Next Project: Jackson Kelly

[Deadlock]

I just got this PS6 Kelly on ebay for $199. It's a tad f*cked up, but it's cool for a project. It should arrive here in about a week. I'm planning on doing a Marty Friedman KE1 type thing.


Here's the plan:
-Fill in neck pickup slot w/ wood
-Fill in the toggle switch hole
-Convert to stringthru
-Refinish guitar black (or add a flame maple Veneer)
-DK2T neck (or DK2 neck w/ Schaller 456 bridge)




The guitar on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-Jackson-Kel...QQcmdZViewItem

I'll post photos when I get started.

[levantin]

Cool, keep us updated. Why not go with a fixed kahler while you're at it?

[Deadlock]

Why not go with a fixed kahler while you're at it?

I'm considering it...but $120 for a fixed bridge is a lot.


I don't know why the Schaller 456 bridge doesn't have rollers though. Same with the Kevin Bond Rhoads guitar.

My BC Rich has a $20 roller tune-o-matic bridge from Guitar Fetish and a Schaller fine tuning stop tail piece. I'm tempted to use that same setup on the Kelly.

[Jackson-Charvel]

Where can one get that Schaller black 456 bridge/tailpiece combo?

[Deadlock]

Where can one get that Schaller black 456 bridge/tailpiece combo?

Warmoth sells them. $65 for chrome, more money for black or gold. I think the mounting post spread is a little wider than normal, so you'd probably have to drill new holes to install it.

I'm a little worried that using the fine tuners would be a pain though, because there are no roller saddles. So the string is getting pulled over a rough surface. The Kevin Bond Rhoads has the same issue, I've even seen Bigsby tremolos used without roller saddles, which sounds like an ever worse idea. So I guess it's ok for a fixed bridge situation.

[Budman68]

Warmoth sells them. $65 for chrome, more money for black or gold. I think the mounting post spread is a little wider than normal, so you'd probably have to drill new holes to install it.

I'm a little worried that using the fine tuners would be a pain though, because there are no roller saddles. So the string is getting pulled over a rough surface. The Kevin Bond Rhoads has the same issue, I've even seen Bigsby tremolos used without roller saddles, which sounds like an ever worse idea. So I guess it's ok for a fixed bridge situation.

While I agree with you on not liking the idea of a bigsby trem/tunomatic style bridge idea, in theory, if the bridge saddles are cut correctly, there should not be a "rough" surface as you mentioned. The slots cut for the strings should be just larger than the string itself and match the radius/diameter of each individual string so therefore it should slide freely in the saddle slot. With that said, I would think a lot of usage would result in the lower bass strings grinding the saddle slots wider and or deeper over time. Just some food for thought and good luck with the project -

[metalone]

I had a 80's Gibson explorer II with a fine tuner tail piece and it stayed in tune great, just some input for ya.

[Nazgul]

Looking forward to the pics of the mod! Are you going to use a veneer on the top of the body after filling in the neck pickup cavity?

[Special-K]

Looking forward to the pics of the mod!

+1

[Deadlock]

Ok, so I just got the Kelly in the mail yesterday. It plays very well and sounds pretty good too. Today I took her apart and filled in the neck pickup slot with a piece of Poplar. I also filled in the volume and toggle switch holes with dowels (with one pickup, i won't need a toggle. I'm re-locating the volume knob.) Then I stripped/sanded the top of the guitar flat. Tomorrow I will strip the rest of the guitar. I'm not sure which bridge I'm using yet...so i didn't fill in the holes for a tune-o-matic. I MAY convert the squared neck joint into an Ibanez style AANJ. I ordered 2 sheets of AAA quilted maple veneer for the top.

[Deadlock]

This is how I bought it:



Stripped, filled in neck pickup slot w/ poplar, filled in control holes with dowels



AAA quilt I'm using

[Spivonious]

That's an evil piece of wood (4666).

This should be a nice thread when it's all finished.

[Deadlock]

Painted the back and sides black. Maybe not so exciting...but a big change from the "before" pictures.

The front will be stained quilted maple (not sure what color yet) with a black burst. Either trans black, trans brown, or natural. I'll be using the "triple step" method to show the figure more clearly.

[ozzuk1]

Sweet looking project man...

That top looks wicked...

[Deadlock]

first half of the book matched quilt top. Goodbye neck pickup!