Possible Upcoming Jackson Mods

At this point in this thread, I feel it is necessary to make a public service announcement.

At the moment, the inter-dimensional forces appear to be stable. However, only routing and drilling have been accomplished.

Be advised... as I reassemble the guitar and the forces of Les Paul design become melded with Jackson Dinky design there may be inter-dimensional, apocalyptic consequences affecting time and space.

I can’t predict the final outcome.
 
smitty_p said:
At this point in this thread, I feel it is necessary to make a public service announcement.

At the moment, the inter-dimensional forces appear to be stable. However, only routing and drilling have been accomplished.

Be advised... as I reassemble the guitar and the forces of Les Paul design become melded with Jackson Dinky design there may be inter-dimensional, apocalyptic consequences affecting time and space.

I can’t predict the final outcome.
Click to expand...

You will awaken your inner metalhead....
 
This next set of pics doesn't show any mods. Rather, they are more about fixing a factory blunder.

During the whole disassembly I noticed some wood splintering in the neck pickup cavity in two spots. This was due to the screws for the trem claw nearly poking through into the neck pickup cavity. Apparently, when the pilot holes were drilled they were drilled at such an angle that the screws went from the trem cavity into the neck pickup cavity. Had the pilot holes been drilled perfectly laterally this would not have happened.

So, I began this fix by drilling out and plugging the existing holes with dowels. Here's a shot of the neck pickup cavity after I had cut away the protruding ends of the dowels with my Dremel, and after a bit of sanding:

ClawRedrill1_sm.jpg

To ensure the new holes could be drilled parallel to the back of the cavity, and not at an angle, I bought this Dewalt 90 degree adaptor from Lowe's. This pic was taken after I drilled the new pilot holes and screwed the claw into place for a test fit. This adaptor is REALLY compact and can fit into some tight places. You just need to be sure you can get bits with a hex end.

(BTW, you can also see from this shot that I've painted part of the switch cavity recess black. I'm awaiting the shielding paint to finish everything else.)

ClawRedrill3_sm.jpg


This just shows what the adaptor looks like attached to the drill. No big whoop here!

ClawRedrill2_sm.jpg

So, like I said, this has nothing to do with the mods, per se. It's just something I fixed while I had the guitar apart.

I suspect this is one of those hidden consequences of getting a cheap guitar.
 
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smitty_p said:
This next set of pics doesn't show any mods. Rather, they are more about fixing a factory blunder.

During the whole disassembly I noticed some wood splintering in the neck pickup cavity in two spots. This was due to the screws for the trem claw nearly poking through into the neck pickup cavity. Apparently, when the pilot holes were drilled they were drilled at such an angle that the screws went from the trem cavity into the neck pickup cavity. Had the pilot holes been drilled perfectly laterally this would not have happened.

So, I began this fix by drilling out and plugging the existing holes with dowels. Here's a shot of the neck pickup cavity after I had cut away the protruding ends of the dowels with my Dremel, and after a bit of sanding:

View attachment 18714

To ensure the new holes could be drilled parallel to the back of the cavity, and not at an angle, I bought this Dewalt 90 degree adaptor from Lowe's. This pic was taken after I drilled the new pilot holes and screwed the claw into place for a test fit. This adaptor is REALLY compact and can fit into some tight places. You just need to be sure you can get bits with a hex end.

(BTW, you can also see from this shot that I've painted part of the switch cavity recess black. I'm awaiting the shielding paint to finish everything else.)

View attachment 18715


This just shows what the adaptor looks like attached to the drill. No big whoop here!

View attachment 18716

So, like I said, this has nothing to do with the mods, per se. It's just something I fixed while I had the guitar apart.

I suspect this is one of those hidden consequences of getting a cheap guitar.
Click to expand...
I found the same thing on my latest project. I had not planned on fixing it though. Our situations are different in thet I do not use a trem. Do you feel that there will be a functional benefit to the repair for your purposes?
 
RVA said:
I found the same thing on my latest project. I had not planned on fixing it though. Our situations are different in thet I do not use a trem. Do you feel that there will be a functional benefit to the repair for your purposes?
Click to expand...

Well, I can’t say there will be a benefit, as the trem worked perfectly before. In a way, it was one of those OCD things.

Plus, I made the fix to help avoid potential future issues. There may never have been any problems, but it kind of bugged me.
 
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smitty_p said:
Well, I can’t say there will be a benefit, as the trem worked perfectly before. In a way, it was one of those OCD things.

Plus, I made the fix to help avoid potential future issues. There may never have been any problems, but it kind of bugged me.
Click to expand...
I can relate to "those OCD things", too... :run:
 
So....do y’all want the good news or the bad news?

Okay.

First, the bad news.

The bad news is that I don’t have any new updates with lots of pics to post.

The good news is that I sat down with the former pickup switch and a multimeter and figured out how I need to wire it to get the coil split options I want.

The switch will be wired so that with the lever toward the rear both pickups will be full humbuckers. In the middle, the bridge will be a full humbucker and the neck will be split. In the forward position, both pickups will be split.

Of course, the new toggle switch will be used to select which pickup, or both, is active.

A beneficial consequence of having built my Les Paul Studio with push-pull pots for coil splitting is that I’ve had several months to play around with various combinations of split and non-split pickups during use. So, I sort of have some in-use data from which to develop a plan. The way I’ll be wiring the Jackson reflects the combinations I’ve tended to use the Les Paul.

I’m starting to get excited now about the reassembly.
 
smitty_p said:
So....do y’all want the good news or the bad news?

Okay.

First, the bad news.

The bad news is that I don’t have any new updates with lots of pics to post.

The good news is that I sat down with the former pickup switch and a multimeter and figured out how I need to wire it to get the coil split options I want.

The switch will be wired so that with the lever toward the rear both pickups will be full humbuckers. In the middle, the bridge will be a full humbucker and the neck will be split. In the forward position, both pickups will be split.

Of course, the new toggle switch will be used to select which pickup, or both, is active.

A beneficial consequence of having built my Les Paul Studio with push-pull pots for coil splitting is that I’ve had several months to play around with various combinations of split and non-split pickups during use. So, I sort of have some in-use data from which to develop a plan. The way I’ll be wiring the Jackson reflects the combinations I’ve tended to use the Les Paul.

I’m starting to get excited now about the reassembly.
Click to expand...
this sounds like a LOT of SOLDERING!
 
smitty_p said:
Yes.

I am happy.

Due to my purchase and post, I gave you the information YOU needed to to make your drill bettter, stronger, faster...

Your drill is now...

The Six Million Dollar Drill!!!


You’re welcome!
Click to expand...
Thanks, and I feel better now. I guess it's a good investment, since it only cost me a total of $29... :woohoo:
 
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