# New Project Guitar, Ibanez SA1260 Prestige



## Ape Factory (Oct 17, 2015)

I picked up a bit of a project guitar posted on another forum recently, an Ibanez SA1260 Prestige. I've had a number of S guitars in the past (at least half a dozen including an FGM400) and know their necks and fretwork are usually spot on. 

I liked the guitar as several aspects of it are going to mirror a custom build, most notably the mahogany body, tilt back headstock and lack of a locking nut.

I was somewhat disappointed when it arrived as it had a few "issues" which weren't mentioned and I probably overpaid by about $100. There's a hole drilled in the headstock (why!) and someone added some sperzels but put them in at an angle. A few dings and scratches that I wasn't expecting from the photos either. 

Strangely, the neck and frets (minus the extra holes) are in great shape. It's like the guitar was very selectively abused over a very short period of time as the rest looks very good. I did a quick setup and tune and it played exceptionally well and had great sustain. So despite the flaws, it's something I can work and have fun with. 

The only thing I don't care for is strings go flat when bending. I have two "strats" I put together using a MannMade 6-screw bridge and I'm able to bend without the strings going flat. Not so with the Ibby.

I've begun to strip it down and here's what I have planned so far:
-Going from ring mount to wood mount rear humbucker
-Swapping out the Sperzels for Gotohs, probably SG381 HAPM's instead of the higher spec 510's which I'll save for the build.
-Plugging the misc. holes in the headstock and refinishing
-Plugging holes used for the pickup ring
-Wiring in (most likely) a Satch Track in the neck, leaving the middle empty (just a cover) and something new in the bridge.
-Possibly swapping in a Floyd no fine tuner bridge
-Possibly Luminlay markers
-Some sort of a trem stabilizer along with a Schaller Sure Claw (just want to try it out)

I've not seen a whole lot of info or photos on the SA's so I took a few photos to share and for future reference.

It's an all-hog body and it's quite a bit thicker than a regular S. Interestingly, I didn't really notice any weak or dead spots on the neck. It's also a 22-fret with a thicker than Wizzard neck profile (round with soft shoulders). I've experienced dead spots on both the 22-fret and 24-fret models. I've had a few which were barely noticeable and one that didn't have the issue (Gambale).






The trem. Floyd Spacing. Seems solid although I think the base is stamped metal, not forged. Very adjustable.









Measly trem block but the guitar sustains very well. Notice adjustment screws for saddle height.

















That pickup ring is outta here...I'll have to fill the holes with mahogany plugs and sand down that area as there's a ridge created by the ring.










Lots and lots of holes. Here's one in the face of the headstock. Just dawned on me that I should check to see if it goes all the way through. Can't think of a good reason to drill a hole in the headstock face.









May be hard to see, but all the tuners are turned at an ever so slight angle and it's just enough to bug me. First exposure to Sperzels. Seem pretty solid but I'm partial to Gotohs which aren't as bulky and have a higher tuner ratio.





The neck. Feels good, plays well with really low action, frets look almost brand new. Doesn't look like they've ever been crowned. Fret ends are nicely dressed and the fretboard edges are rounded ever so slightly so as not to give up any space. The fretboard is relatively smooth but not the best I've seen. I took some micro mesh to the 13th fret and it improved things dramatically with little effort. So I'll probably start with a slightly lower grit and work my way up. You can see it'll reflect light on the 13th fret but not the 12th. The fret markers are really small and hard to see.









Lastly, a nice little ding I'll try to fix. There's also one small but visible scratch that bugs me, the rest of the dings are pretty small, minor and hard to see.






I've not really repaired poly before (nitro yes) so it'll be somewhat of a challenge. I may leave it as is and just wet sand a few spots. There's a good ding on the back I didn't notice in the pics but hell, it's on the back.

I'm trying to source maple and mahogany dowels now. Tough to find in really small diameters like 1/8" however and I may need to make my own. 

I'm not sure WHAT the neck is coated in. I'm assuming it's some sort of a satin poly but it's slick, smooth and doesn't have a shine to it. The Gotoh tuners won't cover the holes left by the Sperzels unfortunately otherwise I wouldn't bother.

I'd really like to do the Lumenlay fret and side markers despite the fact the neck already has frets. Might be above my pay grade to do on my own. I'll have to coerce the local luthier into taking it on more than likely. Since I plan on sanding the fretboard anyway, might as well get practice doing them on this guitar.


