Read a guitar review, in which the reviewer said he wanted more guitars around the house so he could grab and play quickly, without worrying about his nice instruments getting damaged. He bought a couple of cheap ones and found the cheapest becoming his goto song writing companion.
While the broken foot healed: I bought 3 cheap electric guitars via craigslist: Kramer Focus 111s, red , strat copy $35 First Act m316, black and white, $25 Gibson Maestro Studio (LP jr type), black and sunburst $40.
Took all to Elderly for neck work and setup. They all play way nice now. The First Act makes me want to play.
Kramer and First Act:
Applied 3 coats of conductive paint to cavities, and added ground wires. Used copper foil on pick-guards, and rear plates.
Changed the wiring:
Kramer:: basic wiring diagram from http://www.guitar-mod.com/wiring/andy_ultimate.gif , did not buy the mid kit.
The main changes from this diagram are:
Switches added:
Toggle switch: Neck and bridge pickups in series, like humbucker
Pull-Push volume: Neck pickup always on
And switches added:
Pull-Push tone1: neck pickup reverse polarity
Pull-Push tone2: bridge pickup reverse polarity
And used 1950's tone wiring
First Act::: wiring diagram from Guitar Parts & Wiring Diagrams-FREE Shipping Over $49
Split pickup coils
Added Switches:
Toggle switch: Individual coil selection, and humbucker
Pull-Push volume: Series: like humbucker, Parallel: like strat
Pull-push tone: Bridge coil reverse polarity
And used 1950's tone wiring
I also purchased a Hanna Montana acoustic, for $25.
With all these guitars, proper setup: adjusting nut, bridge, and neck, these "beginner" guitars play great.
And I am a bit less concerned about them breaking while laying about.
But it makes me way sad when I think of all the kids who quit because their "beginner" guitars were too hard play.
J
While the broken foot healed: I bought 3 cheap electric guitars via craigslist: Kramer Focus 111s, red , strat copy $35 First Act m316, black and white, $25 Gibson Maestro Studio (LP jr type), black and sunburst $40.
Took all to Elderly for neck work and setup. They all play way nice now. The First Act makes me want to play.
Kramer and First Act:
Applied 3 coats of conductive paint to cavities, and added ground wires. Used copper foil on pick-guards, and rear plates.
Changed the wiring:
Kramer:: basic wiring diagram from http://www.guitar-mod.com/wiring/andy_ultimate.gif , did not buy the mid kit.
The main changes from this diagram are:
Switches added:
Toggle switch: Neck and bridge pickups in series, like humbucker
Pull-Push volume: Neck pickup always on
And switches added:
Pull-Push tone1: neck pickup reverse polarity
Pull-Push tone2: bridge pickup reverse polarity
And used 1950's tone wiring
First Act::: wiring diagram from Guitar Parts & Wiring Diagrams-FREE Shipping Over $49
Split pickup coils
Added Switches:
Toggle switch: Individual coil selection, and humbucker
Pull-Push volume: Series: like humbucker, Parallel: like strat
Pull-push tone: Bridge coil reverse polarity
And used 1950's tone wiring
I also purchased a Hanna Montana acoustic, for $25.
With all these guitars, proper setup: adjusting nut, bridge, and neck, these "beginner" guitars play great.
And I am a bit less concerned about them breaking while laying about.
But it makes me way sad when I think of all the kids who quit because their "beginner" guitars were too hard play.
J
