Need SZ720 Suggestions

[Type O-]

I picked one of these beauties up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and I need a little help deciding what to do to/with her.

First off, I would definitely like to change out the tuners. Since I have never bought and replaced any tuners before, I have a few questions. What size tuners will fit the SZ720? What are the most important things to consider when purchasing tuners (other than fit and color of course)? What brand is typically the best if any one is really that much better?

Secondly, I am thinking about changing out the stock pickups. I am really looking for opinions from other SZ720 (or similar) owners as to what they chose and why. I am also curious if you altered the stock wiring to achieve more/different sounds.

The last thing I am considering is replacing the stock volume/tone controls and pickup selector switch. Obviously, the volume pots maybe replaced with push/pull ones depending on the pickup configuration. As far as what type/brand of volume and tone pots, I have absolutely no experience. I am fairly handy with a soldering iron, so the actual work should be no problem. I just don't know where to begin when selecting the components.

I am sorry for asking so many questions , but I am hoping that some fellow Jemsiters can lend some advice. I am open to any and all (well, almost all ) suggestions. Thanks in advance for helping out a fellow member venturing down the modification road for the first time.

[Ibateur]

Before you do all that, ask yourself why?

There's nothing wrong with the stock tuners, as far as I am aware. Given that the SZ isn't a trem guitar, you're not really risking much.

Re the wiring stuff, go over to the projectguitar site. They have all kinds of guides, and stuff.

I do wonder why you seem to want to do so many things to the guitar without (apparently) having played it a bit.

[moro]

Hi,

I just got an SZ520 and here's what I'm planning. I haven't actually done any of this stuff yet but maybe some others can comment and tell me I'm on crack.

Originally Posted by Type O-

First off, I would definitely like to change out the tuners. Since I have never bought and replaced any tuners before, I have a few questions. What size tuners will fit the SZ720? What are the most important things to consider when purchasing tuners (other than fit and color of course)? What brand is typically the best if any one is really that much better?

The Planetwaves Auto-trim tuners sound really nice. They're locking, have a pretty high gear ratio (18:1), and clip the strings automatically as you tune up.

Problem is, on Stewart Macdonald, they have diagrams of the tuners which show that the 6-in-line tuners have the offset screw (same as SZs) whereas the 3-on-a-side have the screw hole centered with the gear casing. Other sites show the offset screw for both, so I'm not sure what's going on.

Secondly, I am thinking about changing out the stock pickups. I am really looking for opinions from other SZ720 (or similar) owners as to what they chose and why. I am also curious if you altered the stock wiring to achieve more/different sounds.

I'm thinking a Fred in the bridge and PAF Joe in the neck. I think of the SZ as a Les Paul with a more comfortable body shape, so I figured I'd go for PAF-type pickups with a little more output. I mostly use the neck pickup for clean sounds, which is why I'm going with the PAF Joe, which has a lot of high end--I want a bright sound from the neck.

I was considering EMGs but I hadn't realized how expensive those things are.

I'm not crazy about the two volume knob setup so I might change the wiring to be one volume and one tone, but I'm not sure yet.

Oh, I'll be putting on Schaller strap locks.