Upcoming NGD and Beginning of Project thread - Blacktop HH Strat

[sunvalleylaw]

I posted recently in the Squier subthread regarding wanting to mod up a guitar into a HH superstrat similar (but not identical) to the one Rivers Cuomo has used over the years. The goal is to have a solidbody HH guitar in a strat form. For whatever reason, I just prefer that form to a Les Paul, and my Hagstrom is close enough with the control layout on that guitar for me. It was coming down to between a Telecaster and Strat. Strat form won out.

As I said, I was looking at Squiers, but was running into issues finding a guitar that had the neck I wanted, (CV level, and preferred rosewood for this one) and was routed for HH. I did not want to go all woodshop on the project. And as I was looking, I found that the Blacktop HH guitars have RW necks AND 22 frets which I started to want for some reason. I will have to learn to incorporate those threads into my playing some day. oke So, was considering swapping out necks. But necks are expensive. Even used Blacktop ones. So along the way I found a craigslist ad for a Blacktop in the color I preferred for a decent price. Made an offer I expected to dicker from and low and behold, struck a deal! Yay! So, though the initial outlay is more than the squier I was looking at, overall, it will not be all that much more, and will end up with probably a better result. So, presuming the guitar arrives as planned and the deal does not fall through, here is the guitar that is coming my way! These pics are from the seller.

When the guitar gets to me I will post some better pics.

Plans: Pull the current pick ups and pickguard (after playing around with it stock first for a bit), then put in Tone2theBone's Dimarzio Virtual Hot PAF I got from him like nearly 10 years ago to put into a Fullerton strat I had for like 5 minutes. And put in something like a Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell, which is a pretty tonefull humbucker that can have single coil like qualities and sing a bit. Not all crunch. Again, some of this is Rivers Cuomo inspired. Also thinking I may replace the volume pot with one that has a little better taper. Something like a Proline pot. The Virtual Hot PAF is not F spaced, but based on what i have read, it should still work. The bridge is the narrower 2 1/16 so it is right on the line. But lots of folks seem to use regular humbuckers in their strats with no problems, so I will try it. Have been wanting to use this pick up a long time, and it is a very popular one.

Should be fun! I will update as I go! This one may take me a while. for one thing, I will have to dust off my soldering skills!

 

[tjcurtin1]

Ah, yes - fun to have a project like this to look forward to. Involved enough to keep you busy for a while in the planning and execution, yet not such a major project (routing, etc) to make it a chore. Have fun!

 

[sunvalleylaw]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWymbWBpqsg

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Deal done! I have a tracking number!

 

[marnold]

Excellent, I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Excellent, I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Great! Thanks for replying! I was getting a little depressed that there was not more comment on a GAS acquisition!

Also, how are your pickups/switch wired on your Dinky? Still considering ideas for how I will want to wire this.

 

[marnold]

Great! Thanks for replying! I was getting a little depressed that there was not more comment on a GAS acquisition!

Also, how are your pickups/switch wired on your Dinky? Still considering ideas for how I will want to wire this.

It's stock. The only changes I made to that guitar were adding a trem stop and a treble bleed cap. The only thing I might ever try is a four-way switch so I could get both pickups in series too.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

It's stock. The only changes I made to that guitar were adding a trem stop and a treble bleed cap. The only thing I might ever try is a four-way switch so I could get both pickups in series too.

So currently it is a three way?

 

[sunvalleylaw]

It showed up today! HNGD!! Looks very nice, and not much used. Fret ends need a little polishing. Strings need to be changed. Trem was floating WAY too high. You can see in the first pic when I first pulled it out of the pink peanuts and bubble wrap. I tightened it down a little and it is fine, but thinking I will do a little learning online and do a full setup. I am going to deck the trem in any case on this guitar, and will learn to check and adjust the intonation, relief, and action. I definitely will switch out the parchment PG. It looks pretty cool but is just not my taste. The Dimarzio should fit on there fine, as it looks and turns out. Cool! Project under way!

 

[duhvoodooman]

...I definitely will switch out the parchment PG.

Hmm, looks more like mint green to me, but it could just be the lighting. But I'd change it, too--white pearloid, probably.

 

[tjcurtin1]

Purty guitar - what does it sound like stock?

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Purty guitar - what does it sound like stock?

Barely got a chance to play it before breaking the old high E string while tightening down that trem and re-tuning. will replace it and find out more. sounded pretty good

Here is a vid that demos a variety of tones:



and here is a vid of a guy that modded his similarly to what I was thinking about doing.



I was thinking tort guard like this one. The bridge PAF from Tone2theBone is a zebra, and I was thinking black for the neck pick up I was thinking of which is the same as he has, the Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell.

Here is the Dimarzio VH PAF that I have to put in the bridge:

And something like this for the PG:

As I said, will at least deck, and maybe deck and block the trem on this one, as I plan on using it primarily for sustainy rock things. And I will do some fret end work, and oil up that rosewood real nice a few times. But overall, it looks great! The thing could be new, other than the fret end work and slightly dry appearing rosewood. Not bad but a little dry for my taste.

