My SX SST57K just arrived!

[tremoloman***]

I've got my eyes on that P-90 equipped SST. I emailed Kurt to see if this is the same color as Robert's new SX. If so, I'm going for it!

That damn Rondo site is so addicting with the prices so low... but it's a lot less painful since I can get 4 guitars for the price of 1 MIM!

[Tim]

I think you should keep the guitar and have Rondo just send you as Maple neck. The you would have a spare neck for a latter modification on another guitar. Could it really happen?

[Robert****]

I've been thinking of ordering a maple neck from Rondo, the necks are cheap. I doubt Rondo will ship me a free neck, but they promised free shipping on next order, which is great since I'm in Canada!

Today I sanded the neck and applied some Tru-oil, and went over it with steel wool.

I changed the pickups to my Fender CS 54. Oh man! It sounds awesome now!

I found a problem. The neck has a couple of high frets around the 10th fret. It's like a little hump around 10th or 11th fret, so fretting a note on the 11th fret makes it buzz a little against the 12th fret. Not much, but enough to bug me. I set the action fairly high to alleviate the problem.

Does anyone have tips or suggestions for fixing this? I've heard you can hammer down frets that are too high. I've been adjusting the truss rod several times to see if I can adjust it that way, but no.

Another problem is the 5-way switch. It's very poor quality. Mine stops working now and then, so I need to replace. The guitar goes silent sometimes, and then I jiggle it back and forth and after a while, I can kick some life back into it. The guitar is certainly not gig-ready just yet!

Otherwise, I am digging it. Overall, I will say I think the quality is below the Squier '51 or Tele I have. Not much, but I didn't have these problems with my Squiers.

I also would not be surprised if the SST62 or 57 by themselves are better than mine. I have the "kit" version, and it could be an even cheaper solution since it says in my papers they actually cost $69.99.

Oh by the way, that little 10w practice amp sounds awesome! Wow! I was impressed! Not much volume but nice tone, man!

[tremoloman***]

I also would not be surprised if the SST62 or 57 by themselves are better than mine. I have the "kit" version, and it could be an even cheaper solution since it says in my papers they actually cost $69.99.

You hit the nail on the head Robert. Kurt told me the SSTs sold by themselves are a bit nicer than the kit guitars. I do not have any issues with the necks on either of my SSTs nor do I have electrical issues.

You can buy a new 5-way switch from fender for like $8 or go with the super-solid "megaswitch" from Stew-Mac. I installed a Mega-Switch in a MIM and the switch feels like it could withstand a nuclear blast. Here's a pic of one:

The Fender one is decent but this sucker is heavy duty!

[Robert****]

Tremoloman, hearing that Kurt told you that pisses me off a bit! I asked him that specific question before I ordered the guitar, and he said quality is the same.

The 5-way switch was my fault - I messed around experimenting with tin foil and it caused some shorting out... The switch is working okay now.

All is great except for the neck issue. It is hard to see, but I can certainly find it easy enough when I'm playing it.

Wonder if those replacement necks are the same as the "kit version" or the "normal" SST57/62?

[SuperSwede]

Hmm...the neck at rondo´s site doesnt seem as much "tinted" as the SST57 neck. Perhaps its not the same neck?

[tremoloman***]

Tremoloman, hearing that Kurt told you that pisses me off a bit! I asked him that specific question before I ordered the guitar, and he said quality is the same.

Really? Wow, that's out of character for Kurt. Maybe he just overlooked it. I had ordered the pink kit guitar and put in the comments "if this guitar differs from the one sold seperately, please tell me." He send an email saying it is mostl the same but just a little less "finished". and had 22 frets. I wimped out and went for another Power Blue SST 57. I'm contemplating putting a Fender MIM neck on a SST67, so you may get a tinted neck just yet.

The 5-way switch was my fault - I messed around experimenting with tin foil and it caused some shorting out... The switch is working okay now.

Glad it hear it's back to normal.

All is great except for the neck issue. It is hard to see, but I can certainly find it easy enough when I'm playing it.

Again, let me see what I'm going to do with my MIM neck. I've got a Squier '51 neck you can have if you want to put it on your SX. It's in excellent shape - I only made the headstock a bit thinner so standard Fender tuners would fit it.

[Robert****]

Thanks TM, you are a heckuva nice fella!

I played the guitar more now, and the fret issue is very small. I set the action high and it is STILL lovely to play. The buzzing is hardly noticeable but of course annoying if you know about it. Otherwise, I love the neck - it is so nice to play. Even though it is wider than my Tele necks, it plays easy peasy.

The whole guitar sounds awesome. I think they are using some great wood in these guitars. Even without an amp, it just resonates, more so than my other guitars. With the CS 54 pickups, it's one mean cat on the blues block!

[tremoloman***]

In that video you posted with the SST, did you have the '54s in already or was it with the stock pickups? I'd love to hear a comparison between the two.

I think I'm going to attempt to try and make custom steel blocks for my SX & Squier bridges. I'm not looking to make something as attractive as a Callaham, but a poor man's version. If they come out respectable, I'll let you all know.

[Robert****]

That was with the stock pickups - I haven't recorded a clip with the '54s yet. Will do though.

How are you going about making your own steel blocks?

[tremoloman***]

That was with the stock pickups - I haven't recorded a clip with the '54s yet. Will do though.

Cool... I can't wait to hear the difference.

How are you going about making your own steel blocks?

I'm going to try making one with my father using tools left over from his old precision metal shop. My father’s talent and ingenuity is limitless and I feel we can come up with a cheap alternative for my budget guitars. It might not be as pretty or nice as the Callaham, but I'm not trying to reach that goal. I just want to greatly improve the tone of my cheapo-depot guitars by installing steel blocks in them as all my other tremolo fitted guitars do.

I’ve really become addicted to modding cheap guitars over the past couple of months. It's both fun and educational at the same time.

[Spudman***]

Hey Robert

Try tapping the high frets down with a plastic hammer. They are the ones with the yellow hard plastic heads. They may come in a different color but I don't know. I've watched a tech do this and it worked in that instance.

I had the same issue with the Sx Strat copies from Rondo where the neck had a bulge in it at the same place you mentioned.

The other solution would be a fret leveling in that area which requires filing.

[Robert****]

Tremoloman, I am getting that same bug about modding cheap guitars. It's fun and you learn a lot!

Spudman, thanks - I'll try the big ol' plastic hammer trick! Fret leveling is beyond me - I don't have the tools and I don't think it'd be worth have tech do it. The guitar is cool though. Wait until you guys hear next clip with the CS '54s!

[Tinky-Winky]

Robert, you mentioned how the nut is poor and the tremolo throws the guitar out of tune. I had the same problem with my squier, and all it takes is to generously apply some graphite (I used pencil lead) to the nut. As soon as that had been done, I found that I could use the wammy bar a la jimi without the guitar getting tuneless (although unfortunately such abuse snapped the arm a few weeks later...). Obviously, a new nut is the best solution, but as a quick fix I found that this will suffice.


EDIT: Robert, have you tried applying some graphite yet?