81. Travel to Seattle: Today Claudia and I planned some aspects of our trip. We put together a basic itinerary for the three and a half days that we'll be there. She purchased tickets online for a show at the Crocodile Cafe, one of the homes of the Grunge scene during the 90's. We're going to see Sweet Water, a band from that era.
We tried to order our EMP tickets, but their office was closed for Memorial Day. We also looked at restaurants in close proximity to the hotel, put together a basic map of the downtown area, and checked into ferry times for a trip over to Bainbridge Island. Originally, we were planning to take the ferry up to Vancouver, but tickets were around $140 per person, which we found rather ridiculous, seeing as we could rent a car for $50.00 and drive. Vancouver can wait for a later trip.
95. Complete 100 expert level Sudoku games without hints: I completed one game today, bringing my total to 15 of 100.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Day 89 progress
I'm on the eve of my first 90 days and I feel like I am making good progress. While I've completed some of the simpler tasks, I'm also making progress on the more difficult tasks at the same time.
60. Install and maintain landscaping in the front and back yard: One of my coworkers brought me some nopales for my garden. I stuck them in one of the plots where I had previously planted lettuce. Once they are established, I'll be able to pick my own nopal pads, and I'll have access to prickly pears.
I should also have access to some agave from the same coworker. I'm not sure if it is tequila agave, but either way it's another self starting food plant that I can add to my home culinary resources.
95. Complete 100 expert level Sudoku games without hints: Over the past few days I have completed 6 games, bringing my total to 14 of 100.
98. Go to 5 concerts: On May 25th my sister, Claudia, a friend of Claudia's, and I went to see Morrissey at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas. The venue was pretty cool, and the crowd was pretty much what I expected: younger people mixed with 30-somethings who were into The Smiths and Morrissey during the 80's and 90's.
Before the show, movie and music clips were beamed onto a screen in front of the stage. There were music videos of The New York Dolls and Bridget Bardot, and an extended movie clip of a "wardrobe test" for the movie East of Eden. The silent clip consisted of James Dean and Richard Davalos goofing off while wearing assorted clothing from the movie. Given Morrissey's long standing interest/obsession with both actors, this was not surprising.
The stage decoration consisted of a simple backdrop of two huge identical black and white photos of James Dean. When the lights went out, a prerecorded female voice began listing off a long series of tragic historical events and the names of generally depressing things. The several minutes long list began with "Adolf Hitler", and ended with "miscarriage", with phrases and events like "Tiananmen Square"and "sexual harassment" thrown in during the middle. As gloomy as one could ever expect from Morrissey.
Once the list ended, the band started with "Panic". Morrissey was in a full suit, although he shed the jacket and tie as the set went on. Song performed included "Irish Blood, English Heart", "Girlfriend in a Coma", "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side", and "The Queen is Dead", which faded into the whole venue singing "Auld Lang Syne" before launching into the greatest, most sinister version of "How Soon Iis Now" that I could ever imagine.
The band was amazing, and Morrissey was on target for the whole show. It almost seemed that as the show went on, he got more and more into the performance. Even at his age he still has what it takes to put on an amazing show. While he didn't go with some of the higher lilts of his past recordings, he still conveyed all the force he needed to in each and every song.
I've always viewed Morrissey as a bit of a question, not really sure if he lived up to the greatness of The Smiths once he went solo, but now I can say for sure that Morrissey has absolutely no need for Johnny Marr or The Smiths. He may be egotist of the highest order, but while he was on stage he radiated class and put on one hell of a show.
60. Install and maintain landscaping in the front and back yard: One of my coworkers brought me some nopales for my garden. I stuck them in one of the plots where I had previously planted lettuce. Once they are established, I'll be able to pick my own nopal pads, and I'll have access to prickly pears.
I should also have access to some agave from the same coworker. I'm not sure if it is tequila agave, but either way it's another self starting food plant that I can add to my home culinary resources.
95. Complete 100 expert level Sudoku games without hints: Over the past few days I have completed 6 games, bringing my total to 14 of 100.
