Ford through a TwoRock last month

[Bob-I]

Cool stuff, the interview was great.

I have a Squier Esprit that I bought from Overstock.com years ago. It's a fun guitar, very comfortable to play but I've got to get more upgrades done to make it a real player. I like that it's chambered and fairly light, and the fret work was actually not bad, just some dressing and crowing and it's good to go.

The PUs are long gone, replaced with GFS PAFs, pots are replaced with CTS but I still need to replace the bridge/tailpiece and nut. I just can't go spending hundreds on a $325 guitar, it doesn't make since to me.

[bluesfendermanblues]

Bob, I have a Squier guitar just like yours, only sunburst.

The stock pickups are nothing to write home about and the same goes for the electronics. PU are now B: SD Seth Lover. N: SD 59'. Switches and pots are also upgraded. And I have settled on a master tone and master vol. Much simpler in live situations.

TIP I:
The stock bridge is no good either. After trying a couple of old Gotoh Nashville models. I was tipped towards a http://www.allparts.com/Nickel-Tunemati ... 20-001.htm.
That did it baby, 40 bucks and you have a great sounding guitar - more balanced and focused.

Don't bother changing the stop tail piece. It doesnt really improve the sound. Even if a light weight aluminium could reduce the weight a little bit.

TIP II
I didnt like the neck shape and have shaped the back of the neck to feel like my favorite strat neck. Removing the finish on the neck also improved the acoustic sound. The finish is almost 1.5 mm thick!!! My next mod will be removing the finish alltogether and using a thin layer of sehll lacquer instead.

[Bob-I]

Bob, I have a Squier guitar just like yours, only sunburst.

The stock pickups are nothing to write home about and the same goes for the electronics. PU are now B: SD Seth Lover. N: SD 59'. Switches and pots are also upgraded. And I have settled on a master tone and master vol. Much simpler in live situations.

TIP I:
The stock bridge is no good either. After trying a couple of old Gotoh Nashville models. I was tipped towards a http://www.allparts.com/Nickel-Tunemati ... 20-001.htm.
That did it baby, 40 bucks and you have a great sounding guitar - more balanced and focused.

Don't bother changing the stop tail piece. It doesnt really improve the sound. Even if a light weight aluminium could reduce the weight a little bit.

TIP II
I didnt like the neck shape and have shaped the back of the neck to feel like my favorite strat neck. Removing the finish on the neck also improved the acoustic sound. The finish is almost 1.5 mm thick!!! My next mod will be removing the finish alltogether and using a thin layer of sehll lacquer instead.

Yea, I agree about the bridge, thx for the tip. The nut is also a piece of junk so eventually I'll put a bone nut on. I won't reshape the neck, neck shape is never a big deal to me, I play a large variety of neck shapes and none stand out as better or worse.

I'd be interested in how removing the finish helps. I feel like it's an inch thick.

[Structo]

If the neck feels stick you can use some high grit sand paper like 600-1000 to take the gloss off, for a smoother/ faster feel.

Or even a synthetic pad like the Scotch pads.

[Bob-I]

Bob, I have a Squier guitar just like yours, only sunburst.

TIP I:
The stock bridge is no good either. After trying a couple of old Gotoh Nashville models. I was tipped towards a http://www.allparts.com/Nickel-Tunemati ... 20-001.htm.
That did it baby, 40 bucks and you have a great sounding guitar - more balanced and focused.

Wow, just WOW. I replced the nut and bridge today. The nut helped with playability and tuning, the the bridge, WOW. What I can't get over is the improved note-note separation on chords as well as the midrange complexity. It's huge!!! and I only invested $40 and about an hour.

Thx for the tip.

[bluesfendermanblues]

Bob, I have a Squier guitar just like yours, only sunburst.

TIP I:
The stock bridge is no good either. After trying a couple of old Gotoh Nashville models. I was tipped towards a http://www.allparts.com/Nickel-Tunemati ... 20-001.htm.
That did it baby, 40 bucks and you have a great sounding guitar - more balanced and focused.

