Here's a new project for you:
Ibanez neck on a Strat body!
The idea of making another 80's style superstrat guitar occured to me when I bought some Ibanez parts a month ago. There was a mint condition RG550 24-fret maple neck among them. This rg550 neck is made in Japan, its neckplate is a standard 4 screw fender-type one and the last 3 frets overhang! So I thought it could be mounted on a strat body. I bought a very beautiful natural alder body from a local shop. It sported a "pool" pickup cavity rooting that is suitable for any pickup combination: s-s-s, h-s-s, h-h, h-s, h-h-h, single h or h-s-h (h: humbucker, s: singlecoil pickup). At first, I chose to go for an H-S-H pickup combination.
The most difficult part of the project was to mount the neck on the body. The Ibanez rg550 neck had a fender scale but its four screws wouldn't just fit in the pre-drilled holes of the body. So I decided to make some modifications to the body. I cut down the small wooden block that is placed between the neck pocket and the pickup cavity to ensure that the longer 24fret neck wound fit in the neck pocket. I then widened the bolt holes of the body with a drill. The neck was then bolt on the body tight! But then another issue came up...
Pickups and pickguard:
The H-S-H pickup configuration I wanted to create just failed. That's because I wanted to put a humbucker neck pickup but the last 2 frets of the neck where in the way. Only a singlecoil pickup could fit in the neck position.
Then, I decided to go for a full shred 80's pickup configuration: a single humbucker and a volume pot! The 80's glam style would be complete with a nice looking purple pickguard! I modified an Allparts single humbucker pickguard for this: I rooted it a bit for the neck to fit, sand-papered it and then I painted it purple! I used plastic colour and some clear lacquer applied using a fine paintbrush.
Electrics:
The humbucker used was a Wilkinson 16k ceramic(pretty "hot"!), a 500k push-pull volume pot and a new patent of mine: neck pickup modelling! When the push-pull pot is pulled up, it immitates the less trebly and mellower neck pickup sound. Here's the circuit diagram for this:
Ibanez neck on a Strat body!
The most difficult part of the project was to mount the neck on the body. The Ibanez rg550 neck had a fender scale but its four screws wouldn't just fit in the pre-drilled holes of the body. So I decided to make some modifications to the body. I cut down the small wooden block that is placed between the neck pocket and the pickup cavity to ensure that the longer 24fret neck wound fit in the neck pocket. I then widened the bolt holes of the body with a drill. The neck was then bolt on the body tight! But then another issue came up...
Pickups and pickguard:
Then, I decided to go for a full shred 80's pickup configuration: a single humbucker and a volume pot! The 80's glam style would be complete with a nice looking purple pickguard! I modified an Allparts single humbucker pickguard for this: I rooted it a bit for the neck to fit, sand-papered it and then I painted it purple! I used plastic colour and some clear lacquer applied using a fine paintbrush.
Electrics:
The humbucker used was a Wilkinson 16k ceramic(pretty "hot"!), a 500k push-pull volume pot and a new patent of mine: neck pickup modelling! When the push-pull pot is pulled up, it immitates the less trebly and mellower neck pickup sound. Here's the circuit diagram for this:
"Making of" pics:
(click to enlarge)
Crazy. :)
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήI like it.
The pickguard colour is not fitting with the rest though.
If I were you I would sand the neck clean and get a clear or silver anodized pickguard.
As it would be more of whole guitar.
This combination is very Paul Gilbert'ish.
Wicked cool ;)
So how does she play?
Thank you. The guitar was custom-built for a friend of mine who wanted this particular pickguard color!...
ΔιαγραφήThe guitar sounds and plays great but I didn't record any clips. Maybe I could start a youtube channel some day...
Cheers!
-Thanos, Greece
I just saw the neck modeling part of it.
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήHow does that work? Youtube? :P
Hi!
ΔιαγραφήThe "neck modelling" circuit is a low-pass filter that cuts the bridge pickup treble and simulates the sound of a neck pickup. Some bridge pickups are way too trebly and maybe a larger value capacitor is suitable for them(e.g 47nF-100nF). Others are bassy and require a smaller value capacitor(e.g. 470pF-2.2nF).
Cheers,
Thanos, Greece