TheFretShack

It's time to refret if a.) you have any dead notes, unclean notes and/or buzzy fretted notes; b.) a setup alone doesn't fix the issues; c.) frets are seated properly, so that's not the issue; and d.) if there is not enough fret material left for fret leveling.

String changes are a matter of taste and scenario. If you like the snap and brightness of fresh strings, change frequently. If you perform live and don't want to break strings on stage, change frequently. If you record and want the best intonation you can get on tape, change frequently.

If you like the warm and mellow sound of older strings, and/or are a casual bedroom/den player who seldom if ever performs or records, don't change frequently.

A guitar in which the player is not reluctant to permanently modify to suit the instrument to his or her needs or tastes, i.e. a "tool" for the task at hand.

If anyone thinks a guitar pickup is just a magnetized copper coil, be sure to order tripe or even hooves instead of prime rib next time you visit a steak house. Because piece of cow is piece of cow, right? :) Seriously, pickups shape and shift a player's tone as much as they transmit signal, just as much as different amp and pedal types.

Beyond overall signal output ... factors pertaining to a passive pickup's coil alone that influence voice include but are not limited to coil wire thickness, insulation material and insulation thickness; turn count; wire tension and wire turns per layer.

Equally important to passive pickup voicing is magnet material, magnet size, magnet placement, magnet charge; and the collective metallurgy within the assembly. From plated metal covers to the different grades of steel used in pole screws and slugs, different alloys create different tonal results.

In the case of actives (EMG, Fishman, Bartolini, Live Wires), the preamp itself is a critical component in the assembly's voice. The preamp enables big huge output from sweet voicings typically only achieved via low to medium output passives.

The EMG Gilmour set is great for everything PF and really everything SSS. Be sure to integrate a "Gilmour switch" into the circuit if your assembly doesn't have it. It enables VERY utile "neck + bridge" and "all three pickups" as selection options. The Gilmour mod can be done with an added mini-toggle; or hidden in a push-pull pot to keep a stock S-type look. Google "Gilmour switch" for details.

I don't see what's confusing about anything I wrote. But if leading off with "moral" is confusing enough to discount my content leading up to it, probably a poor word choice on my part. I will eventually delete "moral" from the last graph so that it is not mistaken as a capsule summary for what I wrote leading up to the graph.

Also, I did not say only buy from storefronts. If you re-visit that paragraph, you will see my advice on what to look for regarding private sellers.

Speaking of advice ... while much of what I wrote should be common sense for any buyer or seller on any online platform ... everything I have written in this entire thread is my own two cents. Your own mileage and experiences and opinions on these platforms may - and should - vary.

I'm getting great rates for UPS and USPS via pirateship.com. I can't speak highly enough about Pirate Ship as a third-party shipping intermediary. They actually caught an overestimate on my part by a few ounces on a parcel I sent and refunded me a little postage!

Reverb: They also typically side with buyers over sellers in a toss-up scenario, but they have third-party moderators who are good about looking at both sides objectively and making the proper decision.

I bought a $1700 guitar on Reverb a few months ago and after the seller exhibited very shady delays and responses why regarding shipping the instrument, I reported it and requested Reverb's mods review our messaging history and timelines. Reverb cancelled the transaction immediately - like within an hour - refunded my money within one day, thanked me for reporting the seller and banished his Reverb presence.

Be aware, however, that the fees to sell have creeped up since they became a leader in gear transactions. They are currently at 5% commission on the total sale amount (including shipping, which is skyrocketing in recent times) and a payment processing fee of 3.19% + $0.49.

You can move the pickups and harness from the MIA to the MIJ without issues. You can move just the pickups, but I'd recommend moving the entire assembly in that the MIA should have better CTS pots.

90s MIJ Fujigen will have either Maxon pots (not bad but not as good as CTS) or Alpha pots (good all the way on or all the way off but not a lot of function or "colors" from 2 to 9).

Dave Wintz's obit in Vintage Guitar Magazine

Met Dave in the early 1990s, when I was just a player with a dream one day of being in the instrument repairing and building business. Dave and I remained good friends until his death.

