A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
- theworkoffire
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A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
Hey all. Long time no action...
In a moment of mild insanity I snagged this nasty looking SG-3 on ebay. I have absolutely no time for this kind of thing these days and the other SG-3 I have is too big a job for me to finish in the forseeable future, but I had an itch to scratch that seemed maybe possible with this.
Hardware in great condition - no tuners, but I have a set Jonas super-kindly donated last year, replacement knobs and switch, no arm, but otherwise all present and correct.
And then this horror-show. Some clown decided the zero-fret should be replaced with a Fender-style nut. Luckily/stupidly they tried to use the original chrome string guide. Strangely, this didn't work, and not just because the slots go down level with the fretboard...but I'll come to that in a minute.
Under the hood was typically ugly. Assorted arachnid carcasses in there, in amongst the perished foam gunk...
The black paint was really soft and horrible, so I ran through a bunch of different solvents until I found one that more-or-less just wiped it off without affecting the original red underneath.
Lo and behold - the decal still intact:
Great that all the black came off easy enough, but bummer that there had been such a half-hearted attempt at sanding the original finish off...
And so to the nut problem. The original section from between the zero-fret and the nut had been removed and glued back on behind a new slot.
I heated a thin scraper and worked it slowly into the glue-line.
Now the really weird part, which maybe isn't that surprising. Whoever did this to the nut cut the new slot the wrong side of the zero-fret line, so the string would have to sit at the back of the nut rather than the front for it to intonate. Baffling.
I wanted to re-use the original piece of rosewood, but it had been sanded into a wedge and drilled, for some reason, so I ended up having to cut another from scrap.
The grain matched uncannily well.
I glued the new piece in place with some Titebond.
Then filled the join with dust and superglue.
the new zero-fret slot made the misplacement of the nut really apparent - if it had been done properly the join should have been right on the line of the new slot.
Pressing in the new fret:
The existing frets went really low once I'd dressed them down to remove some pretty brutal gouges, but I figured it was worth trying to keep them rather than just replacing them straight off. String guide superglued back in place.
The guard had shrunk a little, which wrinkles the self-adhesive thick foil shielding, raising the guard off the body.
All original wiring, but it's nothing special, as far as I'm concerned, and getting very weak at the edges of the solder joints. And lots on gunk.
Guard dirty and cleaned with a slightly abrasive polish:
New nickel shielding paint and and pickup foam, the guard shielding hammered and rolled back flat, and a complete cloth-covered re-wire, leaving out a whole load of superfluous ground and doubled-up signal wires.
And then fast-forward to it finished. I borrowed the knobs from my other restoration job.
Happy!
In a moment of mild insanity I snagged this nasty looking SG-3 on ebay. I have absolutely no time for this kind of thing these days and the other SG-3 I have is too big a job for me to finish in the forseeable future, but I had an itch to scratch that seemed maybe possible with this.
Hardware in great condition - no tuners, but I have a set Jonas super-kindly donated last year, replacement knobs and switch, no arm, but otherwise all present and correct.
And then this horror-show. Some clown decided the zero-fret should be replaced with a Fender-style nut. Luckily/stupidly they tried to use the original chrome string guide. Strangely, this didn't work, and not just because the slots go down level with the fretboard...but I'll come to that in a minute.
Under the hood was typically ugly. Assorted arachnid carcasses in there, in amongst the perished foam gunk...
The black paint was really soft and horrible, so I ran through a bunch of different solvents until I found one that more-or-less just wiped it off without affecting the original red underneath.
Lo and behold - the decal still intact:
Great that all the black came off easy enough, but bummer that there had been such a half-hearted attempt at sanding the original finish off...
And so to the nut problem. The original section from between the zero-fret and the nut had been removed and glued back on behind a new slot.
I heated a thin scraper and worked it slowly into the glue-line.
Now the really weird part, which maybe isn't that surprising. Whoever did this to the nut cut the new slot the wrong side of the zero-fret line, so the string would have to sit at the back of the nut rather than the front for it to intonate. Baffling.
I wanted to re-use the original piece of rosewood, but it had been sanded into a wedge and drilled, for some reason, so I ended up having to cut another from scrap.
The grain matched uncannily well.
I glued the new piece in place with some Titebond.
Then filled the join with dust and superglue.
the new zero-fret slot made the misplacement of the nut really apparent - if it had been done properly the join should have been right on the line of the new slot.
Pressing in the new fret:
The existing frets went really low once I'd dressed them down to remove some pretty brutal gouges, but I figured it was worth trying to keep them rather than just replacing them straight off. String guide superglued back in place.
The guard had shrunk a little, which wrinkles the self-adhesive thick foil shielding, raising the guard off the body.
All original wiring, but it's nothing special, as far as I'm concerned, and getting very weak at the edges of the solder joints. And lots on gunk.
