The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

I've been fiddling around in the past couple of days trying my damnedest not to screw up the new bridge installation!

To my relief it went in just about as perfectly as can be expected working in my music/computer room with no proper bench or optimum lighting. (In times like this I miss the old shop environment.)

I stepped out of the car in the Walmart parking lot today and I heard a sickening "thud". I looked down to see my phone on the pavement I picked it up. No display. Bugger all. It's working but I can't control it. Looks like a new phone for moi. Cr@p!

All that by way of explaining that I dug out my old digital camera and fired it up for these few pix.
(You'll again note the change in colour depending on the light conditions)

So here we are, she has a new black bridge and new chrome pickup mounting rings:





The more astute members of the choir will notice that in the first pic there is a single transparent knob, and in the second she has her original black speed knobs.

I have been debating whether to go with clear knobs and I happened to have one in my parts drawer, so I thought I'd try it and see before buying anything else. I think it looks pretty darn nice. But so do the black knobs.

Whatchathink? The original knobs are great but is it too much black with them now? I like the clear because it doesn't compete with the finish. I'm conflicted. Opinions please.

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Oh, mate… that rocks!!

Trans white, eh?! Gotta love an oddball finish: Don has a white AV310, but it isn’t a trans white, but a solid white.

Do you reckon a decent cut and polish would make it white again?

I am well envious here, Barry, as I have a plan for another project but need an AV325 in rag order to make it worthwhile, as the pickups i have planned are quite spendy…

Again… that is an exceptional grab, chap; pleased as Punch for you, mate!!

Now, to your changes; the OEM knobs for me simply because I like black! Though I have clear speed knobs on Yellow Fever and like them just fine.

Bridge is a good move; most of my Avengers have black bridges retrofitted.

Not sure about the chrome rings, buddy…

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FWIW, an after market esoteric nut is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, and a great way to convert your money into someone else’s.

Hey thanks Johnny! Good to hear from you mate.

I kinda doubt it.
It wasn't really white-white to start with and the yellowing, I think, would have affected the entire finish.

As I recall, Mats put the tint in the finish, they didn't tint the wood then finish over, so grinding away at the surface would make it smoother but I don't think the effort would yield anything different??


I'll keep an eye out for you if you want. But the shipping charges from Canada won't be cheap eh?


The Mats version of the speed knob is excellent and ordinarily I'd leave them alone.
I still might, but I like the clear because it doesn't detract from the finish.
I used them on my AV310 resto which I finished in Azure blue (also a black bridge replacement BTW) and I think they look stellar:



I guess it's a personal choice but there was some method in my madness.

Black is a great contrast and accent colour, but my thinking was that I didn't want to overwhelm the look of the body with too much of it. It just seems a bit too "busy" with a black bridge, black pickups, black rings, and black knobs.

I think the chrome lightens things up without adding colour so that your eye naturally follows a more streamlined black "stripe" up to the neck. It also ties in nicely with the steel colour of the frets.
Clear knobs contributes to that same aesthetic plus adds a subtle "sparkle".

I also added chrome rings to my Urchin 60T which I finished in a "butter cream" colour. Same sort of reasoning, but I left the black knobs on it. (I did however replace the chewed up saddles with SS)

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I dig it!!

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Quality service since 3:00 last Tuesday

it's nice and shiny. I'd go with clear knobs but black are ok also.

Not too much new to report except a new strap for this baby!



Kinda went around the bend on this one.
Black? No!
Silver? Looks cheap.
White? Nope, clashes with the off white finish.

In the end, having looked at way too many straps, I chose an Ernie Ball model jacquard with a black background but featuring a paisley sort of design with off white, grey and gold threading. I think it complements both the slightly yellowish tint in the body and the black knobs etc.

The weather lately has been bitterly cold, and up here by the Lake, it's been windier than me after a second helping of chili beans!
So, a proper set of outdoor pix will have to wait awhile longer.

Meanwhile, I have bought a new (well, refurbished) Samsung phone and I have been trying to get up to speed with it. It's only about 4 years newer than my old Motorola but that's light years in android development and this thing has more settings than the Starship Enterprise!

The camera is particularly more advanced and I still don't know what I'm doing yet.

The above pic was taken with it (indoors of course) with the sun shining through the basement window. I thought I might stand a chance at getting a good shot of the grain but it is still "meh". Oh well, at least the strap looks OK.

Also another change:
If you look back at the earlier pix you may notice that the neck pickup is slightly crooked. Not by much, only a couple of mm. But it's one of those things that you can't un-see once you know about it.

I didn't notice it 'in the flesh' but I spotted it on the picture and double checked. Sure enough. Out of square.

So, out came the lower 2 screws and a plugging, repositioning and re-drilling ensued. Now it looks right. If I had left it, it would have been a stone in my shoe for the rest of time.

Modding is such fun ain't it?

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The clear knobs arrived yesterday and I put them on.
But I didn't take a pic until today.

Yesterday: Gorgeous, Spring-like. Sun! Blue skies! Mild temperatures! No wind! Unbelievable for February

Today: Bloody awful. Continuous rain and dull.

So did I take a picture outdoors yesterday, when it was beautiful?
Of course not.

Went for a walk along the Lakefront
So this was taken, again, indoors.

But I think you get the idea:

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Yep, the clear knobs look great on it.

Never been a huge fan of white(ish ) guitars but that is a beauty! Personally, i think the silver rings look great on white! Job well done, sir!

Thanks fellas!

I think it looks swell too, but I'm noticing that the numbers are a tad hard to read, too much reflection from the white body and they kinda disappear a little.

Maybe it's a function of this particular design, I wanted knurled knobs like the Mats version but had no luck in finding them in metric. These are smooth all over, hence the reflection effect.

I don't have that issue with the blue AV310 so I may end up replacing the originals if it becomes a nuisance. Then again I ain't gigging anymore so I'll probably just leave it be.

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