First I’ll remove the loose jack cup and reset the clip into some fresh wood. Removal of the clip needs to be careful so I don’t weaken it or chip the guitar. Obviously they make better jack cups to combat this issue, but being a valuable vintage guitar you never want to do anything to change originality if at all possible. So fixing the original jack cup is a must.

I use my custom made tool that is designed specifically for this job. It cleanly removes the clip and perfectly resets the clip in the exact location you need. I rotated the clip 45 degrees so it would bite into new wood and securely hold into place.

Now that the clip is secure, I always like to glue the corners for extra stability. The clip can still break free and be reset again in the future if needed. I use a pipette filled with medium viscosity super glue to give me precise application of the glue right where I need it. I cut the extended part of the pipette off to allow for a bigger hole to siphon the thicker glue.

We’ll let that set aside and dry while I work on the wire from the input jack. You can see it has been cut and spliced together. I need to run new cloth leads from the jack. The new white and black cloth covered wire looks really new compared to the original. I need to make it look 60 + years old.

I mixed up some dye in a small medicine cup with alcohol until I got a color match. Before dipping the wire in the dye, I bunched up the cloth to break the wax up and loosen the cloth. Then I ran the white and black wire through the dye and let it dry.

Once the cloth wire is dry I take it and roll it in the dirt. Yes seriously I roll it in the dirt. It makes the cloth wire look exactly like the original. Dirty, dusty, and stained.

You can see the wire is nearly a perfect match to the original. Not too shabby. Now I just need to fray the ends  to match the rest of the wire and solder it to the jack.

Now the “new” old wire is soldered to the jack and wiring harness. After that I secure the jack and cup tightly to the clip. Everything looks perfect and now I can screw the control plate down and send the guitar home. Thanks for viewing. Please check back again soon!

David Shepherd (Mojotone Pickups and Guitar Parts Manager)

At first glance it appears to be 100% original but I need to take things apart and get a closer look. Removing the neck shows matching lacquer chips on the heel of the neck and the bottom of the neck pocket which tells me the neck is original to the body.

The vintage tremolo is complete with original saddles and screws. Some of the saddle height screws and springs have been replaced which is common because they can corrode beyond repair over time. These are minor things and have very little affect on the value and originality.

The neck is all original with the original frets, nut, and Kluson machine heads. Someone drilled a small hole through the headstock and filled it at some point. Luckily it’s very non-intrusive and doesn’t look very bad. Maybe a string tree? Who knows, this guitar has been around for longer than me so there is no telling what exactly happened there.

When I first removed the pickguard, I noticed a filed edge on the control cavity route. Then it hit me, they did this in the factory so that the shield plate would sit down into the cavity. This body was routed for the 3-ply 11 hole (which they transitioned to during this year) but they installed a 1-ply 10 hole pickguard instead and had to modify the body to fit. There was no exact science back then.

All of the solder joints were original as were the pickups, pots, switch, capacitor, and jack. The Stackpole pots all had the same numbers 304920 which dates them in the 20th week of 1959. So far everything checks out to be completely original.

Now I am carefully removing the pickups to check for rewinds and to replace the pickup height tubing. The original tubing is compressed and hardened so badly I can’t adjust the pickup height. Each pickup checks out to be the original 1959 handwound pickup with neck(5.63k), middle(6.17k), and bridge(5.73k).

Time to put everything back together and setup the guitar. This 1959 strat is in overall good condition and sounds incredible. The frets and pretty worn, but they still play great. Overall I’m really glad to see such a great piece of history that has made it to this point in time without being destroyed or modified. Oh well, I guess its time to move on to the next guitar and send this one back home where it belongs.

Thanks for viewing and check back again soon for more cool stuff!

David Shepherd (Mojotone Pickups and Guitar Parts Manager)

Looking at the machine heads and the headstock everything checks out to be original. The frets are original too and still in good shape!

Here’s that period correct orange label. Pretty rare serial number 16989. The pots, caps, switch, jack,and wiring all checkout to be original too. No tampered solder joints.

