# Brought my LP to a tech, looked at me like I was crazy!



## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

So I brought in my LP Studio to a tech someone recommended me, It had never been setup since I bought it in 2008 so I though it was time  I had also purchased an RS Guitarworks vintage kit to have him install. I was going to try and install it myself but when I opened up the back and saw the circuit board and all the wires, I suddenly changed my mind 

When I showed him the RS kit he asked me why I wanted to install it, so I explained to him the advantages. He asked me how much I paid for the kit, when I said around 100$ he basically looked at me like I was crazy and said he could have done the same thing for 10$ ? I'm thinking he was probably talking about a treble bleed ? Does a treble bleed mod really sounds as good ?

The first thing I thought to myself is, how can a guitar tech not know about RS Guitarsworks kits? I realize now that luthiers are not necessarily gear heads like me ...
He was also suprised to see the Gibson's guts where on a circuit board, should I be worried he has never seen the inside of a rescent LP ? lol

The guitar also has some fret buzz, he looked at the frets with a long ruler and said they needed to be leveled. Anyway I hope he will do good job...


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

YJMUJRSRV said:


> I called a guy about repairing footings/walls in my garage. He came and told me a bunch of BS and bad pricing. When I checked on him turns out he is not a licenced contractor and has a bad rep.
> 
> Just switch "tech" for contractor here and use the same common sense. If you found a guy on craigslist fo rinstance calling himself a "tech" than thats all it is. You probably want someone else or three to call him a tech.
> 
> ...


Dont get me wrong, this tech is not just some guy I found in an ad. A friend of mine who has always brought his guitars to him recommended him to me. He also had a lot of pictures of him with local "stars" on the wall when I got there. So he does look like he knows what he's doing.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Yes, you should be VERY surprised he hasn't seen the inside of a recent LP. I would have grabbed my guitar and run the other direction.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Most techs will tell you the RS kits are silly. And yes, they are. BUT!!! I buy them myself and like them. The simply reason is that I've found the sweeps on regular CTS pots are hit and miss with me. But the sweep on the RS pots I've used is always brilliant. Sure, 4 pots a couple caps and some wire will cost you less than $40, but if I have to pay a small premium to get something that I _know_ I'll like, I'm cool with that.

As for your tech, as far as I know, non-historic Gibsons have been using PCBs for a loooooong time. So unless this guy's never worked on a Lester, or has only worked on historics, it shouldn't have come as any surprise to him. I'd be a little leery about that.


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## EchoWD40 (Mar 16, 2007)

keto said:


> Yes, you should be VERY surprised he hasn't seen the inside of a recent LP. I would have grabbed my guitar and run the other direction.


I didn't know that they were using pcb boards in their lps either... Seems stupid as shit.


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

TDeneka said:


> I didn't know that they were using pcb boards in their lps either... Seems stupid as shit.


Here's a pic, it probably saves them some money since they can easily be mass produced.


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

zurn said:


> Here's a pic, it probably saves them some money since they can easily be mass produced.



Yes, it does save time and money. Not much different from the metal ground plate that they used to use. The big thing is that now the pickups attach with a proprietary connection, so it makes it very hard to swap in non Gibson pickups. Seymour Duncan has done the same thing with their own proprietary quick connect system. 

Personally, I prefer the old fashioned simplicity of the traditional electronics.


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## Fane (Aug 23, 2008)

J S Moore said:


> Yes, it does save time and money. Not much different from the metal ground plate that they used to use. The big thing is that now the pickups attach with a proprietary connection, so it makes it very hard to swap in non Gibson pickups. Seymour Duncan has done the same thing with their own proprietary quick connect system.
> 
> Personally, I prefer the old fashioned simplicity of the traditional electronics.


Indeed, something about that picture just seems wrong to me.


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

BTW I got my guitar back last week. The action is wayyy better, the RS Guitarworks Kit is now installed and a new pickup selector switch. The kit does help keep some treble when rolling down volume on the bridge pickup but it doesn't seem to do much to the neck pu. Honestly I really don't think it's worth the 100$. The tech did give me the parts to install the treble bleed myself on the neck pu, so I might try it. I was a little dissapointed that a couple new scratches/bumps appeared on the body since the visit to the tech tough. Once thing that I really didn't like about that tech is that he's a smoker and it smell'd like "sh*t" over there. My clothes had the smell for a couple of hours. 

