishment, maybe the input jack went too loose. I bought new cable to try that as well.
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 14, 2022 15:15:19 GMT -5
some loose ground, some problem with the batteries cables, strange. I lifted the pickguard perpendicular and the resistance was hitting the roof... strange...
anyways, I re-soldered whatever I thought was loose connections, I changed guitar cable, and now I hope it will be better.
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 17, 2022 12:22:51 GMT -5
rehearsal went good, all day today practicing Evanecnse : bring me to life, all good. No problem.
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 18, 2022 6:57:49 GMT -5
Good. Be careful, this can be habit forming when it works...
HTC1
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 18, 2022 8:41:25 GMT -5
Good. Be careful, this can be habit forming when it works... HTC1
new body coming from China, so I gotta order a new scalloped locking nut maple neck in order not to feel alone!
This time I swear I will follow ONE BY ONE your instructions!
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Post by thetragichero on Dec 18, 2022 9:17:28 GMT -5
that Chinese body is likely pauwlonia (empress wood). it's interesting stuff, about as light as balsa wood and crazy resonant. easily chipped if you're a nut like i used to be
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 18, 2022 13:07:36 GMT -5
that Chinese body is likely pauwlonia (empress wood). it's interesting stuff, about as light as balsa wood and crazy resonant. easily chipped if you're a nut like i used to be probably, not extremely soft, I dont know what wood it is, it is very light for sure and as you said ultra resonant, this strat suffers from neck balance if you can imagine! I didn't weigh it, I eye ball it at 3Kg.
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 19, 2022 6:29:52 GMT -5
I don't know what a Chinese guitar body and neck go for these days...and yeah, neck dive is an issue with lightweight bodies and virtually any neck. While you could go with the mix and match approach, but, as you've seen, rework or accommodations must be made before you can screw a thing together... Having done that enough times for my own fun an amusement, I found myself reverting back to how I started out. Taking instruments with a sound structural base...and ripping everything but the wood off and reconfiguring it into whatever evil concept is lurking in the dark recesses of my head... Just a quick example, probably more than I'd pay for a project guitar, but it was all I could find in a hurry on www.freelist.gr/: Hamer Californian electric guitar slightly usedFollow me on this. The fellow who bought this guitar paid 550.00EUR for it new. He's asking 150.00EUR. He's taken the hit on devaluation...and you have a neck and body that you can trust Hamer to get aligned and fitted better than you're going to get from a mismatched body and neck without rework. This gives you the opportunity to focus on specific modifications or enhancements, without the added issues in merely screwing it together. If you ever wanted to build a sustainer guitar, this would be a good platform to start with. It comes pre-routed for a neck pickup and sustainer single coil pickup... I've mentioned this before...odds are I'll mention it again...starting with a stable platform and merely enhancing it is much quicker and cheaper than starting from scratch, or trying to mate mismatched components. The guitar above is at the correct scale, neck pocket and neck heel already know each other...and if you like the color you are good to swap anything else out and be certain that structural integrity is intact. From my experience, at least in the US, Yamaha, Ibanez, Fernandes and Aria (if you can still find one) were great platforms to start with. Yamaha being the most consistent with a tight neck fit almost a certainty. I prefer something at least 10 years old for these projects. I want to be certain the neck has moved everywhere it's going to move before I get there. The best part about this approach is you don't need anywhere near the arsenal of tools to complete a guitar. Next time you're at the guitar store, ask them if they have any trade-ins laying around that aren't ready for prime time. Your odds are best at a one owner shop versus a chain...they always have stuff laying around because they're more willing to take a trade-in than a chain store. Sometimes they will take very rough guitars in trade just to sell a new one. Ask them what they gave on the trade, haggle accordingly, then if all parties are agreeable, you walk out with a solid project guitar and they got all or part of their money back on the trade and freed up some space in the back. Win-win. Another advantage to this is, if you got it cheap, it's a great place to improve your skills at minimal cost. If you tank it, you're not out anything major. As your skills improve...and space allows...you can start adding tools to flush out a shop. Hope springs eternal. HTC1
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 19, 2022 9:01:51 GMT -5
Thanks Cyn1
price + shipping + customs = 120EUR and my intention was to pair it with the already existing maple neck, convert the nut to locking nut, fit the schaller floyd trem, assembly and enjoy....