And @DVM, I think the PG is parchment and that is just lighting. The fluorescents in my office are really gross. But in any case, I think it is going tort. I am not a big pearloid fan. Though I could see that working if one was.

 

[marnold]

So currently it is a three way?

Yessir!

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Well, it is up on the wall! I took the strings off, did some initial very light file work that I will continue little bit later, did a thorough cleaning, not that it was that dirty, oiled up the fretboard, and further adjusted the trem.

It's action is too high but I don't have the right size Allen keys so will get those so I can adjust the neck relief which is a bit overdone and then adjust the saddles.

I just ordered a new pick guard and trem plate and will soon order the neck pick up. The nut for the truss rod is pretty buried in finish or gunk so will need to clean that out with some compressed air and maybe some unfolded paper clips or something so I can get into the nut better.

The guitar sounds pretty good as is, but think I will gain a little clarity with the new pick ups.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Got some tools to clean up the frets which I will do this weekend and adjusted the relief and action. By feel. I now have some proper measuring tools so will double check. Pickups are in the new PG,though I need some longer springs for one so will hit the hardware store. Hopefully soldering today or tomorrow. I like the look so far. Wish me luck!

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Ok, so soldering day. will hopefully get to the neck clean up as well if I have time. But solder first. I have never really soldered before, other than replacing a battery connector in my old Bad Monkey pedal years ago. I have a serviceable little iron, but not a fancy one, and do not have a nice holder, or a "third hand" alligator clip thingy. So will be doing it by hand, ghetto style. Found some good info here:
http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/so-you-want-to-solder-1

And even better here:
Good demo vids on technique lie therein.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/how-to-solder

And good info on the overall project here, even if the projects are slightly different.

If I have time, during the project, I will take a couple pics. For those of you that know how to do this, I am sure it seems super basic. but I am hoping it will be helpful to some others who have been reluctant to try any modding, etc.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Ok, got the old pickguard off, with parts still on it. But, brakes put on this aspect of the project. My old soldering iron is obviously insufficient as I am spending way too much time with the tip on the part to get stuff desoldered. Will need to get a recommendation for a new iron. Oh well, will move to the neck for the rest of my time today.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Well, I tried one more time and it worked. I guess I just did not let it heat up enough. It says in what I have read you don't need an expensive iron for this stuff. and I guess you don't. But one better than my cheapo 15/30 from Radioshack might be nice. I may get a better one for my next project.

 

[duhvoodooman]

It is CRITICAL for fine soldering work that your soldering iron tip be (1) clean, and (2) "tinned" before each soldering operation. It's all about rapid/efficient heat transfer between the tip and the substrate. An oxidized or dirty tip won't transfer heat well, but even a clean tip won't work well without a coating of fresh solder to transmit the heat between the two surfaces. The tip should be a shiny silver before each use. As soon as the tip surface dulls or discolors, it's time to clean & re-tin.

 

[marnold]

What DVM said.

Plus be patient in letting your iron heat up. You'll get nowhere fast otherwise. Mine's just a Radio Shack job (although it does have a stand) and does what I need just fine. I don't do anything approaching DVM-level projects, though.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks guys. I attempted it again once I got it heated up properly. Here is the final result of the first attempt before attaching the Jack and ground wires. Probably not the neatest job in the world but maybe it will work. If not, I will have learned before the next attempt. [emoji4]

 

[duhvoodooman]

If everything is grounded and the output jack is still wired up, you can test your wiring through an amp by tapping the selected pickup with a screwdriver. You can even test the volume and tone pots from the changes in output sound. Alternatively, you can measure the resistance across each pickup as described HERE. Beats getting everything reinstalled and restrung and then finding out there's a connection problem....

 

[sunvalleylaw]

If everything is grounded and the output jack is still wired up, you can test your wiring through an amp by tapping the selected pickup with a screwdriver. You can even test the volume and tone pots from the changes in output sound. Alternatively, you can measure the resistance across each pickup as described HERE. Beats getting everything reinstalled and restrung and then finding out there's a connection problem....

Yes, did that, (saw that tip in the Fender vid I linked) and it was all working. But in triple checking before trying to put everything back in, I found a one loose joint. Fixed that. So will check again later.

So, the tale. I will upload pics in a few minutes after posting via Tapatalk. Easier that way.

So, got the soldering figured out as I said. Got confused on one connection, but I think I have it right. Did the "gross" connectivity test you mention and it seems to work. Did not remember to test the tone pots.

Here is the only stripping tool I have. Will order a better one.

