In-line Kill Switch for Guitar

I love using the old Randy Rhoads Les Paul trick, flicking the 3-way switch, with the treble pickup cranked, and the rythym pickup turned all the way down! It produces that cool 'machine gun' type of effect, cutting your guitars output, on and off, rapidly. Carlos Cavazo, Randy's replacement in Quiet Riot also uses this effect on the instrumental 'Battle Axe' on of my 'go to' solos!
You can do this with Les Paul's, of course, and with any guitar, that has two pickups, with a separate volume control for each. Same goes for guitars with mini on-off switches for each pickup. However, there are many guitars, single pickups, or with only a single master volume control etc. that you cannot use this neat little trick/effect. In my experience, more guitars than not, are incapable of this type of switching. My new Kramer Stagemaster acquisition, for example, cannot do this. Rather than modify my guitars, I decided to make my own pedal, to place in-line, with the guitar input cable, to accomplish this. Basically I used a DIY pedal chassis from Pedal Parts Plus
http://www.pedalpartsplus.com/

Their products are great quality, feature standard or customized powder-coating, and the prices are extremely reasonable. They had super-fast shipping, as a nice bonus. I bought a small pedal box, similar to a classic MXR effects box in size and shape. I had it powder-coated, in copper vein, as it looked really cool. I also purchased two Switchcraft input jacks. Basically I will have one 1/4" input, one 1/4" output, and a standard 3-way switch, in line to shut off the connection, between the two. The 3-way switch, I had on hand, from the new Charvel San Dimas series guitars. The wiring is simple; the hot wires are connected to two lugs, on the three way, the grounds are connected together, and to the final lug on the 3-way, to ground out the signal.

Here is the completed 'Kill Switch' pedal:

 

I rigged up the switch, near the input, on my amplifier. I used industrial Velcro tape, to mount it. I also used a cheap 1' input cable, that I had, on hand. I will be upgrading to a proper, Monster Cable, as soon as it arrives!

 

It is painfully simple, and it works great! I know it is a bit 'low tech' but sometimes the most simplistic, shade-tree engineered products work the best!   

 

 

Replacement foam / tubing for Guitar Stands

I recently bought a guitar/display stand, from my local music store. I am hanging a special guitar, and I want it to be prominently displayed. They came up with this cool hanger, that mates up to slat-board, which I already have. They weren't using the hanger, anymore, and sold it to me for $40. I am guessing that it would cost at least $75 retail, for a new one. The stand is made by Ingles, who I have never heard of? It is very well built, and uses wing-nuts and a drum key for tightening! The only problem is that the metal hangers are covered with old surgical tubing. We have all seen the stuff I am talking about, amber in color, and this stuff is old, weathered and cracked. It is literally falling off of the stand. Here is what it looked like:

 So I searched all over the web, and eBay etc. looking for a suitable replacement. Well, I had a hard time finding any information, whatsoever, on replacement tubing or foam, whatever. I wanted to upgrade the surgical tubing to some good quality, dense foam, to protect and hold the guitar in place. Through my search, I was able to find a link to this:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-rubber-hollow-tubing/=o9kdak
Its the product, at the bottom of the page, this one;

Weather-Resistant EPDM Foam

3/4"

1/4"

±0.039"

1/4"

4339T6

$12.19/6 ft. piece

I ended up buying 3 different products, not knowing which would work, best. The foam, above, was the winner. Let my research and extra cost $$, help you out! The diameter of the metal rod, that makes up most guitar stands is 3/8", I figured that 1/4" ID foam would stretch, for a nice, snug fit. I was right. I did have to use a bit of silicone spray, to slip the foam over the stands metal rod. Here is what I ended up with:

Sorry, the topic for the guitar that will go on this stand, will have to wait! Hope this helps a few guys out!