Covid happened again to the first seller, then the ordered was cancelled, but re-initialized itself, then after trains, airplanes, boats it arrived in Holand, then some custom duty / import tax work.... thing is this first body is still on its way...
In the meantime, on 24th Nov, this second (non floyd body) arrived, so I had to work with that, to catch the upcoming show. The end result went so well, I am thinking of keeping it as is, or trying with a classical SSS strat configuration ( I currently have none SSS, despite having 6 electrics).
I got the pups, the floyd, I am missing the tuners.
Thing is I am committed on the first strat that got itself "secured", so the only option is more ... well guitarz !
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Post by unreg on Dec 19, 2022 9:23:04 GMT -5
Sir pyrroz, your first link works fine for me without the ? part: www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004784671519.htmltry that Usually the information after the ? is specific information to your browser computer ip address etc. The ? is just a character that alerts your browser that everything following it is just variables. Sry, that this post is not about guitars.
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 19, 2022 9:38:41 GMT -5
The red flag that went off in my head was the flagrant use of the Fender logo on an obviously non-Fender neck. It may just be me, but I have to wonder about whatever liberties they took along the way...or how seriously they take their work. Not to cast aspersions on the "lawsuit" era guitars...they are diamonds in the rough if you wander up on one...
To be honest, you're not going to know how anything fits until it arrives.
As an aside, scalloping a neck is one of the few places a Dremel tool (or similar tool) is the best tool for the job. That, and a few sizes of round and half-round files is all you need. This might be preferable, as scalloping below the octave (1st to 11th fret) always seemed like overkill to me. YMMV
HTC1
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 19, 2022 10:57:06 GMT -5
Sir pyrroz, your first link works fine for me without the ? part: www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004784671519.htmltry that Usually the information after the ? is specific information to your browser computer ip address etc. The ? is just a character that alerts your browser that everything following it is just variables. Sry, that this post is not about guitars.
I know, the part after the ? is called QUERY STRING, according to the HTTP standard, I am web full stack developer in my .. soon 54's ... so I know a thing or two! I cannot know in advance if the value of the spm param has to do with the identification of this specific item, call me lazy that I didn't try to simplify the URL. The params/values in the query string are relevant to the specific resource, usually nothing to do with ip addresses or browsers. The query string is the server's job to parse and use. Not the browser, typically. Although you could write javascript browser local code that parses the query string. But in 99.999% of cases it is there to tell the server what it needs to know about the HTTP GET / POST requests.
Those things having to do with browser state usually are stored using a browser-server communication method called "cookies". Also often the session info (with the server) is stored in a cookie. If you delete this cookie the server will ask your password again, presumably.
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Post by unreg on Dec 19, 2022 12:47:46 GMT -5
pyrroz, I do know that you can’t tell in advance if the query string has to do with item specific info. That’s why I wrote “Usually”. Cause, a high majority of the time, for me at least, it’s possible to remove the query string part. I’m sorry for trying to inform an expert. Thank you; I didn’t know that query strings usually contain info for the server to process. This was a learning experience for me!
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 19, 2022 12:56:14 GMT -5
pyrroz, I do know that you can’t tell in advance if the query string has to do with item specific info. That’s why I wrote “Usually”. Cause, a high majority of the time, for me at least, it’s possible to remove the query string part. I’m sorry for trying to inform an expert. Thank you; I didn’t know that query strings usually contain info for the server to process. This was a learning experience for me! Those things evolve, I am certainly not an expert!
Back in my days the scripts to parse the request were called : cgi-bin programs, used to be C or perl in the early days of the web (1992-1995), then PHP and JSP were born, then the servlets, or other similar concepts, then web services and SOAP, then the RESTfull resources! Today most youngsters talk about serverless, kubernetes, and cloud, and I need an interpreter (not a computer one) to communicate with them!
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Post by cynical1 on Dec 19, 2022 13:03:18 GMT -5
No IT shop talk. I retired 1/1/2022...I officially never have to hear it again... HTC1
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Post by pyrroz on Dec 19, 2022 14:30:35 GMT -5
No IT shop talk. I retired 1/1/2022...I officially never have to hear it again... HTC1
Yes Sir!
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