New pickguard on GC-1

[roachone]

Anyone here replaced their pickguards on the Roland ready strats? I have a Black Roland Strat with the white pickguard and have been thinking about changing to a black pickguard with cream pickup covers and knobs. Any tips to help would be appreciated.

[admin]

Take pics

90% break something and requires resoldering loose internal  wires

[gumbo]

(as we say here)..  "Bugger of a Job getting the S1 & S2 Switch Assembly off there  !!!  "  (in one piece, that is!)

When you see the way they did that, you'll wonder how it lasted so long in the first place..
...if you're planning to mod an 'ordinary' Strat pickguard, you will be having to drill extra holes for the switches anyway..far easier to use the opportunity to change over to a (mom-ON, OFF, (mom-ON) toggle switch and rewire accordingly...

...also pays to mention that you would have to be fairly careful if you plan to also cut the opening for the Roland pickup..

There are some sellers on eBay (in USA) who do list s/hand pickguards for R-R /  GC-1 Strats, but also there is a lot (!) of confusion when it comes to the descriptions in the listings as many people do NOT know the difference between that and the ones for VG Strats..   THERE IS A DIFFERENCE and they do NOT interchange..

Remember you'll have to buy TWO cream "Volume" knobs....that won't come in a set of three...   

HTH

Peter

[BMapson]

https://www.pickguardian.com/ can fabricate a pickguard for you, and he does have the template for the GC-1.  I would email him.  He's responsive, and will answer your questions.  You have to be careful that the screw holes align with the body of your guitar, and he noted that there has been some variance that he has seen.  He may want you to send him your pickguard, or alternatively, you may want to have him cut everything but the holes for the body screws.  I was going to go this route, but I chose a different path and built another GK3 Partscaster.   

I bought a lightly used black GC-1/Roland Ready pickguard off eBay and used that on the build.  As has been said, you need to be careful to buy the right one.  The V-Strat pickguard won't work.  Examine the pictures very carefully.

And another gratuitous plug for Gumbo's Synth-Link jack that saved a ton of body carving and headache.  A 5/8" hole beats carving and chiseling a square hole in a finished guitar body. 

[gumbo]

..thank you for the Shout-Out, BM...appreciated!

Worth perhaps mentioning that "SOME" GC-1s (and we still haven't worked out the true cut-off date!) contain what is essentially the GK2A mainboard, even though they have what is a GK3 pickup.

The difference between the GK2A board and the GK3 board is the positioning of the connections within the 7 & 8-pin headers on the PCB, and the fact that the 8-pin PICKUP header on the GK3 is at a smaller pitch (1.5mm rather than 2.0mm as on the GK2A)...

...this doesn't normally relate to any specific difficulty UNTIL one wants to change something like the 13-PIN JACK !

Luckily, this difference was sussed out fairly early in my evolution of Synth-Linx Jacks (the "Pre-Finished" ones with multiplugs on the end of the attached cables) and from day one, TWO different versions have been produced....one for the GK2A board, and another to suit the GK3 board..each has the connections arranged in the order that the mainboard expects.

The confusion that occurred initially was that I made an incorrect assumption that ALL GC-1s were fitted with a GK3 mainboard..   ...as they have always been advertised as containing a GK3 system....      (insert "Extremely Embarrassed" Emoticon here)..

What we have had to now do, is to ensure that a prospective customer wanting a Synth-Linx Jack upgrade for their GC-1 FIRST establishes what mainboard is installed in his guitar...   ..thankfully this is a very easy exercise to do..simply undo the backplate, gently (!!) prise it away from the guitar and turn it over enough to look at the size of the 8-pin header that accepts the loom from the pickup.

If it is the same spacing (and size) as the 8-pin header on the opposite edge of the mainboard that connects to the Roland jack, then you are looking at a GK2A mainboard, and you will need the same retrofit Synth-Linx Jack that is produced to suit thr earlier "Roland-Ready" Strat.


Apart from this issue, the job of upgrading from the Roland jack is a simple one of unbolting, unplugging,  re-plugging and re-bolting the Synth-Linx Jack in place of the original.  The same connectors (7 & 8-pin) are used, and the mounting bolt holes on the Synth-Linx Jack are the same centers as those on the Roland jack...so they bolt up to the back of the original moulded plastic plate on the edge of the guitar.

The Synth-Linx Jack also comes with the correct (countersunk-head black) bolts as were used when the guitar was new, and a massive (!) upgrade of a couple of Nyloc nuts , washers and spacers so that everything you assemble STAYS assembled...unlike the originals which often disengage with themselves and transmogrify (thank you, Calvin & Hobbs) into the contents of a shaker...audible whenever the guitar is moved...   

But, enough of this advertisement-disguised-as-a-post....     ...let the OP get on with his project unimpeded by all this verbage, as anyone else can simply PM me for more information if they so desire...

Although obviously, if one is going to pull apart their GC-1 to replace the pickguard, that's probably an opportune time to find out what system is inside the Beast as well...     
(the REAL reason for this Post!)


...and yes, thanks again for the Shout-Out, BM !   

Cheers,
Peter in Very Hot South Oz

[Tony Raven]

use the opportunity to change over to a (mom-ON, OFF, (mom-ON) toggle switch

I too thought about making that change... but I vaguely remember something about a Roland unit that takes as valid a simultaneous press of S1/S2.

[admin]

I vaguely remember something about a Roland unit that takes as valid a simultaneous press of S1/S2.

Only unit I know that responds to Pressing down both S1 & S2 at same time is  the RackVax Variax in a Rack

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3928.msg125053#msg125053