A Few More Pix

[Barry]

Here are some more pix for documentation purposes, again taken indoors so not the greatest, but good enough.

The Bendmaster bridge is in good shape apart from dirt, dust and a bit o' rust on the screws:



It cleaned up very well with a soapy scrubbing, and there was no corrosion on the chrome. A couple of the intonation screws were tight but loosened up OK with some penetrating oil and a bit of the 'ole elbow grease!


It will get another once over before reassembly, but so far, so good.

No markings on the pups

As with my ST there are no markings at all, just a metal plate. For comparison, my S has black plastic plates and are marked A and B, and the GT has two MMK45's plus the single unmarked coil.

I'll see if I can find and resuscitate my old multimeter and take some readings. I may need it anyway in order to trouble shoot the electronics. (Now, if I can just remember how to use the d@mn thing! )

Missing Serial Number
I keep asking about the missing serial number on the headstock, I guess nobody knows. The only identification on the guitar is that rubber stamped number in the pup cavity: 5 826. 952 (note the decimal point and the space). This configuration looks a bit unusual at first glance but it still adds up to the more familiar 7 digit number usually found stamped into the headstock.

Perhaps this reflects the actual format of Mats' internal serialization???
If I'm correct, my interpretation then would be: 1985 August 26 unit#952 Does this sound right to anyone? The fact that there is a space after the decimal indicates to me that they were expecting to go into 4 digits (thousands) so I assume 952 is a running yearly total?

Wiring Harness
Here are some pix of the current wiring. Still not sure if it's original or 'customized' yet, but I have the schematic printed out and I'm gonna check it out today.

[corsair]

HA! You couldn't help yourself, could you; had to get stuck in!!! Trem's in good nick, eh, though I know next to nothing about the FT - it shouldn't be that much different to the Deluxe... hopefully!? In fact, looking at those pix, you can intonate it without slackening off nuts and Allen bolts - good job!! I like the BD and have (had!!) a lot of fun doing the big bends with distortion and/or overdrive for that whole Pantera/Satch/EVH thing.... yes yes, I know - so very eighties!!! But up until I bought the Genesis, my main stage guitar for 25 years was a non-trem, so I figure I'm allowed to go a little nuts.....

My point is, I think you'll like piddling about with it when it's a runner, because of the trem and because it's a Spectrum (fast neck, comfy to play and great sound)....

[Barry]

HA! You couldn't help yourself, could you; had to get stuck in!!!

Pissed away the entire day today cleaning and testing this guitar!

...and oh, GOOD NEWS...The wiring is original and was NOT fiddled with! AND...the neck pup is now WORKING!!!! Musta been either a wire touching somewhere and shorting out, or crap in the switch! Made my day! Now I have to keep fingers crossed that it still works when I put her back together!!

...I think you'll like piddling about with it when it's a runner, because of the trem and because it's a Spectrum (fast neck, comfy to play and great sound

Hey, yer talkin' to an ST, GT and X-77T owner now! They're all fun to piddle wif. I expect this will be too. In truth though, there aren't too many songs I can use this effect on.

Some more pix coming later!

[Barry]

Hey, the sun came out for about an hour this afternoon!! Oh joy! Oh f*&^%$#g rapture!
Oh Gore! Bite me!!!

I took advantage of the opportunity to grab a few shots to show you the progress so far. Here's how she looks after 2-3 applications of rubbing compound, 1-2 coats of polishing compound and a coat of liquid Martin guitar polish. (Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!):











Startin' to get a tinglin' in me naughty parts!
Hey, it's the only action I get these days!

[Administrator]

Great stuff Barry, keep it coming!

[corsair]

Yeah, bro - looking good!! And a win with the neck p'up; yay!!

[Barry]

Thanks guys.
As I write this I have just completed assembling and stringing her up.
She's not completely adjusted yet but everything works!!! And she sounds great!!!

I don't think I'll go too wild on the fine tuning adjustments just yet, I may as well wait for the little package of parts from David Blair and then drive myself nuts!

I have only to add the string clamps and trem bar, then make the cover plates and I'm golden! And John, you're right about the trem being "wobbly" with 2 springs. I'll need to ad one or two more to firm it up. May do the same on the GT while I'm at it.

I'm not going to worry too much about the scrapes and dings. If I get ambitious and have nothing else to do with my life, I can always return to do the "drop-fill" thing.

I'm very pleased with the way she's turned out. I'll take some pix of the assembly--and the case! Ya gotta see the case!

[corsair]

Sweet, bro!! I reckon those 'basic' Spectrums are the ducks nuts, eh - they fair roar... and they're cheap!!! Take the covers off your GT or ST and whip 'em in to a plastics outfit; I did that for my second Clipper and for the princely sum of NZ$20, I had it made in exactly the right kind of plastic, and with the holes drilled and countersunk to boot! I couldn't have done for that!!

[Barry]

Sweet, bro!! I reckon those 'basic' Spectrums are the ducks nuts, eh - they fair roar..

Yeah, I'm completely addicted to them! Just the most playable necks around, and an extremely comfortable body without excessive weight. Same thing in the Vantage lineup with the Avenger series (um, except for those barrel saddles on the 1981's).

4 of my 5 Westones are Spec's. 'Didn't specifically target collect
them...just dumb luck that the 3 of them turned up when they did.

'Can't rave enough about the amazing quality and value! How fortunate for us to be able to endulge our passions this way. 'Can't imagine doing this with another "brand" name, and being so delighted with the results. And still having enough money left over to, you know, have a hamburger.

Take the covers off your GT or ST and whip 'em in to a plastics outfit;

I might try that, although when I went into my local auto collision shop to see about painting my project Avenger, the initial quote was $200!! I only paid $100 for it in the first place, plus about another $30 for a new bridge...back to hand staining/finishing for that one. Methinks I'll end up doing them myself (groan).

