GUITAR STUFF INDEX

Bastardcaster

 

 

    BUTCHERED STRATS
    This indulgent set of articles is kinda like showing off pictures of your kids or cats. There's probably a few scraps of useful information in 'em however...

  • STRAT 1 [06/08/03] My very first abused '71 Strat
  • STRAT 4 [06/08/03] Gosh, this was once a Stratocaster Plus Deluxe
  • STRAT 5 [06/08/03] It's FrankenStrat!
  • STRAT 7 [07/10/08] A YJM Strat, reconfigured
  • STRAT 8 (CYLON STRAT) [02/27/11] An aluminum-bodied Partscaster with a graphite neck and active bass, mid and treble controls.

     

    GK-2A EXTERNAL-TO-INTERNAL CONVERSION NOTES
    [06/08/03] Some preliminary thoughts about installing Roland's GK-2A external ("wart") hex pickup gizmo inside a Stratocaster. I didn't end up doing it, and in retrospect I'm glad I didn't.

     

    GRAPHTECH GHOST/HEXPANDER SYSTEM - STRATOCASTER INSTALLATION
    [06/08/03] This documents my installation of Graphtech's 13-pin ("Roland-Ready") piezo system in a Stratocaster.

  • PART 1 Initial assessments and thoughts
  • PART 2 The woodwork
  • PART 3 Patching it up and the verdict
  • PART 4 Addendum and final thoughts

     

    SHOEHORNING A STRAT

  • PART 1 [09/16/03] Adding stompbox circuits inside a Stratocaster, thus ensuring that you destroy the collector's value of both the guitar and the precious stompbox.
  • PART 2 [06/08/08] Folding a Boss SD-1 circuit board, with a little bit of info about ProCo's Rat 2.
  • PART 3 [01/23/11] Onboard Rat 2 in an Ibanez RG2550Z "Super Strat".

     

    SCALLOPED NECK GUITARS
    [05/24/08] The 2007 Yngwie J. Malmsteen Strat (Strat #7) sparks interest in this oddball area of guitar mods. The article concludes with "Quickie Homebrew Neck Scallop Job", using Strat #5 as the victim.

     

    LES PAUL PERSONAL (PROFESSIONAL & RECORDING)
    [10/29/03] Ack, it's a Gibson!!! Also, a well-kept secret, lucky for me

  • PART 1 What it is
  • PART 2 Exploring the circuitry
  • PART 3 Desecrating the circuitry (revisited 03/28/11)

     

    LES PAULS
    [08/04/11] The acquisition of another Les Paul prompted me to write this article about my "regular" Les Pauls, mostly from Gibson's 2007 "Guitar of the Week" (GOTW) series.

     

    JONESIN' FOR A LESLIE: THE QUEST FOR THAT LESLIE GUITAR SOUND

  • 2008 Shootout [07/19/08] After many bucks and many rotary speaker simulators, I find The One. (Or so I thought.)
  • Neo Ventilator Puts Leslie in a Stompbox! [08/16/10] R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen, 11/28/2010; Apologies for the unfortunate subtitle...

     

    IBANEZ SUPER STRAT
    I like my Strats, but playing around with Gibbies made me want to try something slightly different; My impressions of the Ibanez guitars, and my quest for the "Super Strat".

  • Ibanez S420 & S5470 [12/01/10]
  • Ibanez RG2550Z [12/18/10] Morphed into a fake Strat, with onboard SD-1 overdrive. (Later replaced with a Rat2 Circuit - See "Shoehorning a Strat")

     

    SUSTAINIAC INSTALLATION IN AN IBANEZ S-SERIES GUITAR
    [01/15/11] Fry ma hide! My Ibanez S420 sustains for .416666 days without an amp.

    Gibson Les Paul

"My Les Paul sustains for days!"

That can be a problem when the song ends, or if you have a family that needs sleep. The solution is simple: Mute the strings or turn down the guitar's volume. If that doesn't do the trick, turn off the amp.

"My Les Paul makes an awful noise when I turn it up."

It's probably your playing. Stop playing, problem solved!