Upgrading Gear4music headless guitar

Flip

I've become quite a fan of headless guitars, eventually.  Last year I bought a headless EART. Unfortunately despite having the most beautiful stainless steel frets I sent the guitar back for a refund since the gadget that passed for machine heads was impossible to tune. Recently I noticed what appeared to be a headless kit guitar at Gear4music with a different tuning unit. I'm not their biggest fan having endured a disastrous introduction to basswood kit bodies from them a year or so ago, but once I established that it wasn't a kit and there was a very clear 30 day refund period, I gave in and bought from them again. 

The instrument arrived quickly and was well packed which was as well because DPD just dumped it in the middle of our front garden barely 5ft from the pavement. I discovered that the instrument has an oversized switch selecting one or both of the humbuckers, plus a single volume pot. The wiring was appalling with several loose, unsoldered wires. The pickups are plastic-encased plastic covers that I didn't even bother playing.

Instead, I installed a spare pair of hot humbuckers from a well-known supplier, replaced the chunk of a selector switch with a DPDT mini switch and filled the selector switch hole which I shall redrill for a pot with push-pull to give me a Lindy Fralin pair of tone circuits. I did consider leaving the selector switch in place and using a couple of SPDT mini switches to give me switchable tone options but the pot and push-pull felt a better option. I assume I shall have to add my DPDT switch to the earth grounding regime but otherwise, I think the wiring is straightforward. I'm not planning to coil tap the pickups so there's no need for another character.

Although I think I've thought the options through even at this late stage I'm happy to listen to all advice and suggestions.

Roland

Pics? I’d love to see what the tuners are like.

BillDL

Looks as though it must be this one:

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Harlem-Headless-Guitar-by-Gear4music-Trans-Black/335Q

2 x high output (unspecified DC resistance) ceramic humbuckers covered to resemble EMGs from a distance.

Standard 3 way toggle switch, only an unswitched master volume pot - no tone.

Ball end of standard strings hook into non-locking "tailpiece" at the end of the neck and a zero fret replaces the nut.

Access to dual-action truss rodthrough a hole in the ball end retention mechanism where it fits down over the sawn-off neck end.

Body made from basswood with burl ash veneer.  Guitar weight around 2kg.

Fretboard is "oiled ebonised poplar laminate" (common to a lot of Gear4Music guitars) and has a really flat 15.75" radius with 24 jumbo frets on a 25.5" scale.

The bridge LOOKS to be quite solidly built and it is stamped "Licensed by KD".

The tool is magnetic and clicks into the side.  Although it's almost guaranteed to be lost, it looks as though a standard Allen wrench would work.

There are saddle intonation lock-down grub screws with Allen heads that are visible from an overhead view.

BillDL

I feel compelled to ask this question.  How did it sound absolutely stock BEFORE you start buying parts and tearing it to pieces?  You said that you just looked at the pickups and knew they had to go.  Did you truly not even play it before removing the pickups?  Ceramic magnets are commonly used in high output open coil humbuckers and this guitar makes no apologies for being a high octane type of beast.  They aren't necessarily bad but you had a preconceived idea they would be.  Were they just ordinary looking open coil humbuckers under the black plastic covers and were the covers removable?  You may have just wasted your money on a pair of "hot" ceramic pickups of similar sound and quality, but that's your decision at the end of the day.

You mention "oversized chunk of a selector switch".  I assume it was just a standard enclosed 3-way toggle switch.  Yes, they do take up a fair amount of space in te cavity, but usually no more than a standard Gibson type open frame one.  I would find a mini pickup toggle switch fiddly, but I have to admit that the existing switch was a bit close to the volume button for mypreferences.  Personally I would just have tried to add a tone pot with standard master volume, master tone wiring and seen if there was enough available space for a mini 3-way toggle switch for pickup selection.

Flip

Thanks, BilDL for the comprehensive reply and thought. I'm not as arrogant or knowledgeable as my original post sounds. Yes, I did play the guitar with the original pickups - in fact, I've recorded them so I can do an AB check. My impression was that they were flat, lacking in definition and without significant tonal definition - all subjective of course, but we're allowed to be with our own instruments, I think.