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## odibrom (Oct 18, 2015)

Replace that pickup ring with a Seymour Dancan's TripleShot...


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## Ape Factory (Oct 18, 2015)

I'm trying to keep this one as simple as possible, just good solid tone from the neck or bridge and call it a day. At the very most I'll fire out a way to split the neck pup.


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## Pikka Bird (Oct 18, 2015)

That's a very interesting bridge... There are some things about it that I think look brilliant and a few things that I can't help but think are slightly overcomplicated. I'd love to see one of the saddles taken off and photographed from underneath, as well as the baseplate with the saddle removed.


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## Ape Factory (Oct 18, 2015)

I can do that. I'll post up some pics later tonight.


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## Ape Factory (Oct 19, 2015)

Ok a few photos and observations. The screws on the underside...they're all screwed in to the stop so to speak. They really don't screw in any further so the stagger is designed in and saddle height is all dialed in using the two allen head screws just like any Fender saddle. All it does is hold the saddle in place when the strings are removed. The spring provides a little give and they will slide back and forth on the stud underneath. 

That stud does double duty and secures the baseplate to the tremolo block. It also has a collar around the screw which is used as a base for the intonation screw on the back side of the saddle. So it basically separates the Fender-style one screw for intonation and securing the saddle into two screws. The screw in the baseplate that secures the block has a countersunk style head and technically, with the string on, it'll stay in place and ride on that screw. Take the strings off, and the saddle would fall off without that bottom screw. Hope that makes sense! 

Basically this design eliminates any sort of L shaped tail on the base plate. Why they didn't make the tremolo cutout a bit longer out back I'll never know. The amount you're able to pull back on the bar is set by the height of the base plate off the body. It doesn't recess into the body cavity. Action was plenty low though and I could produce exceptional fluttering. Nice and touch sensitive. But it doesn't play nice with Hendrix-style bends. Think Hey Joe solo. Doesn't work. Going to have to fix that!


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## ASoC (Oct 19, 2015)

Looks like a Wilkinson trem, even works pretty much the same way as far as the intonation screws go. It honestly just looks like Ibanez took the Wilkinson design and refined it a bit


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## Ape Factory (Oct 23, 2015)

This guitar didn't look like much when I bought it used off of a forum member. I called it the clown guitar and with good reason. I did see potential and even though it was a bit rougher than I'd anticipated, I'm happy I bought the guitar.

I've ordered a ton of parts and supplies and I've managed to get a few thing done over the past two days.

-Repaired a few divots, dents and scratches with CV glue, micro mesh and a lot of wet sanding.

-Installed inserts for the direct mount pickups. I used one drill bit larger than recommended to ease installation and I also used a bit of wood glue. I'll get some photos of the inserts I used. I did make the mistake of ordering allen head screws. Too much of a pain with too small of a wrench. Looks clean though. I've got some easier phillips heads on the way. Screws are 2-56 so I don't have to enlarge any pickup holes. Or so I thought. They won't slide through the threaded holes in the pickup so I ended up taking the screws to a dremel and removing the threads near the top of the screw head. Perfect. I will say it's not the easiest to line the screw head up with the insert (blindly) and get them started. Doable yes, quick no. I may go to studs and a nut/washer, we'll see.

-Installed a Schaller sure claw. This just replaces the normal two-screw claw with a device that uses one allen wrench to adjust the claw's distance and keep it parallel. I know, not necessary but it works and looks good. Not as heavy as I would have thought and it did take some very careful measuring due to the thin body and the top of the trem cavity being in line with the middle pickup. I also used shorter screws after measuring the depth of the body, moved the claw down 12mm from the top and again used wood glue with the screws due to their shorter length. Still more than enough room for spring adjustment.

-I micro meshed out the back covers which had a ton of worming and drilled an appropriate-placed hole for the allen wrench adjustment. 

-I micro meshed the fretboard bringing it up to a nice polish and much smoother surface. I used a really high grit to not take off any serious amounts of material and it left NO surface scratches. I polished the frets while I was at it. I then cleaned it with naphtha in preparation for a bit of fretboard dye as it's a hair light for my tastes. I'll put a few really thin coats on once a day. I put it on and immediately wipe it off with a towel.

That's about it for now. I'm still waiting on wooden dowels in various sizes so I can start plugging holes. I also have a few more pickups arriving along with a Floyd no-fine-tuner bridge and supplies to do a quick swap pickup harness. Oh, I think I'll be using a 3-way toggle ala an Ibanez JS in place of the 5-way blade. More on that later. I have a new set of Gotoh mag lock tuners (new style with the locking wheel on the back) ready to go once I repair the holes left by the Sperzels. The Gotoh's are more compact than the Sperzels as well as being lighter.

