Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

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Draize
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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by Draize » Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:15 am


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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by Bradley-Jazz » Sun Nov 15, 2020 3:40 pm

The green wire doesn't look factory and looks like it was added later. Can anyone post pics of the wiring under the control plate to compare?
Well they didn’t finish the wiring on mine - https://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/v ... 0#p1596308

My tone control had no cap or connection to the jack socket. The tone did nothing, but the guitar worked otherwise as the metal control plate provided the ground for the socket. I think there has been some Friday afternoon soldering on some of these!

Your problem sounds like a missing ground wire from under the bridge. I would expect there to be a wire from a hole under the bridge probably going to the back of a pot or to one of those solder tags screwed to the bottom of one of the cavities and then to ground on the back of the pots - have a look for one of those that has become detached. I don’t have my ARXII to hand right one to see exactly what mine has.
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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by Draize » Sun Nov 15, 2020 11:06 pm

Bradley-Jazz wrote:
Sun Nov 15, 2020 3:40 pm
The green wire doesn't look factory and looks like it was added later. Can anyone post pics of the wiring under the control plate to compare?
Well they didn’t finish the wiring on mine - https://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/v ... 0#p1596308

My tone control had no cap or connection to the jack socket. The tone did nothing, but the guitar worked otherwise as the metal control plate provided the ground for the socket. I think there has been some Friday afternoon soldering on some of these!

Your problem sounds like a missing ground wire from under the bridge. I would expect there to be a wire from a hole under the bridge probably going to the back of a pot or to one of those solder tags screwed to the bottom of one of the cavities and then to ground on the back of the pots - have a look for one of those that has become detached. I don’t have my ARXII to hand right one to see exactly what mine has.
I saw that! I ended up fixing it myself a few days ago and you're right about the bridge ground wire. I completely disassembled the bridge and found that there was no wire there; it must have fallen out of the hole at some point. Luckily I had the service notes on the guitar from the previous owner and worked backwards from there. It looks like the "authorised" tech had no idea what they were doing and connected the loose wire to the body ground :fp: :fp: :fp:

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by Bradley-Jazz » Mon Nov 16, 2020 2:01 am

Nice one. Glad you got it fixed!
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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by burpgun » Mon Nov 16, 2020 7:18 am

I popped the neck off mine when going for the first string change, needed a quarter turn on the neck to take out a little relief. That went well but was surprised by what I found in the neck pocket. I don't know what the little white strip is meant to be outside the modest modest sort of shim, and why is so much wood drilled out of the pocket? My XII plays pretty well but of all the Fenders I have, US and Mexican down to some Indonesian Squires, it has the sloppiest neck pocket. It was noticeably wide when it arrived, it's a little tighter now since I put the neck back on. https://imgur.com/a/cj89zxS

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by Soniqfreq » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:16 am

burpgun wrote:
Mon Nov 16, 2020 7:18 am
I popped the neck off mine when going for the first string change, needed a quarter turn on the neck to take out a little relief. That went well but was surprised by what I found in the neck pocket. I don't know what the little white strip is meant to be outside the modest modest sort of shim, and why is so much wood drilled out of the pocket? My XII plays pretty well but of all the Fenders I have, US and Mexican down to some Indonesian Squires, it has the sloppiest neck pocket. It was noticeably wide when it arrived, it's a little tighter now since I put the neck back on. https://imgur.com/a/cj89zxS
The strips are shims. I had two strips in mine and measured them against some wood shims I had. I ended up replacing them with a 0.5 degree shim by stewmac and it fit perfectly.

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by Soniqfreq » Sun Dec 20, 2020 9:53 am

Anyone install a treble bleed circuit to brighten the roll off and change the volume taper?

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by MuscleDad420 » Sun Dec 20, 2020 6:55 pm

burpgun wrote:
Mon Nov 16, 2020 7:18 am
I popped the neck off mine when going for the first string change, needed a quarter turn on the neck to take out a little relief. That went well but was surprised by what I found in the neck pocket. I don't know what the little white strip is meant to be outside the modest modest sort of shim, and why is so much wood drilled out of the pocket? My XII plays pretty well but of all the Fenders I have, US and Mexican down to some Indonesian Squires, it has the sloppiest neck pocket. It was noticeably wide when it arrived, it's a little tighter now since I put the neck back on. https://imgur.com/a/cj89zxS
The hole is for centering on the CNC machine when the body is routed.

