Jemsite - Tech: Setup, Repairs and Mods

Upgrate guitar parts.... your opinions please !!!

Yamadron — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:17:25 GMT

EDIT Title: Upgrade guitar parts.... your opinions please !!! << Silly "t" instead of "d" :p

Hello everyone !

Well, I am thinking of upgrading some parts of my RG370DX.. I know anyone will tell me to get another one, but IMHO, I guess that I can make this guitar alive with some changes

First of all.. I decided to change both Neck and Bridge pickups plus the Tremolo as well.

So, I've finally decided on Dimarzio D-Activator X in the bridge as I need the closest passive pickup to EMG sound. I liked the X2N too, but I found that it is somehow more treble than the D-Activator X.

For the neck pup, I am confused a bit. Some people told me to get the D-Activator X (neck version) to match the bridge as a set. While others told me that the D-Activator (The pole pieces version) will be better. The problem that I can't get my hand on a guitar that has D-Activator X installed in it. I liked the D-Activator very much, but I can't compare it to D-Activator X due to lack of the knowledge of how it sounds.
So can you share your opinions and experiences about both of them ?

For the Tremolo, I liked the EDGE 3 Tremolo. It wasn't that bad of how people were describing it. It just need a good setup. It wasn't getting out of tune too. I am using it for 2 years without any wear outs. But it lacked the nice tremolo effect; the fluttering. The best one I found in flutter effect is the Floyd Rose. Fortunately, it seems that it fits in the EDGE III cavity, but how it operates ? Does it work like it was installed by the manufacturer or I will face some problems. - It will be installed by a technician -
Or it just fits but doesn't work at all.. I am talking about the OFR kit, not the licensed FR.

Thank you guys. :)

how do you maintain your strings from rust?

marijuana_kills — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:18:10 GMT

??I have a AC in my room and i keep my s series in a jimi hendrix guitar bag and it seem to pick up a little bit of rust on the strings?! whats up with that! I dont have central AC btw.......

replacing my RG321mh bridge

Boombatty — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:57:11 GMT

I have a RG321mh and Im planning to change out the bridge for it.anyone know if a fender Gotoh bridge with 2 1/8 string spacing work properly?thanks...

...Sean

Oleophobic Chrome PG?

newbieguitarmaker — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:17:27 GMT

Guys I was wondering if there was a way to get a chrome pickgaurd that had some sort of oleophobic coating on it so that it didn't get any fingerprints. Also I've thought of making a thin acrylic ply on top of the chrome so that it didn't get fingerprints but would that take away from the chrome look?

Thanks,
~Joe

what comes with the tremolos from ibanezrules.com

l0k1 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:03:33 GMT

this is probably a dumb question but does the tremolos from ibanezrules.com just come with the tremolos or does it come with the locking nut,springs etc.?

Cleaning your guitar (mostly frets)

+SAM+ — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:40:51 GMT

I wipe my guitar down after playing all the time and wash my hands bla bla bla so are you supposed to clean your frets with that lemon juice stuff? Cause my frets aren't the metal looking colour that they were originally and I've noticed even my oldest guitars I've never cleaned the frets with lemon juice.

Only lately I've noticed this (I have a relaxed brain) and should I buy lemon juice to clean the frets or just wipe 'em down like I always did?

6105 vs 6150 Dunlop fret wire

8 Big Tubes — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:35:23 GMT

Have any of you guys used both types before?

Did switching from one type to the other make a lot of difference in the playability of your guitar?

Which did you prefer?

Are there any advantages to using say the 6150 over the 6105?

Ibanez RG2027xvv - figuring out the knobs, inputs and switches

Max Dread — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:07:52 GMT

HI all

I wondered if any owners of an RG2027xvv (or anyone who has used/knows much about the guitar) would be happy to hand hold me through what the different knobs, switches and inputs all do? I'm trying to figure it out but there are a lot of combinations! If anyone could talk me through it I'd really appreciate it.

Cheers

Max

I think that my ibanez tuner is broken...

marijuana_kills — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:48:52 GMT

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

when I use the metro it does make the clicking sound...

