JS-1000 owner with a few questions for the JS experts...

[DMTransmutation]

I have owned a JS-1000 for a year now and I still love it. Unfortunately I'm starting to have doubts about the hardware and I'm wondering if this is common. Some symptoms: Both knobs are getting loose, the bridge pickup somehow lost its threading for the necessary screws, and the 3-way pickup switch has somehow almost completely fallen out.

Also, the whammy bar used to stay at a particular angle when I first got the guitar. After a few months, something seems looser and the bar hangs down now. I kind of liked it when you could leave it somewhere closer to your picking hand. Did the whammy bar get worn down or the bridge? (I have seen Satch live where some guitars the bar hangs and others the bar will stay in a certain position without hanging.)

Yes, this is my first post here. I'm sorry this is just a barrage of desperate questions, but I swear I will return the favor by spreading my wisdom on other threads. ;-)

[Lanzelot]

With knobs I guess you meen the volume and tone knob. Well, they do get loser after some use. I don't know if there is anything you can do about it except for switching pots. It's a rather easy job. The wammy-bar gets loser because of the plastic shims get worn. If you pull the bar straight out of the bridge you can see two plastic "rings" on it. To temporarily tighten the bar you can remove these and carefully bend them a bit outwards and then put them back on. You can also put some tape on the bar, where the rings should be mounted, to make them fit tighter to the whammy-bar socket. Ibanez also sell new plastic rings. You local dealer should be able to get some. Good luck!

[guitarnoize]

Your guitar actually should have come with spare plastic rings for your whammy bar so that you can replace them, check in the plastic wallet that has your tools in it.

[Blue Lizard]

Hi DMT,

Regarding the knobs, you should be able to tighten the little screws in the sides of them that hold the knobs to the pots (assuming they are the stock knurled metal types). These kind of knobs working loose after a while is perfectly normal.

For the trem arm, fresh plastic bushes is the ideal solution; failing that you could indeed wrap 'em in PTFE tape or similar, or paint a few coats of clear nail varnish under the existing ones to make up some of the slack.

[jb4674]

When you say that the knobs are coming loose, are you referring to the knobs themselves having play and not feeling attached to the shaft or the whole pot moving when you turn the knob? If the knobs themselves are loose from the shaft, simply tighten the screw on the knob. If the whole pot feels loose and it's hard to turn the knobs, remove the knob and tighten the washer that holds the pot to the guitar and then attach the knob back to the guitar.

When you say "the bridge pickup somehow lost its threading for the necessary screws", what exactly do you mean? Is the pickup not able to lower or raise? If that's the case, then remove the screws that hold the pickup ring to the body (the should be one on every corner of the pickup ring), then replace the spring by unscrewing the 2 screws on the middle of each side of the pickup ring you just removed (order 2 pairs from Rich @ ibanez rules). Once this is done, put the ring back onto the guitar and voila.
If you however, mean that the screws that hold the pickup ring to the guitar are loose, then you need to go to home depot or lowes and buy a small container of elmer's wood filler. They come in a squirting plastic container and they'er about 2 bucks. Fill the little holes where the screws mount to the guitar and then let the guitar sit for a couple of days to make sure the filler has completely dryed. Once this is done, rethread the screws by themselves without the pickup ring, screwing them back with a screwdriver just enough so that you start a pilot hole. Put the screws back on the pickup ring and then screw them all the way in.

The pickup selector switch has a washer that attaches it to the body of the guitar. All you need to do is tighten the washer carefully (so you won't scratch the guitar) and the selector switch will stay in place. I would use either a long socket or a small adjustable wrench to do this.

Regarding the whammy bar... Go to your nearest Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a couple of rolls of teflon tape (they're about a buck each). Although you won't use a ton of tape, it's always good to have it. You'll need abou a 1/4" of tape to remediate the whammy problem. Start by pulling off the bar, remove the nylon bushings off the bar and then cut a piece of teflon tape (about 1/4" to 1/2", anything more and the arm won't fit). Take your time and wrap about 1-2 turns of tape in the opposite direction that the bushings go onto the arm and make sure it's nice and adhered to the surface of the area you're covering. Put the bushings back and then insert the arm back into the trem slowly.

I hope this helps.

Jimmy

[GLG421]

While the teflon tape works on a trem arm, just buy a bag (12 piece) from Rich (Ibanez rules, listed up top) and you'll have a supply for some time. I think they were 12 bucks or something last time I bought a bag.


Aslo, welcome to Jemsite.

[AnDr3wYoN]

Never really liked the teflon tape one..

I tried it on my RG and it kept losing traction after maybe 1 hour of play.

I believe the best way to go is either buying new bushings or layering nail polish under the washers (this is the one I did. Works great)

[frantick]

Originally Posted by GLG421

While the teflon tape works on a trem arm, just buy a bag (12 piece) from Rich (Ibanez rules, listed up top) and you'll have a supply for some time. I think they were 12 bucks or something last time I bought a bag.


Aslo, welcome to Jemsite.

That's what I plan on doing, but the problem is they wear just enough that the arm doesn't stay up by the pickups where I like it to remain after only about 3 weeks of playing. Sure, it only drops down to around the volume knob, but I like it to stay put. You'd think in this day and age they could design an arm that stayed where you put it, moved when you wanted it moved, not wear out for a year or more, and not cost too much. I think they spend too much time re-designing the bridge and not enough on the bar.

But I still love this guitar!

-cp

[jb4674]

Originally Posted by frantick

That's what I plan on doing, but the problem is they wear just enough that the arm doesn't stay up by the pickups where I like it to remain after only about 3 weeks of playing. Sure, it only drops down to around the volume knob, but I like it to stay put. You'd think in this day and age they could design an arm that stayed where you put it, moved when you wanted it moved, not wear out for a year or more, and not cost too much. I think they spend too much time re-designing the bridge and not enough on the bar.

But I still love this guitar!

-cp

If that's your biggest gripe, head over to stew-mac, buy an OFR trem arm assembly and replace the one on your trem.

Jimmy

[frantick]

Yeah, thought about an OFR, but those lose their ability to tighten after awhile too. I'll stick with the plastic bushings.

I'm thinking a design that uses a spring and a series of notches, or indents, whatever, so it stays put within the notch. I know, eventually that would probably wear out too, or be more cumbersome to move out of the way. But, obviously, if you look through the posts on trem arms, a lot of people like them to stay put.

I'll probably be ordering a couple bags of bushings from Rich. Or, maybe I should just learn to grab the hanging bar quicker!

-cp

[DMTransmutation]

Thanks for the help! A lot of good information here.

I was getting worried that something was worn down and my whammy bar would hang forever. I liked it better when I could leave it in one position. When you have to reach down and grab it, it bangs against the knobs if you have them pulled up.

When you say "the bridge pickup somehow lost its threading for the necessary screws", what exactly do you mean?

Yea I was vague on this one. What I mean is that the long screw (with the spring around it) that goes into the pickup itself does not stay in. This probably means the threading in the pickup's screw hole is worn. I have already temporarily fixed this problem by using a wider screw instead.