Plugging holes
- Thread starter Gahr
- Start date
SG John
Ambassador of Cool Guitars and Amps.
Yeah, the bushings are 1/2 inch, but knurled. You may need something larger. I turned the plugs I used on my Burny from blocks of mahogany on a lathe. The ground wire gets attached under the plate of the rear of the vibrola frame near the strap pin. It is the shortest distance to the control cavity for drilling a small hole to run the wire. You can see the wire coiled up in the second photo.
Mr Grumpy
Ambassador of Comings and Goings
This guy did the reverse of what Gahr's doing - turned a Maestro vibrola into a DT style guitar - sounds like there are gonna be a lot of holes, as he says the DT Maestro holes don't align with the full vibrola holes...
He also reckons the tone has changed, so it'll be interesting to see if Gahr agrees once he has completed the transition.
He also reckons the tone has changed, so it'll be interesting to see if Gahr agrees once he has completed the transition.
OP
Gahr
Ambassador of Blues & Brews
Yes, the long Vibrola is one piece. I have thought about the spring possibly touching the bushings and thus grounding the trem, but I will probably want to cover the holes in some way. Either by proper plugs or by simply making a mahogany «veneer» to cover the bushings if (as I suspect) tgey are counter sunk into the body. I have ordered a Vibrola, and if I’m lucky it will be delivered tomorrow...
I’ve also been thinking about drilling a hole for a wire like John points out, but I don’t have a bit that’s long enough at the moment. We’ll see what I end up with. What I DO know is that I will not do anything hastily when it comes to drilling or plugging holes...
I’ve also been thinking about drilling a hole for a wire like John points out, but I don’t have a bit that’s long enough at the moment. We’ll see what I end up with. What I DO know is that I will not do anything hastily when it comes to drilling or plugging holes...
SG Johns picture is the answer I think. A long thin drill bit starting at the top, under the vibrola base.
A pilot hole a couple mm's deep to hold the bit, then a shallow angle into the control cavity.
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
You're going about this mod in the right way, and I do hope that you give this new endeavor a successful try. But I'm betting that you are not going to like the changes enough to keep a vibrola on that particular SG. This is based on my personal preferences, but everybody's different.
Look at 0:24 on the video...Those embossed letters on the edge of the PVC pipe with RUIN your finish AND stamp the letters into your wood - a PAPER TOWEL will NOT protect the finish!!!! Beware!!!!!
I would suggest using an unlettered piece of PVC and add a common 2" O.D. neoprene washer from Home Depot for safety,....
Also....spinning that with an open end Crescent is a recipe for disaster should it fall. I would ONLY use a box-end wrench....
RVA
Ambassador
As I mentioned, I use a socket rather than PVC pipe, and a cushion with a hole in it underneath the socket. You may want to make sure the cushion you use does not react with your finish (ie, nitro and rubber).
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
Holy Ugliness! I'm very surprised that current Gibson manufacturing took this approach. Might as well use one of these instead:Here's how the 2019 maestros are earthed:
(Ugly, production minded, solution...)
OP
Gahr
Ambassador of Blues & Brews
Things are moving forward more quickly than I thought here, and I find the results to be nice and interesting. I got the Maestro Lyre Vibrola delivered to my door by a nice gentleman from DHL this evenings nd needless to say I put the guitar on the workbench right away.
So, some initial observations:
- The break angle over the bridge is about the same as I had when I am top wrapping (as I do) the strings over the stop tailpiece.
- The spring is pretty stiff, definitely stiffer than on my '65 junior.
- I think it looks very nice indeed.
- The wife did not complain about me having spent even more money on guitar related stuff, even after buying the EB-0 bass...
- The tailpiece bushings are sunk into the guitar body, so there seems to be no contact between the Vibrola spring and the bushings, thus the strings are currently not grounded.
- I do not notice ANY noise problems at the moment, in spite of the Vibrola/strings not being grounded. That being said, I have yet not played the guitar very loudly through the amp. But I did comparisons with several of my other guitars, and I do not notice any difference between them.
- I think running a very short vire directly from the tailpiece bushing under the arm of the vibrola to the spring might be an easy way of grounding it. I can probably cover the hole with a thin mahogany sliver instead of plugging the hole completely, and a short piece of wire will probably be an pretty simple solution. Any comments on that?
A 1964 Gibson SG Standard is pretty much my dream guitar. I'll probably never be able to buy a real one, so getting this as close as possible to an original is my mission.
Ok, some more pics are in order:
The Maestro Lyre Vibrola:
Tailpiece removed. The holes for the Vibrola frame from the Derek Trucks style faux Lyre matched the new one perfectly.
Tailpiece bushings countersunk into the body:
Now we are taking!
I think I'll be able to cover those holes fairly nicely, and maybe runa short grounding wire from the right tailpiece bushing to the Vibrola.
So, some initial observations:
- The break angle over the bridge is about the same as I had when I am top wrapping (as I do) the strings over the stop tailpiece.
- The spring is pretty stiff, definitely stiffer than on my '65 junior.
- I think it looks very nice indeed.
- The wife did not complain about me having spent even more money on guitar related stuff, even after buying the EB-0 bass...
- The tailpiece bushings are sunk into the guitar body, so there seems to be no contact between the Vibrola spring and the bushings, thus the strings are currently not grounded.
- I do not notice ANY noise problems at the moment, in spite of the Vibrola/strings not being grounded. That being said, I have yet not played the guitar very loudly through the amp. But I did comparisons with several of my other guitars, and I do not notice any difference between them.
- I think running a very short vire directly from the tailpiece bushing under the arm of the vibrola to the spring might be an easy way of grounding it. I can probably cover the hole with a thin mahogany sliver instead of plugging the hole completely, and a short piece of wire will probably be an pretty simple solution. Any comments on that?
A 1964 Gibson SG Standard is pretty much my dream guitar. I'll probably never be able to buy a real one, so getting this as close as possible to an original is my mission.
Ok, some more pics are in order:
The Maestro Lyre Vibrola:
Tailpiece removed. The holes for the Vibrola frame from the Derek Trucks style faux Lyre matched the new one perfectly.
Tailpiece bushings countersunk into the body:
Now we are taking!
I think I'll be able to cover those holes fairly nicely, and maybe runa short grounding wire from the right tailpiece bushing to the Vibrola.
OP
Gahr
Ambassador of Blues & Brews
I definitely agree about the Lyre! It has been a good Friday evening here. I have been alternating between playing the EB-0 that arrived yesterday and the SG while sipping a couple of bottles of the IPA we bottled today. Doesn’t get much better than that.
OP
Gahr
Ambassador of Blues & Brews
Since you already have one with the trapeze tailpiece, I would suggest a Vibrola. You ould of course get a short version, if you want to stay "authentic". If you have a small pickguard Jr. you would use the spring mount version.