Testing Humbucker Power At Your Guitars Output Jack

Here's a fast way to accurately measure the output of your prized humbucker guitar pickup. With this method we demonstrate that there is some loss of humbucker power once its wired into your 1980s shredder guitar.

My Marshall Plexi Amp and my live rig responds best when my humbucker delivers 13.5 ohms DC resistance. Heres is how I test every one of my performing guitars to make sure my guitar produces the power i need for Hard Rock and 80s Metal.

FACTS

i’m not using technical terms in this post only Laymans Wordage. Your humbucker pickup puts out a certain amount of what I choose to call “humbucker power” for this demonstration ( although humbucker power is an incorrect term - DC resistance is the correct term ).
ANY time you install a humbucker into your guitar the wiring, volume control, tone pots or anything in between your amps input and the humbucker causes you to lose “humbucker power”.
This method tests the “humbucker power” output at the almighty output jack where it counts. Power that arrives to the output jack after all the rubbish usually stuffed into every guitar such as tone pots, switches, capacitors, poor quality wires, etc.

Step One ;

Turn the guitar's pickup selector switch to activate the bridge humbucker pickup, turn the volume pot all the way up. ( If you have other switches in the guitar, tone pots or other, deactivate them ).

Step Two:

Pop out the input jack plate and expose the negative and positive wire to the input/output jack. ( see photo )

…and then contact one meter probe to the tip of the exposed positive wire and the other to the negative wire.

You've now completed a circuit and by turning your multimeter to the expected resistance range ( I use the 20K range setting on my cheapo meter), you'll be able to read the pickup's resistance or “humbucker power”actually arriving to the input jack.

In the photo I’m getting 14.88 ohms right there at the output jack.

Our AXN Guitar which has basically only a single humbucker and a single 500k Bourns volume pot is showing a .83 ohm loss of “humbucker power” at the output jack.

The AXN humbucker showed 15.71 ohms of Humbucker Power at installation. So that demonstrates the lost of power before the signal even reaches the amplifier.

The only way to get full “humbucker power” from your prized pickup without loss is to wire your single humbucker pickup directly to the output jack. This would require that NO volume pot and NOTHING else to be in the chain between the humbucker and the output jack. Of course having no volume pot is not a preference and not an option for any guitar player that i know...
Except for Marty Friedman with his https://ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/MFM2

Even I like to have a volume knob on my single humbucker guitars and a treble bleed soldered to the volume pot so i can roll-off the volume for clean sounds Ala Queensryche clean tones… and keep the EQ of my Humbucker that I love so much.
There is A Way… There is a method to install a 2-position toggle switch with a single volume single humbucker guitar that allows the following :
Position-1 on the toggle = the humbucker pickup wired directly to the output jack.
Position-2 on the toggle = All the guitars wiring with the volume pot ( and whatever else you desire in the wiring chain ) between the humbucker and the output jack. This is basically Allan Holdsworth wiring which I shall demonstrate in my next 80’s Guitar Blog post.
… Heres a photo of Allan Holdsworth’s Charvel Jackson Guitar which in my opinion has the perfect Metal Hard Rock wiring scenario.
Its an unknown wiring scheme originated with Mr. Grover Jackson. One position on Allan’s 3-way toggle provides virtually direct wiring from the humbucker pickup to the output jack overriding the volume and tone knobs.
The position of FULL VOLUME and FULL HUMBUCKER POWER that overrides the volume pot i really like a lot. I sometimes accidentally have my volume pot set wrong at a gig when im bouncing off the walls and the Holdsworth wiring solves that for me. The Holdsworth setup takes a little getting used to but it works perfect for hard 1980s rock-n-roll !!

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Kramer Mick Mars Telecaster - Observations

Hello this Johnny from AXN Guitars. In this post we are observing the details of this authentic Kramer 1990 Mick Mars Telecaster. A Mick Mars Tele manufactured by Kramer and in pristine condition showing its Neptune NJ neckplate. Very interesting vintage guitar with unique features that have Mick's playing preferences from the 1980s. I made the decision to pull this guitar from stock and make it ready for sale. I’ve also taken these photos with my iPhone and shared them with you. Thats why I’m called The SENSEI OF VINTAGE 1980'S GUITARS 先生.

During the time i have owned this one i have intricately examined it with great detail and recorded every specification of this guitar accurately on paper notes. Every question a guitar luthier would ask about this Mick Mars Kramer I have answered and documented with white glove reverence. Notes that I may use in the future and details i will share with you now.

This 1990 Kramer Mick Mars guitar is from the run of guitars manufactured by Kramer during the late 1980s and during the period that print advertisements featuring Mick Mars and his Kramer Guitars were circulated to major publications by Kramer Neptune New Jersey.

Kramer Neptune NewJersey had no log and no records exist indicating how many of these collectible Kramers were manufactured. Yet Mick did play these. You can see Mick Mars using his Kramer with Motley Crue if you check for The Moscow Peace festival footage on YouTube.

I might update this thread periodically with more info so everyone please check back.

Please support reputable luthiers in the USA and abroad like AXN™ Made in the USA Guitars

Best Wishes Johnny The SENSEI OF VINTAGE 1980'S GUITARS 先生.

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Floyd Rose Tremolo Vibrato Bridge History and Information Thread

This thread is a reference resource for Floyd Rose Tremolos covering the history and identification of vintage Floyd Rose bridges.

A work-in-process thread and will be updated as time allows.
Bridges are displayed in no specific order
Topic is vintage Floyd Rose vibratos that are of the most interest and the most sought after. Some licensed Floyd Rose bridge systems will be covered.

I hope this helps some guitarists in their quest for information. Best Wishes, Johnny - The SENSEI OF VINTAGE 1980'S GUITARS 先生

1984 Floyd Rose “Original” Germany Tremolo Vibrato Bridge

**Floyd Rose “Original” 1984 Germany Tremolo Vibrato Bridge**

This is a 1984 Foyd Rose Made in Germany Tremolo. It can be distinguished by the Floyd Rose Orignial standard sustain block that is missing any USA Patent Number. It Pre-dates Mr. Floyd Rose’s US patent on his product. Floyd completed the US Patent in 1985 and the US Patent number was embossed on all new bridges after 1985. This tremolo represents what can be considered Floyd’s completed design ( not a prototype ) in that the bridge, the saddles, the baseplate, the sustain block, etc, kept this basic configuration and general specifications for decades to follow. This incarnation is the most familiar design of the Floyd Rose tremolo.

