GoKart Mozart's (from Alabama) SUB1 Project

[GoKart Mozart]

Greetings fellow Knuckleheads,
I'm going to use this thread to document my SUB1 project as well as post some general questions that you guys might could help me out with, especially you current SUB1 owners!

First of all, I planned on this being a project guitar from the start, so I looked for the cheapest one I could find knowing that I wouldn't be getting a gem. From the pictures provided, I knew that this one would likely be in rough shape and need some work. It arrived today and my thoughts were confirmed.

First off, the Guitar Center that I bought it from shipped it with the strings loosened and did not remove any slack on the truss rod (why do people do this anyway?). Looks like the previous owner(s) was pretty hard on it; the back of the neck has several dings as well as the body. The bridge is pretty nasty and it looks like it was strung up by my 3 year old. I tuned it up and plugged it in. Needs a heck of a setup job. Neck is NOT satin-y at all and the pickups sound like muddy poo; tone control appears to be non-functioning or stuck closed. Lots of dried sweat on the bridge and cigarette ash buildup along the pickguard seam and neck joint.

EWWW

I have a few specific questions:
1) Does this look like the wiring has been modified? The red & white leads from each pickup are not soldered to anything and tied together with electrical tape:

2) What the heck is this deal on the trem block? It's a little allen bolt that holds some sort of metal pin inside a narrow channel in the block. What's the purpose of this?

3) How are these tuners supposed to work? Never seen this design before with the collar that slides and screws on from the top...

4) I think the previous owner put some sort of additional finish on the neck. It is definitely glossy and sticky; you can see the seam here:

5) First mod...remove serial number sticker and set aside for sanding!

That's it for now. I've completely disassembled the bridge and am cleaning it thoroughly with lighter fluid. Hopefully I'll get the sanding on the neck done tomorrow.

You can check out all the pics in my photobucket album:

sub1 pictures by jpcody01 - Photobucket

 

[Gio_Force_One]

I have the same color Sub1 the wires that are taped are so you can coil tap the pickups they are four conductor pickups so if you dont use the coil tapping just tape up the wires and leave them alone. the wire i think is for the tension on the tremolo bar maybe. the tuners are just a different kind of locking tuners that tighten ther string down from the top.

 

[Gio_Force_One]

so what are your plans with the guitar mine i just cleaned up installed push pullknobs so i could coil tap the pickups and changed the pots to 500k

 

[ScreaminFloyd]

That's the same Colour Pacifier I had until my mom tossed it. Probably worth millions! Can't wait to see the finished Sub

 

[GoKart Mozart]

so what are your plans with the guitar mine i just cleaned up installed push pullknobs so i could coil tap the pickups and changed the pots to 500k

Thanks for the info! I found a thread that explained how the SUB1 locking tuners work, thanks.

Immediate plans:
-Sand neck & finish w/ Tru-oil & wax
-Get guitar back into playing condition

Long term:
-Change pickups?
-Change to Schaller mini locking tuners? (my Luke has me spoiled)
-Change pots to 500k
-Route additional spot to add a bridge single coil, like the Morse Y2D
-New pickguard...my wife says black pearloid would look nice

 

[GoKart Mozart]

That's the same Colour Pacifier I had until my mom tossed it. Probably worth millions! Can't wait to see the finished Sub

Sheesh, it's crazy where those things will turn up when you have an infant in the house.

 

[GoKart Mozart]

Small update. The bridge looks fantastic now. I soaked all of the saddles individually for about 5 minutes each in a small cup of naptha (lighter fluid). It acts like a solvent and breaks down dirt/rust. After that I went to work on the saddles and screws with a small wire brush and then reassembled.

I also gave the body and pickguard a good scrubbing with a damp paper towel. It was pretty nasty after I finished. The pickguard looks 10X better now. I'm really diggin the textured body; you don't have to worry about scratches at all!

 

[Jack FFR1846]

If you're changing the pots anyways, you may want to go right to push/pulls. It's a very easy mod (make it ground the white/red wire when pulled) and you can run one to the volume and one to the tone to separate them.....you'll be able to run one single coil and one as a hum still. Leaving the body alone will save you a ton of aggravation. Especially if you expect the wood underneath to look nice. (been there....redid with gloss black).

Have fun with the project! In case you don't know, a silo spec pick guard will fit your sub. Screw holes are all the same. They pop up now and then in the f/s section here. I got mine from F'ing for mine.

 

[GoKart Mozart]

Thanks for the info, Jack. I'll keep the coil tap option in mind. Who knows...once it's set up properly I may like the way the stock pickups sound and decide to keep them.

After reading the instructions on the SUB1 locking tuners, I realize now the guitar wasn't even strung up properly...the locking part of the tuner wasn't even being used! There was about 1.5 winds of string on each shaft and not a single one was clamped down using the locking collar. I'm sure this guitar would've sold a lot earlier had someone decided to take a little time to make it play decently.

Bridge and body are clean and ready to go!

 

[Gio_Force_One]

looks good , i was thinking i may change my pickups in mine but not sure yet i have a seymour duncan jb and jazz i could put in or i have a set of lukather emgs i could put in but need a new pickguard for that set so who knows.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Wow - that Sub is looking great so far.
What are your plans for the neck?