The pickups are sealed into the plastic cases with a sort of gunge, solid though it looks as if it was once fluid, and with a look of impenetrability. The coils are unsplittable. Roland, BillDL has kindly photographed the tuners in his post. I've removed the pickups carefully so if the Warman Zebras I've replaced them with aren't any better I can always replace them. In fact, the Warman site is unclear - the Zebras are described as a pair then elsewhere they appear to be priced separately so, needing a pair for an ES335 I'm building I ended up with two pairs; this is my 'spare' pair. My preference would have been for Iron Gear pickups but I wasn't confident that the extra expense would be justified. Time will tell for I do like Iron Gear pickups.

I used the term oversized comparing the switch with the quite modest volume knob - diameter and height. It isn't the usual switch which is, as you say, quite small but an exposed, older-style device that looks almost Victorian in its simplicity- I'm not sure if that's what you describe as a Gibson switch. My public performances are limited to occasional open mic events and I've never been much of an onstage switch fiddler so the mini switch suits me fine. With some judicious expansion of the cavity beneath the cover there's now plenty of room for a replacement of the original volume pot (stiff towards one end of the travel), the mini selector and the new tone pot/push-pull switch that will give me two tone ranges.  

Finally, to avoid an array of reducing washers I've filled the original hole for the 'large' selector switch and will re-drill a hole for the new tone pot. 

As I say, if I've replaced the original pickups unnecessarily I can always put them back and return the Zebras to 'stock'. Only a new lump of high-density foam to seat them evenly in the cavity will be required.

Thanks for your comments. As you correctly state I might have done more work than is necessary or justified but at my age (79) I guess time is not so much a problem as when I was younger.

BillDL

Thanks for the fuller explanation.  Yes, I have to say that the original post did seem a bit gung ho rather than arrogant.  Are we still allowed to say "gung ho" or is that deemed racist these days?  The fact that they have stuck the plastic covers onto the pickups is probably a reasonable indication that they are generic budget pickups.  I know exactly what you mean about them being "flat" and without definition.  I have had a few Warman pickups in the past and they were roughly on a par with the IronGear ones in terms of build quality but I think the IronGear ones I've used have sounded a bit better.  There's quite a range and some pickups will sound different in different guitars.  All subjective, as you say.  It's quite easy to be put off by the Warman site if the list of pickups opens to some of the metal-minded beasts with massive Allen keyed polepieces, but there are some nice "standard" ones amongst them.

I wonder if they have deliberately used a chunkier toggle switch to make the guitar look and feel "heavier", for want of a better expression.  A "Victorian" toggle switch.  I love that expression.

As far as the bridge is concerned, it has a slightly Victorian appearance in terms of the number of separate parts and the brass on black.  Personally I like the look of it, but I suppose you can only really get a feel for how well designed it is when it comes to changing strings for the first time and doing some intonation.  Because of the way I tent to hold my palm across the bridge and selectively mute with it I would wonder whether those knurled "tuners" would be an obstruction for me personally.

I'm actually quite intrigued by that guitar.  It looks odd at first but it's growing on me.  I don't want it to grow on me too much though, because I really don't need another guitar and I sometimes have to fight the urge.

It sounds as though you have it all well planned out for ergonomics as well as versatility and I hope it goes well and turns out as you have planned.

Flip

A progress report. Having decided to put in a second pot into the cavity (principally by making better use of the available space by putting in a mini DPDT on-on-on switch to replace my Victorian switch) I also decided to put in a push-pull switch to give me a second tone range using the Lindy Fralin dual cap device. That actually exceeded the available space so I had to Dremel the cavity (at depth so the overall cavity size and shape didn't change and the original cover plate still fits).

Although the wood filler I used to reduce the hole left by the original chunky selector switch eventually set hard, I decided that using that aperture for the push-pull switch might be courting disaster long-term so I reversed the position of the pots. The volume control is now furthest from the pickups, the tone pot/push-pull switch is in the original volume pot position ie surrounded by all wood. The mini selector sits neatly between the two.

The only decision I now have to make is whether to mount the Warman pickups directly to the wood or put on a couple of black pickup surrounds and suspend the pickups from those. On the one hand, I think unsurrounded pickups look a bit unfinished, on the other, the surrounds look relatively large against the diminutive body and, probably more importantly, the extreme corner of the neck pickup surround extends very slightly over the cutaway scoop. Only an extreme shredder would be playing up there and I could always smooth down the surround if I used a black plastic instead of the black metal (which I take to be metal-coloured inside) one I have in stock.