One of the most sought after vintage Floyd Rose tremolos. Offered on USA Kramer guitars semi-exclusively in 1984. Also were offered to the retail market and music outlets as Floyd Rose kits.

Early Collared style Tremolo bar mount
Floyd Rose “Original” Sustain Block without an embossed US Patent Number
manufactured by Schaller Germany
“Floyd Rose” first style type/text embossed baseplate Logo
baseplate structure indicates original cast or casting process
Made in Germany marking on baseplate is the first style
One of the thickest baseplate of all Floyds except prototypes
Final tremolo design that did not change in any way for years to follow.

1983 Kramer Baretta Floyd Rose Tremolo

This is a 1983 Black Floyd Rose. It came mounted on a 1983 Kramer Baretta Holy Grail with a hockey stick or banana headstock. The Kramer Neptune New Jersey factory assembled 1983 Kramer Barettas and this came from Kramer NJ 1983 house stock. Many people have said its a flat black finish. I think its just a fist generation made in Germany black Floyd Rose tremolo. Again this tremolo can be properly described as an ”original’ Floyd Rose.

This vibrato is from the first of the Floyd Rose product that was manufactured in Germany in 1983. Also, the first black version from Schaller. The Germany company Schaller handled manufacturing for Mr. Floyd Rose in 1983 after Fernandes Japan..

This tremolo has also seen the miles. That said its original to the Kramer 1983 Baretta I had in my shop in 2020. The serial number on this particular 1983 Kramer Baretta was C36XX. More than likely the guitar was manufactured in late 1983 and therefore the tremolo was manufactured some months before and shipped to the USA from the Schaller factory in Germany. This Floyd has one of the thickest baseplates of any Floyd Rose tremolo I have on record. The baseplate thickness is .137”.

This 1983 Kramer Baretta Floyd Rose vibrato utilized a 42mm sustain block on its black Floyd Rose baseplate. I photographed the original tremolo as is, yet i think its been tinkered with a bit. The saddles are in disrepair and it needs at the least new blocks if not new saddles altogether. The tremolo is showing a brass tremolo bar mount which is unique. Texturing on bottom of the baseplate signify type manufacture and time frame of manufacture.

1983 Floyd Rose Tremolo With Made in W. Germany Sticker

Floyd Rose Made in W. Germany Sticker 1983

Manufactured by Schaller Germany
First Hi-Production Run of Floyd Rose Tremolos in Germany
Factory Stainless steel saddle blocks/inserts
Evidenced by the markings, the sustain blocks were machined by hand in a German machine shop
Unique high gloss chrome plating on all these 1983 W. Germany sticker sustain blocks
No baseplate imprint/emboss for “made in Germany”
Made in W. Germany Floyd Rose sticker pre-dates embossed Made In Germany
“Original” standard Sustain Block without/missing a US Patent Number
“Floyd Rose” first style type/text baseplate logo
Early Collared style Tremolo bar mount
baseplate structure indicates original cast or casting process
One of the thickest baseplate of all Floyds except prototypes
brass fine tuner buttons
Appeared mainly on 1983 Kramer guitars advertised with the Eddie Van Halen Tremolo
This W. Germany tremolo represents what can be considered Floyd’s completed design ( not technically a prototype ) in that the bridge, the saddles, the baseplate, the sustain block, etc, kept this exact configuration and general specifications for decades to follow. This incarnation is the most familiar design of the Floyd Rose tremolo.
The existence of what can be called “early prototypes” of this bridge that have ben seen with variations in sustain blocks and other hardware. Pictured is the standard production model W. Germany sticker Floyd.
This tremolo can be properly described as the first ”Original’ Floyd Rose.

1983 Floyd Rose Kramer Endorsement Short Run Tremolo ( loosely called the FRT-5 )

Manufactured by Kahler which was American Precision Metal Works Inc ( APW ). So these were manufactured in Anaheim California USA
First Run of “Whale Tail” Floyd Rose Tremolos manufactured distributed in the USA ( to Kramer Guitars New Jersey ). Yet this was not the first “Whale Tail Floyd Rose” as we will show in the following listing.
The term FRT-5 for this USA made tremolo is arguably incorrect as the designation “FRT-blank” is a Fernandes bridge model term. For whatever reasons Fernandes had a mix-up or confusion. There were numerous and various incarnations of the Floyd Rose tremolos branded with Floyd logos between late 1983 to early 1985 with some made in the USA, some Germany and some made in Japan during these months. ( we will show the Fernandes versions below ).
Saddles are also shorter than modern Floyd saddles.
The baseplate is a “stamped” metal baseplate ( bent steel ). Not a casting or cast metal baseplate like the later German Version.
Early Prototype stainless steel saddle inserts/blocks ( T shaped blocks ) that stay attached to the saddle by these little wings/tabs that fit into a ridge at the bottom of each saddle. ( see pics ).
Fat steel sustain block which is 100% steel. We at AXN™ Guitar used this steel sustain block as the template for our SuperWide™ Sustain Block.
This was a short very rushed run of Floyd Rose Tremolos. Very short run…
Virtually all these made it to Kramer production line guitars to support the relationship between Mr. Floyd Rose and Kramer guitars and also to support the advertising for 1983 Kramer line and the EVH relationship. Mainly ended up on 1983 Kramer Pacers.
“Floyd Rose” first style type/text baseplate logo
Take note of correct tremolo bar which was the same as earlier prototype models. we have indicated the correct tremolo bar in our photos.
This version lacks a “spring” or flat thin metal 6 finger tensioner under the baseplate that holds up the rear saddle bolts. The actual guitar strings provided pull-up or pull forward applied to the saddle to apply pressure towards the small fine tuners.
Short term design. Floyd again outsourced to a manufacturer that was quickly changed. Months later the next design was founded ( final and long lasting design ) which would be the W. Germany Sticker Floyd Rose manufactured by Schaller Germany we mentioned in this thread.

