The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #51

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    As a former owner of a model in the Expressionist range, which I thought was a bit overrated, I'm very curious to know how that experiment turned out. Assuming the basic build and materials are the same, and the electronics and the hardware are going to need to be changed anyway, it's possible that the basic models represent a much better deal.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #52

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    Quote Originally Posted by Meggy
    Looks fabulous, excellent work. Neck pickup the wrong way round? or deliberate? Not that it matters. forgive me mentioning it, just curious.
    Yes, on purpose. The reasoning behind is that the pole pieces now sit in the same position as where normally that coil would sit, since on the Ibanez the pickup sits closer to the neck. Not sure if it works though Ibanez AF55

  4. #53

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    A bit of a spoiler maybe, but I think she sounds great. Different from my ES-333 and ES-125, but a very nice and round sound. The sound has a somewhat ‘light’ and ‘airy’ quality to it, I think because the woods used in the ply are young and probably not so dense in terms of growth rings. But especially the Gibson patent number bucker sounds very good on it. I can’t get a shrill or harsh note out of her!

  5. #54

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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian B
    I like how you reconfigured the controls. Looks great.
    Thanks, yes this looks and feels more familiar to me.

  6. #55

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    Quote Originally Posted by Little Jay
    Yes, on purpose. The reasoning behind is that the pole pieces now sit in the same position as where normally that coil would sit, since on the Ibanez the pickup sits closer to the neck. Not sure if it works though Ibanez AF55
    Worth a try, all the same! I'd actually be interested to try a 20 fret archtop with the pickup right up against the fingerboard - never had such a guitar, and never played one either - maybe I'd find the tone a bit too mellow, but it might be good. There is the Gibson L5 as a noble example, after all - Wes seemed to get quite a nice tone with those...

  7. #56

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    Neat work!

    You obviously know what you're doing but for a quick and dirty pickup change like this I'd be tempted to just cut the wire close to the old pickup and solder the new one outside the body without messing with the pots.

    You wouldn't want to do this with a pickup you really wanted to keep of course.

    Just curious if anyone here has taken this shortcut before.

  8. #57

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    Quote Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
    Neat work!

    You obviously know what you're doing but for a quick and dirty pickup change like this I'd be tempted to just cut the wire close to the old pickup and solder the new one outside the body without messing with the pots.

    You wouldn't want to do this with a pickup you really wanted to keep of course.

    Just curious if anyone here has taken this shortcut before.
    I did this the last time I changed pickups on my semi-acoustic - actually, sort of bizarre, but I installed a new wiring harness and fed wires from that through to the pickup cavities, then wired the new pickups to the ends. It was still easier to do this than it would have been to fit the pickups, feed the wires from them through and out the f-hole, then solder to the harness, and feed the whole lot back in through the f-hole and maneuver into place. And if I ever change the pickups in the future, that will be dead simple and quick to do. I've since done the same thing with another 2 humbucker guitar, even though that does have a control cavity with a removable cover - it's just simpler to do somehow, and makes trying different pickups a lot easier. I guess not a "proper" thing to do, but it works fine, and I'm not feeling at all guilty...

  9. #58

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    When I installed new pickups in my Epiphone Sheraton II, I took out only the volume pots thru the f-hole and soldered the new pickups in the place of the old ones. I didn't take the rest of the harness out (but I did some time later when I again changed those pickups :-)

  10. #59

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    Quote Originally Posted by Little Jay


    I took some pics from the inside:






    Was taking pictures of the inside a matter of poking the smartphone into the pickup hole or is there more complex hardware involved? Great pix!

  11. #60

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    Quote Originally Posted by guido5
    Was taking pictures of the inside a matter of poking the smartphone into the pickup hole or is there more complex hardware involved? Great pix!
    Just sticking the phone inside! Modern phone-cameras are pretty amazing...

  12. #61

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    As promised: sounds!

    Please ignore the black rings under my eyes as last night’s gig became late.... for that reason also forgive the occasional slip of the finger.... :-(

    Acoustic (recorded with a Nady condenser):



    And amplified, recorded thru my Blues Deluxe with a Sennheiser e609:


  13. #62

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    Quote Originally Posted by Little Jay
    Just sticking the phone inside! Modern phone-cameras are pretty amazing...
    Cool I'll have to try it!

  14. #63

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    Sounds wonderful! Lovely playing for a morning too...