The wired ABR-1 tune-o-matic bridge and aluminum stop bar tail piece are original.

The bridge posts are loose and need to be fixed. I used a pipette filled with thin CA glue to repair the damaged holes and build up the threads again so the posts will go in tight and secure.

After the glue has cured, I can tap the holes and re-install the posts. I double up the thumbwheels tightened against each other and use a 6-32 hex nut on top. This way I can use a standard socket screw driver to drive the post straight into the guitar with about 1/2” of the post sticking out.

Now I can install the tune-o-matic bridge and it is as good as new. No more rocking back and forth which will certainly improve tuning stability.

Now I am going to check out the PAF pickups. I remove the pickup mounting ring screws and turn each pickup over to see what is under the hood. At first glance, it is clear that the humbucker covers were removed and the solder joints looked really bad. The good news is that the brass mounting screws look untouched and the Patent Applied For sticker was still partially intact.

Next I will carefully remove the pickups from the pickup mounting rings so I can take the covers off. Once I removed them, I noticed the covers were loose and the solder joints were not intact. I was able to remove the covers without any trouble. Now I can look for a rewind or repair. The coil tape is right and hasn’t been tampered with. The bridge pickup was missing the outer half wrap of tape which covers the leads which could mean that the lead solder joints were possibly repaired. Considering it was played without covers makes me believe that the tape was just removed or fell off because the pickup leads look perfect and the tape around the coils is completely untouched. The polarity and phase are right too. They are both without a doubt legit PAF’s. That said someone probably just removed the covers to reduce feedback and half way put them back on to make the guitar original again. Very common.

Now I am re-installing the covers so that they are seating tight against the bobbins and the screws are lined up properly with the holes. I use small quick clamps with wood stand-offs on opposite corners of the pickup to hold the cover snug while I flow the old solder joints with some new solder.

After the solder joints are done, I need to clean all of the rosin mess left behind from the previous work. I use a q-tip with acetone to clean off the residue.

Looks much better now. Good clean solder joints and well seated covers that won’t create a ground hum, which by the way those solder joints looked before, I’m sure they hummed when you touched the covers. Time to re-assemble everything and setup the guitar.

Man this guitar sounds as good as it looks. I gave it a quick run on my Mojotone 5E3 tweed Deluxe amplifier kit that I built recently. It’s a match made in heaven. Time to send this beauty back home where it can be enjoyed for many more years to come.  Thanks for visiting and check back again soon for more cool posts!

David Shepherd (Guitars parts manager and Mojotone pickups division manager)

Thanks for visiting Mojo Shout! Today I am upgrading a newer 2012 Epiphone Dot Pro with a prewired Mojotone ES-335 wiring kit. The guitar is stripped of it’s old electronics and ready to go. This customer wanted to do away with the push-pull potentiometers and go with something more traditional using the highest quality components. The Mojo wiring kit definitely fits the bill. There are just few things I need to do before I get started so lets take a look and see.

First I need to enlarge the holes to fit the beefier CTS potentiometers and Switchcraft switch. I like to use a stepped drill bit for this job. It cleanly drills the holes to the exact size in just a matter of seconds without any chipping or tearing. 3/8” for the CTS pots and 1/2” for the Switchcraft toggle switch.

Next I am installing some new humbucker pickups into the guitar. I make sure to feed the lead wires out of the F-hole of the guitar. It’s very important to remove the pickguard from the guitar so you have complete access through the F-hole. Tip: Label the neck and bridge pickup lead wires with a piece of masking tape so you won’t wire them backwards to the assembly. 

Now I have my ground wire, pickup leads, and my homemade input jack puller through the f-hole and ready to connect to the assembly. My input jack puller is a modified guitar cable with only the 1/4” plug attached to the cable. This will allow me to plug into the jack, pull it through, and slide a nut and washer over to secure it in place.

I tied some cotton string around the split shaft of both tone pots so I can pull them through without too much trouble. I don’t tie strings on the switch or volume pots since they are close enough to the f-hole for me to use my fingers to guide them into place.