Need help to read american screw measuring

tony777 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:39:02 GMT

Hey!

I was looking to buy screws for direct mounting pickups, and since I'm European and used to the metric system, I just can't figure out how to read the screw sizes.
Look at this website http://www.microfasteners.com/catalo...ts/TWSSMPP.cfm
and tell me what does the numbers below the size column mean.
for instance the first line #0 x 1/8
I would have guess it is thickness x length, but what does the #0 digit mean?

Regards
Tony

Killswitch on JS1000?

Lussy Picker — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:27:31 GMT

I was wondering if its possible to have a killswitch on a JS1000, and if so are there any wiring schematics out there and 411's on how to get along doing it!

P.S I've never done any mods on my guitar ever.

Same string gauges yet totally different feel

MJ Slaughter — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:44:49 GMT

I play with 10's on all my electric guitars, PRS Custom 24, Fender USA Strat, Dean USA Hardtail, and have done so for all my guitar playing life. Now I have this Ibanez RG3120 with a 16" fretboard radius even the 9's that are on there feel much stiffer than I would of imagined they would. I suppose that's due to the almost flat fretboard. Has anyone who uses 10's on other guitars done so on their Ibanez, or other near flat fretboard having guitar? I don't mind experementing and I have a couple of boxes of strings but the setup on these things after changing string gauges is time consuming. Do you find you prefer the 10's or with this kind of guitar do you find youself using 9's? I only tune to 440. No dropped tunings on this guitar.

Preventing loose strap buttons

kev_nz — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:41 GMT

Hey guys,

I've just bought my first solid-body electric.

I understand that loose strap buttons (i.e., worn/stripped threads) are a very common and troublesome occurance that can happen over time with the entire weight of the guitar resting on the strap buttons.

Is there anything easy I can do while the guitar is still brand new to stop this from happening in the future?

E.g., drip some wood glue into the strap button hole to strengthen the wooden threads?

Or apply some loctite to the wood screws?

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

Cheers,
Kev

Can you play a lefty neck as a right?

Balthier — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:06:46 GMT

neck just install the strings like so, is there any difference besides the headstock?

edgepro into ibanez rg370dxgp4

l0k1 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:42:45 GMT

i kow this has been brought up time and time again but this will fit wont it?

New pots for my RG2EX1

ch0 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:48 GMT

Hi everyone,

I mostly just lurk around here, soaking up all the Ibanez goodness, but the time has come for me to again ask a question.

What are some good pots to throw into the aforementioned guitar? I've currently got a Super Distortion (bridge) and an Air Norton (neck) wired through the stock pots with a treble bleed. As is the volume knob is basically useless. It's either on or off basically. This wasn't much of a problem for me until I got a 550 and discovered just how useful a volume knob (with the proper taper) can be.

So, I'd like some suggestions on what to throw into my guitar. I'd ideally like to get something that would go in without any modifications to the guitar. That being said, I have a set of Dimarzio pots that I was originally going to wire in, but didn't due to the need to enlarge the holes in my guitar; that and the fact that the action on those pots felt awful.

Any help is appreciated!

Floyd Rose from Guitar Fetish

Matthew Bryan — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:50:52 GMT

Was wondering if anyone has used the floyds from guitar fetish? Not the fast loaders but the other ones (dual locking)...here.....

http://store.guitarfetish.com/nehedudulofl.html

If their sales pitch is to be taken litteraly than this seems like a very good deal.

First swirl on a body

manticus — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:55:32 GMT

Here's my first swirl attempt on a body. Everything went well except the black, which had never done anything like this before. I'm pretty sure I used too much (I was doing a bigger piece that ever before so I used more paint). I'm very happy with how the blues came out. What do you all think? I hope it's good, cause I've got the bug now...

http://www.myaddledmind.com/guitars/jackson_swirl/

-Andy

Replacement Arm Holder - Ibanez -> Floyd possible?

chimera963chris — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:41:17 GMT

Hi,

I'm new hear and I have an issue with the tremolo arm on my Vigier Excalibur Custom (floyd rose) staying tight.