My Franken-Steinberger Project

I have always wanted a Steinberger. Not necessarily for its cutting edge innovation, but for the simplicity of its compact size. Meaning, I wanted a good quality travel guitar, that I could throw into its tiny gigbag and leave in my car. This way I would never be without a fully functional electric guitar. I even had some crazy ideas about secreting a Gallien Krueger 250 ML amp, under my desk, so that I could rock out at work!! lol I have literally been searching for the right Steinberger, for years. Just checking eBay from time to time, whenever I gave it some thought, never anything really serious.

I knew that I was not looking to spend a lot. That ruled out the original Newburgh, New York produced models. If you are lucky enough to find one of those, it will most likely need a full mechanical, if not aesthetic restoration. Good restored examples of the GL Model (small, paddle style) start around $4K!! I know, I know you can find them cheaper on eBay, but on those $2K+ 'bargains', the TransTrem will not function properly, without the costly, full restoration. This is not a crap-shoot, 100% of the early Steinies require this mechanical restoration.

So I resigned myself to one of the overseas produced models, figuring that I can always upgrade the pickups and hardware, my standard m.o. The Spirit line looked promising, with the R (rock) fulcrum trem, and EMG Select pickups. Until I actually played one! The small GL style body shape is not comfortable to play! There is simply not enough guitar there, for you to rest your arm on, so your arm has to 'float', uncomfortably, above the guitar, for as long as you can hold it there. The patented Steinberger flip out leg rest or 'kickstand' does allow for the guitar to comfortably rest, on your leg, so at least the seated position is accounted for? In addition, all of the Spirit guitars come with the hum-single-hum pickup configuration, which I cannot stand. Its not that I don't appreciate the sounds and switching options, its just a matter of space. That many pickups takes up all of the 'picking space' between the strings and the face of the guitar. I like a single hum or dual hum configuration, which leaves me adequate space between the strings and the guitar, to dig in, with my pick. Between the pickups, where all of those sweet natural harmonics live! I was not interested in the GM (modified strat shape) series, as that seemed to defeat the purpose of a small, portable travel guitar.

Then just a few years ago, Steinberger introduced the Synapse line! They seemed to perfectly match my needs! The body is a slightly enlarged 'arrow' style, specifically shaped to accommodate the players resting arm! The Synapse line is the new top-of-the-line for Steinberger, even though they are built in Korea. They feature neck-through construction, a composite neck, maple, with a graphite 'U' channel, boxing the truss rod and a phenolic fingerboard, with a zero fret, instead of a nut. In addition these guitars come equipped with real EMG pickups, and a new headpiece, which allows for the use of the standard Steinberger double ball strings, as well as standard single ball end strings! There is some sort of locking clamp, mounted past the traditional string ball slots -- cool! So all of the original Steinberger technology, wrapped up in a $850 package?! Not exactly...

Across the entire Synapse line, there isn't a single guitar offered with a Steinberger Tremelo??! WTF!! OK, I understand no TransTrem, those things go for over $1K, if you can even find one. But no non-transposing S-Trem? No inexpensive R trem?? What gives? Disappointed, I once again put the idea of my perfect travel guitar on the back burner. I did have the idea about routing a Synapse for a trem, but in total that would be well over $1K, way more than I was willing to spend for a simple, travel guitar. I did check eBay from time to time, looking for a project guitar, parts, really anything. Finally, a couple of months ago, I find a Synapse 'carcass' with no hardware whatsoever for the ridiculous Buy It Now of........................................$45!!!!!

There has got to be a catch? Of course, there is. This guitar is stamped 'used' and the serial # has been partially removed, at the factory. Fancy way of saying 'factory 2nd'. The only flaw, having kept this guitar from being built is that the truss-rod is 'maxed out'. Meaning there is no adjustment left, but the ad clearly states that the neck is straight (which is a good thing!). These necks are extremely stiff, and stable due to the graphite reinforcing. So I am thinking that a straight, and stable neck, will either remain more or less straight, or it will bend into a bit of relief, with the addition of the strings tension. I figure for $45, plus $30 shipping, it is totally worth the risk. Hell, I can always actually use it as a boat oar, if it won't work as a guitar! lol Here is how the guitar comes to me:

   

Let me tell you, this guitar is perfect! It is 100% mint, as new condition! Not a spec of hardware in sight, save for the lone bridge ground wire. Every single hole for all of the hardware has also been pre-drilled. Even the volume and tone knobs have are countersunk for the nut and washer! Again, I figure for $45, I can route this thing for a Steinberger tremelo!! That is now the master plan. I find a source for brand new R trems, on eBay, Headless USA. The owner, Don Greenwald is a really cool guy, and is the source for Steinberger guitars, restorations and parts. I end up trading a brand new, complete Floyd Rose chrome, straight up for one of his R trems. I only had $100 into the Floyd, he gets $179 for the trems. Here is a link to Don's outstanding site, check out the Steinberger parts section, to see the basic R trem. http://www.headlessusa.com/

As you can see from the pics, my brand new Synapse comes with a very shallow 1/4" depth route, for the standard, fixed Steinberger bridge. Again, the fixed bridge is the only bridge available, on all Synapse guitars! I need the route to look like this:

This last pic shows the proper route, best.

The main, larger section of the trem route is 1/2" deep. The lower section, for the Steinberger spring assembly is 1 1/4" deep. The good news is that the overall footprint is identical, from the hard tail to the trem. So after lots and lots of careful measuring and marking, I prepare to attack my new Synapse carcass. I use a combination of a radial arm saw (yes I actually used this to rough in the spring cavity!) an actual Craftsmen router, and a dremel tool, I get the trem cavity to the shape it needs to be. There was tons of trial and error, fitting the trem, then making the cavity larger, a tiny bit at a time. I used the tried and true method of sneaking up on the shape I wanted, since once you remove the wood, you can't go back!! I must say the route came out great! Sorry no pics, but it looks just like the one above,except my spring cavity goes all the way to the front of the route, and there is a slight recess, for my R -trems locking feature. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the R-trem has a nifty little locking mechanism, that turns it into a functioning hardtail! Cool! Mine is also painted black. As hard as I tried, I did end up with one kind of noticeable (to me) little chip, on the edge of the route. :(   Of course, I taped off all of the edges, but it still chipped a tiny bit, anyways. 

This pic shows a complete, factory Synapse input jack. Kind of neat, but look at all of that wood, underneath the hardtail bridge!

So in comparing the pics; I finally figured out why no Synapse guitar comes with a trem! If you look at the original pics of my Synapse carcass, you will see that the input jack, is contained in this large cavity, to the center, rear of the guitar. This is a great idea, as it allows for the guitar plug and cable to be very unobtrusive, and routes it, directly to the electronics cavity. You can also see that a rather large chunk of wood had been removed, from the guitar body, to facilitate this cavity. Turns out that the input cavity and the necessary trem route occupy some of the same space, within the guitars body! So when I routed the deep 1 1/4" spring channel, I ate through, into the input cavity. Not a lot, but enough. Here's what I can't figure out: Wouldn't nearly every single guitar player give up this neat little input cavity deal, to have a functioning tremelo? I know that I sure would!! The now modified input cavity is actually a blessing in disguise, as the Synapse specific input plate is not available from the Steinberger (Gibson-Epiphone) parts department! So I was going to have to modify the input jack, anyways. Available parts from an authorized Epiphone dealer, heretofore referred to generically as 'Gibson' is a whole other story, here goes:

On the Steinberger website, it shows a nice, comprehensive list of available Synapse parts! Nearly everything is offered, except the maple wood/composite neck bodies, which I already have! So, apparently you can't order parts on the website. All they have is an 800 number to call. I do so, and eventually get to speak with a live person, at Gibson. He abruptly tells me that parts can only be ordered through an authorized Epiphone dealer, and to try Sam Ash or Guitar Center etc. I do a bit of quick internet checking, and find one horror story after another, about how all the 'new' Steinbergers are now 'orphans' and how you can't get parts from Gibson. Also lots of information about just how awful Gibson is to deal with. I did try Don at Headless USA, but he has had the same horrible luck, dealing with Gibson, and just says to me "good luck, getting parts from Gibson is an impossible horror show!" (paraphrasing!) So I try Musician's Friend, with no luck. I try Guitar Center, and they say that they will email me back in a day or so, with availability of parts, and if they will even be able to place the special order etc.

