NGD - A little "Iron"y - with mod updates!

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MesaENGR412

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Well, I was initially wanting a Charvel So Cal in snow white, but those are getting increasingly harder to find in the used market. So, I happened into a new Guitar Center in my area, and I found this:

Jacksonbody.jpg


Jacksonheadstock.jpg


:idea:

It is a Jackson Adrian Smith SDX San Dimas.
Some specs: Made in India, Snow white finish, Basswood body, bolt on maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, abalone dot inlays, compound radius fingerboard, 22 XJ frets, black hardware, Jackson pickups, Jackson tuners.

Well, it was a little cheaper than a used market Charvel, especially since I have a friend that gave me an extra discount on it. I really, really liked the neck on it, as well as having Rosewood instead of a maple board. It has one of the thinnest Strat necks I have ever played, but not so thin that it looses the Strat feel. It also has a nice satin feel to it, and it plays great with the compound radius fingerboard, very similar to the So Cal. The abalone inlays are a nice touch as well. So, I put it on layaway, and a couple days later, I went and grabbed it. I am very happy with it. It sounds pretty good for stock Jackson pickups (two noiseless single coils and a humbucker that looks like a Dimarzio clone).

JacksonSDX.jpg


Mod plans are to change out the pickguard for a black one (may even go black diamond plate), stain the fingerboard ebony and eventually swap out the pickups for USA stuff. Probably get Fender SCN's for the neck and middle, and maybe an EVO /Evo 2 or a Gravity Storm for the bridge, since I am primarily using this with milder mid-heavier overdriven tones and don't want a super distortion bridge p/u, and the body is basswood, and those pickups are designed around that wood. The bridge is a Floyd Rose Special, and it is stable. I really like that it is all true black hardware and not freaking black chrome. All in all a great guitar for under $500 new, and now I have my Strat G.A.S. quenched.

-AJH
 
Awesome guitar! and for under 500$....no comment. They are ~400€ over here in Germany, gotta go and check one out!

When you change your pickguard to a black one, put white pups in!!!
 
Wait a minute you need to back up a few feet and retake that picture so we can get a better look at your white double dual rectifier heads and full stack, sweet!
Adrian Smith= One of the greats guitar looks awesome
 
that's a great score, and probably no less of a machine than the so cal would be.....

congrats!
 
Mod #1: Ebony Staining. I taped it off and did it myself. I think it turned out great. Now the neck actually looks like Rosewood instead of bad Pao Ferro.

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I love this guitar even more now!

-AJH
 
WOW, classy!! and just like girls . . . a great make-up can do wonders!! :mrgreen:

how you do that ebony stain?? it really makes the wood came alive, love it!!

and yes, pau ferro :wink:
 
Haha thanks! The ebony stain worked pretty well. I might do it again to see if I can get it to set a little darker, but, overall I am pretty happy with how it looks now. I also "blocked" the tremolo so it is dive only, as there is no routing to do up-pulls anyway. Only thing left to do is upgrade the pickups to real-deal SCN's and some sort of bridge bucker...might do the DiMarzio gravity storm, we'll see. I don't need a super distortion since this is my low-medium gain guitar :lol:

One more classy B&W:
59E013A5-006F-4D28-82C1-64F2DB626B86-7606-00000271BB927876.jpg


-AJH
 
Great work and a wonderfull match for your Mesa heads. I also lean towards Eddie approach to bridge setup (although i also like some room to rise a half step, if I want).

lovely axe and for the price you payed it's a steal!! how about some gool' SD JB at the bridge??
 
Might try that. Does it go well with Basswood? The wood is why I was thinking Dimarzio, as it is the same combo as banez guitars that those go well in.

-AJH
 

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