NGD Jackson Adrian Smith, couple of disappointments/review

[sixpick]

The sustain issue is down to the pickups being cheapos, I'm sure. I really like the tone of them (I have an SDX too) but they ARE underpowered. I can live with it but I had to buy a DiMarzio Super D for the bridge, it just feels wrong without one!

yes, particularly the single coils. there is a noticeable volume drop from bridge HB to them...I too love the DiMarzio Super Distortion and that's what I think I may put in there, then just figure out what equally powered single coils work well with them. The volume knob works fine for me, smooth taper, smooth turning. The switch has that sort of cheapy feel, so I may get something else...I found a local place that has a PLEK machine so I'm going to take it in and see what they can recommend, and get a pro setup if nothing else even though I've done setups myself for ages, sometimes you find other people have techniques you never thought of for that stuff...anyway, I also have emailed Jackson about the string slippage ...maybe I can get them to send me a slightly narrower locking nut like someone mentioned in the thread...I'm digging the guitar too much otherwise not to invest some time and effort into getting it totally the way I want it....

[MartinBarre]

yes, particularly the single coils. there is a noticeable volume drop from bridge HB to them...I too love the DiMarzio Super Distortion and that's what I think I may put in there, then just figure out what equally powered single coils work well with them. The volume knob works fine for me, smooth taper, smooth turning. The switch has that sort of cheapy feel, so I may get something else...I found a local place that has a PLEK machine so I'm going to take it in and see what they can recommend, and get a pro setup if nothing else even though I've done setups myself for ages, sometimes you find other people have techniques you never thought of for that stuff...anyway, I also have emailed Jackson about the string slippage ...maybe I can get them to send me a slightly narrower locking nut like someone mentioned in the thread...I'm digging the guitar too much otherwise not to invest some time and effort into getting it totally the way I want it....

You can buy an R3 nut from ebay easy enough, I did it myself. On the volume issue between pickups, I lowered the bridge pickup so it's not that bad but inevitably you lose power in your bridge pickup. However, a Super D should be able to handle that much better than the cheapo that comes stock.
I really like the middle single coil in particular for soloing on, it sounds great! Think I will leave that one and possibly replace the neck for something meatier.

[sixpick]

You can buy an R3 nut from ebay easy enough, I did it myself.

very cool!

[MartinBarre]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261535569129

[sixpick]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261535569129

yep! I bought that exact thing from a dealer in the states...my only question , is someone mentioned the mounting holes are different and so plugging the old holes with dowels to drill new ones may be necessary...This seems like a precision job to get just right so I'll probably take it to the shop with the PLEK machine and let them do it...I really am liking the bridge humbucker...with my Marshall DSL 40c and an SP compressor pedals it just sings and screams and you cannot beat the bridge humbucker + middle single coil pickup combo for that great, mellow tone that works for so many things that you really can't get any other way...

[Nightbat]

My SDX only had a few hardware problems (clamp blocks not fitting the nut, deformed tremarm barrel), no strings slipping off on the side
Wanted a Dive only trem, so for the trem to bottom out on the body, I changed the neckangle by shimming the neck, automatically giving me the lowest possible action

[MartinBarre]

yep! I bought that exact thing from a dealer in the states...my only question , is someone mentioned the mounting holes are different and so plugging the old holes with dowels to drill new ones may be necessary...This seems like a precision job to get just right so I'll probably take it to the shop with the PLEK machine and let them do it...I really am liking the bridge humbucker...with my Marshall DSL 40c and an SP compressor pedals it just sings and screams and you cannot beat the bridge humbucker + middle single coil pickup combo for that great, mellow tone that works for so many things that you really can't get any other way...

I just filled the old holes with PVA and some bits of matchstick. Then mark the new holes and drill with a small bit. You can do it by eye, its not hard.

[MartinBarre]

One thing pissing me off is the fact the wiring is set up differently to Dimarzio. Its a pain in the ass to get into the electronics - you have to take the whole neck off FFS! So I did that and replaced the bridge pickup with a Super D. Put it back together and now the in-between position is out of phase. Fuck taking it all apart again just to switch the wires!

[777]

Not to bust on a $500 guitar but.........

[maxdown]

(First post here - Hello)

I have the SDX (Indonesian) which I picked up in a store and just liked the (maple) neck so much I thought this guitar is worth buying at the price.

I also have an old dusty 475 Deluxe which I gigged to death back in the day and eventually felt obliged to go all 'mature' to suit my age and got myself a more demure looking guitar with an expensive logo back in the mid nineties ...... but man that 475 did everything I wanted sound wise. It's in need of a big refurb - but I'll get round to it someday ... not really something for this forum in any case .... you'll likely hear me crying for help more on that in the Import or Tech forums at some later stage!

So anyway, I've decided I'm going to track down all the 475 pickups and electrics and put them into the SDX to see what happens. Mid-boost replica circuit board/vol pot are in transit and I'm negotiating for J50BC and J200 pickups ..... couple of new pots, a battery holder clip, possibly a new 5 way and a black domed knob for the boost pot and I should be good to go.

I'll be drilling a new hole in the scratch plate for the mid-boost control pot and replacing the current tone pot ...... I also tend to agree on the sustain of the guitar sounding dull acoustically at least ..... but plugged in it's not too bad. I'm not too impressed with the Floyd Rose Special TBH - it's flimsy and I have to tighten the string locks with quite a bit of force to stop strings slipping and the hex heads are going to strip before long (also probably the Special is big contributor to the lack of natural ring) so I'm thinking of dropping in a Schaller or OFR.

Much as I like the neck - it's a bit annoying to have to loosen/remove it to do any truss rod adjustments or remove the scratch plate. But so far the neck has been rock solid through all climates and no adjustments needed.

[Nightbat]

Do yourself a favor (I missed MartinBarre's post, but he could use the tip as well) and do as I did
Cut out a piece of the scratchplate under the fretboard, this way, you don't have to remove the neck if you need to be in the cavities again

[maxdown]

My SDX only had a few hardware problems (clamp blocks not fitting the nut, deformed tremarm barrel), no strings slipping off on the side
Wanted a Dive only trem, so for the trem to bottom out on the body, I changed the neckangle by shimming the neck, automatically giving me the lowest possible action

Mine has a squeaky/creaky trem arm ..... not great trems those "Specials" are they? I wedged/wrapped some copper insulating foil up under the screw down of the arm and it stopped the creaking but the barrel is too big for the arm (tried a different Schaller made arm and it still rattled about). Suppose I could get a new arm insert if I really wanted .... but a whole new OFR or some other quality FR bridge would be probably best solution

[Nightbat]

Yeah it isn't the most sturdy trem on the market, when I pull up (for which it is blocked), I can see it flex

[Startingline]

Time to do a proper overhaul on mine.

[Nightbat]

Heh, yeah mine received it's SD less than a month after I purchased the SDX
Though the original humbucker wasn't half bad for a Low end Axe (reminded me of the JB, which coincidentally I'm not a fan of, which was the reason for a swap)