1983 Floyd Rose Tremolo Whale Tail - THE FIRST WHALE TAIL DESIGN PRODUCED

Produced by Fernandes Japan
The First Production Floyd Rose Tremolos with the Whale Tail Design
Factory Stainless steel saddle blocks/inserts ( T shaped blocks )
Famous Steel sustain block
Fine tuners are steel not brass like in versions to follow
Unique Floyd Rose Embossed Logo on Baseplate
This version predates all early whale tail Floyds and was produced months before manufacturing was shifted to USA and also to Germany.
“Prototype Style “ Tremolo bar mount
Baseplate structure indicates original cast or casting process
This Fernandes produced version includes a spring/tensioner under the rear saddle bolts and under the sustain block to control saddles.
The same thickest baseplate such as in first prototypes
Appeared in early 1983 Fernandes marketing
This tremolo represents the improvement of the “whale tail” that would lead to Floyd’s completed design
The bridge, the saddles, the baseplate, the sustain block, etc, carry forward aspects of the original Floyd Rose prototypes.
This incarnation is said to also incorporate a suggestion made by Eddie Van Halen. EVH’s suggestion was to move the fine tuners back farther out of the reach of a guitarists hand during play the “whale tail” as its called.
Floyd Rose has confirmed in interviews that he himself worked on the molds for prototype baseplates
Notice that saddle mounting and intonation screw holes on this baseplate are just two rows. An aspect that was different than in Mr. Floyd Rose’s following designs. There were three tapped rows of holes for saddles in previous prototypes also.
Floyd Rose was personally involved with these early transitional designs funded by and with the help of Fernandes Japan. This is evident in the way the logo appears on this unit. This an indicator that the casting process and the mold held internal engravings. Molds in the casting process can contain engravings inside that produces textures and/or markings that will be displayed on the product after the molten metal is poured into a mold at a foundry.

1984 Floyd Rose Japanese Domestic Tremolo ( Fernandes named it the FRT-7 )

This tremolo was available with the Floyd Rose Logo stamped on the baseplate in Japan for one year. It was made available within the same few months that the mass produced German made ( Schaller Manufactured ) Floyd Rose Original released in the USA in the year 1984.

Technically an official Floyd Rose product and not a “Licensed” Floyd Rose because Fernandes and Mr. Floyd Rose were working together and/or were under contract with each other.
Released prior to the official US Patent for the Floyd Rose Tremolo which came into effect in 1985.
ONLY released in Japan
The baseplate is a “stamped” metal baseplate ( bent steel ). Not a cast baseplate like the German Floyd
The saddles and design have a more rounded appearance at the edges.
Notice that saddle mounting and intonation screw holes on this baseplate are just two rows. An aspect that was different than in Mr. Floyd Rose’s final German made design.
Initially referred to as an FRT-5 by the Japanese people. Later confusingly named an FRT-7 by Fernandes.
Fernandes also sold and was a dealer of the German made Floyd Rose “Original” in Japan. Sold both Floyd Rose tremolos at the same time also calling the German version an FRT-5.
The price difference shown in the Fernandes catalog shows a price of about 30% less for this domestic Floyd Rose, FRT-7 ( or FRT-5 whichever you call it ), sold/distributed by Fernandes for 48,000 yen ( German version Floyd Rose sold for 64,000 Yen )
The tremolo bar bushing or collar that holds the bar to the baseplate has the same new design as the German Floyd Rose Original and shares the same specification for the tremolo bar.
The sustain block is a casting and not machined metal. Sustain block mounting screws are not the same as German Floyds and not interchangeable with such.
The saddle design is similar but the bottom of the saddles are slightly different that German version as shown in our last few photos.
An FRT-7C is Chrome. An FRT-7B is Black.
After 1985 this tremolo re-appears in Japan branded as a Fernandes Head Crasher
Last photos show the Head Crasher Tremolo ( same bridge as this FRT-7 ) that was later re-branded by Fernandes.
There were 4 variations of this design produced by Fernandes and branded with Fernandes names that were virtually identical yet slightly different.
The dis-assembled parts photos show the unique aspects of an FRT-7B.

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The Story behind Doug Aldrich's Signature Jackson Guitar

Hello friends Johnny here. I finally got around to discussing this guitar. I was in the right place at the right time when i got this from a certain really good guitarist years ago :-) . Enjoy the read.

Theres is information out there about these guitars on forums and such that interjects much hearsay and speculation. I will only give you the facts. Thats why people started calling me Johnny The Sensei of vintage 1980s guitars 先生.

I will explain in below reading why this signature Jackson was a Japan Only guitar. The serial numbers for Doug’s personal signature DA guitar Flame are all DAXXXX and all other internet sources state incorrect information about these serial numbers. This is a 1992 guitar and first production guitar manufactured in the run of DA Signature guitars.

Grover Jackson DA Flame

I owned this guitar for years and sold it recently. This guitar was virtually custom made in 1992 by the same shop in Japan that produced The Model Series Charvels. You may view our sale pictures of this guitar at the following link.

http://alienxnation.com/guitars/jackson-charvel-doug-aldrich-signature-guitar-da-professional-flamere more photos at this link>>

One thing to understand about Doug Aldrich and both the bands Lion and Hurricane is that they both had limited success in the USA. Doug was really young and new on the larger music scene. Yet, in Japan all Doug’s bands including Hurricane, which initially featured Rudy Sarzo’s brother Robert Sarzo on guitar, were very very popular.

In the year 1990 the Sunset Strip bands were many. Lion and Hurricane were contenders in a saturated market. Funnier thing is that Lion didn’t do many gigs on the Sunset Strip that i knew of. Of course as a face on the Sunset Strip during those years I would have known about such shows.

Neither Hurricane nor Lion garnered a large following on the streets of Hollywood USA by doing a lot of shows in small clubs as did many Glam bands. Although Hurricane did do some shows in LA. KNAC Radio in California was playing their tunes just a little, and not very much, in the KNAC radio rotation of songs. Then there was a video for Hurricane on MTV featuring Doug Aldrich..

Those years were just too saturated with Glam Bands. So Both of those groups had mediocre success at best in the USA. I was at one original Hurricane shows at the Waters Club located at 1331 S. Pacific Ave. in San Pedro California and there a photo of a flyer attached to this post.

