Death by Uberschall
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:headbang1:
Incoming Chambered Strat!
- Thread starter mero
- Start date
Unfortunately, this build's got a few more bumps in the road compared to the last one 
Just found out that the piezo output jack that comes with the LR Baggs Ctrl-X is a special 9-lug jack that allows for stereo output as well as battery switching when there isn't a cable plugged in. The body's drilled with a 1/2 inch diameter hole for a deep panel jack, in which the baggs jack won't fit. I've got a Switchcraft deep panel stereo jack, but it looks like that won't be sufficient for stereo output and battery switching since it's the conventional 3-lug type.
Anyone knows where I can get a deep panel jack that would allow for that kinda functionality? Or do I probably have to enlarge the hole to a 7/8 inch diameter to take the 9-lug jack? :icon_scratch:
Just found out that the piezo output jack that comes with the LR Baggs Ctrl-X is a special 9-lug jack that allows for stereo output as well as battery switching when there isn't a cable plugged in. The body's drilled with a 1/2 inch diameter hole for a deep panel jack, in which the baggs jack won't fit. I've got a Switchcraft deep panel stereo jack, but it looks like that won't be sufficient for stereo output and battery switching since it's the conventional 3-lug type.
Anyone knows where I can get a deep panel jack that would allow for that kinda functionality? Or do I probably have to enlarge the hole to a 7/8 inch diameter to take the 9-lug jack? :icon_scratch:
Rickgrxbass
Senior Member
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It'd have to be a custom breakout cable, but you may be able to cram a 9-pin mini-DIN jack in there?
Although it may be less work just to enlarge the hole, to be honest.
Although it may be less work just to enlarge the hole, to be honest.
More and more problems just keep appearing for this project :-\
I sent the parts in to my local setup shop for assembly. They masked off part of the body to drill the holes for the pots, and when the tape was removed, it peeled off a strip of finish. I suspect the tape was left there for a pretty long time cos they took a really long time with my guitar. There was some modification to be done to the pickups and complex wiring so I wasn't too hard on them for the time frame. But I believe the tape (masking tape, not painter's tape) was left on the body for some time and that contributed to the problem. On the other hand, I have questions as to whether this also involves the poly finish not adhering to the body when it was factory finished.
They told me they'll try to refinish the spot where the lacquer peeled, but based on some research I'm not too optimistic. It seems that poly isn't suitable for spot resprays and it probably won't blend into the current finish.
Any ideas as to what I should do now? As it stands I told them to go ahead and try to repair the damage but I highly doubt it will work out.
I sent the parts in to my local setup shop for assembly. They masked off part of the body to drill the holes for the pots, and when the tape was removed, it peeled off a strip of finish. I suspect the tape was left there for a pretty long time cos they took a really long time with my guitar. There was some modification to be done to the pickups and complex wiring so I wasn't too hard on them for the time frame. But I believe the tape (masking tape, not painter's tape) was left on the body for some time and that contributed to the problem. On the other hand, I have questions as to whether this also involves the poly finish not adhering to the body when it was factory finished.
They told me they'll try to refinish the spot where the lacquer peeled, but based on some research I'm not too optimistic. It seems that poly isn't suitable for spot resprays and it probably won't blend into the current finish.
Any ideas as to what I should do now? As it stands I told them to go ahead and try to repair the damage but I highly doubt it will work out.
Cagey
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Leaving tape on is definitely bad news - especially standard masking tape. The solvents in the adhesive continue to boil off, albeit slowly, until the gum hardens and has a pretty good grip on things.
As an aside, that's a good reason to buy your various adhesive films from someplace that turns over their inventory fairly often. Old tape is bad tape. It has a shelf life.
As for your finish tear, is it large enough that the knobs won't cover it up? If not, then I'd leave it. Repairing it will be a lot of work that may end up making things worse. Think br'er Rabbit and the tar baby.
Speaking of a lot of work, Warmoth uses polyurethane for their body finishes and it's a cast iron bitch to repair, if it can be done at all. It's a very robust finish, but if it does get damaged you're in deep, meaningful sheep dip. You often have to strip and redo the entire piece. Add the $250 finish cost Warmoth charges to the cost of stripping and prepping, and you may be looking at a guitar-shaped bit of scrap. At least, from a financial POV. If you do it yourself, it's still a fine piece of woodwork with lotsa promise.
As an aside, that's a good reason to buy your various adhesive films from someplace that turns over their inventory fairly often. Old tape is bad tape. It has a shelf life.
