Stock AO60s Mods

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RedRabbit
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Stock AO60s Mods

Post by RedRabbit » Sun Jan 02, 2022 9:06 am

Hi Folks,
Decided finally on some mods for my stock AO60s JM. Bought it brandy new when they were first announced and have a good three years of play time into it.

Found a pair of Novak JM-V and JM-Fat for a song (without covers) and plan to install soon.
Also have a staytrem bridge and new pickguard on order.

Would like some advice from people…
1. Should I wire up the new pickguard complete with new electronics or transfer the existing electronics?
2. Thoughts on oil caps on the reinstallation? Emerson, Sozo and the like?
3. Is the mastery vibrato worth it?
4. Anything else I’m not considering?

Thanks!

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ChrisDesign
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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by ChrisDesign » Sun Jan 02, 2022 2:24 pm

1. If the pots are the right value and don’t make a scratchy sound then reuse them.

2: a capacitor is a capacitor. Paper and oil, orange drip, and cheap disks all do the same thing and sound the same. Paper and oil won’t last a lifetime though, so I go for whatever you have. The capacitor your guitar came with is perfect, supposing it’s the right value..

3. The mastery bridge is great, but so is staytrem

4. A good setup is worth more than expensive parts.
Last edited by ChrisDesign on Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I own a '66 Jaguar. That's the guitar I polish, and baby - I refuse to let anyone touch it when I jump into the crowd." - Kurt Cobain

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adamrobertt
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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by adamrobertt » Sun Jan 02, 2022 4:45 pm

RedRabbit wrote:
Sun Jan 02, 2022 9:06 am
Hi Folks,
Decided finally on some mods for my stock AO60s JM. Bought it brandy new when they were first announced and have a good three years of play time into it.

Found a pair of Novak JM-V and JM-Fat for a song (without covers) and plan to install soon.
Also have a staytrem bridge and new pickguard on order.

Would like some advice from people…
1. Should I wire up the new pickguard complete with new electronics or transfer the existing electronics?
2. Thoughts on oil caps on the reinstallation? Emerson, Sozo and the like?
3. Is the mastery vibrato worth it?
4. Anything else I’m not considering?

Thanks!
1) The new pickguard is really a personal choice. Jazzmaster pickups aren't mounted to the guard, so it's just the pots and harness.
2) Meh. I'm skeptical about capacitors. I don't think it matters, personally.
3) The Mastery vibrato is a very nice piece of kit, but the stock unit on that model which I believe is the USA made one, should be totally fine and the upgrade to a Mastery will be a very small one.
4) Depending on how much the guitar has been played you might be due for a fret level and polish and probably a good setup.

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JSett
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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by JSett » Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:09 pm

Paper in oil caps are classic snake-oil nonsense, don't buy into the hype (or listen to that Puisheen bellend). Anyone who says they can hear any audible difference is suffering from confirmation bias, in my honest opinion.

Just stick in an Orange Drop and be done with it 👌🏻

The Mastery Vibrato is lovely but, as already stated, only a minor upgrade on a good USA unit. I have one on my Jazzmaster and it's great but I have been more than happy with my current and vintage USA ones as well

If your electronics are still all good I don't see any need to change them, they're already good quality. Just take the opportunity to clean and lubricate the pots and switches while you have it's trousers down and you're good to go.
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by ChrisDesign » Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:24 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:09 pm
Paper in oil caps are classic snake-oil nonsense, don't buy into the hype (or listen to that Puisheen bellend). Anyone who says they can hear any audible difference is suffering from confirmation bias, in my honest opinion.

Just stick in an Orange Drop and be done with it 👌🏻

The Mastery Vibrato is lovely but, as already stated, only a minor upgrade on a good USA unit. I have one on my Jazzmaster and it's great but I have been more than happy with my current and vintage USA ones as well

If your electronics are still all good I don't see any need to change them, they're already good quality. Just take the opportunity to clean and lubricate the pots and switches while you have it's trousers down and you're good to go.
Saying paper in oil is snake oil, while promoting Orange Drop 🤷🏻‍♂️
"I own a '66 Jaguar. That's the guitar I polish, and baby - I refuse to let anyone touch it when I jump into the crowd." - Kurt Cobain

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by JSett » Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:53 am