I can also remember In a window of the Roxy Theater on Sunset Blvd. there was a long standing poster of Hurricane. Hurricane was one of those highly promoted bands that basically skipped the small clubs and went strait to opening for larger rock bands. Rudy Sarzo pulled some music industry strings for his bother as a good sibling should…

Now Lion, in the mid 80s I had heard some gossip. A local band called Roxanne was on the same label as Doug’s band Lion and also had licensing problems in the USA. They were signed to Scotti Bros Records. Again, all Dougs bands became a very “big deal” in Japan because of the love for great guitar playing by the Japanese people. The band Bad Mood Rising is another topic on its own but needless to say BMR was much more popular in Japan than the USA. In 1991 Grunge music killed Glam metal in the USA while Doug was working on this band project. But LA Glam Metal lived on in Japan and inspired Visual Kei (ヴィジュアル系; Vijuaru Kei).

This is all relevant to set the stage for why Dougs Signature Jackson was a Japan Only guitar. It was released in Japan for the domestic Japanese market. Some guitars made it to insiders of which a couple orr so went to Doug Aldrich here in the USA like the one in my below photos. Grover Jackson also became a personal guitar luthier for Doug while Doug was being courted by Jackson guitars. Several Jacksons were refinished and repaired for Doug at the Ontario California Jackson headquarters.

As I mentioned in my story about The Sunset Strip Era in the mid 1980s Doug lived in LA and I would see him at The Troubadour once i a while. For a short time in 1985-1986-ish The Troubadour was the place to hang out if you were a Sunset Strip partier because Guns and Roses were basically the house band at the Troubadour way before GNR ever had a record contract. You’d see the same faces at the Troubadour then and Doug was part of those faces as was myself. He became a rock star. I did not … LOL

On to the Jackson thing. Grover Jackson had a common statement that he would tell people that i heard him say many times and that was that “Jackson Guitars didn’t really do endorsements”. Grover Jackson was truthful with that statement to some extent with a few exceptions. Mr. Jackson could recognize a great talent and early on supplied Doug Aldrich with “some guitars”. The following advertisement exposes some inkling of that.

Notice that the advertisement is for Charvel Fort Worth Texas. Which was the import wing of Jackson Charvel Guitars!

So here we go. Without getting away from the subject matter of the DA guitar, Mr. Grover Jackson was losing financial control of Jackson Guitars to investors by 1990. The import line of Charvels Jacksons were selling many units worldwide. Doug was enrolled in a marketing program that was meant to boost sales of Japanese Jackson guitars sold in Japan which was proving to be very profitable for the overall brand of Jackson Charvel and profitable for Chushin Gakki Aka The Charvel Japan Group.

Considered the Japanese wing of Jackson Charvel. Chushin Gakki was also the manufacturer and distributer of all import Charvel Jackson Guitars in Japan in the 1980s. Later Chushin Gakki would become Caparison Guitars. The Charvel Japan Group had several Japanese artists as endorsees with their own Charvel Jackson made in Japan signature guitars. Basically because of the popularity of Bad Mood Rising and Doug Aldrich he became a Charvel Jackson Japan Endorsee.

Also the production line Fort Worth Charvels and Japanese Jacksons ( Grover Jackson, Jackson Professional, and other Jackson branded guitars ) proved to be profitable for the overall Jackaon Charvel Corporation. It was all in the numbers. Remember Jackson guitars made in Ontario California were marketed as “custom” guitars. In many respects USA Jacksons were custom and short runs of certain unique guitars. Yet, what did the financial numbers say for Jackson Guitars USA in the 1990s? Its simple business profit and loss. It was very costly to produce guitars in the USA. Today guitars are mostly crap made oversees and the 1980s is when USA manufacturing started to shift offshore.

Here is Doug with his custom made Jackson USA guitar.

HERE ARE SOME DETAILED PHOTO OF THIS DA FLAME BEFORE IT SHIPPED TO MY CUSTOMER.

Enjoy the pics, Johnny - Owner AXN™Guitars ( The SENSEI OF VINTAGE 1980'S GUITARS 先生 )

This is one of a few Jackson USA guitar Grover Jackson gave to Doug and has a flame finish. It has a Duncan in the bridge and a LP style selector switch. It was manufactured at the 4452 Airport Drive Ontario California 91761 within miles of my childhood home. I have photos of the Jackson Ontario California facility I will post in another thread. It was a small manufacturing facility in an industrial area close to the Ontario International Airport. Doug visited there to get the details worked out for every guitar that Grover gave to him. Grover invited many rockers to that place and it was an awesome guitar shop in every respect.

Doug Aldrich Quote 1994:
"During the time I was deciding on what to use on my signature guitars, I had this prototype made. When I received it, it had an orange painted body with blue flames. I didn't like that, so I refinished the orange part black. This guitar sounds awesome for rhythm tones. I used this a lot on the new album Highcentered.”

The Four Official Doug Aldrich Jackson Guitars

Doug Aldrich - Flame

Body - Ash
Neck - Quartersawn maple, bolt-on, reverse headstock
Neck - scale25 1/2 inch, 24F
Fingerboard - Ebony (12F - 24F shallow scallop)
Inlays - Reverse sharkfin, pearl
Machineheads - Grover Jackson SG38-06
Fret wire - Rockwell C6/Brinell 171
Fret size - .118 x .114 x .051 x .037
Pickup mount - Both direct mounted into the wood
Pickup bridge - Seymour Duncan Custom
Pickup neck - Grover Jackson J-100S
Controls - 1 vol, 2-Way push switch
Bridge - Schaller JT-590 Grover Jackson, non-recessedFinishFlame

Doug Aldrich - Psycho

Body - Ash
Neck - Quartersawn maple, bolt-on, reverse headstock
Neck - scale 25 1/2 inch, 24F
Fingerboard - Ebony (12F - 24F shallow scallop)
Inlays - Reverse sharkfin, pearl
Machineheads - Grover Jackson SG38-06
Fret wire - Rockwell C6/Brinell 171Fret size.118 x .114 x .051 x .037
Pickup mount - Both direct mounted into the wood
Pickup bridge - Seymour Duncan Custom
Pickup neck - Grover Jackson J-100S
Controls - 1 vol, 2-Way push switch
Bridge - Schaller JT-590 Grover Jackson, non-recessed
Finish - Flame

