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Topic: How I upgraded my FS-52 Lap Steel. |
Peter den Hartogh
From:
Cape Town, South Africa
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Posted 25 Jan 2011 11:35 am |
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A little while ago I picked up a Chinese made Fender FS-52 real cheap (65% off)
because is was shop soiled (it had a small dent in the fretboard).
To me the guitar was not really suitable as a player.
The reasons for this were:
1- The fretboard reflects like a mirror.
Due to the reflection you would see twelve strings instead of 6 strings.
Very hard to pick the right one.
2- The pick up was mounted too close to the bridge resulting in a nasty trebly sound.
In addition, the pick up was of substandard quality with hum.
3- The bridge was a flimsy piece of thin sheet metal.
4- There is a huge cavity under the very thin metal control plate.
As the bridge was on top of the control plate and it was seated just above the cavity,
the bridge worked like a banjo bridge on a banjo skin.
Result: No sustain and it sounded a little like a banjo.
I decided to make it a player so here are the tasks I set out to do:
1- Fix the fretboard somehow.
2- Get a better pick up and move it away from the bridge.
3- Get a better bridge
4- Get a better mechanical connection to the body
Here is what I did:
1- I sprayed the fretboard with a matte laquer. The result is that the guitar still looks the same
but the nasty reflection has gone and the dent became almost invisible.
(Notice that the reflection of the pencil is still in the keyhead,
but there is hardly any reflection on the fretboard.)
2- Nic du Toit gave me a couple of 6 string pick ups to play with.
I installed a Fender Lace Sensor for the moment. No more hum!
3- I got a Telecaster bridge assembly from StewMac which allowed me to move the
pick up away from the bridge for a warmer tone.
I just had to cut a bigger hole in the thin control plate for the pick up's new position.
It is a much better bridge which is fully adjustable.
4- The Telecaster assembly is a solid metal plate making a better connection to the body
with the new big screws. There is a huge improvement in sustain.
My Costs:
1 spray can with matte laquer - $ 7.00
1 Telecaster bridge assembly #0099 - $ 27.70
1 6 string pick up - Free from a Friend.
_________________
1977 Sho~Bud D10 ProIII Custom; Sho~Bud SD10 The Professional ; ETS S10 5x5;
Fender 1000; 1993 Remington U12; 1978 Emmons S10 P/P; GeorgeB Weissenborn;
Fluger Cat-Can; Asher Electro Hawaiian; Gibson BR4; Fender FS52; Guyatone 8str;
Fender Resonator ; Epiphone Coronet 1937; Rickenbacher Ace; Rickenbacher NS;
Dynalap 8string; Harbor Lights 8string; Aiersi Tri-Cone; Fender Stringmaster |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 26 Jan 2011 7:47 am
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That's a great, inexpensive project, and I'm sure it makes a huge difference. If only Fender had done some product testing with this lap steel among the SGF members before releasing it to the public, they could have had a huge hit.
If I ever find a cheap Fender, I'll definitely consider getting it based on the fact that you can upgrade it like this.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Charlie Vegas
From:
Tampa Bay, FLA, USA
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Tor Arve Baroy
From:
Norway
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Posted 3 Mar 2017 7:25 am
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Hi, do you still use this Lapsteel? Do you have some pictures after the mods were Done?  |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2017 8:43 am
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I tried to find one of those old Fender box car pickups but didn't have any luck.  |
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Peter den Hartogh
From:
Cape Town, South Africa
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Posted 3 Mar 2017 8:57 am
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Yes, Tor, I still have this guitar. I have one problem... I cannot find a pick up that fits the string spacing. String one and string 6 sound a lot weaker than the others. The reason is that the pick up is now slanted in a kind of diagonal position, so the string spacing needs to be wider. I made sure I did use bridge pick ups, not neck pick ups. I tried all kind of Strat or Tele types, even a blade version (Fender Lace Sensor), but the outside strings are always weak.
I will take pictures later. |
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Keith Glendinning
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 3 Mar 2017 10:15 am
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Peter, as a temporary fix you could attach a bar of steel across the magnets (a blade?) just wider than the width of the stings. This would give you a balanced output from all of the 6 strings. Iron would be better than steel if you could procure some.
Hope this is helpful.
Keith. |
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Peter den Hartogh
From:
Cape Town, South Africa
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Posted 3 Mar 2017 10:43 am
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| Thanks Keith, I do keep a special piece of iron for exactly that purpose, and it was not really successful, just a slight improvement. |
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Michael Maddex
From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 3 Mar 2017 8:25 pm
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Nice job Peter! 
Maybe I am overlooking something, but I am a little puzzled by your problem: Since the Bridge Plate positions both the Saddles and the Pickup, if you have a Correct Pickup installed, shouldn't Saddles, Pickup and Strings all line up by Design?
I am looking forward to your new pictures.
_________________
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Peter den Hartogh
From:
Cape Town, South Africa
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Posted 3 Mar 2017 11:13 pm
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Yes Michael, everything lines up, but the new pick up pole pieces are not wide enough.
On the 2nd picture from the top you can see that the original pick up is parallel to the bridge and the pole pieces line up, no problem.
However, the StewMac assembly has a slanted pick up position, which needs a pickup with the pole pieces spaced out further. |
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Steve Winters
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 4 Mar 2017 3:49 pm
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Seymour Duncan makes this pickup that is a replacement for the old Fender Champions. There is a short story about how Tele players used to take the old lap steel pickups and replace their bridge pickups with them for wider spacing. I replaced the guts of a Recording King lap steel with one of these pickups and 250k pots and an oil an paper capacitor. Sounds good to me, but I'm just me. I never posted a link in this forum, so if it doesn't work I apologize in. I love the upgrades you've done so far and hope she turns out perfect when you're done.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/antiquity-lap-steel-3 |
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Steve Winters
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 4 Mar 2017 3:55 pm
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| Sorry! I forgot to tell you the centers of the outside poles are at 2 3/16". The standard Strat single coil pickups are at 2 1/16". So you'll gain the 1/8" spacing you need. |
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Keith Glendinning
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 5 Mar 2017 4:16 am
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Peter.
I have a "Tele" bridge/pickup assembly on one of my home builds and when I look closely I think that mounting the pickup parallel to the bridge will give you your wider spacing. Obviously you'd have to make a new mounting plate, but that's not too difficult.
Keith. |
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