98. Go to 5 concerts: On May 25th my sister, Claudia, a friend of Claudia's, and I went to see Morrissey at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas. The venue was pretty cool, and the crowd was pretty much what I expected: younger people mixed with 30-somethings who were into The Smiths and Morrissey during the 80's and 90's.
Before the show, movie and music clips were beamed onto a screen in front of the stage. There were music videos of The New York Dolls and Bridget Bardot, and an extended movie clip of a "wardrobe test" for the movie East of Eden. The silent clip consisted of James Dean and Richard Davalos goofing off while wearing assorted clothing from the movie. Given Morrissey's long standing interest/obsession with both actors, this was not surprising.
The stage decoration consisted of a simple backdrop of two huge identical black and white photos of James Dean. When the lights went out, a prerecorded female voice began listing off a long series of tragic historical events and the names of generally depressing things. The several minutes long list began with "Adolf Hitler", and ended with "miscarriage", with phrases and events like "Tiananmen Square"and "sexual harassment" thrown in during the middle. As gloomy as one could ever expect from Morrissey.
Once the list ended, the band started with "Panic". Morrissey was in a full suit, although he shed the jacket and tie as the set went on. Song performed included "Irish Blood, English Heart", "Girlfriend in a Coma", "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side", and "The Queen is Dead", which faded into the whole venue singing "Auld Lang Syne" before launching into the greatest, most sinister version of "How Soon Iis Now" that I could ever imagine.
The band was amazing, and Morrissey was on target for the whole show. It almost seemed that as the show went on, he got more and more into the performance. Even at his age he still has what it takes to put on an amazing show. While he didn't go with some of the higher lilts of his past recordings, he still conveyed all the force he needed to in each and every song.
I've always viewed Morrissey as a bit of a question, not really sure if he lived up to the greatness of The Smiths once he went solo, but now I can say for sure that Morrissey has absolutely no need for Johnny Marr or The Smiths. He may be egotist of the highest order, but while he was on stage he radiated class and put on one hell of a show.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Day 85 progress
32. Upgrade my Squier '51: My pickups arrived from Musician's Friend today.
I completed the physical installation of the pickups and the pickup rings. I still need to wire the connections, but I have to order my potentiometers, switch, and switch plate.
Here's what the new pickups look like:
95. Complete 100 expert level Sudoku games without hints: I completed two more puzzles over the past couple of days. So far I have completed 8 of 100.
I completed the physical installation of the pickups and the pickup rings. I still need to wire the connections, but I have to order my potentiometers, switch, and switch plate.
Here's what the new pickups look like:
95. Complete 100 expert level Sudoku games without hints: I completed two more puzzles over the past couple of days. So far I have completed 8 of 100.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Day 82 progress
32. Upgrade my Squier '51: I made some decent progress on the guitar project over the past week.
First, I received my parts order from Stewart-MacDonald. Included were the new Tusq nut, the pickup rings, and the copper shielding tape. I installed the nut after doing a little sanding for a finished fit, and then started the pickup cavity shielding.
You can see the new nut in the picture above. It's made of a composite material that is a close analog to traditional bone nuts. It will work far better than the original plastic nut, allow for less string buzz, and it should help the guitar keep better intonation after string bends.
The copper tape, while being made of thin rolled metal with an adhesive back, was thin enough to cut with scissors. Then I just had to peel off the backing and apply, smoothing down the edges with the eraser end of a pencil. I did make the mistake of smoothing a couple of the edges with my index fingers, which were promptly sliced by the metal edging. I filled both pickup cavities, and the back end of the control panel cavity. I need to do a small amount of cutting on the control cavity when I install the new wiring, so I left that area of the guitar unfinished.
Second, I ordered my pickups today. I sold some spare effects pedals on eBay to cover the costs. I did finally decide to go with the Lace Sensor Silver pickup in the neck, and the Seymour-Duncan SH-5 Custom Humbucker in the bridge. Both are finished in black, which will look awesome with the chrome pickup rings.
Here you can see the shielded cavities, the new bridge, and a rough placement of the pickup rings. Imagine black pickups in the copper colored areas, and you should have a pretty good idea of what the body will look like.
You can also see the matte finish and a couple of the fill spots that I worked on. Sure, they aren't perfect, but I'm happy with the results.
