aaronmarkson Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 I got a 1994 535 in the mail via UPS minutes before having to load up and head out to play a show last night. So, today I had a chance to look it over. Man, these guitars are beautiful, but this one is not without its quirks. I asked a bunch of questions before bidding on this on eBay (which I normally never do). Some of the questions were answered correctly, and others clearly not. Here are the quirks: Pickups: Prior to bidding on this I asked what the pickups were, and was told they were "original", but nothing beyond that. I decided to take a look. Bridge Pickup: No idea what this is. Any ideas? Neck Pickup: Could it be a real "Patent Applied For" pickup? Bridge: Has been replaced. Brass Saddles with really deep grooves slotted out. A mis-match adjustment screw, and of course a little bit of the metal filed down behind the low E to allow clearance. The original Roller bridge was included in the case. Now the question is: do I keep this one on? Put the original Roller Bridge on? or something different altogether? Nut: The nut has had some "work" done. String height is all over the place. Will need some professional attention and possibly a new nut. Wiring: Multiple splices, electrical tape, messy, showing through the F-hole. This will need to be cleaned up and fixed. Might do it myself. Might have a pro do it since I haven't wired a semi-hollow before. I already know that I would do a way better job than this, but may just have a pro do a once over on the whole guitar. Other than ALL that, it's a looker and I got it for a price that allows me to have some work done and still feel good about it.
Redsand Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 The good news is that your now an official Heritage owner! If that P.A.F turns out to a be right P.A.F, you could sell it and easily pay for any the updates that you may want to make with your new axe.
aaronmarkson Posted January 23, 2014 Author Posted January 23, 2014 The good news is that your now an official Heritage owner! If that P.A.F turns out to a be right P.A.F, you could sell it and easily pay for any the updates that you may want to make with your new axe. Yes, the good news is that I am part of the family now. I have my doubts about the PAF. I find it very unlikely that someone would install a real PAF in the guitar and then sell it without taking it out, or charging way more for it.
Guest HRB853370 Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 The original PAFs did not have a sticker like that on them, or at least the ones I have seen did not. Congrats!
PunkKitty Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 My guess is that the PAF is a Gibson 57 Classic. I have no idea what the other pickup is.
DetroitBlues Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Braided wire is a Gibson Burstbucker since it only has two leads. The red one appears to be a cheap import, check the threading of the height adjustment screws, if the thread is different from the bridge and neck, it's a cheap import pickup. I like the idea of the brass saddles for a brighter tone, but the saddles and the nut are poorly done and should be replaced. I'd suggest brass for bright tones, or bone for warmer tones. Graph techs are nice too. The wiring harness itself should be completely redone correctly with at least shrink tubing instead of electrical tape. Welcome to the forum. Let is know what you end up doing.
PunkKitty Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Braided wire is a Gibson Burstbucker since it only has two leads. The red one appears to be a cheap import, check the threading of the height adjustment screws, if the thread is different from the bridge and neck, it's a cheap import pickup. I like the idea of the brass saddles for a brighter tone, but the saddles and the nut are poorly done and should be replaced. I'd suggest brass for bright tones, or bone for warmer tones. Graph techs are nice too. The wiring harness itself should be completely redone correctly with at least shrink tubing instead of electrical tape. Welcome to the forum. Let is know what you end up doing. Several Gibson pickups use a braided wire.
HANGAR18 Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Several Gibson pickups use a braided wire. And the two wire (one wire through a braid) version means it was installed at the factory while the same pickup bought brand new in a box would come with a four conductor group of wires for each pickup.
DetroitBlues Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Several Gibson pickups use a braided wire. You're right, several do. I was thinking only the burstbuckers were braided two conductor, but the 57 classics are too. Both types carry the "Patent Applied For" sticker.
PunkKitty Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 And the two wire (one wire through a braid) version means it was installed at the factory while the same pickup bought brand new in a box would come with a four conductor group of wires for each pickup. That's not necessarily true either. Gibson sells the braided pickups to anyone. You can buy most Gibson pickups with two or four wires.