As for your finish tear, is it large enough that the knobs won't cover it up? If not, then I'd leave it. Repairing it will be a lot of work that may end up making things worse. Think br'er Rabbit and the tar baby.
Speaking of a lot of work, Warmoth uses polyurethane for their body finishes and it's a cast iron bitch to repair, if it can be done at all. It's a very robust finish, but if it does get damaged you're in deep, meaningful sheep dip. You often have to strip and redo the entire piece. Add the $250 finish cost Warmoth charges to the cost of stripping and prepping, and you may be looking at a guitar-shaped bit of scrap. At least, from a financial POV. If you do it yourself, it's still a fine piece of woodwork with lotsa promise.
Cagey: It's a huge chunk, maybe a 3" by 1.5" rectangle or so.
I don't have any woodworking or finishing experience, so I won't be doing it myself. Everything was done by my local shop. I'm pretty peeved that this happened to a brand new body from Warmoth, especially one with such a great top.
Right now I'm just thinking what I should ask from the shop in terms of compensation if the repairs don't work out. I know a refinish would probably be very pricey, but legally speaking they're probably obliged to do that. (Yes I am legally educated and know my rights as to compensation for negligence, in case anyone would suggest that I'm not entitled to a refinish) At this point I think it would be more cost effective for the shop to simply replace the body with a similar one from Warmoth, but I'm not sure if they'll be willing to do that.
Having said that, they're great guys and have done good work for me in the past. I believe this is a one-off incident, but it was still negligent on their part to have made such an error with the masking tape.
But anyways, thanks Cagey for your input on the spot-refinishing, reaffirms my doubts as to whether they'll be able to satisfactorily repair the finish damage
I don't have any woodworking or finishing experience, so I won't be doing it myself. Everything was done by my local shop. I'm pretty peeved that this happened to a brand new body from Warmoth, especially one with such a great top.
Right now I'm just thinking what I should ask from the shop in terms of compensation if the repairs don't work out. I know a refinish would probably be very pricey, but legally speaking they're probably obliged to do that. (Yes I am legally educated and know my rights as to compensation for negligence, in case anyone would suggest that I'm not entitled to a refinish) At this point I think it would be more cost effective for the shop to simply replace the body with a similar one from Warmoth, but I'm not sure if they'll be willing to do that.
Having said that, they're great guys and have done good work for me in the past. I believe this is a one-off incident, but it was still negligent on their part to have made such an error with the masking tape.
But anyways, thanks Cagey for your input on the spot-refinishing, reaffirms my doubts as to whether they'll be able to satisfactorily repair the finish damage
Cagey
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Damn. That is a big chunk.
Well, maybe they know some tricks for repairing poly. At this stage of the game, what's the worst thing that could happen? At least they're in for a penny accepting blame for the flaw, so if the repair doesn't work out, they're in for a pound. The repair is tacit admission of liability, so they'll have to repair/replace the whole thing or otherwise compensate you. The downside is, even if you can all remain amiable throughout this ordeal you're looking at a good-sized chunk of time before you have a usable instrument. It might be worth it to take some sort of settlement and just live with the flaw. It's a good excuse to build another one.
Well, maybe they know some tricks for repairing poly. At this stage of the game, what's the worst thing that could happen? At least they're in for a penny accepting blame for the flaw, so if the repair doesn't work out, they're in for a pound. The repair is tacit admission of liability, so they'll have to repair/replace the whole thing or otherwise compensate you. The downside is, even if you can all remain amiable throughout this ordeal you're looking at a good-sized chunk of time before you have a usable instrument. It might be worth it to take some sort of settlement and just live with the flaw. It's a good excuse to build another one.
bagman67
Epic Member
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Mero -
That sucks. I'm sorry to hear of your travail. I agree with your analysis vis-a-vis compensation for the damage.
At least you seem to have stumbled on a solution many of us have long sought for the problem of stripping a poly-finished guitar... :dontknow: Who knew masking tape would be the silver bullet?
Hope this all works out your way, and reasonably soon.
Peace
Bagman
That sucks. I'm sorry to hear of your travail. I agree with your analysis vis-a-vis compensation for the damage.
At least you seem to have stumbled on a solution many of us have long sought for the problem of stripping a poly-finished guitar... :dontknow: Who knew masking tape would be the silver bullet?
Hope this all works out your way, and reasonably soon.
Peace
Bagman
bluestometal
Junior Member
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Beautiful!
