My Dean Evo Special 7 mod projects

[darren wilson]

Here's my guitar as she was about a month ago:




Since i got it about two years ago, i've done a few mods:

• Schaller strap locks installed
• Seymour Duncan '59-7 (neck) and JB-7 (bridge) pickups installed
• Series/parallel push-pull pots installed on the volume and tone controls
• All wiring replaced with shielded wire

This summer, i've got some time off, so i'm doing a few more mods, just to continue to upgrade parts of the guitar. The first part of this new batch of mods came in just minutes ago:




These are custom-made cream 7-string humbucker mounting rings, made by Dave over at Frets on the Net. I provided him with one of my stock black plastic rings to use as a template, so he now can offer custom 7-string rings in black, light cream, white, polished aluminum, polished brass, and probably even more materials.

These are beautiful pickup rings, machined from solid Delrin (not flimsy hollow-cast plastic), and they have a beautiful matte finish that feels like ivory. If you want custom-made pickup rings, Dave is the man to talk to!

Next up: I have a TonePros Tune-o-Matic 7-string bridge on the way, and the stock Grover mini-Rotomatics are getting replaced with locking Grovers. I'll probably also replace the plastic nut with a GraphTech one if i get around to buying a proper set of files.

More pics to come when the rest of the parts come in and she gets strung up again. (Hopefully on a sunny day... it's very overcast here today, which is why the colour in the latest pics is off.)

[trajectory fish]

Nice pics of the EVO 7. The new pickup rings match the guitar better than the stock ones did. My EVO7 has been my main (electric) guitar for several months now. It's too bad they aren't in production anymore.

[Two hands31]

Very nice That's still the only Dean I've seen that I've really liked the look of (nothing against Deans, it's just that most don't really grab my attention like this one)

[Jem7RB MK]

Darren, Looking sweet Sir, Sooooo Glad you went Creme surrounds ... Stylish and sexy all in one :-)

Rob

[darren wilson]

Yeah, they came out really nice. The colour is perfect. They aren't that really brown/orange cream that DiMarzio uses. They're more 'ivory' cream. The binding on the guitar is actually white, but the clearcoat is starting to yellow a bit, so they look perfect.

Normally i prefer direct-mounted pickups, but since this guitar already had ring-mounted pickups, i decided to try and dress it up a bit. Dave's rings are top-notch, and i'm really pleased with the result.

[Drew]

agreed, that's sweet, darren!

[Scott of Actual Time]

along with replacing the pickups [zebra TZ7 and PAF7], the first thing i did to my EVO7 two years ago was to wire the selector switch into separate volume controls for each pickup, like a Les Paul. i used shielded wire for that, with three runs to and from the switch. i wired in resistors and caps to act as tone controls turned all the way up.

[muddeone]

what is the body wood made of?

is it a thru neck? Or bolt-on?



Thanks

ps

are you going to change the volume and tone knobs?

[Getthis]

mahogany body, set neck

[muddeone]

Originally Posted by Getthis

mahogany body, set neck

beefy tone monster!

[darren wilson]

Originally Posted by muddeone

what is the body wood made of?

is it a thru neck? Or bolt-on?



Thanks

ps

are you going to change the volume and tone knobs?

Supposedly, there's also a maple top under that black paint. I've seen one or two of the sunburst EVO 7s that had spectacular quilted tops.

I may consider replacing the speed knobs with chrome dome knobs, but right now they're not bugging me too much. Domes would make the push/pull operation a little easier. Maybe when my TonePros bridge comes in, i'll test fit an extra set i have here and see if they look good on it.

[srg]

I just have to say that your guitar is one of the most beautiful i've seen

Very nice.

[CQ7String]

Gorgeous guitar mate. I know it's been said, but those knobs really need to go.

And anytime you'd care to polish my guitars up to the shine that you have there, come on over and beers are on me.

- Chris / sevenstring.org

[darren wilson]

Geez... tough crowd for the speed knobs! I'll give the chrome domes a try.

I tend to take really good care of my gear, particularly my guitars. My secret to getting a great shine on the finish is Meguiar's car wax and an old 100% cotton t-shirt (no printing, and all the seam stitching cut out).

[Two hands31]

I like the speed knobs myself But then, you should see the knobs on my Schecter. They're beauties