simple upstrum fix for new magnetic models (w/ pics!)

[AgainstOne]

my new replacement guitar was having the stiff upstrum problems as i've read others complaining about here. tonight i decided to open her up and see which mechanism i have in the new guitar. turns out it's the magnetic one (which i'm convinced is the best one by far, as there's no switch or contacts to wear out).

so i started inspecting it to see if i could figure out why the upstrum was so much more difficult to register than the downstrum. it appeared to me that the reason behind the problem is that the distance between the magnet and the sensor on the upstrum side was much more than the distance on the downstrum one. here's a picture of the difference in distance when the strum bar is at rest:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/AgainstOne/DSCF1555a.jpg


here's a picture showing how close the downstrum magnet is to its sensor when the strumbar is pressed down:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/AgainstOne/DSCF1557.jpg


now here's the same type of picture for the upstrum. notice the wider gap:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/AgainstOne/DSCF1558.jpg


so what we need to do is get that upstrum sensor closer to the magnet on the strumbar and here's how. i noticed that when i put pressure on the upstrum's sensor with my thumb, it bent toward the strumbar and it's base lifted slightly up from the guitar body, leaving a small gap.

what i decided to try, was to find something to wedge into that gap, to keep it bent forward. all sorts of different things will work. it needs to be flat and thin, but not too thin. also, if it's too thick it won't fit in the gap. i imagine it should be about half as thick as a dime. here's what i used:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/AgainstOne/DSCF1554.jpg

[it is limiting me to 4 images per post, so read on below for the rest...]

[AgainstOne]

just put a small amount of pressure on the upstrum sensor, tilting it toward the strumbar like so:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/AgainstOne/DSCF1559.jpg


here is the same scenario, but shot from the side so that you can see the gap that is created when you apply the pressure (i added the white lines to emphasize the gap, as you can't see it very well):

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/AgainstOne/DSCF1561a.jpg


now you just lay your shim down flat and slide it up under the sensor into the gap. here's a picture of my shim sticking halfway out of the gap:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/AgainstOne/DSCF1562a.jpg


i highly recommend you push it all the way up under the gap to where it can no longer be seen.

and that's it! now screw the back onto the guitar and rock out. mine works absolutely perfectly now. and since the magnetic mechanism has no parts to wear out like the metal contacts version or the switch version, i think this guitar will last a very very long time.

[fairysausage]

Neat, I think I have the new one as well because my upstrums are weird and act as you describe. Makes sense after I see the photos. I may have to try this.

[Fuze54]

interesting, I'll try this if upstruming is really hard for me. I havent been able to tell since I just got the replacement yesterday, and havent played enough yet to know if its me or the guitar.

[TreoRock_]

So you are suggesting to use whatever piece of thin metal we can find and put it within the gap you showed? Wouldn't it fall out once you start rocking hard with the guitar? My concern is that it may just not work after a while do to movement.

[HellWithoutSin]

You should have used an actual dime instead. It would have doubled the value of these crappy guitars.

[AgainstOne]

So you are suggesting to use whatever piece of thin metal we can find and put it within the gap you showed?

you could also use plastic or thick paper.


Wouldn't it fall out once you start rocking hard with the guitar? My concern is that it may just not work after a while do to movement.

at rest, there is no gap. the gap reveals itself by putting pressure on the sensor in a direction toward the strum bar. when you release that pressure, the base of the sensor will pinch the thin object (shim) inbetween itself and the guitar body.

you have a point about the possibility of the shim coming out. it could possibly happen if you held up hard on the strumbar and shook your guitar. you would have to press it up hard and hold it that way, though. or it could work it's way out over time, but there are many ways that people can think of for keeping it in there.

the main point of this thread is let people know what the problem is with the upstrum on the new magnetic models and show how simple it would be to fix it. i didn't want to permanently secure mine at this stage, but i will if i have a problem with it coming out.

[davidshek]

So you are suggesting to use whatever piece of thin metal we can find and put it within the gap you showed? Wouldn't it fall out once you start rocking hard with the guitar? My concern is that it may just not work after a while do to movement.

If that ends up being a problem, a tiny dab of Krazy Glue to hold the shim in place should do the rick :)

Really really nice work, AgainstOne. I thank you on behalf of everyone else!

[AgainstOne]

Really really nice work, AgainstOne. I thank you on behalf of everyone else!

thanks! :D


if anyone else decides to try it, post your results.

[MarcoPoko]

Just got my replacement today, my down strum is not functioning properly. Already have a new RMA, but i'll see if this will fix my down strum problem.


Just looked inside, doesn't seem to be the same problem. Oh well, hopefully my next one will work properly.

[steelcurtain187]

Would this work on the downstrum as well? I am having issues with dropping notes even on the new magnetic version :(

[AgainstOne]

i would suggest you have a look and see if perhaps the downstrum sensor on your's is further away than the upstrum. if so, this could possibly work. this particular fix is targeted to adjust a sensor that's too far away to get a good reading.