Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

[mogar]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

I could've had one of these, but in purple. Problem is, the store wanted $600 without the case and wouldn't budge.

Great score though man. One day, one will be in my guitar rack as well.

[Jacksonfan]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

Nice!!! Looks great, hope you enjoy it! Congrats [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

[zeegler]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

Awesome guiter dude!

What's that thing leaning on the battery? Pre-amp?

[shadowcat]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

Well, the Reflex pickups are active, so I guess that's the preamp for those things.

But I'm only guessing, I'm not good at that tech stuff. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[ExodusAttack]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

I just finished cleaning the guitar. Man I love the look of polished fretwire and shining ebony coupled with mother of pearl [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
I also re-strung it with 11's and tuned it to D. Now it's really starting to growl [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

I'm not familiar with the circuitry of this reflex-set , but it appears that it has a master volume, mid boost, and what appears to be an active tone control. By active I mean it's behaviour; in fully closed position, the tone is the same as with a normal tone pot fully closed. When I turn the knob open, exactly in the middle of the pots range there is a clear zero-point. In this position the tone is the same as with a normal tone pot fully opened.
Fun things start to happen when I turn the pot fully open. The sound brightens up even more and gets more "twangy". This is actually a good thing, I've been trying to nail the tone of the new Exodus album with my PodXT, and the tone pot gave the sound that final touch, the added brightness and "twang".

With that said, I'm quessing the little black thingie has something to do with the boost and tone control. Or maybe the preamp for the pickups is in it also. [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

If anyone here knows more about these reflex pickups and the circuitry, I would really like to know too [img]/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif[/img]

[ExodusAttack]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

I took some more pictures.

The neck pickup.



Serial.



The condition the frets and fingerboard were when I got it.



Masking off the fretboard.



Before.



After.



After cleaning the whole guitar, it looks like this.













The stuff on the left side of the fretboard above the pickup is just a reflection.



And here are the new best buddies.



[img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Anders]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

Very cool... what did you use for polishing the frets? A fine grade steel wool? I should do that to my RR too!

[ExodusAttack]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

[ QUOTE ]
Very cool... what did you use for polishing the frets? A fine grade steel wool? I should do that to my RR too!

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, I used steel wool for the job. All of the goo and rust came out pretty nicely. If youre planning on doing it too, be sure to mask off the fingerboard. Don't want any scratches on that shiny ebony [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[aldog1330]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

Looks great man, congrats! Early pro's are awesome for the price, I have a Soloist myself that is blue.

[toejam]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

Great cleanup job! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[RacerX]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

Single box shipping, eh? From which country was this shipped. Exodus? I am planning on shipping a Rhoads Pro to Norway and I am double boxing it.

[ExodusAttack]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

It was shipped from Germany to Finland via UPS. There was a lot of padding between the box and the guitar case, it just doesn't show in the pictures. The cardboard alone weighted almost 10kg.

[audiophile]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

Very very nice....congrats.
Excellent pics too.

Need a favor if you dont mind.
I need to know exactly how it is wired up, as I am returning factory reflex pickups to an Archtop Pro.
Everything I have is in pieces and I haven't a clue.

The black box caught my eye before noticing they were reflex pickups. Some clear pics showing all connections would be most appreciated, as well as a few notes identifying what pots are what, jack wires etc.
Educate me as if I was an absolute noob lol (cause I am). This has been a task I've put off for an incredibly long time and appears a good opportunity to finally figure it out.

[ExodusAttack]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

[ QUOTE ]
Very very nice....congrats.
Excellent pics too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, I did my best for all you forumers [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]. It's damn hard to take decent pics w/o the flash when you don't have a tripod for the camera.

[ QUOTE ]
Need a favor if you dont mind.
I need to know exactly how it is wired up, as I am returning factory reflex pickups to an Archtop Pro.
Everything I have is in pieces and I haven't a clue.

The black box caught my eye before noticing they were reflex pickups. Some clear pics showing all connections would be most appreciated, as well as a few notes identifying what pots are what, jack wires etc.
Educate me as if I was an absolute noob lol (cause I am). This has been a task I've put off for an incredibly long time and appears a good opportunity to finally figure it out.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey sure, no problem. I don't have the guitar with me for the weekend, but I'll take some pics with notes and maybe draw some kind of wiring diagram when I get the chance, probably on Monday.

This reflex-circuitry has to be the most versatile circuitry I have played with. After playing with the knobs some more, it seems that the boost knob also cuts the signal, working as a stepless coil splitter for both the neck and bridge pickups. And what's best, both pickups sound sweet in split mode as well. [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

Hmm, you said factory reflex pickups? I was under the impression that these were added later on by some of the former owners. Did these early Pros come factory equipped with reflex picups? [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[audiophile]

Re: Rhoads Pro in the house! (pics)

Most appreciative of any help, no rush...

Reflex pickups were an upgrade option. 8)