All I need to order now are the new potentiometers, a .25-.50 uf capacitor, the new switchplate, and a five position switch. Once I have all those parts, I can install the pickups, restring the guitar, and test it out.
81. Travel to Seattle: The dates are set, and the trip is in motion!
Claudia and I are going to be in Seattle during the middle of June. We're going to spend about three days there. My dad was gracious enough to offer us a free ticket from his frequent flyer miles, and then he bought Claudia a ticket as a present for her birthday from he and my mother.
We'll be staying at the Hotel Max in downtown Seattle. The building was erected in the 1920's and was refurbished in 2005. It's close to everything that we want to see, with the exception of Hendrix's grave in Renton, WA.
We'll probably check out the Seattle Public Library, the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the Experience Music Project. On the night of the 16th, we're going to see a show at the Crocodile Cafe, home to many of the Grunge acts of the 90's. We're also planning to take the ferry to Vancouver, and thankfully we won't need passports to travel into Canada by land or sea.
This trip is going to be great, and I can't wait to go. I plan on eating nothing but seafood the entire time I am there, and hopefully I can find dried or fresh matsutake mushrooms at the market to send home via UPS. The weather is supposed to hover around the high 60's, which will be very nice. I even look forward to getting caught in the rain a few times. I've wanted to see Seattle since the 90's, when Grunge music landed in the middle of my formative years.
I've spoken to a few people at work about my upcoming trip, and they all confirm my hidden fear that I will love it so much that I won't want to leave. For now, I'll take the trip as an opportunity to experience yet another small slice of the huge world that lays before me, and if I am somehow entranced by this city, then I'll deal with that when that time comes.
98. Go to 5 concerts: The Morrissey show is on the 25th, and I'm looking forward to it. I hope he performs at least a few Smiths songs.
Claudia bought tickets to the Projekt Revolution tour, which takes place in August. I joked that the best concert would consist of My Chemical Romance, HIM, and Mindless Self Indulgence. Well, they're all on the bill, so this show should be pretty good. Once I see this show I will have seen My Chemical Romance three times, have seen HIM three times, and it will be the first time I've seen Mindless Self Indulgence. Very cool.
First, I received my parts order from Stewart-MacDonald. Included were the new Tusq nut, the pickup rings, and the copper shielding tape. I installed the nut after doing a little sanding for a finished fit, and then started the pickup cavity shielding.
You can see the new nut in the picture above. It's made of a composite material that is a close analog to traditional bone nuts. It will work far better than the original plastic nut, allow for less string buzz, and it should help the guitar keep better intonation after string bends.
The copper tape, while being made of thin rolled metal with an adhesive back, was thin enough to cut with scissors. Then I just had to peel off the backing and apply, smoothing down the edges with the eraser end of a pencil. I did make the mistake of smoothing a couple of the edges with my index fingers, which were promptly sliced by the metal edging. I filled both pickup cavities, and the back end of the control panel cavity. I need to do a small amount of cutting on the control cavity when I install the new wiring, so I left that area of the guitar unfinished.
Second, I ordered my pickups today. I sold some spare effects pedals on eBay to cover the costs. I did finally decide to go with the Lace Sensor Silver pickup in the neck, and the Seymour-Duncan SH-5 Custom Humbucker in the bridge. Both are finished in black, which will look awesome with the chrome pickup rings.
Here you can see the shielded cavities, the new bridge, and a rough placement of the pickup rings. Imagine black pickups in the copper colored areas, and you should have a pretty good idea of what the body will look like.
You can also see the matte finish and a couple of the fill spots that I worked on. Sure, they aren't perfect, but I'm happy with the results.
All I need to order now are the new potentiometers, a .25-.50 uf capacitor, the new switchplate, and a five position switch. Once I have all those parts, I can install the pickups, restring the guitar, and test it out.
81. Travel to Seattle: The dates are set, and the trip is in motion!
Claudia and I are going to be in Seattle during the middle of June. We're going to spend about three days there. My dad was gracious enough to offer us a free ticket from his frequent flyer miles, and then he bought Claudia a ticket as a present for her birthday from he and my mother.
