Classic Vibe Upgrades?

[PJ]

So far, just a white guard and some nickel dome knobs.

[boneyguy]

Esquire'd mine and put a Gotoh bridge on it. Made a new pickguard as well.

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[Rollo Greb]

Originally Posted by boneyguy

Made a new pickguard as well.

Phew, for a second there I thought I was having another acid flashback.

[Manolian]

Getting rid of the plastic knobs,and installing OEM metal Fender one's.

[androo]

Originally Posted by bruceffect

So, I finally got around to tweaking my CV. I installed a set of compensated saddles from Stew mac, an electrosocket, USA Switch, a big fat orange drop, some nut lube, new strings, and a single ply black guard.

The comp saddles from stew mac are really great. I actually eyeballed them to nearly perfect just based on where the old saddles were. A couple twists of a screwdriver, and I had perfect intonation across the board. The added tone was noticeable as well thanks to the solid brass I'm guessing. I was going to install some solid shaft CTS pots, but the box from MF didn't arrive in time, so I decided to see if I could make the alphas a little smoother. I sprayed a couple shots of contact cleaner in each one, and they are much better. Not as nice as the CTS pots in my CV strat, but pretty close. I installed a USA switch and connected the shielding in the neck p/up area to the ground in the control cavity. I installed a .047 orange drop on the tone pot, and moved the output from the tone to the middle lug on the volume pot (aka the 50s mod). The volume and tone controls are so much more usable now. It's really great. I used the nice shielded cable that came stock and installed a switchcraft jack and electrosocket. All of the static that I was getting before is now gone. I think it was mostly in the switch and jack.

I did a quick polish on the frets, and then I put some nut lube on the saddles, the nut and the string tree and installed a fresh set of 9's and got down to playing. These mods while very inexpensive, made a huge difference in the tone and playability for me. I can't comment enough on the huge difference in the volume and tone controls. Before, they were almost useless, but I kept finding great new tones by rolling the tone back a little and then using the volume to dial up the gain, etc. A little midrange boost on the eq pedal really helps both these and the CV Strat pickups.

I wasn't sure how I would like the .047 tone cap, but it suits these pickups really well. When dialed back about 50%, the tone is simply FAT.

Well that's just great! Is there anyway you might be able to help a ding dong with a switch install? I have a CRL switch in the house, but when I took it apart last night, it was too much for my feeble mind to handle.

droo

[PJ]

Where's you get the .047 Orange-Drop cap? They seems tough to find. All I see around are .05 Flat caps, all over the place.

[mercury6]

Originally Posted by bug music

The nut was cut too low on mine and it was buzzing a bit on the open strings. I had a Tusq nut in the drawer, so I changed it out. The other thing I did was get rid of the foam under the neck pickup, and replaced it with springs, so I could lower the pickups a hair. Other than that a set of .10's and a bit of truss rod tweaking was all I've done to mine.


- Jay

Hi,

New CV owner and first post.
A lot of information to digest on this forum.
I have the same issue as you, a nut cut too low.
Could you tell me exactly which TUSQ nut you used and if you got it directly
from graphtec?

They have two , one which has a top radius of 7 1/4 and another bigger one which has a 9 1/2 top radius and flat bottom.

Is the nut slot on the CV flat or curved?

Thanks

[bruceffect]

Originally Posted by androo

Well that's just great! Is there anyway you might be able to help a ding dong with a switch install? I have a CRL switch in the house, but when I took it apart last night, it was too much for my feeble mind to handle.

droo

If you're comfy with the soldering iron, it's not too hard. I always refer to www.fender.com/support and then go to wiring diagrams. You can look at a bunch of the different tele models and see how they're wired differently, but what's nice is they have a picture of an upside down control plate and how all the wires go. I bet you can figure it out from there. For the volume mod, just move the wire that goes from the tone pot to the volume pot to the middle lug on the volume pot.

[bruceffect]

Originally Posted by PJ

Where's you get the .047 Orange-Drop cap? They seems tough to find. All I see around are .05 Flat caps, all over the place.

I think this is where I got the caps. I have 3 of the .047 left. They're the 715 series at 600V. I tried to find the smaller 200V ones, but never did so I went with these.

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Categor...2C+Orange+Drop

[bug music]

Originally Posted by mercury6

Hi,

New CV owner and first post.
A lot of information to digest on this forum.
I have the same issue as you, a nut cut too low.
Could you tell me exactly which TUSQ nut you used and if you got it directly
from graphtec?

They have two , one which has a top radius of 7 1/4 and another bigger one which has a 9 1/2 top radius and flat bottom.

Is the nut slot on the CV flat or curved?

Thanks

Hey M6 welcome ! Yes I used one of these, which I had already.
http://www.graphtech.com/products.ht...9&CurrencyID=2
You could also use one of these, since the bottom is indeed flat.
http://www.graphtech.com/products.ht...2&CurrencyID=2

Hopefully this helps.