Photos....

Original photos of the guitar from the previous owner.


















As the body sits now. There's a DP425 Satch Track in the neck, the middle is a dummy cover (no pickup) and the bridge has a JB but I'll be trying a dozen different pickups in there. I never use the middle pickup and the cover will be screwed in like normal. I do need to put something inside the cover so you can't see through the slots. Anyone have any ideas? Ultimately I'd like to shape some black plastic rails and stick them in there.










Schaller claw














Back side, still have some areas I'm going to tackle and get rid of the worming/marks.


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## ASoC (Oct 23, 2015)

Looking good, dude! I'm surprised you're losing the pup ring. I get it, as I hate them as well, but I find that the pup routes generally aren't very clean on guitars that come with rings. To me, it looks bad either way, but I'd rather have the ring than look at an uneven pup route all day, just my


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## Ape Factory (Oct 23, 2015)

This one doesn't seem to be too bad although there are some areas inside the cavity which aren't stained. I'll most likely stain them. But you think it'd look better with a ring? I do plan on filling the holes with plugs and leveling out the finish.

A ring would make pickup swaps a bit easier but I have to admit I like the slightly cleaner look without. I also tend to rest my pinky on the outer edge of the ring when playing so something to think about. I'd need to somehow black out the stock string as the mounting holes vs a standard pickup ring are slightly more inboard.


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## ASoC (Oct 23, 2015)

I think this one would look better with a ring. If you're going to direct mount your pups, then you need a tight route (imo). This one looks a little too sloppy for me especially around the pickup tabs. Take this with a grain of salt though, I have been known to be pretty picky and obsessive over small details.


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## Ape Factory (Oct 23, 2015)

No worries, definitely appreciate the feedback. My build from scratch will obviously have much tighter tolerances. This is sort if a guitar to practice on a bit and use as a test bed for parts. But I'll explore the ring option and see if I can use duplicolor or some process to change the ring from chrome to a Cosmo-like color.


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## Ape Factory (Oct 24, 2015)

More goodies arrived via mail today. SD Sentient/Nazgul set (obviously won't use the Sentient in the Ibanez), a bunch of micro plugs for the quick pickup swap setup, as well as MIJ Alpha push/pull pot and Ibanez Satriani 3-way toggle.

Managed to get all the holes, except those around the bridge pickup, plugged and filled. More photos later.





Dime next to the fasteners. Aptly named.


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## Kashmir (Oct 24, 2015)

Great project, it looks like you're turning the guitar into something much more usable. If you feel so inclined to replace the bridge with something of higher quality you can buy one of the non-locking Floyd Roses.


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## Ape Factory (Oct 24, 2015)

Already have it on order! Thought it would be here by now but I bought it directly from Floyd so it'll probably take an extra week.


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## aesthyrian (Oct 25, 2015)

I'm interested to see how you use those micro plugs. Sort of a quick connect for passive pickups, but you need to solder a plug to the pickups as well, correct? Will the switch and pots all be hard wired, or do you plan to use the plugs for those somehow too?


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## Ape Factory (Oct 25, 2015)

So I've ordered a whole host of parts to make things more easily swappable. Actually sitting here now and wiring up a few of the micro connectors to bridge pickups. In addition, I'll be using either a Satriani 3-way toggle or either a Cor-tek or Alpha 5-way switch which has a solderless screw connector block (it's modular so you can add or subtract blocks) that's soldered to each of the tabs, see pic below.

I'm sort of figuring everything out now but I think I'm going to make most of the wiring soldered to their final connections and just have the appropriate connections terminate at a plug on the electronics side which'll mate to the pickup's connector.

Because the SA1260 is a SSH, the wiring route for the single coil sized pickups is very small. So it'll all have to go through the body without any sort of a plug on the end. I'm keeping the Satch Track in there however and not really going to swap that one out. They'll still be terminated with a screw down connection on the electronics side of things and won't have any soldered connections. 

The new build will have a larger route cavity to slip micro plugs for both neck and bridge pickup through. I may actually leave enough room in there so the wires run up through the guitar and the plugs are in the pickup cavity. That way I don't even have to take the back cover plate off to swap pickups.