I owned one of the first Robin Revival guitars (their take on a Texas blues S-style) and was very familiar with not only the entire line, but the factory and processes and Dave's mentality on every aspect of guitar building. He gave me priceless tips on creating and using an effective HVLP spray booth for polys and nitros without spending a ton of money. We were NEVER competitors, we were comrades.

"Robin" was in fact a spinoff on Rockin' Robin Guitars in Houston, the retail outlet. They started with MIJ guitars ghost-built for them by Tokai (and they were KILLER). After they established themselves beyond fly by night, they built a state of the art CAD/CNC factory.

Dave had a primo, absolutely enviable, tonewood collection for the Texas builds. He used to come to south Louisiana once a year to source lightweight swamp ash direct from the northern Atchafalaya Basin. He'd always put in a call and invite me to join him. I was always too busy with my day job. I truly regret not taking him up on those scavenger hunts now that he's gone.

Robin's existence berthed their in-house Rio Grande Pickups. Truth be told, Rio made a bigger wave in its market than Robin in its market. Rio's still around. So is Robin but I have no clue to what depth or scope - I lost interest when Dave passed.

Dave was not married and without any heir apparent or any real play for Robin's future when he passed in 2022. Robin had already gone belly up, Dave had a fretted repair shop in the former factory. After his death, the facility sat dormant and in limbo because his landlord had yet to be made whole, at least that's what I was told by a mutual friend who doubled as an insider.

The current owner of Rio Grande and Robin was an amp maker when Dave's "estate" was settled. I heard they obtained all the factory's assets, from machinery to IP and the Rio Grande and Robin trademarks, via a sheriff's auction but that's hearsay on my part.

An insider was ready to put my name in the hat to acquire Rio Grande and the entirety of its assets, but I opted to stick with Carondelet's plan and trajectory. As much as I would have loved to continue Dave's legacy, he was 100 percent supportive of what I was doing with my own pickup company and had he still been alive, he would have told me to not ride his coattails and to make my own. So glad I did.

Thanks for reminding me of Dave and Robin, fond memories, and he's greatly missed by many of us. Rest in power, my friend.

Here's that Robin Revival I owned. Sorry for the lame photos from a later owner, I have no photos from when I owned it. I got it direct from Dave shortly after it was built. Only about two dozen Revivals were made, of which only two units were "shell pink." No clue who had the other one.

One is a device called a String Butler which replaces the truss rod cover and acts as a roller string tree making sure each string is going straight into the nut slot.

Gimmicky overkill IMHO, a properly slotted and lubricated nut is the best fix.

A couple of other devices are out there meant to reduce the immense break angle of the Bigsby B50 vibrato. One hooks over the back bar (eliminating the hook string attachment rods) and essentially making it a string through. The other device (BiggsFixx) replaces and elevates the center bar thus reducing the massive amount of tension the B50 creates.

Based not on my experience with Bigsbys but instead with the OEM vibrato units on JMs and Jaguars ... fine tuning the break angle could definitely help alongside that roller bridge. Lube the rollers too!

- I'm also reading a wound G string set helps. Locking tuners, etc.

A wound G's outer wrap wire will create more friction than a plain G so stop reading that author's suggestions.
Locking tuners are great if you don't know how to properly string up or stretch them out in the first place. I recommend learning the latter and THEN investing in locking tuners if you are still having problems.

This is going to turn into a war of wills for me. I love the tone and playability of this guitar and am not going to take no for answer.

Roller bridge (with lubed rollers), decreased bridge break angle, properly cut and lubed nut, good quality tuners, properly strung, properly stretched out.
Use the Bigsby only for subtle vibrato as it was DESIGNED and INTENDED to be used, absolutely no dive bombs, yank ups or aggressive wiggle stickery that is best served by a Floyd or its equivalent.
And you will STILL have periodic tuning problems with a Bigsby. But all of the above will help tremendously!

Considering you're blocking the bridge to make the guitar a hardtail, a locking nut is not necessary. Again, I strongly recommend the Graph Tech part I linked if you are working with or around an existing Floyd nut shelf. If your guitar didn't have a Floyd nut shelf, if it was a conventional nut with a string lock behind it, you need a conventional nut, not the Graph Tech part.