Wow, just WOW. I replced the nut and bridge today. The nut helped with playability and tuning, the the bridge, WOW. What I can't get over is the improved note-note separation on chords as well as the midrange complexity. It's huge!!! and I only invested $40 and about an hour.

Thx for the tip.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Really glad it did the trick for your guitar too. I couldn't believe that the bridge had such an amount of impact on my own guitars tone. I guess a lot of guitars would get the same tonal benefit from upgrading the bridge

[wicker]

I had my MIJ Tele bridge upgraded to some better brass one, I really enjoy that replacement, tone is nicer to my ears.

[telentubes]

This Howard Roberts Fusion from the 80s was my main ax for many years, before I switched over to Strats and for the past 7 or 8 years , Teles. But now that I built a 50 Watt ODS, I'm dragging the old humbucker guitar out of the closet and revisiting that sound.

I've ordered the bridge and tailpiece recommended earlier in this post (the fine tuning stop tail that came with the guitar seemed to make staying in tune worst).
I have been messing with pickup set up again, and have been having fun with the natural compression of the humbuckers. They seem more forgiving than single coils.

I eventually want to try some new pickups. I'll figure out what's on the guitar first but am looking into simple Burstbuckers (there are several different flavors), and the Harmonic Design Humbuckers (RF quoted saying they were the best pickups he's ever heard). Any opinions about any of these?

[boldaslove6789]

Harmonic Design Humbuckers (RF quoted saying they were the best pickups he's ever heard). Any opinions about any of these?

I'd go with some Jim Rolphs, RF uses these in quite a few of his guitars, and AFAIk the Sakashta.

Or, if you've got a fat budget for pups, I'd go with the Throwback 101's, they're like $500 a set but well worth it IMO (they're built on the ol Gibson Slug-101 machine Throwback bought from the Kalamazoo factory.) Probably the most Authentic sounding late 50's PAF pup I've tried next to the Jim Rolphs. Either or would be the Perfect fit for the HR Fusion IMHO if you want to gauge similar tone as RF does next to having a set of vintage gibson pups.

[telentubes]

Thanks Greg. I'll check them out.
What are you using in the Gold Top you're playing in your Quinn and other amp demos? They sound GREAT.

[boldaslove6789]

Thanks Greg. I'll check them out.
What are you using in the Gold Top you're playing in your Quinn and other amp demos? They sound GREAT.

Thanks m8! The Goldtop in the Quinn vids are WCR Darkburst pups, they're great pups but I've since sold the Goltop and got a Prariewood Hardtop 58/59 Burst based LP, with a Taku Sakashta type Belly cut and Throwbacks came stock in it and they just kill the WCR's in every way IMO.

[IMG:86:160]http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq162/boldaslove6789/Dumble%20Clones/th_PrariewoodFront.png[/img]
[IMG:91:159]http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq162/boldaslove6789/Dumble%20Clones/th_prariewoodBack.png[/img]
[IMG:160:145]http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq162/boldaslove6789/Dumble%20Clones/th_PrairiewoodHardtopTop3.jpg[/img]

[telentubes]

Throbaks are pricey!

[ic-racer]

Nice Howard Roberts. I have one from about 1994. I used a picture of it on a recent CD I put together (of course I played it on the CD also).
[IMG1021]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/ ... Fusion.jpg[/img]

[telentubes]

Is yours the Fusion III ? With the "fingered" tail Piece?
Guess you must like it if you're recording with it.
Mine has a fat neck, which I like. Pretty flat board as well. Indifferent about that.

[vibratoking]

I have a Howard Roberts Fusion as well...the one with the fingered tailpiece. It's one of the guitars that I rarely play. Doesn't stay in tune worth a damn...I think it's the tailpiece. Sound is good, but not great. Ever since I picked up a '58 Historc LP, the Fusion has been in its case. I really should sell her to someone that appreciates her. Nice neck, good sound, poor tuning stability. Oh, and the gold plating on the Fusion is thin, thin, thin.