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PowerTube's *official* SL2H Setup Thread! (pics)

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  • PowerTube's *official* SL2H Setup Thread! (pics)

    Beware of cheap imitations!

    So I brought the SL2H home today and did my setup tonight and thought I would share with everyone. I won't bore you again with the story of how I came to get it. You're welcome. Please excuse the poor quality of the photos, as my camera sucks.

    Anyway....

    First things first. I opened the control cavity and replaced the 9-volt battery in the Whateverthehellitis(r). If anyone recognizes this circuitry, please let me off the hook and tell me what it is. All I know is that the additional knob on the guitar increases the bass when turned up.


    Next step. I removed the Floyd, but left the strings attached. Why, you ask? Because I always use the old strings for setting action and intonation.



    Next came the fret polishing. The frets weren't grungy by any means, but I always go for minimum fret resistance, especially with jumbos. Here's the fretboard, taped and ready.



    Once the frets were polished, I treated the fretboard with...brace yourselves....lemon oil.


    NOTE: I had to enhance and brighten these pictures for clarity. No, the board isn't rosewood.

    The next couple of steps aren't pictured, but I set the action nice and low. The intonation is actually good enough, or at least for now. I may decide to tweak the B string at a later date.

    The final verdict? Awesome! The neck plays like butter and, surprisingly, even open chords have great clarity with heavy distortion. I honestly didn't expect that. If I had known then what I know now, I would have brought her home three weeks ago.

    Here she is, all set up and standing against the coat closet wall.



    Member - National Sarcasm Society

    "Oh, sure. Like we need your support."

  • #2
    Very nice job you did there! I never knew SL2H's had a 9 volt battery in there. Active electonics? Aftermarket, or do they come stock that way? Line boost? The pickups look passive to me.
    Tone is like Art: Your opinion is valid. Listen, learn, have fun, draw your own conclusions.

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    • #3
      Looks like an aftermarket addition to me.
      "The BLUES is the tonic for what ails ya."

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      • #4
        Originally posted by PowerTube View Post
        If anyone recognizes this circuitry, please let me off the hook and tell me what it is. All I know is that the additional knob on the guitar increases the bass when turned up.
        That is an EMG-SPC, "Strat Presence Control".

        Off emginc.com:
        The SPC or "Strat Presence Control" is often called the fat control. The original intent of the SPC was to turn the tone of a single-coil pickup into a dual-coil. This is accomplished by boosting the gain in a broad mid-band fashion and reducing the highs. The result is a fatter, louder tone from any single coil pickup, but you can also use it on a humbucking to give you a high output, really fat tone that's great for slide guitar.

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        • #5
          Good looking guitar!

          I would put some masking tape over pickups when using steel wool. I always put on new strings to adjust the intonation.

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          • #6
            Sunbane, Thanks Cool, or at least it sounds like it would be cool!
            Tone is like Art: Your opinion is valid. Listen, learn, have fun, draw your own conclusions.

            Comment


            • #7
              Looks great! Suggestion: from everything I've read regarding doing setups, you ought to use new strings when setting action and intonation.
              "You are so stupid that I am surprised you have not collapsed into a singularity of stupidity." - Anon

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              • #8
                Thanks, Sunbane! Yeah, it's nice to know what that is because I knew it wasn't stock and neither was the extra knob. It definitely gives a noticeable bass boost. I was messing with it last night and found that it's quite good for the "We Will Rock You" solo.

                You guys are right about using new strings for setup, but I figured that since the old ones were coming off anyway.... Plus, the old ones felt like probably 10's and I always string with 9's, so that could throw the intonation off somewhat.

                Kisonen, I usually cover them totally but since I went so gentle this time, there wasn't much danger of getting particles on the magnets.
                Member - National Sarcasm Society

                "Oh, sure. Like we need your support."

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                • #9
                  fyi...When I polished my frets the other day, I used 'post-it notes' rather than tape.

                  joe....
                  www.godwentpunk.com
                  www.myspace.com/godwentpunk

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