Now the fun begins… First I need to solder the bridge ground wire to the outside of the neck pickup volume pot. Then I solder the neck pickup and bridge pickup leads to the assembly. I use a micro fiber polishing cloth to protect the finish while I work outside of the f-holes on the face of the guitar.

After making all of the necessary solder connections, I need to install the assembly through the f-hole. I plug the jack puller into the jack, and pull it through the f-hole first. Then I follow with the switch, volumes, and tones. You have to work the pots in at an angle through the widest part of the f-hole. Be careful not to damage the finish around the f-hole. Tip: Plug the assembly in and make sure everything works before installing it!

Once I have everything through the f-hole and into the guitar, I can start lining everything up to the correct hole. I use a wooden dowel to poke and prod the assembly to the right spot. I pull the jack through first and secure it with a nut and washer. Then I use my fingers to push the switch and volume pots through the holes and secure them with a nut and washer.

Finally I need to pull the tone pots through using the attached strings. To get the strings through the holes, I use a paper clip bent open with a hook on one end to fish the strings out. Once the strings are through, I pull the pots to the holes, and grab them with needle nose pliers to pull them through. Tip: Cut the excess string at the knot flush so it won’t get pinched in the hole while pulling the string through.

Now that all of the electronics are installed and working, I can install some new Mojo US spec guitar knobs and our switch tip. Mojo knobs fit 24 knurl CTS pots perfectly. I line up the numbers to the pointer washers so 0 and 10 land on the point. I push them on carefully and make sure they are seated straight. Tip: Always support the pot with your finger from the inside of the f-hole on the bridge pickup volume control when pushing the knob on. This part of the f-hole is very weak because it has very little support. 

And we’re done! It sounds amazing and what huge improvement from the stock electronics. Another really happy customer. Please visit www.mojotone.com and check back again soon for more great tech tips and information!

David Shepherd (Guitar Parts Manager)

Here we have an eighties MIJ maple Tele neck that happens to be almost perfectly straight and just needs the original frets replaced. This will make for a pretty straightforward re-fret. Before I do anything I need to check the radius of the fingerboard using the Mojotone radius gauges. These come notched or un-notched for any situation.

This customer wants a jumbo feel without being too high. We agreed to go with Mojotone jumbo fret wire with a crown width of .102” and crown height of .039”. It’s got that old Gibson jumbo feel. I carefully removed the frets using heat from my soldering iron with a notched chisel tip and small fret nippers. Tip: Tighten the truss rod to introduce some back bow into the neck. This really helps the frets come out easier.

I have to be careful not to use too much heat or I’ll burn things up and not enough heat will chip the board. This neck doesn’t have any plastic binding or heavy finish over the frets so I can heat things up pretty good without too much concern. The fret slots should be perfectly clean without any chips after the frets are removed. It’s important to test the fit of the fret tang making sure it isn’t too loose or too tight. This Mojotone fret wire happens to fit these slots perfectly.

The fret board and fret wire gets cleaned and prepped before the re-fret. I use distilled white vinegar for cleaning the fret board and mineral spirits for cleaning the fret wire. I bend the fret wire slightly more than the radius of the fingerboard and cut them to length with a little over hang on each end. I adjust the truss rod until the fingerboard is flat. Then I tap the ends of each fret into the slots and press them until they are fully seated. Tip: When using a fret press, try not to over radius the fret wire before pressing it in because it may cause the fret to spring up in the middle. Especially with large or extremely hard fret wire.

After pressing the frets and seating them tight, I’ll check 3 frets at a time to make sure they are as level as possible with each other, without the straight edge rocking back and forth over any high frets. I don’t want to do any heavy leveling or crowning after the re-fret. Once I have everything level, I can glue the frets in. I use different glues for different jobs and I don’t want the frets working themselves loose or un-even. After all wood does expand and contract and moisture can cause lots of issues. For this job I chose to use Mojotone Thin TruGlu. I can wick the glue around each side of the tang until they are secured. The frets can easily be removed again if another re-fret is needed in the future.

