[rickyboy]

Has anybody changed out their blacktops for filtertrons?
Does anyone know if the standard Gretsch plastic pu rings will cover up where the blacktop surrounds where? Are they the same size? Thanks

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by rickyboy

Has anybody changed out their blacktops for filtertrons?
Does anyone know if the standard Gretsch plastic pu rings will cover up where the blacktop surrounds where? Are they the same size? Thanks

You'll probably have to buy rings from TV Jones.

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[NickGretsch]

Good question, I've been wondering the same thing

Too much chrome surround but those black tops are great pick ups

[mike fried]

The NE mount TVJs (or stock-munted Filtertrons) will drop right in, just use the Blacktops' two long machine screws to mount them to the baseplate with the rubber pads to seat them (instead of the pickup's pole screws as used with the BTs). Pull a BT out (in its mounting ring) and you'll see what I'm talking about. +1 on the BTs being great pickups, though...

[NickGretsch]

EeekkKK sorry, silly me, misread the OP.

Am not looking to replace the BTs but am keen to lreplace the large chrome surround for something less brash

Note to self: must stop scan reading and pay more attention

[mike fried]

Nick, I hear you re. the shall we say "prominent" pickup rings. I can say that they do look better than the pictures would suggest, albeit not totally "Gretschy". (They are the same ones used on the Electro Jets with BT filters and are larger footprint than Gretsch or humbucker rings.)

Perhaps someone (Setzer?) could make some "toned-down" replacements?

[NickGretsch]

Thanks for the info Mike.

Having only recently got the new Pro Jet I think I'll live with things looks wise for the time being.

More importantly I need to get that Compton and the electrics sorted so the pickup surrounds will be for further down the road.

Cheers

[mike fried]

You're welcome, Nick. Which material Compton will you be getting? If the Space Control doesn't work out for me (a real possibility I'm sure), I'll be getting one myself.

[NickGretsch]

Think it'll be Stainless Steel Mike. I tend to play Classic Rock and music that leans towards 60's/70's.

Hopefully that's the right choice although any advice would be appreciated folks

[JRS11]

Originally Posted by NickGretsch

Think it'll be Stainless Steel Mike. I tend to play Classic Rock and music that leans towards 60's/70's.

Hopefully that's the right choice although any advice would be appreciated folks

Will you get it chambered or not?

Also, In what way would one sort out the electronics? Is this changing the wiring (as I assume it is)?

Thanks

[Synchro]

I wouldn't even consider changing the wiring unless there is a problem with it such as hum from poor shielding.

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[JRS11]

Originally Posted by Synchro

I wouldn't even consider changing the wiring unless there is a problem with it such as hum from poor shielding.

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Thanks Synchro, I just bought a PRS SE and my feeling are the same with that. I probably would not notice any difference unless there is a problem...

[NickGretsch]

Originally Posted by Synchro

I wouldn't even consider changing the wiring unless there is a problem with it such as hum from poor shielding.

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Oh come on, seen the cotton thin wiring that comes as standard and crummy pots etc???

Having upgraded my Fender Baja Tele with a complete reworking of pickups (Bare Knuckles), wiring, pots,cap and output socket it completely transformed that weedy sounding Tele to a fully fledged great one without the inherent problems of the original spec..

I'm not complaining but it's here manufacturers cut the costs which results in us the consumer getting a cheaper guitar. But a reasonably good instrument can be upgraded to a much better one.

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by NickGretsch

Oh come on, seen the cotton thin wiring that comes as standard and crummy pots etc???

Having upgraded my Fender Baja Tele with a complete reworking of pickups (Bare Knuckles), wiring, pots,cap and output socket it completely transformed that weedy sounding Tele to a fully fledged great one and without the hum and clicks of he original spec..

I'm not complaining, it's here manufacturers cut the costs which results in us the consumer getting a cheaper guitar. But a reasonably good instrument can be upgraded to a much better one.

If the wire is properly shielded it shouldn't cause any problems. I recently rewired a Korean Gretsch and the stock wire appeared identical to the shielded wire I had bought from TV Jones.

[Lizardkinged]

Originally Posted by NickGretsch

Oh come on, seen the cotton thin wiring that comes as standard and crummy pots etc???

Having upgraded my Fender Baja Tele with a complete reworking of pickups (Bare Knuckles), wiring, pots,cap and output socket it completely transformed that weedy sounding Tele to a fully fledged great one and without the inherent problems of the original spec..