So as almost a last ditch effort I contact Dave's Guitar, in Wisconsin, as they are supposed to be the 2nd largest Gibson dealer in the U.S. , next to Musician's Friend/Guitar Center, presumably. They have a great guy, an actual contact person, in the parts dept. and he quickly gets back to me with prices and availability for Steinberger parts! I needed: the proprietary Synapse headpiece, the cavity cover plate, the strap button extension arm, the correct Steiny knobs, and the battery cover. I had alternative plans of cutting down the headpiece area, to accept the old style, which is readily available on eBay, cutting my own cavity cover out of pickguard material, and buying a battery cover off of eBay, just as contingencies. Brian, from Dave's Guitar calls me back, and says that he can only get 3 parts, and as luck would have it, the only parts on my list that are available are the ones that are 'must have'! The headpiece, the cavity cover, and the strap pin/extension. I have the parts within a week, even! Gibson did screw up and send me a headpiece for a 5 string bass, but I had the correct 6 string piece, and a drop ship tag for the return, within another week. Not to defend Gibson, but there were no part #'s on any of the parts I received? Whatever. I find the correct battery compartment on eBay (from China, go figure), pickup up a used set of EMG's and all pots and wiring etc. for $100!! BTW, the new Steinberger parts cost me $126 including shipping. I also pickup us a new Synapse gig-bag, and the fold out Steinberger leg-rest kickstand, from the same place the guitar came from for another $75. So I am into this guitar, including all shipping charges for only $475!!

The only thing left to do is the final assembly, which goes very smoothly. I do find that the Asian Steinbergers have a tendency to use the smallest, thinnest screws, barely capable of doing the job. Every part that I bought, the R-trem, the kickstand, the strap button extension; they all come with screws! Great, but half of them are too small and useless, in my opinion. Most of these were replaced from my Schaller screw assortment, with much better results. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, that last little bit of customization! Since the Synapse input jack was never an available part, I will have to rig up my own. Remember, I also routed into the input cavity, slightly with the trem route. I simply taped over the hole, with electrical tape, for a bit of shielding, since it will never show. I used a modded strat cup, which angles the input jack, and allowed me to screw it to the body, and to the cavity cover.

I know this pic is a bit fuzzy, but you can see the strat cup, and also  the trem spring channel route.

Here you can see the stainless torx screw and captured nut I used to mount the strat input jack to the cavity cover. It worked really slick! The torx scew and captured nut are extra parts from my BMW Motorcycle!

Check out how well the cavity cover fits! I assume that there was a running change, at the factory, making the cavity route slightly larger, not matching up with the available parts. I may still cut my own cover, but this cover, not fitting just right, kind of 'fits' in with my Franken-Steiny theme! Plus I drilled two new holes, and the large one for the captured nut!

Here is the trem installed. You can see that chip, to the front of the rout. I did touch it up with black paint, but I will always know it is there!

I used traditional mounting rings on the EMG pickups. They look better, and function better than wood-mounted pickups. Check out the placement of the bridge pickup. Steinberger has been putting them, in this forward position - 'the sweet spot' since the beginning! I did have to cut the neck pickup ring, as the pickup is mounted, flush up against the neck. I never bought into that ridiculous myth that pickups mounted directly to the wood body sound better! Pure crap! Thanks to EVH for not having a mounting ring on hand, and nailing his pickup to guitars body!! lol

A full body shot, with my leather Steinberger strap. Last pic is my Franken-Steiny with my GK 250 ML -- the ultimate in a compact electric guitar and amp rig!

