New (old) Guitar Day! Decapitated Ibanez Axstar!

[DalyTek]

OK, I just scored a nice rare guitar.
It's a 1986 (only made in '86) Ibanez AxStar AX70 Headless.
It's a really small guitar (31.5" overall length)
Sports a 24-fret full 25.5" scale neck
Ebony fretboard with real mother-of-pearl mini-dot inlays
It has 2 active Ibanez pickups and an active EQ circuit
Single volume knob, EQ knob and mini 3-way selector switch.

Has a couple of minor dings, very minimal fret wear.
Plays great, very comfortable, amazing feel and tone!
Came with original hard shell case too.
Really loving this guitar!

[Alvin_Wilson]

That's pretty cool, David. Congrats. What the hell kind of bridge is that?

[DalyTek]

lol thanks Alvin. It unlike anything I have ever played, that's why I had to have it.

It's an Ibanez bridge, based off the Steinberger headless bridge, apparently. Those knobs are the tuning knobs.
It's a roller bridge, and the individual saddles adjust height like a Fender bridge with 2 little allen screws per saddle.
There is also an allen screw on the side (towards the ceiling when in playing position) that locks all the saddles together (loosen it to adjust intonation.)
Unlike the Steinberger guitars, though, this one does not need specialty double-ball-ended strings. It uses regular old standard strings, and locks them above the nut.

[RacerX]

Interesting!

[warlok]

Definitely never seen anything like that before!!

[Hellbat]

Is it like a trans trem though? Does it keep chords in key?

[DalyTek]

Is it like a trans trem though? Does it keep chords in key?

No, it's not a trem at all. It's actually a hardtail bridge.

[Venomboy]

Sweet. I had an Axstar catalog back in the day. Perfect for some Morris Day!

[DalyTek]

Well, I had been wanting something "different"...a guitar that stands out, and this definitely is that!
It was the previous owner's first guitar, and he was the original owner.
I got such a good deal that I think I practically stole it from him!

[len]

got any pix of the decapitation?

btw ,was reading your post over at jemstar,good job on the fix,except when a transistor is put in backwards it usually a good idea to replace it (gotta like boards that have the trasistor shape layouts) as far as resitors go,your prolly only using a 9 volt source so changing all the resistors to hidgher wattage ones is prolly a waste of time. all the calculations for what wattage rating for the resistors were done by an engineer at the factory and i from what i see of this before pix,nothing looks overheated at all

[DalyTek]

Thanks for the advice len. Nothing appears to be burnt at all. All the traces were good, so that was a good sign too.
I'm not sure how to read valued on transistors, or how to test them... If I knew what to get, I would replace it.

I'll get a shot of the head(less)stock for you. I can't believe I didn't take a shot of that area, since it's so unique!

[DalyTek]

Decapitation shot [Not for the squeamish!]:

[len]

wow on the decapitation pix
guess your not ganna be using fender bullets with that anytime soon ...how do the tuning machines work?

not sure how to read valued on transistors, or how to test them

for reading them,they have numbers at the top ,japanese manufatured transistors usually have a 2S followed by A,B,C or D.A and B are PNP and are negative biased transitors while C and D are NPN's and are positive biased . there are other types made outside japan that start with 1n,2n or just any number, these are more tricky but all you do is go to http://nte01.nteinc.com/nte/NTExRefS...earch?OpenForm type in the number and it gives you an nte cross along with what is called a data sheet that gives you both, type(npm or pnp) and voltage/current parameters for the the junctions as well as what pins are base ,emitter or collector,all very important information ..... this is getting to advanced for what you are trying to do,just post the numbers that were on the one that was in backwards and i'll tell ya more or send ya one or a viable sub
in order to test a transistor you need a digital volt meter that has diode test ... but you have to know what ytpe of transistor you are working with (NPN orPMP) in order to read it
the reason i suggest you replace it even though according to your jemstar post it is working fine
is that putting a transistor in backwards has a tendency to cause latent damage to it ...might not show up right away but if it does it could possibly cause greater damage to circuit than you origianlly started with

in oder

[DalyTek]

With regards to the "how do the tuning machines work" question, are you wanting to know literally how they work, or are you asking how well do they work? Don't want to answer the question wrong and look completely retarded lol.

OK, I popped the board back out to check that transistor out. What is written on it:

K30A
GR 5K

That is Q4 (the one that was backwards)

Q1 says:
C732
GR 5A

and both Q2 and Q3 say the same info:
C732
GR 5B

Here is (supposedly) the wiring schematic, though I have no idea how to read it.
Maybe it will help:

[Ward]

Sorry to interrupt your technical discussion, but that guitar is interesting as hell. How do the Ibanez pickups sound?