We'll be staying at the Hotel Max in downtown Seattle. The building was erected in the 1920's and was refurbished in 2005. It's close to everything that we want to see, with the exception of Hendrix's grave in Renton, WA.
We'll probably check out the Seattle Public Library, the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the Experience Music Project. On the night of the 16th, we're going to see a show at the Crocodile Cafe, home to many of the Grunge acts of the 90's. We're also planning to take the ferry to Vancouver, and thankfully we won't need passports to travel into Canada by land or sea.
This trip is going to be great, and I can't wait to go. I plan on eating nothing but seafood the entire time I am there, and hopefully I can find dried or fresh matsutake mushrooms at the market to send home via UPS. The weather is supposed to hover around the high 60's, which will be very nice. I even look forward to getting caught in the rain a few times. I've wanted to see Seattle since the 90's, when Grunge music landed in the middle of my formative years.
I've spoken to a few people at work about my upcoming trip, and they all confirm my hidden fear that I will love it so much that I won't want to leave. For now, I'll take the trip as an opportunity to experience yet another small slice of the huge world that lays before me, and if I am somehow entranced by this city, then I'll deal with that when that time comes.
98. Go to 5 concerts: The Morrissey show is on the 25th, and I'm looking forward to it. I hope he performs at least a few Smiths songs.
Claudia bought tickets to the Projekt Revolution tour, which takes place in August. I joked that the best concert would consist of My Chemical Romance, HIM, and Mindless Self Indulgence. Well, they're all on the bill, so this show should be pretty good. Once I see this show I will have seen My Chemical Romance three times, have seen HIM three times, and it will be the first time I've seen Mindless Self Indulgence. Very cool.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Day 76 progress
32. Upgrade my Squier '51: I've done some more work, even though I haven't made much overall progress.
I pulled all the electronics, removed the control plate, and removed the neck. Then I filled the pick guard screw holes with toothpicks (which fit perfectly) and super glue. Once the glue set, I clipped the toothpicks almost flush with the body, and then sanded them down. After that, I painted over the toothpicks using a coffee stirrer to drop pain directly on the spot.
After the paint dried, I sanded down the paint to make it smooth with the body. This is where the fun and headaches began. When sanding, I masked off the area I wanted to sand so I wouldn't damage the original finish on the rest of the body. While this worked reasonably well, it would lead to issues later. When the paint touch up was satisfactory, I removed the masking and used a wipe on polyurethane to seal the body.
Well, when the first coat of polyurethane dried, It was obvious where the sanding occurred. To remedy this, I used medium and fine grain synthetic sanding pads to pull all the original finish off the front of the guitar; I then applied a fresh coat of polyurethane.
After this coat dried, I found obvious application lines in the finish. I did some light sanding and then applied a second coat, thinking that the finish would even out as I applied more coats. Well, it didn't. At this point, I decided to go with a matte finish, which I was somewhat impressed with when I was doing some of the earlier sanding work. I used the damp sanding pads to take down the polyurethane finish to the matte finish underneath.
At this point I am satisfied with the results. Sure, it doesn't have that super glossy candy apple look, but I like the more subdued matte look. Another side effect is that the chrome hardware stands out even more and it looks really good.
I'm waiting on my parts from Stewart-MacDonald, which should be here mid week. I also made a change to some of the electronics I am going to include. I decided to skip the lipstick tube style single coil pickup and go with a Lace Sensor-Silver single coil pickup. This is one of the pickups that Billy Corgan installed in his homebuilt Stratocaster and it should provide a hotter, heavier tone than the more twangy lipstick tube.
So, all that's left to do is order my pickups, install the electronics, glue in the new nut, install the pickup rings, and restring the guitar.
42. Read 50 books I have not read before: I finished An Abundance of Katherines. What can I say without being overly critical? Well, if I had been the target audience, namely a junior-high or high-school student, I may have taken more away from the novel. In terms of style, there were a few things that set me off: overly cute turns of phrase, the willful abuse of periods in an attempt to create emphasis, and an overabundance of pointless footnotes.
In terms of the story and the characters, I could understand their motivations, but could not empathize with their attitudes or their behavior, which were vapid, trite, and often time irritating. If you read it for fun, it's not so bad, but I have the feeling that the target audience would probably look at this book in the same way that The Cather in the Rye was viewed by young readers. In fact, this books tries a bit too hard to be The Cather in the Rye without being nearly so self-absorbed or irritating.