 This guitar plays very well. The actions isn't super low, but it isn't high, either. Reminds me of a typical bolt-on Fender strat, in the action/set-up department. The neck did give, a bit, as I thought it would, with the added string tension. I did use 9-46 gauge D'Addario strings, the hybrid set, with lower top strings, for even more added tenstion. It doesn't have what I would consider 'normal' relief, but there is enough, with no fretting out, the guitar sounds, over the entire fingerboard, and bends, outtasite, with ease. I really like the matte finish! I wasn't sure how I would like it, but it is very comfortable, to rest your arm on, and when your palm rests on the face of the guitar, for certain runs. The trem works great, and it locks, if you prefer a hardtail! I would describe the 'feel' of the trem as not as stiff and positive as a Floyd Rose, but not as loose and wiggly as a Kahler, a happy in-between medium. Overall, I am very happy with the results! 

       

NGD - Kramer Stagemaster Celebrity Owned!

NGD or New Guitar Day! I have been looking for one of these top-quality neck-through Kramer guitars for a long, long time! Really I have wanted one for 25+ years, when I had to 'settle' on a Pacer American, since the Stagemasters and Soloists that I lusted after, were out of my price range. So I found one, on an internet search, at a New Jersey dealer and it looks promising. This particular guitar may even have been previously owned by a well known Rockstar, to boot! This particular guitarist is not known for ever playing a Kramer, or any 80's type of guitar, for that matter. The seller doesn't want any more for the guitar, for the rockstar connection, so I figured that I would take a chance, since it is clearly in excellent condition, and it is a 1986 Standard Model, with only one hum, my personal fave and 1st choice. After buying the guitar, I did my homework, to verify the history of this guitar, and I actually come up with something! Here is a teaser pic, I will add more to the story and a ton more pics, in the next couple of days! :headbang

A couple more pics from the video. I will say that the video and album were released in 1987. The album went platinum and spawned three top 10 hits, including the song for this video. Believe it or not, the bands previous 5 albums sold even better, with all going multi-platinum! (Thanks, Wikipedia! lol) Any guesses?
The guitar is [U]prominently[/U] featured in the video. It is like a 6th member of the band!

This guitarist is not well known for playing any kind of 80's superstrat style guitar. This is really a testament to how nearly every player picked up a Kramer, Jackson/Charvel, Hamer, or BC Rich, back in the 80's.

So here is the answer to the riddle!