GuitArtMan Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Welcome to the club. The neck pickup is most likely a Gibson '57 Classic or Burstbucker. It doesn't appear to be wax potted if that's a clue. What's the second solder blob?!? I'm not a fan of the roller bridge, though some here are. I'd get TonePros.
peterbright Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Good luck with the repairs Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527 using Tapatalk
tbonesullivan Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 I would either put back on the original roller bridge, or replace both the bridge and tailpiece. You can probably find a set that would not require the bushings to be removed. I have a 535 with the roller bridge and have no complaints. Ive also got one on my Millie. As others have said, the bridge pickup looks to be some kind of Gibson "modern" PAF recreation, either a 57 classic, classic +, or one of the many burstbuckers they make. As for the neck, no idea, but if they put a Gibson in the bridge, I would assume they didn't put something that is total crap in the neck. Just odd to see no markings on it. As for the wiring, I would consider just getting a whole new wiring harness. Whoever did the wiring was lazy, to say the least. Who knows what kind of wire they used, or how good their solder job was.
aaronmarkson Posted January 23, 2014 Author Posted January 23, 2014 Just dropped it off with a local repair/setup guy. He's going to re-do all the wiring properly and replace the no-name bridge pickup with a seth lover, and keep the gibson PAF pickup as is. He's also going to put the original roller bridge back in, but with non-roller saddles that he'll compensate and slot accordingly. And, he's going to to shim the nut, and re-slot it so that the string height is correct. He himself has a H535, and was excited to work on this and said he'd have it playing and sounding like a dream by tomorrow afternoon.
Millennium Maestro Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 My guess is that the PAF is a Gibson 57 Classic. I have no idea what the other pickup is. I second that!
HANGAR18 Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 That's not necessarily true either. Gibson sells the braided pickups to anyone. You can buy most Gibson pickups with two or four wires. The previously stated was what I understood the Gibson web site to say when I was trying to figure out what kind of Gibson pickups I have sitting in a box around here somewhere. I probably should have included the standard disclaimer "to the best of my knowledge".
PunkKitty Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 The previously stated was what I understood the Gibson web site to say when I was trying to figure out what kind of Gibson pickups I have sitting in a box around here somewhere. I probably should have included the standard disclaimer "to the best of my knowledge". This thread might help. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/40416-gibson-pickup-output-impedances/
TalismanRich Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Just dropped it off with a local repair/setup guy. He's going to re-do all the wiring properly and replace the no-name bridge pickup with a seth lover, and keep the gibson PAF pickup as is. He's also going to put the original roller bridge back in, but with non-roller saddles that he'll compensate and slot accordingly. And, he's going to to shim the nut, and re-slot it so that the string height is correct. He himself has a H535, and was excited to work on this and said he'd have it playing and sounding like a dream by tomorrow afternoon. I would recommend just replacing the nut. That's a easy enough job. For sure, that was a hack wiring job. Good that you're getting it redone. While not necessarily difficult, rewiring a semi is not for the faint of heart, or those of us who are short on patience.
Billgelder Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 My guess is that the PAF is a Gibson 57 Classic. I have no idea what the other pickup is. I had a Les Paul with the same pickups, the sticker was distressed to look like that.
yoslate Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 And, he's going to to shim the nut, and re-slot it so that the string height is correct. Why not just do a new nut...? About as much work.
Stringman Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 I agree, replace the nut with a quality bone or synthetic nut material. Why mess with the one that's there. I also agree with returning to the roller bridge and getting rid of the saddle mess that is there. Good luck with your guitar. I have purchased via Ebay at times and it can be good and it can be bad. Hope it turns out for the best. Take care and good luck.
Thundersteel Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 Thankfully, those are easy repairs. I'd install a new nut, bridge, and redo the entire wiring harness.
Beagle216 Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 I am also for replacing the nut with a quality unbleached bone nut. They look really good, and it's about as much work as what he is proposing. The nut, is one of, if not the most important thing for tuning stability and playability. A nut that has been refilled and cut can make a "ping" sound when tuning to pitch. That nut looked like it was in terrible shape. I would replace it. You will be happier in the long run. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
tulk1 Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 Those are some very good, high resolution pictures. Really shows the "quirks". Hope you sent those to the seller. And requested he refund enough to get your guitar fixed properly. Especially since you asked before buying. And yeah, why not just replace the nut? That thing is hacked to bits. Otherwise, welcome to the club!!
aaronmarkson Posted January 24, 2014 Author Posted January 24, 2014 Those are some very good, high resolution pictures. Really shows the "quirks". Hope you sent those to the seller. And requested he refund enough to get your guitar fixed properly. Especially since you asked before buying. And yeah, why not just replace the nut? That thing is hacked to bits. Otherwise, welcome to the club!! I did this exact thing. Sent the pictures and explained that this was why I asked the questions I did prior to bidding. They have been quite apologetic about the whole thing and are working with me on it and said they were simply going off of (bad) information that was given to them. They have admitted that they miscommunicated and it looks like they will be paying for the repairs and pickup installation. I'll be sending them the invoice from the repair shop to see about getting some money refunded to cover the cost of getting it back to what they had described in the listing. If all goes according to our communications, I will be VERY please and impressed with the customer service of this seller.
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