I will begin reading Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev this evening.
51. Save $1 cash each day for 1001 days: I put aside $20 bringing my total to $80.
I pulled all the electronics, removed the control plate, and removed the neck. Then I filled the pick guard screw holes with toothpicks (which fit perfectly) and super glue. Once the glue set, I clipped the toothpicks almost flush with the body, and then sanded them down. After that, I painted over the toothpicks using a coffee stirrer to drop pain directly on the spot.
After the paint dried, I sanded down the paint to make it smooth with the body. This is where the fun and headaches began. When sanding, I masked off the area I wanted to sand so I wouldn't damage the original finish on the rest of the body. While this worked reasonably well, it would lead to issues later. When the paint touch up was satisfactory, I removed the masking and used a wipe on polyurethane to seal the body.
Well, when the first coat of polyurethane dried, It was obvious where the sanding occurred. To remedy this, I used medium and fine grain synthetic sanding pads to pull all the original finish off the front of the guitar; I then applied a fresh coat of polyurethane.
After this coat dried, I found obvious application lines in the finish. I did some light sanding and then applied a second coat, thinking that the finish would even out as I applied more coats. Well, it didn't. At this point, I decided to go with a matte finish, which I was somewhat impressed with when I was doing some of the earlier sanding work. I used the damp sanding pads to take down the polyurethane finish to the matte finish underneath.
At this point I am satisfied with the results. Sure, it doesn't have that super glossy candy apple look, but I like the more subdued matte look. Another side effect is that the chrome hardware stands out even more and it looks really good.
I'm waiting on my parts from Stewart-MacDonald, which should be here mid week. I also made a change to some of the electronics I am going to include. I decided to skip the lipstick tube style single coil pickup and go with a Lace Sensor-Silver single coil pickup. This is one of the pickups that Billy Corgan installed in his homebuilt Stratocaster and it should provide a hotter, heavier tone than the more twangy lipstick tube.
So, all that's left to do is order my pickups, install the electronics, glue in the new nut, install the pickup rings, and restring the guitar.
42. Read 50 books I have not read before: I finished An Abundance of Katherines. What can I say without being overly critical? Well, if I had been the target audience, namely a junior-high or high-school student, I may have taken more away from the novel. In terms of style, there were a few things that set me off: overly cute turns of phrase, the willful abuse of periods in an attempt to create emphasis, and an overabundance of pointless footnotes.
In terms of the story and the characters, I could understand their motivations, but could not empathize with their attitudes or their behavior, which were vapid, trite, and often time irritating. If you read it for fun, it's not so bad, but I have the feeling that the target audience would probably look at this book in the same way that The Cather in the Rye was viewed by young readers. In fact, this books tries a bit too hard to be The Cather in the Rye without being nearly so self-absorbed or irritating.
I will begin reading Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev this evening.
51. Save $1 cash each day for 1001 days: I put aside $20 bringing my total to $80.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Day 71 progress
32. Upgrade my Squier '51: I did a couple of small things over the past few days.
First, I removed the pick guard so I could ship it off and get a replacement. With the variation in production (it is a cheap guitar after all, so there are some inherent quality variations) having a new pick guard made usually requires that the original be used as a template. Well, upon pulling all the screws and removing the pick guard I came to a conclusion: I don't want a new pick guard.
One of the things I love about my '51 is the beautiful finish. Sure, it's a basswood body, and doesn't look anything like a mahogany or ash body, but the sunburst finish is pretty attractive. A lot of the '51 rebuilds that I have seen online always have that awkward '51 Precision pick guard, which covers up a good portion of the wood grain. When I saw the raw guitar body, I couldn't see spending the money on a new pick guard just to cover up the beautiful wood underneath.
I'm adjusting my overall plan based on these considerations. Rather than installing a new pick guard, I am going to fit a chrome pickup ring over the neck pickup. This will give the neck pickup a consistent finish with the humbucker at the bridge, and it will allow me to cover up the neck pickup cavity for a cleaner more finished look.