With regard to your trem block, this diagram is from an old thread and provides great info on the trem block.

A= Trem Bar Tension Adjustment (spin control)
B= Bar Spring Mounting Screw.
C= Bar Spring (this is what the notch in your trem bar hits to keep it in the trem)

For those with piezo, your piezo junction board is mounted on the opposite side.

For my part I'd be interested to know more about the tuners?

Have you any more info on these - photos/links to other threads?

 

[GoKart Mozart]

Wow - that Sub is looking great so far.
What are your plans for the neck?

With regard to your trem block, this diagram is from an old thread and provides great info on the trem block.

A= Trem Bar Tension Adjustment (spin control)
B= Bar Spring Mounting Screw.
C= Bar Spring (this is what the notch in your trem bar hits to keep it in the trem)

For those with piezo, your piezo junction board is mounted on the opposite side.

For my part I'd be interested to know more about the tuners?

Have you any more info on these - photos/links to other threads?

Thanks for the diagram Spud. That clears up everything.

As far as the neck, I'm going to sand all of the black finish off and hit it with some Tru-oil & wax (wipe on/wipe off...per your previous instructions).

From the searches I did last night, the Sub1 locking tuners are an older version of the Gotoh Magnum locking tuners. The newer versions are self locking; the ones on the Sub1 require you to tighten down a small collar onto the string in order to lock it in place. I've seen a similar design on some PRS's before.

Here's the thread that explains how they work (see Raz's post #5):
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/9222-help-locking-tuners.html

GuitarER posted a good pic of the tuners a while back...it should give you a good visual:
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/47823-sub-1-tru-oil-neck-project.html

 

[banjoplayer]

wow this guitar looks alot better after your first treatments!
It´s a shame why do people not clean their guitars before selling them?
looking forward to see the next steps of your project

 

[Fun111]

wow this guitar looks alot better after your first treatments!
It´s a shame why do people not clean their guitars before selling them?
looking forward to see the next steps of your project

I'm glad they don't, I love receiving a filthy old guitar and bringing it back. I look forward to it as much as the guitar itself!

 

[GoKart Mozart]

Lots of progress today guys!

First thing was to clean the fretboard. There was lots of gunk around the frets. I used some lemon oil & 0000 steel wool. It looks fantastic now!

After a trip to the hardware store, I sanded the old finish off the neck. Started with 180 grit by hand, but then moved to 120 using an orbital sander. After that, I hit it with 400 and 600. It felt REALLY good after the 400 but the 600 was just icing on the cake.

Next, I put a wipe on/wipe off coat of Tru-oil on. It's a little humid here today, so I'm going to let it sit a while before hitting it with the gunstock wax. After it had been sitting a while, I accidentally rubbed a spot with my dirty finger and had to go back and re-sand/re-oil that spot.

The color looks uneven here, but it's due to the light.

Moving along nicely!

 

[Spudmurphy]

oh yeah baby it's looking great.

You gonna try and replicate the line behind the headstock - where the clearcoat finishes and the gun stock oil starts - or I guess it's too late for that?

 

[GoKart Mozart]

Nah, it's just going to be oil all the way.

Getting ready for wax now!

 

[DR5Guy]

If you're changing the pots anyways, you may want to go right to push/pulls. It's a very easy mod (make it ground the white/red wire when pulled) and you can run one to the volume and one to the tone to separate them.....

Another easy mod is to install a Kill Pot ([ame=http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Kill-Pot-Potentiometer-Humbucker/dp/B002XUCZI0]Amazon.com: Shadow Kill Pot - Potentiometer for Humbucker Pickups: Musical Instruments[/ame]) if you want to experiment with a kill switch while keeping the existing control layout.

 

[ScreaminFloyd]

Ok...I`m looking for a Sub.....That looks like fun. I can`t wait until your done.
Keep working ! and posting!

 

[GoKart Mozart]

She's back together!

I put one coat of wax on and it felt great. Thought about going for a second coat but decided not to mess with it since it was near perfect. Strung it up, set it up, and it PLAYS GREAT!! I'm super pleased with how it feels and plays. If it would've been in this condition at the store, I'm sure they could've got a lot more $$$ for it.

How it sounds plugged up is another story. It was still sounding muddy and rotating the tone pot did nothing so I broke out the soldering iron and disconnected the tone control hoping that it would brighten up the sound. Don't think it did anything. I messed with the pickup heights and got it to sound a bit better but something's just not there. This is my first time playing a SUB1 so maybe the pickups are just a bit tamer? I guess I'm used to higher-gain pickups (Air Norton, EVO2, Tone Zone, EMG85).

So now I'll have to do some serious thinking about what pickups to swap in there. I'm learning toward the DiMarzio Steve Morses right now...

Anway, on with the pics!

The brass block cleaned up rather nicely:

TA DA!

This is my favorite pic so far:

And the headstock decal is back home:

Well...that's it for now. Guess I'll start saving for some new pickups and pots. Oh yeah...and that black pearloid pickguard.