But as far as the micro plugs go, you solder the individual pickup wires onto one side of the plug tabs (I use the female side as it's smaller overall) and they provide some shrink wrap for each wire. I'll take a few pics and post them shortly.


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## tssb (Oct 25, 2015)

Ape Factory said:


> I never use the middle pickup and the cover will be screwed in like normal. I do need to put something inside the cover so you can't see through the slots. Anyone have any ideas? Ultimately I'd like to shape some black plastic rails and stick them in there.



I'd just buy an actual rails pickup on ebay, one of the $10 cheap ones and replace the cover with the DiMarzio one.

If you want to go a step further and make something more interesting/useful, permanently wire that rail as a split humbucker. I did this to my neck single-coil sized rail and it gives absolutely awesome rhythm tones : on a full-on distorsion tone it sounds as if the gain was rolled back, but it retains an aggressive bite, almost as if it was in the bridge position. Let me know if you want more details.



Ape Factory said:


> In addition, I'll be using either a Satriani 3-way toggle or either a Cor-tek or Alpha 5-way switch which has a solderless screw connector block (it's modular so you can add or subtract blocks) that's soldered to each of the tabs, see pic below.



Forgot the pic ? Also, could you elaborate a bit on those components for those of us that aren't familiar with them ?



Ape Factory said:


> I'll take a few pics and post them shortly.



Thanks for this, should be highly educational for many here!


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## Ape Factory (Oct 25, 2015)

Not so sure about the educational part but it'll certainly be a train wreck! I did do something similar a few years ago with a regular Ibanez S body and it took a lot more thought and research due to the lack of thickness in the body. This SA body has tons of room! And yeah, I'll try to provide links for some of this stuff. I've had a lot of these components for years so I will try to remember where I sourced them from and what the critical dimensions are.

I also have some breakaway pin headers and female sockets on order but they're coming from China. They're also "modular" in that you cut the number of terminals to the size needed. I also use a really simple version of all this in my "vintage" guitars with simple vintage-style wiring (one wire with an outer braid for ground). I'll take photos of that stuff as well.

Uploading pics to my photo bucket account now but the wife wants to head out for happy hour. Not sure I can say no to that!

Edit: In regards to the rail pickup, good suggestion, I may do that. I also want to have the middle pickup flush with the body so I'd have to take the donor pickup apart.


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## Ape Factory (Oct 25, 2015)

I'm going to post a few photos here and I'll come back and add info. I don't want to keep the curious hanging too long!
This shows a few of the connectors, an Ibanez 5-way switch an alpha push pull pot (out of a Ibanez JS series). The white connector is pretty simple. It's a pass through with two terminals on either side. You can order big strips of them and cut them to size. They're a little bulkier but they work and are easy to use if you have the space.

The colored (green and blue) connectors are called terminal blocks. You can find them at places like Mouser electronics online, www.mouser.com. 

One important aspect is the "pitch" or the spacing in between the terminals. These also come in a variety of configurations. All my experience is with Ibanez guitars so you'll have to take a look at your own guitar and space limitation/needs and figure out which one is best. There are THOUSANDS to choose from so it'll take you some time to measure and find exactly what you need. I usually order a variety of configurations at once as something unknown will always crop up.

The Dean's Micro Plugs can be found online, ebay, etc...there are two terminal and four terminal plugs. No five terminal which is why I ordered the round pin headers from China. Those are typically found with 2.54mm pitch (spacing in between the pins) and again, can be cut. I also purchased two row as well as single row. Two rows of two stacked is smaller than four inline. Shop around for the Deans as prices vary wildly. I have a bunch of 2-pin Deans coming in but they haven't arrived yet.






This is an eight position single row terminal that's been soldered to the tabs on the Ibanez switch. There's a small screw on top which secures the wires after inserting them. Anyone who's used a Toneshapers setup will be familiar with it. The pitch between the switch tabs and the green terminal isn't the same but you're able to adjust the angle of the switch tabs and line them up with the pins coming off the terminal. You can add a smaller terminal (like the blue ones pictured above) for extra ground points. Just solder it to the side of the switch. Works like a charm.

You can also see how they're modular. There are two 3-terminal and one 2-terminal block and they slide together to form one unit. Pretty nifty.









Ok here's the Dean's attached. Normally I'd put another piece of larger heat shrink tubing around the outside, forgot to slide it on first before soldering everything up. Grr. PICK A SEQUENCE ahead of time for which color wire goes where and keep it consistent for any brand pickup. That way when you do the wiring on the other end of things, it'll match up when you swap out pickups. If you switch brands, and the wiring colors are different, start with the original pickup wiring and match the colors up for the new wiring. Make sense?