Doug Aldrich - Psycho Y-O

doug-aldrich-signature-jackson-guitar_custom_psychoyo.jpg

Body - Mahogany
Neck - Maple, bolt-on, reverse headstock
Neck - scale 25 1/2 inch, 24F
FingerboardR - osewood (12F - 24F shallow scallop)
InlaysReverse sharkfin, pearl
Machineheads - Grover Jackson SG38-06
Fret wire - Rockwell C6/Brinell 171Fret size.118 x .114 x .051 x .037
Pickup mount - Both direct mounted into the wood
Pickup bridge - Grover Jackson J-DA
Pickup neck - Grover Jackson S-6F
Controls - 1 vol, 3-way toggle switch
Bridge - Schaller JT-590 Grover Jackson, non-recessed
Finish - Psycho Y-O (Yellow-Orange)

Doug Aldrich - Psycho G-B

doug-aldrich-signature-jackson-guitar_custom_psychogb.jpg

Body - Mahogany
Neck - Maple, bolt-on, reverse headstock
Neck scale - 2 5 1/2 inch, 24F
Fingerboard - Rosewood (12F - 24F shallow scallop)
Inlays - Reverse sharkfin, pearl
Machineheads - Grover Jackson SG38-06
Fret wire - Rockwell C6/Brinell 171Fret size.118 x .114 x .051 x .037
Pickup mount - Both direct mounted into the wood
Pickup bridge - Grover Jackson J-DA
Pickup neck - Grover Jackson S-6F
Controls - 1 vol, 3-way toggle switch
Bridge - Schaller JT-590 Grover Jackson, non-recessed
Finish - Psycho G-B (Green-Blue)

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1985 ESP M1 Custom Neck Through Guitar

http://alienxnation.com/guitars/esp-1985-m1-custom

This is an ESP M1 Custom and a factory original 1985 guitar and made in Japan. It was manufactured during a period for ESP when they were trying to make a departure from manufacturing clones of Fender and Gibson guitars and transition to their own models in the mid 1980s. This one was sold at the famous 48th street ESP guitar store in New York. It has the original factory installed ESP LH-200 Pickup and the original ESP wiring! ESP also went the extra mile and the inner control cavities have a great coat of shielding paint to block our radio interference.

One cool feature is the little silver 2-way switch/mini-toggle next to the volume knob which causes the pickup to be wired directly to the input jack overriding the volume pot completely. When this type wiring is employed the direct connection causes just a few more oHms from the humbucker to arrive to your amp and when playing makes 100% sure your humbucker volume is on full through the whole song which i love because i always have the tendency to accidentally roll the volume off without knowing at live shows.. Also, the volume pot has an accurate date code of 1985.

The guitar is a neck-through guitar which features a maple neck that goes through the body- with swamp ash body wings. The construction is the very famous ESP neckthrough type. The tremolo is a 1985 ESP Sinclair bridge. These Sinclair bridges were made from very awesome hardened steel, were built like a tank with excellent tone, and the Sinclair must have been too costly for ESP to continue on with because after a couple years the design disappeared from ESP offerings.

One of the photos included in this thread shows our notes indicating fretboard radius and neck shape at the 1st and 12lth fret. A very unique shred profile that basically has a specification that makes the neck very close to the same shape all the way up and down. Equalling out to a super-fast neck shape. The LH-200 ESP humbucker gave a reading in the 9 oHms range making it a verified Gibson EVH PAF clone. The LH-200 pickup is said to be the most popular Humbucker in Japan. The guitar is a shred monster with great tone and very awesome playability. The body carve at the neck’s 24rth fret gives you the ultimate access to the higher frets much more than I’ve seen on almost any shred guitar. If you can play in the higher register its very un-inhibiting. The neck on this guitar feels ultra-long when your jammin on this dream guitar.

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ESP History - Electric Sound Products

ESP Guitars History © Johnny AXN™ Guitars

Mr. Shibuya established ESP in 1975 along with his friends Hidesato Shino ( who was previously in charge of Greco design at Fujigen ) and also with Moony K Omote, later the founder of Moon guitars.

ESP (Electric Sound Products) was originated in Shibuya Tokyo by Hisatake Shibuya as what was called in Japanese a "Guitar Salon". The shop was concerned with guitar repairs and "one-on-one" custom order guitars. Shibuya’s shop also was involved with training guitar repairmen and soon became a popular stop for musicians.

Hisatake Shibuya

Hisatake started working for the music products industry at the age of 24 as a freshman of Electric Guitar Dept. of Kawai. Teisco and Guyatone electric guitars were coveted instruments of young players at that time. He loved his work, but 4 years later he clashed with his boss and left Kawai. He said “I know I was too bold and stubborn, but they are my nature anyway.”

Jobless for one year, Hisatake joined Nippon Gakki (later Yamaha). He left the company to launch His own business with 4 years of experience in product distribution. He worked with Shigeki Saito who had been a colleague at Kawai, and then ran Fernandes Guitars. He was one of Hisatake’s mentors and supported Hisatake in many ways during the year out of work.

Hisatake learned business through 4 years work each at Kawai, Yamaha and Fernandes which have different corporate cultures and product marketing styles.

ESP Guitars

Hisatake brought in machinery to operate as a guitar retail store/workshop and they started building Navigator high-quality hand-made electric guitars. The ESP Tokyo shop was the first professional shop in Japan to create a dialog with working musicians and interacted closely with players.

All the while ESP absorbed player level details that guitar makers usually do not notice. This led to ESP manufacturing custom order high-end guitars in Japan about the 1979. ESP eventually moved production facilities outside of Tokyo but kept it a policy to concentrate on high-ticket guitars.

Once Hisatake tried to triple ESP sales of one high-end model which sold 200 units a month to 600 units. The result was much extra cost generated in advertisement and marketing. ESP gross profit ended up remaining flat. In terms of operating risk the ambitious plan was far greater than selling 200 units. Hisatake took a lesson from this experience.

