Buddha's mod projects

[Mr. Leyvatone]

Jay Turser Rosewood Tele

The control cavity was a pita so I did have to sand a little to accommodate full size pots and the US style 3 way was making contact at the bottom so I had to drill that out.

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My SX Furrian has the same control cavity issue. I started to widen it to accommodate full size pots, then gave up because I was worried about destroying the finish. So I resigned to using the cheap mini pots on a GFS kwikplug harness. They do a fine job, but I can’t help but cringe every time I think of that ugly pot metal just waiting to fail in there. It seems strange to me that they wouldn’t just take out the extra few mm of width and depth when milling it. Perhaps every turn of the router adds up at SX production scale…

[tobijohn]

My SX Furrian has the same control cavity issue. I started to widen it to accommodate full size pots, then gave up because I was worried about destroying the finish. ..

FWIW, I use a Dremel style tool and grind the area of the cavity that the full-size pot comes in contact with but only from the bottom of the cavity up to the height of the full-sized pot's body, so there's kind of a cavern/overhang effect in the side of the cavity and the surface finish is not disturbed. I've had to do this at least a dozen times on primarily LP and Tele style guitars and 1/4" is the most I've had to remove.

[Buddha Pickups]

My SX Furrian has the same control cavity issue. I started to widen it to accommodate full size pots, then gave up because I was worried about destroying the finish. ..

FWIW, I use a Dremel style tool and grind the area of the cavity that the full-size pot comes in contact with but only from the bottom of the cavity up to the height of the full-sized pot, so there's kind of a cavern/overhang effect in the side of the cavity and the surface finish is not disturbed. I've had to do this at least a dozen times on primarily LP and Tele style guitars and 1/4" is the most I've had to remove.

If its covered up by a pickguard or the control plate, i don't really care.
I dont have a router so I use a dremel with a sandpaper bit or a cutting wheel or my drill with various forstner bits

[Buddha Pickups]

IYV spalted Tele
Grabbed this off ebay in the $80-100 range.

Mods include
Shielded cavities
Treble bleed mod
US style 3 way
Bourns 500k push pull pots
Volume splits the humbuckers
Tone does in series out of phase
.015 pio cap
Roller saddles
Switchcraft jack
For the humbuckers, I don't remember what magnets I used but were wound with 42.5awg wire (I'll have to look in the future)

[Buddha Pickups]

Squier Bullet Strat

Started life as an HSS but I changed the guard to an HS. I thought about going single humbucker but decided to add the neck mustang single. I am out of regular push pull pots so these are dual gang push pull pots that I don't quite know to get all I can out of them yet. I used a white switch tip to match the humbucker. I initially was going to go with a white neck pickup cover but opted for black.

Mods include
Treble bleed mod
.015 pio cap
500k bourns push pulls
Master volume pulled splits humbucker with a 6.8k resistor
Master tone pulled does in series out of phase
US style 3 way
Switchcraft jack
Cavities shielded
Neck a5 mustang single 7250 43awg
Bridge humbucker ceramic 7000ea 44awg waxed

[Buddha Pickups]

Squier Cyclone
The switch kept grounding out in the cavity as this originally had a cheap box switch so I had to route out a little in the cavity around the the switch to accommodate the Switchcraft style.

Mods include
Treble bleed mod
.05 petp cap
Bourns pots (250 or 500, not sure)
3 way Switchcraft style switch
Neck push pull splits humbucker with 6.8k resistor
Bridge push pull does series/out of phase
Switchcraft jack
Neck a5 43awg 7350 short jazzmaster height
Bridge a5 rod magnets 5000 42.5awg
Cavities shielded

[Buddha Pickups]

GearIT Thinline style Tele
This was about $80 with a coupon on Amazon. I may grab the Sunburst as well.
I forgot to add the treble bleed cap so I'll have to do that next time I change the strings.
Only cosmetic change was a white p90 cover and a white switch tip.

Mods include
Cavities shielded
500k push pull pots
.047 pio cap
US style 3 way
Switchcraft jack
Neck a5 rod style p90
Bridge wrhb humbucker a5
Tone pot does in series/ out of phase
Volume splits humbucker with 6.8k resistor

[tobijohn]

Wouldn't it be great if these import sellers offered a finished body/neck option?

[Buddha Pickups]

Wouldn't it be great if these import sellers offered a finished body/neck option?

I know I'm not near your numbers (I'm under 150), I really don't need more ways to buy more gear.
My time hunting bstocks at rondo back in the day made me a sucker for anytime I see a good deal.
I miss those days of $199 al3k bstocks

[tobijohn]

I know I'm not near your numbers (I'm under 150), I really don't need more ways to buy more gear.
My time hunting bstocks at rondo back in the day made me a sucker for anytime I see a good deal.
I miss those days of $199 al3k bstocks

I'm just grateful I'm not right-handed. If I was, I'd probably be over a thousand by now and standing on a freeway exit ramp with a handwritten cardboard sign saying "Will work for guitar parts." I'd probably have to sleep standing up, too...

[Buddha Pickups]

IYV Mustang

Mustang with a Jazz trem was a worthwhile gamble. They were blowing these out on ebay a year or so ago for like 80 bucks. A curveball I wasn't prepared for was the switches being jaguar on on switches not the normal onoffon or ononon/ not sure the technical term. Not crazy about how I wired it up but I drew a blank and couldn't find any diagrams for a mustang with these switches instead of the regular ones.

Mods include
Cavities shielded
Treble bleed mod
Switches wired to phase each pickup
Volume push pull to turn off the bridge pickup
250k pots
.022 cap
Switchcraft jack
A5 neck 8k turns 42.5awg
A5 bridge 8k turns 43awg

[Buddha Pickups]

Firefly DC Gray burst flame

Grabbed one of these recently as well. Couldn't say no to a silverburst ish Double cut.
Mods include
Graph tech bridge
Light weight stop tail
500k bourns pots
Neck tone push pull does inseries/out of phase
Cavities shielded
Switchcraft jack
.015 pio caps
Treble bleed mods
Speed knobs
Custom poker chip
Neck 1/4" a5 rod magnets 8000 42.5 awg
Bridge 1/4" a5 rod magnets 8000 43 awg

[Buddha Pickups]

Epiphone Melody Maker

Think this was about $100, got it shortly after they came out. The tuners need replacing but I guess I'll change them next string change. The pickups are strat style but strat covers didn't quite fit but the mustang style did so I went with it. Will probably file the opening a little next time to accommodate strat covers.

Mods include
Wilkinson stop tail
250k bourns pots
Switchcraft jack
Master volume master tone
Treble bleed mod
Cavities shielded
.05 petp cap
Neck a5/a2 8000 42hfv
Bridge a8 10000 43spn
Cream plastics

[tonebender]

I like the looks if that FF double cut.