I will also need to fill the holes left from the original pick guard screws. This is the part that worries me the most, since the finish has dark edges, and a wood grain inner area (see picture from last post). I'm ok with a little bleed over from the dark area into the wood grain, and I think I can match the wood color pretty well where it matters. Sure, it won't be perfect, but in a dimly lit bar or live music venue, no one will ever be able to tell. All that matters is that I am happy with the plan.
I ordered some parts from Stewart-MacDondald today. I order my pickup rings, neck and bridge, both in chrome. I also changed my mind from the Graph Tech Trem-nut, which is intended more for guitars with a tremolo to the Graph Tech Tusq-nut, a compound closer to an authentic bone nut. I also picked up some copper shielding tape. I'm going to line all the pickup cavities with the tape to reduce interference and the hum that can develop from it.
All I need to order now is my control plate kit, two new potentiometers, a five position switch, and new pickups. I also need to pick up some clear lacquer, a small bottle of black paint, a small bottle of maple finish, and some wood filler for the screw holes.
First, I removed the pick guard so I could ship it off and get a replacement. With the variation in production (it is a cheap guitar after all, so there are some inherent quality variations) having a new pick guard made usually requires that the original be used as a template. Well, upon pulling all the screws and removing the pick guard I came to a conclusion: I don't want a new pick guard.
One of the things I love about my '51 is the beautiful finish. Sure, it's a basswood body, and doesn't look anything like a mahogany or ash body, but the sunburst finish is pretty attractive. A lot of the '51 rebuilds that I have seen online always have that awkward '51 Precision pick guard, which covers up a good portion of the wood grain. When I saw the raw guitar body, I couldn't see spending the money on a new pick guard just to cover up the beautiful wood underneath.
I'm adjusting my overall plan based on these considerations. Rather than installing a new pick guard, I am going to fit a chrome pickup ring over the neck pickup. This will give the neck pickup a consistent finish with the humbucker at the bridge, and it will allow me to cover up the neck pickup cavity for a cleaner more finished look.
I will also need to fill the holes left from the original pick guard screws. This is the part that worries me the most, since the finish has dark edges, and a wood grain inner area (see picture from last post). I'm ok with a little bleed over from the dark area into the wood grain, and I think I can match the wood color pretty well where it matters. Sure, it won't be perfect, but in a dimly lit bar or live music venue, no one will ever be able to tell. All that matters is that I am happy with the plan.
I ordered some parts from Stewart-MacDondald today. I order my pickup rings, neck and bridge, both in chrome. I also changed my mind from the Graph Tech Trem-nut, which is intended more for guitars with a tremolo to the Graph Tech Tusq-nut, a compound closer to an authentic bone nut. I also picked up some copper shielding tape. I'm going to line all the pickup cavities with the tape to reduce interference and the hum that can develop from it.
All I need to order now is my control plate kit, two new potentiometers, a five position switch, and new pickups. I also need to pick up some clear lacquer, a small bottle of black paint, a small bottle of maple finish, and some wood filler for the screw holes.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Day 68 progress
25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: My current total is now 609 of 5902.
I picked up a few new CDs recently, among them "Year Zero" by Nine Inch Nails, "Wait", and "Fast Man Raider Man" by Frank Black.
32. Upgrade my Squier '51: I bought a Squier '51 a few months back for about $100 because I wanted a cheap project guitar that wouldn't cause me to panic if I managed to screw it up. Well, over the past few months I have grown very fond of my '51, even in its stock condition. For a cheap guitar it plays well, sounds good, and looks pretty good too. Here's a picture of the stock '51:
The '51 is a mishmash of parts from other Fender/Squier guitars. It has a Stratocaster body, a Telecaster neck (perhaps the best part of the entire guitar), and a pick guard and control plate similar to the '51 Fender Precision basses. It has a single coil neck pickup, and a humbucker bridge pickup that can be split for a single coil sound.
My plans for my '51 are as follows:
- Replace the stock bridge: Many of the reviews and build plans that I have read call for the stock bridge to be replaced by a slightly smaller bridge for better tone and less buzz.
- Replace the single coil pickup: I plan to replace the stock single coil with a lipstick tube style pickup, similar to those found on old Telecasters.