I'm not complaining, it's here manufacturers cut the costs which results in us the consumer getting a cheaper guitar. But a reasonably good instrument can be upgraded to a much better one.

How are you going to compare the stock wiring when you swapped out the pickups entierly.

You probably are only noticing the difference in pickup. Common sense would allude this... but what do I know...

Honestly w/ pots, unless your changing the type of taper, the value, or the pot was bad in the first place, you wont notice much difference at all. Same thing w/ the caps. and "cotton thin wiring" capacitance is capacitance, if you thought about the amount of current that even goes through a passive circuit like this, unless they have like 5 feet of excess wiring, you wont notice much difference.

The only benefit to upgraded wire is that it has more or less memory (in terms of how it flexes) and the individual strands might be thinner or of a softer copper for the solder to stick on easier. Or you can choose your color, or use vintage push back or do w/e for aesthetics, cause thats one of the biggest benefits.

If its not broken dont fix it basically. Yeah if one of the pots is bad, swap it, if your getting a hum from a cold solder do something about it. But realistically to say that you should just swap the junk immediately is a little silly in many cases (not all of course)

Just keep in mind, we hear what we want to hear. and "Better" generally just means "different". Unless it actually sounds worse, any human being will assert that its better, even if its just different rather than better. (not to mention its a subjective argument blah blah blah)

[Lizardkinged]

Originally Posted by Synchro

If the wire is properly shielded it shouldn't cause any problems. I recently rewired a Korean Gretsch and the stock wire appeared identical to the shielded wire I had bought from TV Jones.

Yeah The MIK's use pretty nice stuff. (aside from my bad ground my wiring was tip top)

Never worked on an MIC, Worked on a MIJ T-rose once and I'm fairly certain someone had redone everything already so I cant really compare.

[NickGretsch]

Synchro,methinks you may have missed my point, where did I mention a hum problem?

Quality components without doubt will give better reliability and possibly better signal path,be it pots or whatever than the cheaper ones supplied.

Not knocking it but they're all built to a price which given the choice, can be improved on.

And LizK am referring to my MIC Pro Jet, which may be different from MIK

[Lizardkinged]

come to think of it, I have played/worked on my own fender MIC products. My Jagmaster. That had fine stock wiring. this argument is useless. Its comparing science Vs. Feelings and neither really are that conclusive, so I'm just going to go on my 4 years experience repairing instruments.

From the scientific and pragmatic perspective, it's rarely worth it to swap out stock electronics... I've said it before. The only pots that actually create "tone suck" are the little 16mm housed pots, vs the 24mm housed pots.

16mm Mini pot


24mm Average pot.


A lot of cheapy entry level insturments come w/ the little pots, and thats about the only time I'll actually take the time to explain the benefit to the customer and perform the work. A lot of time they will claim to notice a difference, but who knows what anyone else hears.

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by NickGretsch

Synchro,methinks you may have missed my point, where did I mention a hum problem?

Quality components without doubt will give better reliability and possibly better signal path,be it pots or whatever than the cheaper ones supplied.

Not knocking it but they're all built to a price which given the choice, can be improved on.

And LizK am referring to my MIC Pro Jet, which may be different from MIK

You might want to re-read my posts. I said I wouldn't bother swapping wiring unless there is a problem such as hum from bad shielding. The effect of wiring on sound produced is basically nil unless there is a definite problem with the OEM wiring, something I would consider unlikely these days. The tiny trickle of current coming out of guitar pickups is going to demand very little of the wire inside the guitar. The resistance of even the smallest wire is negligible with the distances inside a guitar. There's no magic in these components waiting to be released, they are elementally simple and pretty much either work or do not work. Cheap pots might hurt sound slightly but, unless they are actually defective, they probably are hurting the sound very little. I've jumpered around pots, used no-load pots etc and found the sonic differences minimal in most cases.

I've rewired a number of guitars and in most cases the wiring harness in even the least expensive guitars was made of suitable quality wire. Usually the OEM wire was substantially the same as the aftermarket wire I would have used to replace the OEM harness.

Pickups are another matter. There are a lot of variables at work in a pickup and an inexpensive pickup can muffle the output of a guitar substantially.

[Lizardkinged]

NO Syncro... your more wrong... than I am. lol

Magnets are magnets... windings dont matter, pickups should be made of rocks so they rock harder. I can FEEL the difference now.