[corsair]

Just the most playable necks around, and an extremely comfortable body without excessive weight.

Ahh, yes... those necks!! Utterly fabulous...

4 of my 5 Westones are Spec's.

That S is a bit special, too... Hey; you need a Spectrum bass now - I've got the GT Bass and it's a good 'un! I was using a P bass on and off until I found the GT; the p is now gone...

I might try that, although when I went into my local auto collision
shop to see about painting my project Avenger, the initial quote was
$200!

I got a local artist to do my strat for NZ$200; seemed like a good price to me... however, the plastics thing will be quite a bit cheaper than that, even allowing for the special sort of plastic, which apparently is a bitch to cut and drill!!

I only paid $100 for it in the first place, plus about another $30 for a new bridge

Yeah, I see your point, but it's not as if you're turning dogpoo into honey; you've got a great guitar there for a knockdown price...

[Barry]

It has been cold, windy as hell and RAINING since I took the last set of pix. But a small miracle happened today...the sun came out for 30 minutes and I ran outside to take the final pix for this project.

Would you believe that it was sunny, warm'sh, but a bit windy as I took these...then within 10 minutes of coming back inside, the wind picked up the skies darkened and there was ice pellets bouncing off the deck followed by (what else?) RAIN!!

Al Gore! Bite me!

*ahem*
But I digress....here then are the pix:








Oh yeah...almost forgot the case it came in!

Looks like he used it for paintball practice!
(The inside is perfect though.)

[corsair]

Good job, there!! Yep, that would be a Westone case... all of my Spectrums have the Thinline cases but I've seen Specs and Panteras in those...

[Barry]

Mini Update
I received my little package from David Blair yesterday.
My DX now has a proper trem bar and washers for the locking nut!

I'm on the hunt now for some appropriate black plastic from which to make new covers for the control and spring cavities.

[Barry]

Well, a small miracle happened this week.
The DX was out of its case and in "rotation" in the music room AND it was sunny AND mild today!! I'm so happy (sniff).
I'll even leave Al Gore alone today; go have a cheeseburger and a shake big guy!

Now, I can finally show you what she looks like with all her missing parts reassembled:

NEW TREM BAR



COVER PLATES (home made)



STRING CLAMPS/LOCKING NUTS


As mentioned in another thread somewhere, I think I managed to get the last set of string clamps and the last trem bar that David had (whew!). This is the first guitar I've owned with a string locking mechanism so it took a bit of fiddling to get the hang of it and get her to settle down, but now it's nice and stable! (No troubles at all Nasticanasta!)

But the cover plates, now, that's a whole different story. I couldn't find anything suitable and off-the-shelf (cheap)! And I wasn't about to pay a lot of money for something "close" and then carve it up! One day while strolling through a local "Dollar Store", those horrible ubiquitous Chinese junk shops, I saw a small storage container made of black polyethylene(?) plastic. I grabbed two of them for $2 plus tax, and got out my utility knife.

I had already made a cardboard template from one of my other Spectrums so I taped it to the back of the tub and traced it out, cut it, sanded the edges, et voila! Cover plate! Then I covered the back with aluminum tape to mimic the original "shielding". That also had the additional benefit of stiffening the otherwise thin plastic.

Fortunately the screw hole pattern was standard across the Spectrum line so I could locate the holes easily and match up with the originals already drilled in the body. Surprisingly though, what turned out to be a major pain in the butt was the damn screws!! I figured I'd just go down to the Home Depot and pick up a few. Wrong, Screw Boy! In an unbelievable trek, I went to every big and small outlet locally to no avail...weeks of looking! I found some online but I was damned if I was going to pay 30-35 cents apiece for them!!

For the record these are #3 x 3/8" (10 mm) for the cover plates (and 5/8" or 15 mm for the pick up mounting rings). Everyone had #4, no problem, but nobody had anything smaller, and certainly not in black! I finally found the right size at Lee Valley Tools (a Canadian company primarily a wood working/crafts company) but I had to settle for brass. To hell with it, the covers are now held in place with brass screws! (So are the mounting rings on my Vantage Entertainar VE-550 whose original screws were badly rusted out).

The black isn't as dark as the guitar finish unfortunately, and I managed to scratch the damn thing when my screwdriver slipped while "countersinking" the screw holes, but hey, the cavities are covered! And I think she's looking worth a whole lot more that the $75 I paid for her sorry little arse.

[corsair]

John likes Spectrums. Nice, mate.... nice!! And didn't David do good work with his bits?!

[grogg]

Good job Barry, looks like a nice instrument.

[boutjp97]

Fantastic, another one back from the dead. Really nice work.

[Barry]

Yes John, thanks again to David for getting involved to the extent he did in providing these critical items for wayward Westones.
I'm sure it was a labour of love and that he didn't retire on the profits!

Thanks grogg and boutjp97, she's actually a blast to play now. Smooth fast neck with an incredible roar from those UBC's!! And the sustain, wow! The shielded cover plate I think makes it quieter too.
Heavy bugger though! I look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame after 30 minutes with it slung over my shoulder!

[Frenchy]

Great work on that my friend!

I'm starting to really admire your talent, determination and skills.... I 'm going to start sending some of mine over to you!

She looks great...

P.

[Barry]

Thanks Pierre, I appreciate the compliment!
Sometimes I surprise myself. Sometimes I scare myself silly!!

But I usually end up with something better than what I started with. Whew!


p.s. Don't send me anything. My wife will rip off the neck and beat me to death with it!

[Frenchy]

p.s. Don't send me anything. My wife will rip off the neck and beat me to death with it!

Could I come over and watch ... Maybee film it for the guy's here...