In regards to his lesson learned Hisatake was quoted as saying “we built expensive models with additional value under ESP brand, and sell mid-range and competitive models under second and third brands.” Later Hisatake was quoted to say “More than once, I put our competitors on trials. Every time I had to protect our business I told myself that I wouldn't get defeated. Some people in U.S. called me 'cobra' because I bite as I am prodded on my head. In one way, such my attitude has helped me to survive in the industry (laugh).”

Moving the story forward, ESP using its own brand name, set out to rival Fender and Gibson straight away. Instead of just flat out copying USA guitars and selling them at lower costs as ESP did at the beginning, ESP decided to take all the ingredients and surpass what Fender and Gibson did utilizing only the best materials and hardware in a true effort to make the best of the best.

Another fact in regards to ESP ( Electric Sound products ) is that they started manufactured guitars for other brands as referenced by Hisatake. Referred to in the guitar business as being a "ghost builder". This contract work obviously fueling financially the ESP dream to become a flagship brand of its own.

In the 1970s-1980s most of the well known Japanese guitar making companies including ESP we able to produce runs of super highest quality guitars and runs of lower quality guitars simultaneously. Other manufacturer names that could also achieve this were companies such as such as Tokai, Matsumoku, Fujigen, Kawai, Chushin Gakki and others. ESP did that and did it very well.

Navigator Models
Vintage ESP Navigator guitars had many variations. ESP started here manufacturing these guitars by hand and from the best materials and hardware. We are talking the mid to late 1970s and many early Navigator guitars were based off of classic USA guitars but not limited to just those designs.

Navigator guitars are the highest-end of all ESP guitars. Many time the Navigator logo on the headstock will say something like "Navigator produced by ESP". Early on some Navigator Les PauL Type guitars actual said Navigator with Les Paul on the headstock in the same font style as a Gibson LP.

Today the Navigator series Fender and Gibson replicas are made at costs that exceed those even of Fender and Gibson’s own Custom Shops! They are the pride of ESP. Every Navigator is a quality guitar, made with the utmost attention to detail. Navigator guitars have the exact dimensions of Fender and Gibson’s, but have amazing details that Fender and Gibson have never put into their own guitars. There is very few guitars out there that can rival a Navigator.

ZEP-II Models
ZEP-II or "ZEP-2" guitars as I will call them were basically short production runs of ESP custom made guitars. The ZEP-2 guitar brand was kind-of or maybe the precursor to the Edwards brand of guitars. That said near-to-all the ZEP-II guitars i chose to collect were just as good or more-often-than-not the same quality in every way as a high end 1980s ESP guitar.

ZEP-2 guitars were made in Japan between 1985 to about 1989. The designs were all over the board with models that were signature guitars such as the Loudness models made for the band Loudness.

Also something to note is that ESP produced an EVH frankenstrat the model VH-250, that was treated as a ZEP-II branded product at the end run of its ESP production cycle. ESP/ZEP-II gave this guitar the model number KVH-49. I’ve talked about that VAN Halen Model ESP here on this blog post.

ZEP-2 guitars were a brand of ESP. Yet, to confuse the issue more… ZEP-II guitars were considered a MAD Company product that was an offshoot company of ESP. I've owned many of these including a Kramer branded George Lynch bengal tiger that was a Mad Company creation. The Japanese were very good luthiers and had much pride in their work especially when it came to making anything connected with ESP guitars in this period.

Again, ZEP-II guitars are for all practical purposes the same quality as the ESP guitars of that time. Yet there were some ZEP2 models in a lower price point and wood quality diminished a small bit and some colors and finishes were repeated to save money $$. Sometimes with ZEP-II Guitars ESP would release some off-the-wall weird guitar design as sort of an "experiment" or to test the retail sale-ability and label it an ZEP-II.

http://www.espguitars.co.jp/customer/download/catalog/zep2/index.html

Edwards Models
Initially Edwards guitars were made in japan starting in 1990. The brand is the most under-rated guitar brand in Japan and virtually unknown in the USA. Many times they use bookmatched woods, nitro top coat finishes in ESP produced Edwards.

Edwards are said to be designed as the lower-cost version of the Navigator series and the standard ESP Product. But they really don’t have to be and if some Edwards branded guitar are of lower quality they are not that much lower in terms of craftsmanship, only price.

For Example I owned an artist model for a Japanese rock star that was branded Edwards not ESP and it was just as high quality, and maybe better quality, as a ESP custom shop guitar and the price tag was up in the $3000.00 USD range retail. So for those interested, ESP chooses to use the brand Edwards at its own discretion. it is not accurate to say as a general statement that Edwards is a lower quality guitar than a ESP custom shop.

I have noticed that later in the late 1990s to recent 2000's some were maybe made in china or asia and still some in Japan. Yet it is said many Edwards are just slightly lower cost versions of well known popular ESP high end original designs or popular ESP artist models.

Like ZEP-II Guitars ESP would/will release some off-the-wall weird guitar design as sort of an "experiment" or to test the retail sale-ability and label it an Edwards. Im seeing that the Edwards brand are possibly more often these days being made in asia, korea or china now.

Yet, mark my words ESP has chosen to produce Edwards at its own discretion. I quite often see Edwards branded guitars that are of the highest of ESP quality. Only the higher ups in the ESP corporation are deciding where any run of Edwards branded guitars will be manufactured.

Grassroots Models
ESP also makes a low end entry-level guitar brand made in china and now other places for beginners under the name "Grassroots." These guitars are made well considering they are very low priced guitars. They do look nice but have budget woods and budget finishes and budget electronics. For a beginner, it is a great brand. That said some Grass Roots guitars are just about as good or maybe better than what we are seeing in mid-priced Gibson and Fenders right now here in the USA. they are like "good Chinese guitars" if you know what i mean.

Seymour Duncan Models
ESP luthiers also made a lesser-known brand under the name of “Seymour Duncan," from the mid-1990s until 2004. Seymour Duncan is written as the actual logo on the headstock of these guitars. There are two different series of Seymour Duncans; the "professional series," highest end and the "traditional series," which was marketed in a lower price range. If a guitar is from the traditional series, it will say so on the headstock. If it just says “Seymour Duncan,” then it is the more expensive model. ESP only made Fender replicas under the Seymour Duncan brand.