  15. #64

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    Looks and sounds great. Nice project...great playing!

  16. #65

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    Great job playing! The amplified sound is definitely full. Also, the axe looks really good (nicely done). I think you may have started a few of us on a new project!
    Chuck

  17. #66

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    Quote Originally Posted by es34569
    Great job playing! The amplified sound is definitely full. Also, the axe looks really good (nicely done). I think you may have started a few of us on a new project!
    Chuck
    Thanks! Haha, mission accomplished then! (Now I have to collect my bonus from Ibanez ;-)

  18. #67
    Sounds beautiful! And it looks great! I've done some things on my Ibanez AFJ 81 which I got used for 300€ and I really wish mine had the simple inlays on the fretboard like your guitar has. I am not really a fan of block inlays, but that's just me.
    Great Job!

  19. #68

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    You've done a great job there, Jay - that cheapo guitar sure looks and sounds like a much more costly instrument - was worth all the effort you put in. Enjoyed your playing, too.

  20. #69

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    Great job on the guitar and the tunes! I have the same model Ibanez and I like what you've done to yours. Where did you source the ebony bridge and was it an easy swap? What did you use and what's the technique for buffing the finish?

    Thanks for any help!

    Jonathan

  21. #70

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    Quote Originally Posted by jschiele
    Great job on the guitar and the tunes! I have the same model Ibanez and I like what you've done to yours. Where did you source the ebony bridge and was it an easy swap? What did you use and what's the technique for buffing the finish?

    Thanks for any help!

    Jonathan
    Hi Jonathan, I had the ebony bridge laying around. I don't remember where I got it, but looks like a Göldo one, that you can get at Thomann.de for example. But any nice wood bridge would do I suppose (I usually prefer rosewood). The swap was very easy: just loosen the strings, put it alongside the old bridge (make sure it's lower than the old one), take away the old one and slide it in position (you might have to intonate a little) and raise it to the preferred height.

    For the polishing I used car polish and a cloth and a lot of elbow-grease :-) Just follow the instructions on the polishing product and you'll be fine. I like the new look a lot, so for me it was worth the effort! But of course it yields nothing in terms of sound. But I also polished the back of the neck and for me that feels a lot better.

  22. #71

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    Nice work, Jay! It looks great, the acoustic sound is crisp and balanced (perfect for lo-vol practice); the amplified sound is velvety and defined - just amazing! Kudos!

  23. #72

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    i just bought an AF-75 i am planning on doing something similar to.

    had the AF-55 for a bit - GREAT sounding guitars!!!

    fantastic thread - thanks for sharing.


    especially the pic, taking that to my tech if you don't mind.

    still looking for a set of PAFs.



    Ibanez AF55-af75-jpg

  24. #73

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    Thanks hodshonf! I gladly share these things as it may help and inspire others. Seems to work!

    The AF75 is a step up from the AF55 so to see, and it looks like it has the neck pickup in the conventional location. What pickups are in there? A pair of classic 57s or SDs could be a step up. A wood bridge might also change the tone more to your liking as well.

    I am considering a bone or tusk nut. I have some bone blanks in my drawer and a set of fret files so soon I will give it a go. For me this is also a nice experiment to see what changes in sounds the different parts make.

    For now I only have some cosmetic changes coming: some Ibanez sure-grip knobs and a pickguard that I will shape myself.

  25. #74

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    funny you mention,

    i JUST ordered a used Classic 57/57+ set this evening for about half the price of new.

    i'll swap out the bridge and tailpiece for nickel - and trapeze style for tor the tailpiece.

    i'll keep the tune-o-matic style bridge.

    harness, pots, and switch upgrade while my tech is in there.

    i do my own mods on my solid body guitars.

    but from your pics and videos i've seen about upgrading archtops, i seriously doubt i have the temperment.

    i'll let my tech take care of it all proper and such. Mike Lull Guitarworks here in the Seattle/Bellevue area.

    I asked Mike about a bone nut (he's done that to most of my solidbodies) and he suggested i play what's on there until it wears out.

    for knobs, i've been looking at Heritage and Eastman for ideas.

  26. #75

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    Couldn’t resist further modding of course, so I made a pickguard, bought some Ibanez sure-grip knobs and an amber pickup-selecter knob. Especially the latter gave a big improvement in tone Ibanez AF55





    Last edited by Little Jay; 12-18-2017 at 04:46 AM. Reason: Auto correction error