Guard dirty and cleaned with a slightly abrasive polish:
New nickel shielding paint and and pickup foam, the guard shielding hammered and rolled back flat, and a complete cloth-covered re-wire, leaving out a whole load of superfluous ground and doubled-up signal wires.
And then fast-forward to it finished. I borrowed the knobs from my other restoration job.
Happy!
- frelonvert
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
Fabulous, a red one! Now you need a sunburst sg-5 and you're done^^
I change the old foam on mine too a week ago and it was dust like yours.
I also wanted to keep the old frets and did for several month.
But after a refret, now my yamaha is just 80% more enjoyable.
Once again, tremendous job. Thanks for sharing it.
I change the old foam on mine too a week ago and it was dust like yours.
I also wanted to keep the old frets and did for several month.
But after a refret, now my yamaha is just 80% more enjoyable.
Once again, tremendous job. Thanks for sharing it.
Take care the skons is evrywhere !
- antisymmetric
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
Watching the corners turn corners
- druunkonego
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
Awesome as usual!!
- PorkyPrimeCut
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
You think you can't, you wish you could, I know you can, I wish you would. Slip inside this house as you pass by.
- Ursa Minor
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
I love how the first post is literally the whole restoration!
(realize it was possibly? done over a longer period, but great to see it all out there in one giant post.)
Amazing work as usual!
BIg fan!
(realize it was possibly? done over a longer period, but great to see it all out there in one giant post.)
Amazing work as usual!
BIg fan!
The artist formerly known as kosmonautmayhem.
- daCod
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
Just ups my want for one of these. Especially seeing the three together. Well done!
The sanded area/spot is very nels cline jazzmaster-like. I dig.
The sanded area/spot is very nels cline jazzmaster-like. I dig.
your paranoia must be weapons-grade.
“I have terrible hearing trouble. I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal proponents deaf.” ~ PT
“I have terrible hearing trouble. I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal proponents deaf.” ~ PT
- Ursa Minor
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
^ No kidding. I didn't even know I wanted one of these until this thread popped up!
The artist formerly known as kosmonautmayhem.
- windmill
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
Ecellent work
Looks good.
Looks good.
- mynameisjonas
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
Wow, what a transformation! Nice to see those tuners put to good use
-
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
great job
- theworkoffire
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
Thanks guys
Not really into the red - would swap for a sunburst or another pearl white in a heartbeat. I'm in a bit of a quandry with it, really; I'd love to refinish it properly, and I'd have no problem with doing the body, given the massive sanded areas (there's a smaller one on the back, too), but I wouldn't feel right refinishing the headstock with the decal in such great condition. Plus, if I'm re-finishing it I'd want to do it in another colour, so I wouldn't just re-do the body to match the neck...If anyone has a sunburst or white in similar or slightly worse condition and wants a change of woodwork I'm all ears!
Not really into the red - would swap for a sunburst or another pearl white in a heartbeat. I'm in a bit of a quandry with it, really; I'd love to refinish it properly, and I'd have no problem with doing the body, given the massive sanded areas (there's a smaller one on the back, too), but I wouldn't feel right refinishing the headstock with the decal in such great condition. Plus, if I'm re-finishing it I'd want to do it in another colour, so I wouldn't just re-do the body to match the neck...If anyone has a sunburst or white in similar or slightly worse condition and wants a change of woodwork I'm all ears!
- sookwinder
- Mods
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- Location: Melbourne Australia
Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
yeah long time no see ... and you're back with a bang ....
I always enjoy these stories that end with a recovery of a great instrument.
How does it sound... similar to your others ?
I always enjoy these stories that end with a recovery of a great instrument.
How does it sound... similar to your others ?
relaxing alternative to doing actual work ...
- theworkoffire
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
sookwinder wrote:yeah long time no see ... and you're back with a bang ....
I always enjoy these stories that end with a recovery of a great instrument.
How does it sound... similar to your others ?
It sounds awesome - I don't really have the vocabulary to describe it...similar to a vintage Jag, with a little bit more warmth, I think. Plays beautifully - no rattles or hums. I'm pretty sure the first bridge pickup is out of phase, so I need to experiment with that a bit - it's almost silent when the two bridge pickups are blended together. There's no really obvious difference between this and the SG-2, certainly not the way I play
- Bothand Nether
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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Re: A sneaky Christmas SG-3 recovery job
Quality save, Sir.
You gave her a new lease on life, for generations to come.
Like a stray, rescued from the animal shelter.
It will undoubtedly be fiercely loyal to You.
Well done!
You gave her a new lease on life, for generations to come.
Like a stray, rescued from the animal shelter.
It will undoubtedly be fiercely loyal to You.
Well done!
"No short-haired, yellow-bellied Son of tricky dicky's Gonna mother hubbard soft soap me"
-The late Mr. L.
-The late Mr. L.