Mannemarak
...and dismanteling my Samick Malibu Strat copy. I want to clean it thouroughly and replace rusty screws and the bridge has rusted springs also. I also want to do some minor cosmetic changes.
StephenG
......probably only thing you need to know is Alan's cellphone number.
Wizard
I allocated the better part of a day to pulling apart a cheap strat.
Was very surprised when I was finished the dismantle about 15 minutes after I'd started.
Mannemarak
Thanks, I guess it is more related to putting back together and setting up without stuffing anything up...I'm not known for patience
AlanRatcliffe
The main thing is to pay careful attention to where things go.
A small container to put all the screws in will save you from hunting around later for one or two errant screws.
You can leave the wiring intact if you want, just loosen the pickups and controls from the pickguard and drop them into the cavity. That'll leave you with no soldering to redo and still allow you to clean pickguard, pickup covers and the body usually hidden under the pickguard. Careful of any washers used for spacers on the pots and the springs from the pickups (usually stuck to the pickup magnets) - best to remove all those and keep them safely in your screw container. Also check the underside of the pickguard for lock washers that might be dug in to the plastic.
Alternatively (and ideally), if you want to remove the electronics from the guitar, you'll have to loosen the earth wire to the trem claw and the wires to the socket. If you have enough length to the wires, simply clip them close to the socket (and the earth wire close to the pot), leaving a little of the wire attached, which will guide you when you want to solder the wires back. Then you can remove the entire pickguard with electronics intact. If you still want to remove the wiring harness from the pickguard, do it as above, but on a piece of cardboard so you can lift the entire harness out of the way with any washers intact once the pickguard is removed.
Good luck. Shout if you run into anything untoward.
Keira-WitherKay
you mean we actually meant to clean our guitars too .............yikes now they tell me .....???? ☹