This is the type of tremolo bar with the loose thread attached to it, which screws in place on the tremolo unit. Even when this is fully tightened, the tremolo arm is still loose, rattles a bit in the socket and won't really stay in place.

Now, I was wondering if it is possible to replace the tremolo bar and arm holder on my floyd rose (manufactured by Schaller, with the Vigier ball bearing technology) with an Ibanez Edge socket and arm? I'm not sure how different Edge sockets/bars vary, but I was thinking the "push in" bar? As I understand, they have nylon grips on the bar, which can be replaced when they wear out. I hope I'm not being too vague.

If anyone can shed some light on this matter, it would be much appreciated.

whammy bar question.

dartvader — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:27:31 GMT

Hi guys well my guitar turned out pretty good but now i wana see if i can fix this. I have an edge pro II on my rg320dxqm guitar and the whammy bar does funny it like moves left n right when i try to move it. Then we took the tremolo off and we moved the bottom piece and it moved. Is that bottom piece suppseod to move? is there maybe some screws missing or somthing and could that be the reson its going out of tune? thanks guys.

inlay experiment help

andrewsfury — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:44:49 GMT

hi im going to try practicing making inlays. when i get all my puzzle pieces cut , and they will all be in the same group on this first one can i glue them all together before i scribe them into the wood with ca glue to make one big inlay from the pieces or do you guys glue them on seperate trace them out and then route glue them in i got a bunch of info on the web of how to cut the pearl and rout the cavity im just stuck on having 30 pices to scribe around when their going together anyway . or can i do you glue the puzzle together first.

String buzz

Sportrider24 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:58:40 GMT

I've been playing for about a year now and am encountering a problem on my Ibanez that I haven't encountered on other guitars I've owned. Seems that when I play, specifically when I picking notes on a specific string, other strings are vibrating as well causing open notes that I am not meaning to play. Mostly this is happening on the low E string. Is this an indication that my action may be too low? I don't feel as though it is. I'm not getting any fret buzz.

Trem arm holder required

ShredaPezzy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:14:50 GMT

Hi Dude & Dudetts,

I have an Ibanez S540ltd (my baby) with a broken Trem arm holder. I have seen a few of these parts on the net for sale but none look like the part i need. I believe the trem system is a Lo Pro Edge but i couldn't say for sure.
Help me please!

Cheers Shreda

Ibanez Jem logo sticker

Jeminizer — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:27:10 GMT

Hey everyone I need a Ibanez Jem logo sticker that goes on the headstock of a jem for a project Im doing. Anyone know where i can find one?

Fine tuner problem on Edge Lo Pro

Lifeson22 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:13:32 GMT

Hey guys,

Just bought a used BSB. Having an issue with the fine tuner on the D string though. It seems as though the string lock screw (the screw you tighten with the allen wrench after putting a new string in) has been replaced because it is a different color.

The issue is that the fine tuner becomes extremely difficult to tighten (raise the pitch) once you reach a certain point.

What could be the cause of this?

Thanks,

Jeff

5150 cab help!

butcherworld — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:44:32 GMT

i bought a 5150 cab off my friend for 125 that wasnt working.

i cracked her open to see what was going on inside, and after wiring the speakers individually i see that the two sheffields were not working, but the two carvins were

heres a pic of one of the non working sheffields:
http://tinypic.com/r/2zimxyc/4

you can see it has the two lines popping out, that im assuming represent the wires?

i wired the carvins as a 2x12 and they sound fine together, but as i was playing yesterday i heard a 'pop' and looked in to see that the pop outs from the wires had appeared on the speakers.

they still worked however, and sounded good- but i am now afraid if i play at a volume i want to that they will break like the sheffields.

i also want to make sure before i order new speakers that its not something from the input that is causing this, and that its normal behavior.

thanks for your help and advice!