Alright, so here is cool part of how I found the guitar, and then conclusively linked it to Mick Jones.
I found the Stagemaster on a gbase search. The ad stated that it was previously owned by Mick Jones. Honestly, I could not have cared less, I liked the guitar for what it was. A really cool Stagey, in excellent condition, in my preferred pickup configuration, with a non-recessed Floyd. I did do a quick internet seach, and could not find any pics, or anything whatsoever, linking this guitar to Mick Jones. The seller didn't want any more for the guitar, than it was worth, street value, so I gave the NJ guitar store a call. They were cosigning the guitar for Matt Wells, who is a NYC amp guru, and owner of One East Recording Studio. Coincidentally, Foreigner has recorded at One East. So I bought the guitar and then contacted Matt Wells, for some additional info. Here is what he had to say;
"He [Mick Jones] cleaned out a locker several years back. This [Kramer Stagemaster] was one of many items that I purchased. I've never seen a picture of him playing it but that doesn't mean there is not one out there. He got rid of a lot of odds and ends, things that were used for recording. This guitar probably had Floyd appeal. I think he only performs with LP's. That's all I know.
It came in a 70's fender case which I kept. If you give me a mailing address I will mail you the inventory ID tag that is taped on it.
The rest of the guitars were pretty much non events. An Ovation, a fernandes strat with a funny preset tuning bridge, a kay banjo, a casio midi controller, a couple of cheap basses and a cool mandocello that needed a lot of repair and other stuff he had no interest in."
Now I had no doubt that the guitar belonged to Mick Jones, but I was very, very curious and wanted definitive proof, i.e. a photograph, video, something. So I did a little detective work of my own. I knew that the guitar was manufactured in 1986, so I did a search of all of Foreigners recorded works from 1986-1993, which told me which albums they put out, and also the singles. My first stop was Youtube, hoping that I would find a live video from that era, with a shot of (now my) Stagemaster. As far as still pics, there are none out there, that I could find, Mick appears to have used Les Pauls, exclusively, although there is one weird pic of him playing one of those Hondo/Mako extreme pointy guitars!? Youtube had virtually no live videos from this era Foreigner, so I was resigned to check the regular made for TV videos. The album 'Inside Information' was released in 1987, so it was first. The biggest hit was 'Say You Will' which doesn't even feature the band, at all. Next was 'I Don't Want to Live Without You' and again, no luck.
So I tried 'Heart Turns to Stone', a song which I always really liked from Foreigner, Mark II. As soon as I saw the shot of Mick, in silhouette, carring a guitar, I just knew it was my guitar. As you would figure, Mick is well featured in the video, as he is, IMO, Foreigner. Which means the guitar is also very prominently featured. You can even see on the 24th fret, there is a blank inlay, no 'KRAMER' engraved. There is also a bit of the corner of the block inlay, that is missing, it looks like it was sanded away, before the guitar was fretted, this is clearly visible in the video. So, cool, in a word! To now own a fantastic Kramer Stagemaster, previously owned by Mick Jones, and prominently featured in a Music Video, made me pretty happy.
I have been a fan of Foreigner since Foreigner 4 came out. I can remember staying home sick from school in 1982 and listening to a 'double-shot' of Foreigner 'Long, Long Way From Home' and 'Juke Box Hero' on my am/fm stereo headphones, and just rocking out! lol Here are a few more pics from the 'Heart Turns to Stone' video:

and the best one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Sn6mOpxt4&nofeather=True

I will post up some pics of the guitar, as she is today, soon. With just a little bit of setup, she plays phenomenally well, and sounds great!
Here is my guitar as she looks today. Other than one nasty ding, down near the rear control cavity, it is in outstanding condition. Hardly any players wear, minimal swirl marks. It really looks like a time capsule, like it was put away 20 years ago, after only a year or two of very light use. Practically zero fret wear, and a nice chunky neck, when compared to a Jackson Soloist or a Charvel strat, which is a welcome change.
It did need a bit of tweaking, to get into playing condition, though. The low E saddle pivot was completely frozen, and I had to soak it in 3 in 1 oil, then WD40, while working it back and forth over a couple of days. The Floyd arms screw in collar was also loose, but aren't they always?! The input jack was also dirty and crackling, but a bit of contact cleaner and simply using it, took care of that. The paint was also starting to delaminate, under the Floyd, only slightly, and the entire piece was intact, so I used a thin, hot superglue to re-adhere it. This was likely caused by the factory 'massaging' of the Floyd route. As frequently seen on Kramers from this era, the route was opened up, a tiny bit, after the paint was applied. So there is some area, with a super clean route, that is bare wood. Funny how they had to do this on so many guitars, and couldn't fine-tune the routing process, so that it was the same, and correct, every time. It really speaks to how each guitar was given a great, hands-on setup, at the factory. The intonation was perfect, which was a nice bonus. The past few guitars I have acquired, needed a major overhaul, in the intonation which on a Floyd is a major PITA. I also scrubbed the Floyd with a toothbrush and 3 in 1 oil, just precautionary, there was no surface rust, as there usually is. I also did the normal hardwood splinters and woodglue into the strap pin holes, and a few of the trem/cavity screw holes needed this treatment as well. I touched up that ding with black touch up, which I had on hand. I plan on color matching the candy red with automotive touch up, and doing it correctly, in the future. The pickup was adjusted a tad low, for my tastes, but thats it. The angled JB pickups give a noticeable different sound than the standard mounted F-spaced Duncans, that I am used to. It may just be nostalgia, but the sound really reminds me of my old '86 Pacer. Here are a few pics;