Got excited and decided to put it all back together. BUT . . . when I went to install the wired PG, it would not fit all the way in. Guess what? The screws provided by Dimarzio are too long to fit in the routing of the guitar body. So, I tried to pirate the screws off the stock PG, though I had wanted just to leave that for a later project without messing with the pup mounting in the mint PG. But, guess what? Those screws are too wide! Will not fit in the Dimarzio screw holes. HaHa! So just comical. Oh well. I learned a lot about soldering. The result was a little messy looking, and certainly not up to DVM standards, or probably anyone else's including Marnold's. But it seems to work. If I get it all installed and it is not quite right, or even if I screwed up a stock pot or switch, they are not expensive, and I can get a couple new ones. I was thinking to get a new volume pot anyway for better taper for volume roll down, so if that one does not have clean joints, no big deal. I learned a lot for the next project. Definitely more challenging for me right now than the Santellan solderless kit I used in my tele. But once I get my soldering cleaned up, it will be no big deal.

So, that was the mixed success and lack of success. Perserverance then demanded that I use my time, so I went on and cleaned up the neck using my new files and file guide, and a cheap little file I got as part of a kit to dress the ends once excess material was removed. I then hit the ends with a sanding sponge and steel wool, and then cleaned it all up and oiled the fretboard. Then I put it to bed for the night until i get the correct screws.


All in all, a good learning experience and some good progress was made.

 

[duhvoodooman]

...I attempted you have attend every time once I got it heated up properly.

Ummm, say what??

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Ummm, say what??

Ha! Siri error. I fixed it. I just meant I tried it again after the iron finally heated up all the way. I ordered one of the BYOC ones along with a decent wire stripper for next time.

 

[marnold]

Your wire stripper is far better than mine. I just use the cutting part on my needle nose pliers. As far as soldering quality goes, notice I am careful not to post many pictures of my work here The only thing I ever had trouble with was getting the claw on my Floyd hot enough to solder the ground to it. I also ended up sanding it a bit to get a better surface to solder to. All I needed was "Yakkity Sax" playing in the background when I was doing that to complete the experience. It wasn't funny then, but it is kinda now.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Your wire stripper is far better than mine. I just use the cutting part on my needle nose pliers. As far as soldering quality goes, notice I am careful not to post many pictures of my work here The only thing I ever had trouble with was getting the claw on my Floyd hot enough to solder the ground to it. I also ended up sanding it a bit to get a better surface to solder to. All I needed was "Yakkity Sax" playing in the background when I was doing that to complete the experience. It wasn't funny then, but it is kinda now.

I was trying that, but kept cutting the wires. My current stripper is too large for the wires. To get the job done, I ended up heating up the plastic with flame. (read lit it on fire) then blew it out and pulled it over with gloved hands. I attempted not to breathe while doing this.

 

[duhvoodooman]

...The only thing I ever had trouble with was getting the claw on my Floyd hot enough to solder the ground to it. I also ended up sanding it a bit to get a better surface to solder to.

This is a common problem. The issue is that the thermal mass of something as large as a trem claw, or even the back of a control pot, is enough that a small iron tip of the kind generally used for wiring work just can't transfer an adequate amount of heat quickly enough to get the substrate above the melting point of the solder. Many people think that the iron itself doesn't have enough power, but that's rarely the problem. The solution is to get a second, larger tip for the iron. See photo attachment below--my wiring/pedal work tip is attached to the iron on the right side, and the larger tip I use for pot grounding, amp work, and soldering to larger substrates is on the left. Its about twice as wide at the tip, but the mass difference is much higher, probably 4 - 5x the small tip. Makes a huge difference. It also helps to use a chisel-style tip--this type will give more surface area contact than a curved conical tip, so quicker heat transfer. And, of course, all of this assumes that you keep your iron's tip CLEAN & TINNED!

Sanding or otherwise roughing up the surface is also a good idea. It doesn't help the thermal mass issue, but it often improves the adhesion of the solder to the substrate surface. A lot of these parts will have a coating of one sort or another that interferes with adhesion--I've seen it cause molten solder to actually bead up on the part surface like a raindrop on a freshly waxed car. But scuff it up with some fine sandpaper and the solder flows and adheres normally.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Good info DVM! thank you. Since I have ordered the BYOC economy soldering station, and it is variable setting between 5-40watts, how do I want to set it for doing the type of work I was doing here? I have seen some internet discussion about temps, but have no idea how it translates related to the wattage. Also, I presume there is a good technique for turning it down between periods of work to avoid "blacking the tip"? Any tips for this solder slob?

 

[duhvoodooman]

Since I have ordered the BYOC economy soldering station, and it is variable setting between 5-40watts, how do I want to set it for doing the type of work I was doing here?....Also, I presume there is a good technique for turning it down between periods of work to avoid "blacking the tip"? Any tips for this solder slob?

I just leave mine set to 700F (~370C) for everything. Since (1) I have had it since late 2009, (2) used it for at least 150 pedal builds plus various other guitar and lighter amp work, and (3) the two tips both look essentially the same as when they were used the first time, I guess I wouldn't worry too much about tip damage at that kind of heat setting. Of course, with a different iron, "YMMV"....but not by that much, I'd suspect.