Guitar Swirling/Marbling

Geetar21 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:28:08 GMT

I've been messing around with swirl painting for a little while now to make sure i get the process down pat before i dip my guitar. I have been to a few websites and searched around on these forums but i have yet to find a detailed description of the process of swirl painting. I know "basically how to do it", however im still running into a few problems.

- I primered the wood using an enamel primer. Then using "X-O Rust oil based gloss enamel", put drops of the paint into the water. The majority of the drops stay condensed but around the outer edges, there is a diluted color mixture of the paint and water? Ignoring that, (for the fact its just a test run), i dipped the peice of wood, made an exit hole, and when i took it completely out of the water, the paint started to run and the swirls ran together, and the paint started to drip off. On some parts where the paint wasnt as condensed, it seemed to stick pretty well, However the condensed parts of paint that looked lumpy and thick were running everywhere.

What am i doing wrong and can anyone offer me advice, or a complete run through of how they did theirs? Thanks in advance i really appreciate it!!!

neck stickyness, fret dullness

IBZguitars_rkoko — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:02:58 GMT

Hello
I have an Ibanez rg with and edge 3 bridge, chrome hardware, greyburst finish and Dimarzio Evolutions (big Steve Vai fan). I love it with all my heart, but after about 11 months, have been experiencing some small, undesirable problems.

First of all, the frets on the fingerboard have lost their shine and luster, they are starting to look old and dull. I have tried a few things to possibly make them shinier and nothing has worked. I want it to look like how it looked when i first took it out of the box and the frets were as shiny as the chrome hardware. I miss that. Any advice would be helpful.

Also, the back of the guitar's neck has become sticky and moist-like (possibly from the perspiration on hands ?), simply put, I can't slide my hand up and down with no friction anymore. It has lowered the fastness of my once-brilliant neck to stickiness. The texture isn't like this on the back of the headstock next to the tuners, its still smooth and fast, because my hand is never there. Is there any technique for fixing this problem?

My RG550 needs a refret/crown

jbandy10 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:58:55 GMT

Or at least I'm 90% sure it does.

I bought this baby in 2006. It's a 1993. When I got it, it had some wear but it still played really well. Now it's starting to fret out in places. I can tell the frets are worn just from the visual signs. They look a little flat on top and there is discoloration of the parts where the strings hit. I'm no tech but I think this means they're worn out.

I live in North Georgia. Who do you recommend?

Old Style Jem Humbucker Adjustment

notlikethat — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:14:21 GMT

I have recently got a Jem again after a long time not playing guitar and am having trouble with trying to setup the pickup height:

The guitar I have is an old Jem 77FP Floral Print, with the old style humbuckers mounted in the body, not the pickguard (I used to have a Jem with pickups mounted in the pickguard). With this setup it seems there is no way to raise the humbuckers from the base, since there are no springs underneath the screws. Is this a problem with the guitar (there springs are missing) or am I missing a trick?

Cheers

Help me fix my guitar. (Massive fret buzz)

+SAM+ — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:31:38 GMT

My Iceman is dodgy, I get massive horrendous fret buzz of the low E string, so bad it makes all my chords sound badly out of tune. There is also some buzz on the A string.

The neck is weird looking too, it's straight all the way up to around the 3rd fret then it's bowed forward slightly...

I thoughts at first were to lower the string height, so I got the allen key and was about to do it (Gibraltar Custom bridge) but I just can't move the screws on the bridge.
I can try turning them and they don't budge. I could put all my strength into it and they won't move an inch.

Any measurements needed just ask. This is really annoying me now.

What are my options for RG560 neck?

Balthier — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:47:20 GMT

If I wanted to go cheaper does anybody make custom ibanez neck for my RG560 that needs a square heel,or could I buy a cheap ibanez with a wizard 2 and drill holes to make it square heel? It was a 24 fret would getting a 22 throw stuff off? How much money would I be dishing out if I wanted to try repairing the broken neck it's cracked and split close to the top on the backside not the fretboard,but it did come a little loose from the fretboard.

How do I lower the action on my S520ex?

marijuana_kills — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:51:02 GMT

I had my guitar for a year and barely played it that much and am wondering how do i lower the tension/action on the S?