If I go with the direct mounting option, the other decision I have to make is whether to use high-density or memory foam blocks to support the pickups or use latex tubing around the screws. The latex tubing avoids the mass of foam under the pickup which my sense suggests might keep the pickups brighter. But perhaps that's false logic.

AFAIK the pickup dimensions allow me the option of mounting without any additional routing inside the pickup cavities. I'll post my eventual decisions.

Flip

I decided to mount the pickups directly. I managed to find some firm foam and cut it to fit the cavity completely - that gave me the right height and, equally important, level pickups. I am well pleased with the result and have ended up with a guitar that's a joy to play and good to hear also.

All that's left can be found elsewhere in the section - making a container that's more protective than the 'fereebie' plastic bag that's included in the purchase price.

BillDL

Excellent job, and I have enjoyed reading your updates and compromising to solve dilemmas. I'm glad you are pleased with the results.  There's nothing worse than spending a lot of time planning and executing modifications only to be left with a lacklustre feeling at the end.

Volume and tone knob placement is a very personal thing for a lot of people, but definitely more so for somebody that gigs live and needs to constantly adjust settings by feel.

I am not a big fan of mounting replacement pickups directly to the body because you can potentially end up with a height mismatch with the existing cavities, but with luck and planning it can certainly look a lot better on a guitar with a smaller body or one that simply doesn't suit any of the standard colour pickup surrounds.  Additionally you usually can't reuse one for a suspended pickup surround after you have had wood screws through threaded holes in the feet.  Hang onto a piece of the foam that you used and keep it in your case when you getor make one to fit.  Some hard foam can degrade fairly quicklyand get powdery or rubbery.  You will know this without having to remove pickups every 6 months to check.

Foam under the pickup should really have no effect on the tone of the pickup.  In this sense it is practically invisible to the pickup functionality.  It would, however, help to reduce some sympathetic vibrations if the base plate was rattly or loose or if any of the wires could rattle against the wood.  I highly doubt there would be any rattly bits on the pickups you used though.

Flip

Thanks for your message and thoughts.

I chose to go the direct mount route first so that I wasn't left with mounting ring screw holes if it went wrong. Of course, there'd be the problem of the larger holes in the pickup mounts but I think I could overcome that with a couple of nuts and some Loctite. Fiddly but possible.

I'll watch for the possible problems of the foam deterioration and I have plenty left for renewal if necessary. As you say, I don't expect any problems with the pickups and I'm really pleasantly surprised at the sound.

ICBM

BillDL said:

Foam under the pickup should really have no effect on the tone of the pickup.

You might be surprised! Depending on the pickup it can make a big difference. Most pickups are microphonic to at least some extent, and the more they are the more the sound is affected by foam under the pickup. It doesn’t just stop microphonic squeal, it reduces the top-end quite noticeably as well.

I first discovered this with Rickenbacker ‘toaster’ pickups - originally they were mounted with small rubber grommets under the corners of the pickup, but I found them quite microphonic, so I replaced the grommets with the later-style foam rings, and it very obviously changed the tone too.

Flip

Although my knowledge isn't comparable to yours, I did consider an idea I saw on a you tube video which was to use latex tubing around the mounting screws to provide the spacing. I have some 5/7mm plastic tubing that I use to install the looms very simply and quickly through the f-holes of guitars like ES335 but feared the plastic cf latex might not compress enough.

I'd still consider the tubing solution were it not for the fact that getting the humbuckers to lie properly horizontal beneath the strings always seems very difficult. Do you have any thoughts?

Flip

Further to my last post, I was dissuaded from trying the latex idea since I couldn't find a supplier who'd sell less than 20m without a silly surcharge. Then I found one on ebay and bought 50cm!

Provided the screws are properly located in the cavity, the latex rubbing is definitely the way to go. Much less hassle and, if the rubber blocks have any negative effect on the sound, well, this avoids it.

I've now completed the upgrade with the fitting out of the synth gig bag with 75mm of dense foam into which is cut the guitar shape, and the lining of the padding with curtain grade crushed velvet. Black would have been preferable but I wanted the job finished so it's now silver - as my wife said, fit for a Liberace of the six strings (though that's not me, in case anyone wondered!)