On the second photo below, you can see the "male" end which'll plug in to the female end already attached to the pickup. Don't ever pull on the wires, just the connector, to disconnect. Once the two ends are mated, the connection is VERY solid.













Tinned and ready to have wires soldered on. Don't laugh at my soldering. I have an old tip I can't get off so I have a new soldering handle on order. You tin the micro plug and the wires. 












Another connector attached to the Alpha push/pull pot. This is a Japanese Alpa and the pitch matched up perfectly with the connector. Win/win!


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## Ape Factory (Oct 26, 2015)

Couple of setbacks today. The Floyd came in but it does not fit the route. On the stock tremolo, the arm sits further inboard and the arm holder is part of the block. On the Floyd, it's a separate entity and about half an inch wide on that side. So I'll be sticking with the stock tremolo. 

Second setback, the Schaller Sure Claw, due to the fact it's mounted further towards the tremolo block, doesn't have enough travel, even with 9's to keep the tremolo base plate level. I've got two options; go back to the stock claw or try to find shorter tremolo springs. I have a few sets lying around and the stockers are the most stiff. Not possible to put more than three on.

Third setback. Due to the positioning on the Sure Claw, I can't use the Goeldo Black Box to stabilize the tremolo. That part came in today and it's too long. Also, the Ibanez tremolo spring cavity has a step down as it gets closer to the hole for the tremolo block. Why they did this I have no idea as there's no real reason for it. So...I've got decisions to make. Frankly, I don't change string size often so I'll most likely go back to the stock claw so I can use the trem stabilizer. That bit of functionality is more important to me than the sure claw.


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## Ape Factory (Oct 27, 2015)

Guitar is back together. I have the Satch Track in the neck, Nazgul in the bridge. I located a schematic for using the Ibanez 3PS1SC5 5-way switch that allows me to split the neck and bridge pickup without a push/pull pot.






I still have a few cosmetic items to take care of and the guitar will have to come apart yet again to compete those steps. But very happy with the way it turned out and she sounds/plays fantastic. The action is stupid low, no buzzing, and stays completely in tune. I've paid for for a neck than I did for this entire guitar. Used Prestiges are such a no brainer. 

Both the Satch Track and the Nazgul are surprisingly versatile and get full-on stratty when either is split. Amazing cleans from the Satch and the Nazgul just has a great overall tone in this guitar. It's a really good fit. Nice tight, articulate crunch. It's a fun pickup.

I have a number of pickups to test including Bareknuckle Rebel Yell and VHII, Dimarzio Gravity Storm, Suhr Aldrich, SD Screamin' Demon, JB, Custom Custom and I think one other I have lying around someplace. I also have a bunch of boutique PAF-style pickups I may try out.

Here's a shot of the electronics cavity. I'll be shortening a lot of the wires in v2.0 after I figure out which pickups are keepers.





Gotoh tuners on in place of the Sperzels. Better fit IMO. You can see where I plugged the extraneous holes if you really look but it's night and day better than it was with the holes showing. The tuners work well. They're nice and tight, no complaints, and I really like all the new Gotoh's with the locking wheel on the back. Good stuff and I even use them on my R9.


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## Ape Factory (Nov 23, 2015)

Updated photos. Two new shots with a real camera.









Have to say, I'm still pretty impressed with this guitar. Just a great all-around instrument which has 95% of the S ergonomics with none of the downsides. Beefier, more sustain, just great tone overall. I've got the dummy pickup in the middle and have settled on a JB in the bridge.

I'm still working on the final wiring and quick swap plugs. I've gone from the Dean's Micro plug to something about 1/3 the size. Bought a new digital soldering iron which is simply awesome. It's a Weller digital and I picked it up on Amazon for about $70 less than what I could find anywhere else. It's a Weller WESD51. Weller WESD51 Digital Soldering Station - Soldering Irons - Amazon.com

Here's a shot of the new connector which doesn't really show how small it is.





Here it is next to the Dean's plug:




Last photo. I have one more method to try out for securing the wires to the connectors. I've got something that's half crimp, half solder now but I may have something even easier.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Nov 23, 2015)

Perhaps one of these in place of the middle pickup.
Sound reactive (animating) dummy LED pickup


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## Ape Factory (Nov 23, 2015)

LOL, ah no.


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