ChrisDesign wrote:
Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:24 am

Saying paper in oil is snake oil, while promoting Orange Drop 🤷🏻‍♂️
Yep. Orange drops are cheap, reliable and ubiquitous - and proven to do just fine. Spending many times over the price for a fancy paper in oil that will degrade over time is indeed, in my experience, snake-oil
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by RedRabbit » Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:29 am

Thanks for the replies! Confirmed my thinking…

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by ChrisDesign » Mon Jan 03, 2022 10:23 pm

johnnysomersett wrote:
Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:53 am
ChrisDesign wrote:
Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:24 am

Saying paper in oil is snake oil, while promoting Orange Drop 🤷🏻‍♂️
Yep. Orange drops are cheap, reliable and ubiquitous - and proven to do just fine. Spending many times over the price for a fancy paper in oil that will degrade over time is indeed, in my experience, snake-oil
I agree. However, flat ceramic disk capacitors work as well as orange drop, but are even cheaper.
"I own a '66 Jaguar. That's the guitar I polish, and baby - I refuse to let anyone touch it when I jump into the crowd." - Kurt Cobain

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by JSett » Mon Jan 03, 2022 10:28 pm

ChrisDesign wrote:
Mon Jan 03, 2022 10:23 pm
johnnysomersett wrote:
Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:53 am
ChrisDesign wrote:
Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:24 am

Saying paper in oil is snake oil, while promoting Orange Drop 🤷🏻‍♂️
Yep. Orange drops are cheap, reliable and ubiquitous - and proven to do just fine. Spending many times over the price for a fancy paper in oil that will degrade over time is indeed, in my experience, snake-oil
I agree. However, flat ceramic disk capacitors work as well as orange drop, but are even cheaper.
Very true.
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Maker
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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by Maker » Mon Jan 24, 2022 9:45 am

ChrisDesign wrote:
Sun Jan 02, 2022 2:24 pm
4. A good setup is worth more than expensive parts.
This

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by wooderson » Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:20 pm

I didn't like the feel of the Mastery when I had one, it was stiffer. The floppy arm is annoying but a Staytrem collet and arm is like a third the price of a Mastery, or half if you also buy a new Fender vibrato unit in case you have trouble installing it on your existing unit for some reason.

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by mikeymike » Tue Jan 25, 2022 7:05 pm

wooderson wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:20 pm
I didn't like the feel of the Mastery when I had one, it was stiffer. The floppy arm is annoying but a Staytrem collet and arm is like a third the price of a Mastery, or half if you also buy a new Fender vibrato unit in case you have trouble installing it on your existing unit for some reason.
I would agree - something about the mastery felt off to me, although I think some might interpret "stiffer" as "smoother" based on what you want/expect, but I'm happy with an AVRI.

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by hexes » Wed Jan 26, 2022 2:47 pm

i’m in the camp of no the mastery vibrato is NOT worth it. I greatly prefer a fender and utilized the lock button as designed if a string broke during a live set. i don’t have issues with e strings hitting the vibrato screws either on fenders. my mastery arm falls away rapidly; I need to see if i can adjust the tension. i like my arms to stay put.

I bought a great guitar with mastery vibrato already, but I wouldn’t upgrade a fender with one.

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by Embenny » Wed Jan 26, 2022 2:56 pm

I think the USA Fender hardware is top notch, no need to replace anything, really.

The Staytrem arm is a personal preference thing and not very pricey so I can see some people going for that, but frankly nothing else on an AV65 or AO needs to be touched unless it's purely a matter of personal taste. Certainly not a matter of "getting things up to snuff" like you might do with an MIJ, in terms of hardware.

I've owned a Mastery vibrato or two, and they're nice, but something I'd only ever consider for a new build, and even then, only if it seemed vastly preferable in terms of appearance or function for that project.

Electronics in an AO are also top notch. Nobody will ever hear a capacitor's material construction in any context. Ever.

Well, that's not true. If you were tapping them together and recording it as some sort of ASMR performance, I'd imagine that they'd have a different tone to them.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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Re: Stock AO60s Mods

Post by Zeus » Wed Jan 26, 2022 3:47 pm

I guess I’ll be the outlier and say I strongly prefer the Mastery vibrato over the stock Fender AV/AO unit (though I like the Staytrem for bridges).

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