DC Ron Posted September 20, 2014 Posted September 20, 2014 Well, like I said, I'm a sucker for survivors. This arrived today, and is as you would expect a good news/bad news story. But it's intended to be a fun project to work while watching sports this fall, so it's all good, right? The REALLY good news is that it was well packed and included a few more parts than I anticipated: original TRC, control cover/label, Kahler locknut base and whammy bar. Can it be played? Hmmm. It was strung up with a piece of paper under the D string at the nut to compensate for a low slot. No worries, easy fix. A bit of fret wear, not too bad though. Fret level is definitely in order. It had a silly amount of relief and VERY high action, so I spent some time with the truss rod and Kahler string height adjustment to get it within range. Had to apply lubricant to both and work gently since they were a bit gummed up. However, now I found...there is a ramp up at the body frets so that fretting above the 14th fret or so frets out at the 22nd (last) fret. Not had this before but a bit of internet research indicates that the easy-to-hard options are (1) fret level (may not work), (2) fretboard level or (3) neck reset. (3) is out so I'll start with (1) and proceed to (2) if needed. (2) might be even more fun than (1). The neck is a nice full C shape, much like my (Schundog's) '89 H535. Does it work? Yes. No. The Schaller bridge pickup works great, as does the coil tap. The variable phase control (where you would expect the tone control to be) seems to work. Had to lubricate both the pots but they freed up nicely. The middle pickup toggle is mechanically broken (floppy) and will have to be replaced. Neither single coil pickup seems to work, even when I jump them to the output. Might be overlooking something here though. How does it look? Well, I'm pretty sure this is the original "charcoal" finish, just faded to dark olive with age. It looks greener in flash than it does in person. But looking in the cavities indicates no trace of a previous finish. Lots of little dings and such. Obviously well played and not babied. I'll worry about the looks last, if I worry about it at all. Mojo is great as is. Don't know what the story is on the stain on the label. So the plan is... Strip down and clean up everything. Level the frets Fill and reslot the nut at the D string Replace (2) missing fine tuners and (3) missing nut lock screws Replace the middle pickup toggle Troubleshoot the electronics String her up Have fun
FredZepp Posted September 20, 2014 Posted September 20, 2014 Dig it.. that's one of those cool old Heritage's . The "Charcoal" finish is quite different. But these are great sounding and well made instruments that just need some TLC and some fine tuning. Congrats on the project.
DC Ron Posted September 21, 2014 Author Posted September 21, 2014 Well, there were a LOT of games on today. So here's today's progress.. Strip down and clean up everything--Complete. This was one grungy guitar. Level the frets--Complete. I didn't go all the way since a couple of low frets took me to my comfort zone. Took the body frets a little lower due to the hump. Fill and reslot the nut at the D string--not yet Replace (2) missing fine tuners and (3) missing nut lock screws--not yet, but...two of the rollers are still stuck. Soaking in WD40 tonight... Replace the middle pickup toggle--found an EXACT replacement at...Radio Shack. Thank goodness they haven't completely sold out to cell phones sales. Yet. Not installed yet. Troubleshoot the electronics--the two Schaller single coils are toast. Long story here, but that's where I am. Have a couple of 80's pickups in the drawer to throw in unless I think of something better... String her up--not yet.
DC Ron Posted September 22, 2014 Author Posted September 22, 2014 More baseball and football, so more progress... Strip down and clean up everything--Reported this as complete yesterday but had skipped a few things. So today polished up the Grovers, Kahler, straplocks (solid brass but still gunky) and body. Better looking and the faint nicotine odor is gone. All the Kahler rollers roll now. The rollers can actually be removed by driving the pin out. Easier than it sounds. Really like the simplicity and predictability of the Kahler. Level the frets--Complete, but...the body hump is still there. Better but not good enough. Will look at this again. Fill and reslot the nut at the D string--complete. Too easy. Replace (2) missing fine tuners and (3) missing nut lock screws--Will order these but no hurry. Had screws in the drawer to replace several of the misc missing. Replace the middle pickup toggle--found an EXACT replacement at Radio Shack. BUT...fried it trying to duplicate the case ground solder of the original. Have to think about this one. $4 so no big deal. Troubleshoot the electronics--the two Schaller single coils were toast so replaced them with a 1982 Seymour Duncan and a no-label pickup from the same era. Spliced in the original pickup wire. Didn't have black pickup covers so sprayed them black. Converted the Schaller from two screws to four, not that it matters. String her up--did this. Plays nice up to about the 14th fret, which is about as high as I go anyway. Reinstalled the nut, truss rod cover, fine tuners, and everything else. Just need to sort the switch and hump. More to follow...
pressure Posted September 29, 2014 Posted September 29, 2014 I just bought one of these in white. Made October 6th 1986 as the 3rd guitar of the day. I haven't figured out the controls or the Kahler unit yet.
Dick Seacup Posted September 30, 2014 Posted September 30, 2014 I just bought one of these in white. Made October 6th 1986 as the 3rd guitar of the day. I haven't figured out the controls or the Kahler unit yet. The Kahler works like this: Push the bar down and the strings go out of tune. Pull the bar up and the strings go farther out of tune. Just kidding. As a former owner of a beautiful, mellowed-with-age white H-160V, congrats! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
pressure Posted September 30, 2014 Posted September 30, 2014 Strings going out of tune has been my experience so far but I've got tools on the way. Once properly adjusted the trem will be purrrfect.
DetroitBlues Posted September 30, 2014 Posted September 30, 2014 Good luck, looks like a fun project.
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