Ibanez GAX70

[HNB]

LOL you will make it so nice you'll end up babying it.

[somanytoys]

Haha - I kind of think so!

But even after spending more money on it, it will still be the cheapest guitar I own. It’s kind of irritating to play right now, but I’m really hoping that a new nut and a setup with .10s will fix that. I hope the pickups make a nice improvement in the sound.

Did you replace the bridge & tailpiece because it sucked and it really needed it/made a difference, or just because you just had a better set to use? I’m wondering if I should really replace the bridge, and if I do, if the tailpiece really needs to be changed, too.

If it would make a big enough difference, I’d do it, but probably later. And if I do that, I’ll probably also replace the tuners. They’re not as bad as some others that I’ve run into over the years on some guitars, but they aren’t really good. I think they definitely shaved some costs off going with those.

I’m kind of excited about how it comes out.

[somanytoys]

Oh man, I forgot about this part above:

Buy a set of Bourns pots (just the volume pots to keep your cost down), switchcraft switch, switchcraft jack, and put 0.033uF tone caps in there. These parts will make the controls and plugging-in feel like and be as durable as the $3k+ guitars they normally get put in .. for often less than $20.

Since I ordered those pickups you suggested to swap out, I should probably get this stuff to change out at the same time.

May as well do this right...

[HNB]

I had no problem with the bridge and stop tail. The nut will probably make a good difference. Pots and new pickups will make a huge change in sound. You will probably be much happier with it.

[somanytoys]

I just got the pickups delivered today.

I have to find the right pots, a switch and a good bone nut, and then I’m going to have this all put together and the guitar setup for the rights string size.

I’m pretty excited about this thing becoming something that I enjoy playing.

[HNB]

For sure! Post pics when you are done. Excited to hear how it turns out.

[Ceylon]

I just picked one of these up too, seemed a no-brainer for 70€ including a tiny amp and a gigbag. Probably won't be a keeper, but I'm looking forward to playing around with it for a while

[somanytoys]

After upgrading the parts that need it, and getting it set it up well with the right string size, I think that this one will definitely be a keeper. Shit, I’ve kept it for years already...

It was always cool looking, it just wasn’t good enough, which made it a little irritating to play. This should make that right, or much closer.

It won’t be a main guitar, but as a travel or a knockaround guitar, especially for the price (even after upgrades), it should be great.

[somanytoys]

I need to buy the rest of those parts, but I’m not exactly sure which ones to get, or where I should get them from.

Should I look at what kind of pots are in there, or just get whatever kind of Bourns pots I decide to go with? I looked on reverb and there are tons of types.

I’ve read that I should use 500k pots for humbuckers, does that seem about right? Same for both positions? I don’t mind kind spending a little more for a tone pot while I’m at it, any recommendations? Was that what the tone caps are for, or would I still need those?

I know, I’m an idiot with this, but I’ve never done this kind of stuff myself before - too scared because I don’t know much about it. I think it might be time I start learning, and this is a good project to do it.

I may actually try my hand at soldering all this together. I would just hate to screw anything up, but I guess it wouldn’t be anything that couldn’t be fixed easily and cheaply. And hopefully build my confidence (or kill it..haha)

I am ready to get this thing going, I’m excited now that I got the pickups in. I just don’t want to waste time or money buying the wrong stuff.

[somanytoys]

Well, I bought a nice nut that fits an Epiphone, that I can file down if I need to, and a Switchcraft switch, since the tip broke off of the one that’s in it. I may try new pots later, but I’m ready to try to get this done.

Once those 2 arrive, I’m going to change out the nut, then try to do the 2 pickups and the switch.

Not even having done anything yet, I’m getting kind of ballsy about learning how to do some of these things. I also just bought a rackmountable tube reverb kit, that I have to put together myself. It should be great for my amps that don’t have their own reverb.
Assuming I can pull it off...

[HNB]

Nice! You can do it.

[somanytoys]

Thanks, I think so.

This is going to be kind of a turning point for me. Setting a guitar up may take some time, and I may never delve too deep into working on amps, but I think I can do what needs to be done for the guitar and the reverb.

I’ll be pretty damn proud of myself, going from 0 to swapping & rewiring pickups, and putting together a tube reverb tank.

[somanytoys]

Got the new pickups in and booked up (~), and made adjustments to the truss rod to compensate for10s instead of 9s.

Bridge pickup works, and sounds good, but has a hum. Neck pickup only has loud noise, I’ll gave to figure out what the problems there are. And I think I’d like to try to swap the switch out. It’s not the switch I’d like to use, but it’s the one I've got right now that will work.

I’m kind of happy with it so far. The pickup that works sounds great, and it plays much better.

I hope my soldering skills get better over time , because I suuuhuuuhuuuck.

[Ceylon]

Just figured I'd chip in since this is a close as an official thread about these that I guess there's going to be.

I picked up a GAX70 made in 2008 in the Cort factory in Indonesia. The neck had been installed a bit crooked so overtime that caused a crack in the wood between the neck heel and pickup, but it was an easy enough fix. In its foundation this is an incredibly good guitar for the ~100€ prices they go for. It plays well, it feels REALLY solid and though I think these are Ibanez's cheapest ceramic humbuckers, it don't sound half-bad either plugged in or unplugged. If I were keeping it I'd switch out the tuners, but they're the only thing I can point to on here as being kinda weak. Everything else just works, and this could easily be upgraded to be a workhorse beater humbucker guitar if one were so inclined.

I bought it to flip though, and it's being flipped for a bit of profit. I'll be almost a bit sad to see it go, though. The body shape reminds me of a Gibson 335-S my first guitar teacher used to have and which still kind of haunts my dreams. Another local musician, someone who actually writes, records and performs her own music, is getting it though, so better it see some real use than hang on my wall.

But just look at this, it looks great.

[HNB]

They are pretty nice rock machines. Like meat and potatoes.