ESP discontinued Seymour Duncan Fender replicas in 2004. ESP continues, however, to make bass guitars using the Seymour Duncan logo, but these bass guitars are not Fender replicas like their predecessors.

Schecter Guitars
In 1987 Schecter Guitars was in negotiations and/or purchased by Hisatake Shibuya. He is the founder of ESP Guitars. In 1990 there was some shuffling around of the Schecter Guitar company and the brand Schecter that was famous for hand made stratocaster shaped guitars and guitar parts.

After all was said and done effectively Hisatake Shibuya owned the Schecter Guitars brand. Hisatake Shibuya also owned Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, Sunset Custom Guitars California and 48th Street Custom Guitars in New York. It seems that ESP was manufacturing Stratocatster bodies and necks as well as whole guitars in Japan at the ESP factory for a short period in the late 1980s and these were branded as Schecter and sold mainly in Japan. The ones I’ve seen are very hard to distinguish from the Authentic USA Van Nuys California Schecters.

in the USA Hisatake Shibuya put separation into the Schecter brand successfully making Schecter Guitars presence completely independent of ESP as far as marketing and branding in the US. Later ESP was also successful at finding ways to manufacture Schecter outside of Japan.

In My Opinion in Japan many models that were released Japan under the brand name Schecter Guitars from the late 1980s and more heavily in the 1990s that were Strat headstock guitars and appear to be 100% ESP Japan manufacturing. Even today Schecter Guitars sold in Japan are very similar to some ESP offerings and include what appears to be ESP craftsmanship. The lower end of Japanese only Schecters are more than likely made in china or possibly in Korea.

ESP - Timeline
1975- Founded as a manufacturer of high-end electric guitar, and to train guitar repair servicemen. Manufactured the First Navigator line of guitars.
1979- Started accepting orders for 100% custom-made electric guitars.
1981- Established ESP-USA.
1983 - A Factory in Nagano Japan was opened with 40 employees
1983- A European ESP base was opened in the German city of Dusseldorf - 1983- Opened Guitar Builders' School in Japan.
1983 - The 48th Street Custom Guitars New York was founded
1986- Opened a 6,600 sq. meter factory in Sado Island, Niigata-ken Japan.
1990- Official purchased Schecter USA.
1992- Launched ESP-China.
1995- Purchased U.S. Musicians Institute.
1997-2010 Acquired and opened more than 10 educational institutions and retail shops in Japan.
ESP Co., Ltd. has 18 member companies, 1,300 workers and 13 billion yen annual sales as a group. The business expands from musical instrument manufacturing, distribution, sales, import/export, music and movie production, publishing, development and distribution of music software to multiple educational institutions.

Other Brands ESP has manufactured like Robin Guitars, Italia Guitars, Kramer Guitars and others I did not mention.. give it some time I will ;-)

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ESP Shop in Dusseldorf Germany

The 1980s ESP Shop in Stresemannstraße Dusseldorf Germany

ESP attracted attention for the first time during the Frankfurt Music Trade show Musikmesse in 1981. ESP showed their many guitars and many parts at a distributor booth in that year. In order to be a player in the retail guitar business in Germany an ESP shop was opened. ESP Europe was opened in 1984 with a small office in the city of Karlsruhe Germany.

Initially Guitar Center and other small companies in Hamburg took over the distribution. The heavy metal music scenes were thriving in the USA, Europe and worldwide. Electric Sound Products had taken on Endorsees and started to introduce successful models of their own and not just copies of popular USA instruments as it did in previous years.

ESP Custom Guitars Germany started in 1986 in a small shop located at this address Stresemannstraße 4 in Dusseldorf Germany. The same year employees cultivated relationships between this ESP shop and musicians in Germany and Europe filling the need for ESP parts, service, and manufacturing custom orders . Custom ordered ESP guitars from this Germany shop were nearly all manufactured in Japan with some custom things being done in Germany. Since the paint work was done somewhere other than Germany because of environmental concerns we can assume that things done in ESP Dusseldorf Germany were much along the lines of what the New York ESP store did in the 1980s.

The ESP complete guitars offered at this Dusseldorf Germany ESP office were a mixed lot just as the ESP offerings from the 48th Street Shop in New York. Again, Japan manufactured ESP necks and bodies that were later built-up in the Germany location. Complete neckthrough guitars or nearly complete guitars shipped from ESP Japan were part of the Germany stock.

In addition some employees from this Germany location were also employees at the famed 48th Street ESP shop in New York or traveled between the two locations. Both stores exhibiting the same sales platform and distribution practices and acting as a subsidiaries of ESP Tokyo Japan.

In this time the ESP sales manager for Dusseldorf Germany was given the task of setting up the ESP Custom Shop in Germany. An ESP custom order service was established. Complete organization of ESP wholesale and ESP distribution for Germany, Austria and Switzerland was established and completed. This resulted in consolidation of the ESP distributor network from all local European areas. Previous distributors were reorganized and/or disengaged. After the Hamburg distributions were dissolved the entire ESP inventory was shipped to Rhine, whereupon the small shop was initially overwhelmed with the European ESP inventory of guitars and parts.

With everything coming in to play and with the expertise of the employees at this new location the guitars from Japan were eventually processed to this location officially from ESP Japan. Official ESP order system was created. From this small warehouse in Dusseldorf orders were sent to official ESP dealers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Because of high demand of new guitars in 1990 key employees had to move stock to an external warehouse in which a luthier inspected the instruments before delivery.

In addition to the sale of Japan manufactured ESP strat replacement necks, bodies and ESP parts, the custom order ESP instruments were also made available at the customer's request. Again the custom orders were built or manufactured partly in Düsseldorf and partly in the Japanese Takada Factory which was the first ESP plant in Tokyo.

We at AlienXnation believe the majority of custom order ESP guitars sold in Dusseldorf were just like ESP creations made available at the 48th Street Store in New York at the time. A custom order was created in Dusseldorf Germany processed through Japan. Custom Order guitars were manufactured, painted and completed in Japan then shipped to Dusseldorf. There seem to evidence that near-to-all instruments were 100% ESP Japan manufacturing with few or no exceptions. We have seen the guitars that have ESP Germany neck plates and can confirm that these do exist. ESP also did the same with neck plates for the 48th Street New York store on occasion but there was no consistancy and any neckplates were short lived items. If there were any actual Germany manufactured guitar or Germany manufactured ESP bodies we at AlienXnation have never seen evidence of any kind to indicate any verifiable ESP Germany manufacturing ability. Therefore it is safe to assume that all manufacturing was done in Japan with some things possibly painted elsewhere or built up somewhere other than Japan. Yet, very little to no instruments were anything other than 100% ESP japan manufacturing start to finish.