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by jmurph » Wed Dec 23, 2020 5:47 am

Once again, a thread on OSG has contributed to me buying another guitar. My new LPB ARXII arrived yesterday afternoon. I hope you enablers are happy! If it wasn't a purchase for my business, I might be a bit angry with you misfits. :P I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you to all who contributed to this thread.

I've only been able to spend about 10 minutes playing it, but I can already tell I'm going to love it. The setup was shockingly good out of the box, all of the pickups work, and the 3-way switch felt far more solid than the one on my offset series mustang. I gave myself the next week & a half off starting tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to spend some time playing it.

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by bessieboporbach » Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:01 am

jmurph wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 5:47 am

I've only been able to spend about 10 minutes playing it, but I can already tell I'm going to love it. The setup was shockingly good out of the box, all of the pickups work, and the 3-way switch felt far more solid than the one on my offset series mustang.
I noticed the heavy-duty switch too. I know that MIM Fenders tend to use import (Korean-made) switches and pots, but the toggle on my XII feels and looks identical to the Switchcraft I've had installed in my CVJM.

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by wproffitt » Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:58 pm

bessieboporbach wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:01 am
jmurph wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 5:47 am

I've only been able to spend about 10 minutes playing it, but I can already tell I'm going to love it. The setup was shockingly good out of the box, all of the pickups work, and the 3-way switch felt far more solid than the one on my offset series mustang.
I noticed the heavy-duty switch too. I know that MIM Fenders tend to use import (Korean-made) switches and pots, but the toggle on my XII feels and looks identical to the Switchcraft I've had installed in my CVJM.
This is not too uncommon. My CP JM came stock with CTS and Switchcraft pots and switches. The wiring was also very neat.

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by bessieboporbach » Thu Dec 24, 2020 7:29 pm

wproffitt wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:58 pm
bessieboporbach wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:01 am
jmurph wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 5:47 am

I've only been able to spend about 10 minutes playing it, but I can already tell I'm going to love it. The setup was shockingly good out of the box, all of the pickups work, and the 3-way switch felt far more solid than the one on my offset series mustang.
I noticed the heavy-duty switch too. I know that MIM Fenders tend to use import (Korean-made) switches and pots, but the toggle on my XII feels and looks identical to the Switchcraft I've had installed in my CVJM.
This is not too uncommon. My CP JM came stock with CTS and Switchcraft pots and switches. The wiring was also very neat.
It used to be that the top-end MIM instruments could be expected to have nicer components than the entry-level ones, e.g. in the Player and Offset series. The AR series was mostly towards this top end (they were all around $1000, except the Tenor Tele, so they were some of the most expensive guitars Fender made in Mexico) but the lines have started to blur recently. For example, the H.E.R. Strat is one of the most expensive MIM models, and it has Korean-made pots.

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by tape » Wed Dec 30, 2020 8:03 am

Was there ever a consensus on what a good case for this thing is?

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by SignoftheDragon » Wed Dec 30, 2020 10:14 am

Best fit: G&G Baritone Jaguar case: $250ish

Adequate fit: Gator GC-ELEC-XL molded ABS hardcase: $125ish (You'll have to do some foam-squishing to jam it in there, but it molds to the shape quite nicely)

Adequate fit: Gator GW-JAG wood hardcase: $110ish (Slightly less foam-squishing on this one, and the foam isn't quite the same mold-to-fit stuff)

Gator also makes a GWE-JAG case that should fit in theory, but I haven't tried that one out yet.

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Re: Fender Alternate Reality Electric XII 12-String

Post by rank » Wed Dec 30, 2020 11:39 am

tape wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 8:03 am
Was there ever a consensus on what a good case for this thing is?
Image
I came across a case company that I like & have bought several cases from. They are good quality, not perfect, but I am also not gigging with it. They're pretty cheap also. The company is called Crossrock. My XII is clearly not an actual Fender but it should be very comparable.
We are merely moving shadows.

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