Now I can clip the excess fret wire flush to the board and bevel the edge with a file. I need to be careful not to remove material from the fingerboard when filing the bevel into the frets. Once I get close, I use a flat block with 320 grit sand paper to bring the beveled edge flush to the edge of the fingerboard. Sometimes there are imperfections along the fingerboard edges which can cause some of the fret material to to roll over the edge from filing. You don’t want to keep filing until it disappears or you will remove fingerboard material. I pick the rolled edge away using a thin razor blade. Then I follow up with 800-1000 grit sand paper to knock it off and remove any scratches. Tip: When beveling the frets, it is important to adjust the angle of the bevel according to the string spacing from the edge of the fingerboard and the fret height. That higher the crown, the further in the bevel will go in. You don’t want your string popping off the edge of the fingerboard because the bevel is too steep!

Time to dress the fret ends using a modified 3-corner file with the corners smoothed down to keep from scarring the fret board. I round the fret ends evenly down the entire fret board until they look and feel absolutely perfect.

I tape the fingerboard off and expose the frets for their final fret level, crown, and polish. I used green painters tape for this neck because it’s low tack and removes cleanly. Sometimes I don’t use any tape at all because the finish is too delicate for any type of adhesive. I make sure the fingerboard is perfectly flat and the back of the neck is fully supported before leveling the frets. I use the 800 grit Mojotone Japanese diamond honing stone to level the tops of the frets evenly across the board. Tip: After leveling the frets in the direction of the fingerboard, carefully run the stone back and forth in the direction of the frets until the cross scratches are gone. This makes for smoother bends without any friction.

The frets are perfectly level now so I can go through the grits of sandpaper until all of the scratches are gone. I do so carefully as I don’t want to make the frets uneven from being careless. Once I have worked out all of the scratches, I can polish the frets to a mirror shine. I use a palm sander with a folded blue shop towel attached to the pad. Then I rub some metal polish into the pad and let her rip. The palm sander polishes all of the frets in seconds. You have to move the palm sander in the direction of the frets from side to side. If you try and go back and forth down the fret board, the shop towel will fall apart easier. I use the blue shop towel because they are quick and easy and I don’t have problems with my technique. You can cut up some old shirts if you can’t get shop towels to work for you.

When the frets start to really shine, I turn off the palm sander and remove the shop towel. Then I use the clean side of the shop town to wipe off any excess polish. I can now peel the tape off and take pride in my work. Look at those frets shine!

Thanks for looking and keep checking us out for new products and information here at our blog and also at www.mojotone.com!

David Shepherd (Guitar parts manager)

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Thanks, Monique, for not only one rockin’ amp but the best tasting amp we’ve ever had!

The Burgaw Bakery
102 W Fremont St  Burgaw, NC 28425
Phone (910) 259-3859

BURGAW, NC – January 16, 2012 – Mojo Musical Supply is pleased to announce an agreement to acquire Lopo Line, Inc., manufacturer of high quality boutique and stock amplifier cabinets, located in Apple Valley, California.

The Lopo Line acquisition will provide a west coast manufacturing and distribution presence for Mojo Musical Supply, currently one of the industry’s leading guitar and amplifier parts suppliers and amplifier cabinet manufacturers, headquartered in Burgaw, North Carolina.

Since 2007, Lopo Line, Inc. has offered amplifier cabinets with an emphasis on quality, competitive pricing, quick turnaround time, and excellent customer service, making such a merger a perfect fit for Mojo Musical Supply as they share those same business objectives and principles.

Mojo Musical Supply (www.mojotone.com) has been in business for nearly 20 years and currently manufactures amplifier cabinets for over 90 boutique amplifier companies. With the Lopo Line merger, that number will likely double.

Said, Michael McWhorter, CEO of Mojo Musical Supply, “This is the perfect opportunity for Mojo to provide faster customer service for our mid-west and West Coast customers and will give us additional capacity to meet the growing needs of amplifier manufacturers as well as the guitar player community.”

The Lopo Line, Inc. acquisition is expected to be completed by January 16, 2012.

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For more information, please contact:  michael@mojotone.com