- Replace the humbucker: I am going to replace the very respectable stock humbucker with a Seymour-Duncan SH-5 Custom humbucker for a fatter, heavier sound when the bridge pickup is selected.
- Replace the pick guard: The stock pick guard is a single ply piece of white plastic. I plan on replacing it with a White-black-white pickup of the same design, for that vintage Fender look.
- Replace the control plate and rewire the pickups: There is a control plate available that allows for a tone setting, an option not on the stock '51. I would have to remove some material from the control cavity and rewire the pickups for tone and a switch.
- Replace the nut: The stock nut is made of plastic, and while it works okay now, it will eventually start to buzz. I plan to replace it with a Graphtech teflon impregnated nut.
- Change the humbucker pickup ring: The stock ring is black plastic, which looks okay, but I want to offset the pickup some by replacing the black ring with a chrome ring to match the other hardware.
So what have I accomplished so far? I ordered the new bridge on 4/28/2007 and installed it on 5/3/2007. I haven't restrung the guitar yet, since I still need to remove the nut and pickups.
I will post pictures when I complete the upgrades.
42. Read 50 books that I have not read before: I finished Choke. I liked it very much, and place it with Fight Club at the top of the list of Chuck Palahniuk novels I have read.
I started reading An Abundance of Katherines by John Green at the behest of my Librarian fiancee. She works with the young adult collection, and she wanted my take on the novel. So far it is okay. There are some stylistic and character issues that make me a little crazy, but I'm only a quarter of the way through the book.
I picked up a few new CDs recently, among them "Year Zero" by Nine Inch Nails, "Wait", and "Fast Man Raider Man" by Frank Black.
32. Upgrade my Squier '51: I bought a Squier '51 a few months back for about $100 because I wanted a cheap project guitar that wouldn't cause me to panic if I managed to screw it up. Well, over the past few months I have grown very fond of my '51, even in its stock condition. For a cheap guitar it plays well, sounds good, and looks pretty good too. Here's a picture of the stock '51:
The '51 is a mishmash of parts from other Fender/Squier guitars. It has a Stratocaster body, a Telecaster neck (perhaps the best part of the entire guitar), and a pick guard and control plate similar to the '51 Fender Precision basses. It has a single coil neck pickup, and a humbucker bridge pickup that can be split for a single coil sound.
My plans for my '51 are as follows:
- Replace the stock bridge: Many of the reviews and build plans that I have read call for the stock bridge to be replaced by a slightly smaller bridge for better tone and less buzz.
- Replace the single coil pickup: I plan to replace the stock single coil with a lipstick tube style pickup, similar to those found on old Telecasters.
- Replace the humbucker: I am going to replace the very respectable stock humbucker with a Seymour-Duncan SH-5 Custom humbucker for a fatter, heavier sound when the bridge pickup is selected.
- Replace the pick guard: The stock pick guard is a single ply piece of white plastic. I plan on replacing it with a White-black-white pickup of the same design, for that vintage Fender look.
- Replace the control plate and rewire the pickups: There is a control plate available that allows for a tone setting, an option not on the stock '51. I would have to remove some material from the control cavity and rewire the pickups for tone and a switch.
- Replace the nut: The stock nut is made of plastic, and while it works okay now, it will eventually start to buzz. I plan to replace it with a Graphtech teflon impregnated nut.
- Change the humbucker pickup ring: The stock ring is black plastic, which looks okay, but I want to offset the pickup some by replacing the black ring with a chrome ring to match the other hardware.
So what have I accomplished so far? I ordered the new bridge on 4/28/2007 and installed it on 5/3/2007. I haven't restrung the guitar yet, since I still need to remove the nut and pickups.
I will post pictures when I complete the upgrades.
42. Read 50 books that I have not read before: I finished Choke. I liked it very much, and place it with Fight Club at the top of the list of Chuck Palahniuk novels I have read.
I started reading An Abundance of Katherines by John Green at the behest of my Librarian fiancee. She works with the young adult collection, and she wanted my take on the novel. So far it is okay. There are some stylistic and character issues that make me a little crazy, but I'm only a quarter of the way through the book.
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