ESP applied an advertising program using the same formula ESP applied to the USA market but on a smaller scale which did included European artist endorsements.

Some ESP guitars sold as custom orders from this Düsseldorf location had unique features such as paint, finishes and custom details that may have been initiated in Germany and were absolutely unique for ESP guitars. This resulted in a few guitars being seeming one-offs and/or different ESP guitars than those regularly seen coming directly from Japan. Even today you will find vintage ESP guitars in Europe that are slightly different which can be attributed the Dusseldorf Germany location for ESP guitars.

Changing times in music at the end of the 1980s and the downturn in sales of heavy metal or glam rock type guitars played itself out in Europe as well as in the USA. The shop on Stresemannstraße closed its doors at the end of May 1995 after a sell-out and moved temporarily to a kind of workshop with warehouse in Düsseldorf-Derendorf. ESP moved to the Sound Service European Music Distribution in Berlin, which moved to the south of Berlin in 2006 to Rangsdorf.

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Brad Gillis Fernandes Wiring Diagram and SB-3000 Booster Installation Instructions

The SB-3000 Fernandes Booster

This was developed by Fernandes Research Group. The square metal plate fits over a standard Stratocaster input jackhole for strats with a top mount input jack. There were two different logos printed on these. The first was the early Fernandes Logo. The later version logo was introduced on the rectangular metal input jack plate around 1985.

The down position on the toggle overrides the boost and gives no mid-boost. The toggle position up gives a small amount of mid boost. There is an EQ adjustment in the back of the unit as can be seen in the photos.

The SB-3000 is used during guitar soloing. It can be used for other purposes with experimentation. But its for use during a guitar solo to offer peak sustain. The SB-3000 was Fernandess first exploraion of a boost circuit and pre-dates the Fernandes sustainer.

It can work very well but older units can become noisy in a live environment. Properly adjusted it works like a charm and is very similiar to a Jackson Charvel JE-1000 Treble boost

>> Go Back To Brad Gillis Guitar Page <<

( The Tutorial Will Be Delivered to you as a Download. )

If you are interested in a tutorial and Wiring Diagram and Instruction click below

Brad Gillis Fernandes Wiring Diagram and SB-3000 Booster Installation Instructions Tutorial

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ESP - Electric Sound Products 1987 Catalog

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The Seymour Duncan Van Halen Special - Duncan Special

The Seymour Duncan Van Halen Special

That Duncan guy introduced this pickup into his line 1979 and placed the ad ( see the photos below ) in guitar magazines. The funny or not so funny thing is that Seymour was said to have called Eddie Van Halen before he made the pickup for sale and ask if he could market the Van Halen pickup and Eddie said NO. Heres the quote ( some drama here ) >>

EVH: “Yeah. And also, him selling it and advertising, makes it seem to the fans like I'm selling myself. They don't know that I'm against it. They think that I'm out for the bucks. That's not it at all. So it's kind of a drag. There's another guy too...See, I've rewound my own pickups before, and a guy named Seymour Duncan, I got pissed at him too. He called me up and said, "Can we use your name for a special pickup?" And I said no. Next time I pick up Guitar Player magazine, there's a special Van Halen model customized Duncan pickup. I called him up and said, "What the hell's goin' on?" So he stopped finally. It's just kind of weird you know.”

The Duncan Custom is a ceramic humbucker. The Duncan Custom was Seymour’s first official offering with a ceramic magnet. Some remember the ad in Guitar player magazine 1979 Seymour Duncan calling the humbucker a "Special Van halen pickup". The one in our photo is it.

Apparently Seymour Duncan rewound a Gibson PAF for Van Halen around early 1978. The two dudes Van Halen and Duncan worked together in that time and came up with the Duncan Custom. We have had three of these Van Halen Special Seymour Duncan Custom pickups over the years in our shop. Last month April 2019 we just sold the one in the photos for many hundreds of dollars to a crazed EVH guy. It spect out at 14.4ohms.

The pickup rocks. That said around here we prefer Alnico pickups and Marshall amps cause we are rockers. But with a few tweaks to the Marshall settings this Van Halen Special 1979 humbucker pretty much nails the VH1 album guitar tone out of the box… ceramic magnets or not.

( photo credit for old Duncan advertisement goes to https://darthphineas.com )

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Heres a secret, theres a fine line between rock and more mellow-er music. For the best and most authentic rock-n-roll tone use a different guitar for each type of music in a live setting. Instead of the typical “ i want to make my guitar more versatile with a variety of tones ” make your guitars “music specific”.

Just pick a humbucker with an output of 13-15ohms with an Alinico magnets and just frickin be a hard rocker.. thats what we grew up on .. right? hard rock!!. If you want to play The Cure thats cool too. Use a strat with single coils. If you want to play Metallica use a one Humbucker guitar through a Marshall Plexi. Thats what the pros do.

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Floyd Rose Tremolo Vibrato Bridge History and Information Thread

1984 Floyd Rose “Original” Germany Tremolo Vibrato Bridge

1983 Kramer Baretta Floyd Rose Tremolo

1983 Floyd Rose Tremolo With Made in W. Germany Sticker

1983 Floyd Rose Kramer Endorsement Short Run Tremolo ( loosely called the FRT-5 )

1983 Floyd Rose Tremolo Whale Tail - THE FIRST WHALE TAIL DESIGN PRODUCED

1984 Floyd Rose Japanese Domestic Tremolo ( Fernandes named it the FRT-7 )

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1985 ESP M1 Custom Neck Through Guitar

ESP History - Electric Sound Products

ESP Shop in Dusseldorf Germany

Brad Gillis Fernandes Wiring Diagram and SB-3000 Booster Installation Instructions

ESP - Electric Sound Products 1987 Catalog

The Seymour Duncan Van Halen Special - Duncan Special

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