what I've been up to

[geoff1711]

You know how it is, a Sunday afternoon cold and trying to snow, what do you do? go on Ebay and there was this red Marquee, I've had a few ( and indeed being after lunch I'd "had a few" ) and having only just sold my Marquee Pro to my pal who'd been lusting after it, cos due to an impending live in grandson having to cut down on my guitars - space and all that!

So not expecting (or really wanting ) to win It, I placed a bid,but it was the only one and I won it - Bugger I thought do I really want this? - anyway after a day or so it arrived and to be fair I was fairly unimpressed, the trem was really stiff with 5 springs! so I removed one and the thing flopped forward and the more I tried to tune it the further the trem moved.

so a bit disappointed it went into the loft, properly cased of course.

Well a few weeks later I fitted a set of Entwistle noiseless pickups on my pals Squier Strat and they sounded great. so the Marquee came out of the loft and a set was duly purchased and installed under the Burns pickup covers, now it sounded really good but the trem back with 5 springs - bloody awful!!.

So last week I bought a Wilkinson Hipshot style trem (similar to that fitted on the Marquee Pro ) I had to do a bit of body filling under the trem and now it sounds and plays great.

I don't know what was wrong with the original, it didn't sit square, the parts which locate on the trem posts had been machined un-evenly so maybe that was the issue.

But as I say it now plays, sounds, and with the addition of gold plated tone knobs looks good as well.

One other thing I always use the first tone control across neck and middle and use the second as a blend between neck and bridge, so that left the push pull switch, so after a peek under a Jaguar switch plate used it as a "strangle switch"

So there we are then

Cheers

Geoff

[Didier]

I don't know what was wrong with the original, it didn't sit square, the parts which locate on the trem posts had been machined un-evenly so maybe that was the issue.

It's well known that many early model were fitted with a defective copy of the Point Technologies tremolo : http://www.pointtremolo.com/burnsguitar.html

Didier

[abstamaria]

Take a photo and post, Geoff.

Andy

[geoff1711]

Hi

I've been trying to upload an image but it doesn't seem to want to know, I've added it as an attachment let's see what happens when I post it

Geoff

[geoff1711]

Ok then it posted, the only thing that looks different is the trem and gold knobs, the pickup pole pieces look different but you have to get close to see that.

As far as I know they are the same noiseles pickups fitted to the Dream, Entwistle noiseless, they were about £50 for the set and provided you order all bridge spacing go under the reZ-o-matik covers easily.

Oddly on my first and second Marquees the neck pickup spacings were narrower but on this one they're all the same.

On my first Marquee it had the original Point Trem which to me imparted a very thin sound to it which I didn't like, my second had the same trem as this one but it worked really well and seemed to have a much beefier sound.

Fitting the trem required a small wood block to be inserted and glued into the recess for the trem post - sounds harder than it was, took about 10 minutes - left to cure for 24 hours and then the trem screw pilot holes drilled one by one as the screws were inserted.

The steel block and stainless steel saddles certainly seem to improve sustain.

I always have my trems hardtailed down so it's bend up and trem down, I know many prefer a floating trem, but hardtailed suits my playing style better and I find tuning much easier.

Geoff