The bill was 170$ for:

Complete setup
RS Guitarworks kit installation
New Pu switch selector installation
Frets leveled

Bottom line is i'll be looking for another tech, sometimes it's the little details that makes a good tech.


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## Zman (Nov 20, 2010)

I had a smilar thing happen to me. I changed my Classic from the Ceramics to a set of BB1 and BB2s out of a Historic. I went with the RS kit and when I got it back it was buzzing like hell. I sent an email to RS and they requested I send a picture of the cavity. I did and they told me the guitar was wired incorrectly. I took it back and showed my tech. Now this guy is one of the best in the area and I swear by him but this was his first RS kit. I took the diagram that I had brought with it when I initially brought it in. He said he hasn't looked at it and he said he wired it like he had done 100 times. I said it HAD to be done exactly as the diagram and the pots were even labelled in magic marker. He appologised profusely and had it done in several hours. He was amazed at how nice the set up worked and I am very happy now.
I guess a lot of guys don't know about RS kits.
The cost seems to be in line. My guy charges 100 for a Fret level, and 60 for the pickup swap including pots, so for 170 I think you are in the ballpark. The dings and the smoke smell are a deal breaker for sure.


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

zurn said:


> BTW I got my guitar back last week. The action is wayyy better, the RS Guitarworks Kit is now installed and a new pickup selector switch. The kit does help keep some treble when rolling down volume on the bridge pickup but it doesn't seem to do much to the neck pu. Honestly I really don't think it's worth the 100$. The tech did give me the parts to install the treble bleed myself on the neck pu, so I might try it. I was a little dissapointed that a couple new scratches/bumps appeared on the body since the visit to the tech tough. Once thing that I really didn't like about that tech is that he's a smoker and it smell'd like "sh*t" over there. My clothes had the smell for a couple of hours.
> 
> The bill was 170$ for:
> 
> ...


What pickups are in there? Is it the 490 and 498? Is it the sweep of the tone pot that isn't working for you? In other words it sounds good on ten but gets muddy when the tone rolls off? I would try either the treble bleed or a 0.015 or 0.01 cap ( if it isn't that already). That will alter the roll off of the tone.

Also, I would double check the adjustment of the pickups. With the neck especially it's critical to the tone for it to be in the "sweet spot".

Just for anyone who is interested here is a copy of a great post on the LP Forum by Roadrunner about pickup adjustments. Used entirely without permission.



> Ok... we've been over this in a few threads here recently so I decided to see if I could record some examples of Roy's method of adjusting pickups. I use this method now to adjust my guitars and it works so fine. I hope this will of some benefit to some of you... YMMV. You might have your own preferred method of setting up pickups and that's great, this is just another way to do it that I've found works very well.
> 
> Disclaimer: This method of adjusting pickups is per Roy of RS Guitarworks. In a previous thread here's Roy's quote on what this is all about:
> 
> ...


One of the most informative posts on any forum I have ever seen. I refer back to this whenever I have a guitar to dial in.


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

J S Moore said:


> What pickups are in there? Is it the 490 and 498? Is it the sweep of the tone pot that isn't working for you? In other words it sounds good on ten but gets muddy when the tone rolls off? I would try either the treble bleed or a 0.015 or 0.01 cap ( if it isn't that already). That will alter the roll off of the tone.
> 
> Also, I would double check the adjustment of the pickups. With the neck especially it's critical to the tone for it to be in the "sweet spot".
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot for this info, I will definitely try it.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

J S Moore said:


> Also, I would double check the adjustment of the pickups. With the neck especially it's critical to the tone for it to be in the "sweet spot".


Absolutely. As far as I'm concerned, this stuff is designed to be adjustable for a reason. And don't stop at moving the pickups up and down on a Lester, the individual pole pieces can be moved about as well! I spend a huge amount of time on my Lesters after I do their bi-annual setup dialing in the pickups and it's well worth it.


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## DarthElvis (Feb 14, 2011)

zurn said:


> Here's a pic, it probably saves them some money since they can easily be mass produced.


<sarcasm on>

WHAT?!, No rats nest of wiring, no nasty solder joints. Solder not gooped ('gooping' is subjective) all over the back of the pots ? Heresy I tell you.

<sarcasm off>

I like it, nice and clean and to the point. The control cavity is one place where I would appreciate a little PCB and quick connects.


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

The inside of yours looks better then mine


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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