- Jay

[sbpark]

is it worth replacing the bridge and saddles on the CVT? seems to me (havent played one yet but from what i have been reading) that upgrading the bridge and saddles would definately do this guitar justice. which bridges have been used that are a direct retrofit? and what are the advantages/disadvantages to steel saddles vs. brass? i have looked at Callaham Vintage T Model bridge and wasnt sure if they bolted right on without having to drill new holes. or is it not worth it to replace the enitre bridge and just install new saddles?

i have read its great out of the box but the electronics are the weak link, and that some have had problems installng an aftermarket switch because the routed area under the switch plate isn't deep enough. has anyone found 3-way and 4-way switches that fit without having to route the area under the switchplate?

[Carzee]

bug music thx, I was looking at a Tusq job on my to do list -you've saved me time there. I am upgrading the tuners so I'll do a nut jobbie as the same time.

Regarding the tuner upgrade:

Up thread the Wilkinson Vintage were mentioned - ordered some, wrong sort sent to me; no stock available.

Next I have checked out the Fender Vintage style tuners (pn 0992040000). The Fender set do not drop in to the headstock holes and to use them will require reeming out the holes (and they look absolutely identical to the CV tuners anyway).

Moving on to check the Gotoh Deluxe Vintage tuners: pricey and also appear to be american sized.

[Carzee]

Originally Posted by sbpark

is it worth replacing the bridge and saddles on the CVT? seems to me (havent played one yet but from what i have been reading) that upgrading the bridge and saddles would definately do this guitar justice. which bridges have been used that are a direct retrofit? and what are the advantages/disadvantages to steel saddles vs. brass? i have looked at Callaham Vintage T Model bridge and wasnt sure if they bolted right on without having to drill new holes. or is it not worth it to replace the enitre bridge and just install new saddles?

Steel vs brass is well covered in the saddles threads.
I put Callaham vintage on my CV -straight fit. I would go for a Glendale or Callaham bridge on any Tele, even CS, with compensated saddles.

Originally Posted by sbpark

i have read its great out of the box but the electronics are the weak link, and that some have had problems installng an aftermarket switch because the routed area under the switch plate isn't deep enough. has anyone found 3-way and 4-way switches that fit without having to route the area under the switchplate?

The rout job is easy enough. Upgrade the Squier electrics and store the old set away for re-fitting if you ever decide to sell the CV and put the bling gear onto your next Tele.

[bruceffect]

Originally Posted by sbpark

is it worth replacing the bridge and saddles on the CVT? seems to me (havent played one yet but from what i have been reading) that upgrading the bridge and saddles would definately do this guitar justice. which bridges have been used that are a direct retrofit? and what are the advantages/disadvantages to steel saddles vs. brass? i have looked at Callaham Vintage T Model bridge and wasnt sure if they bolted right on without having to drill new holes. or is it not worth it to replace the enitre bridge and just install new saddles?


i have read its great out of the box but the electronics are the weak link, and that some have had problems installng an aftermarket switch because the routed area under the switch plate isn't deep enough. has anyone found 3-way and 4-way switches that fit without having to route the area under the switchplate?

The bridge is actually a little thicker chunk of metal that the Genuine Fender bridge I have off a nashville deluxe tele. I simply added the $14 set of compensated brass saddles from stew mac, and it is AWESOME. You can drop big $$$ on a blingy bridge, but I think all you need is the saddles.

I put in a genuine Fender 3 way with no routing required. Definitely worth upgrading the switches and jacks as I did on both my CV 50s tele and my CV 50s strat. The tele had full size alpha pots which are ok, but i'll probably put in some CTS solid shaft pots eventually. The strat had mini-pots and now has full size CTS pots.

[TNO]

I can't see taking the chance on damaging the finish removing the old nut when the super glue/baking soda fix takes five minutes and keeps the guitar original.

[bruceffect]

Originally Posted by TNO

I can't see taking the chance on damaging the finish removing the old nut when the super glue/baking soda fix takes five minutes and keeps the guitar original.

What is the super glue/baking soda fix?

[bug music]

Originally Posted by TNO

I can't see taking the chance on damaging the finish removing the old nut when the super glue/baking soda fix takes five minutes and keeps the guitar original.

Heh, heh ! Yeah, I admit it, my inability to leave well enough alone is a serious character flaw.
I do intend to work on it though, it was one of my New Years resolutions.

- Jay

[PJ]

Thanks, Bruce. Yours worked OK at 600V? I'm not sure what the Fender specs are for the old Orange Drops. I only know they were .047mf.

[ajgus]

Originally Posted by PJ

So far, just a white guard and some nickel dome knobs.

Where'd you get the knobs, PJ? Looks great!

[PJ]

They're AllParts Nickel Dome knobs. And, I used the little brass pot sleeves that enable you to use set-screw knobs on knurled split-post pots. (Make sure you slide them all the way down on the post, then install the knob over the sleeve).
They work terrific. The flat-top stock knobs looked a little out-of-place (to me) on a 50s-style Tele.