User Manual Electric Guitar Kit DC Style Electric Guitar Kit
Thomann GmbH Hans-Thomann-Straße 1 96138 Burgebrach Germany Telephone: +49 (0) 9546 9223-0 Internet: www.thomann.de 01.09.
Table of contents Table of contents 1 Safety instructions................................................................................................................. 5 2 Scope of delivery..................................................................................................................... 6 3 Assembly instructions.......................................................................................................... 7 3.1 Painting body and neck....................................
Electric Guitar Kit DC Style Electric Guitar Kit
Safety instructions 1 Safety instructions DANGER! Danger for children Ensure that plastic bags, packaging, etc. are properly disposed of and are not in the reach of babies and young children. Choking hazard! Ensure that children do not detach any small parts (e.g. knobs or the like) from the product. They could swallow the pieces and choke! Never let children play unattended with the product.
Scope of delivery 2 Scope of delivery Thank you for buying this guitar assembly kit. All wooden parts, hardware and elec‐ trical components are contained in this package. The picture below shows the individual items included in the delivery. The assembly is described in detail in the following sections.
Assembly instructions 3 Assembly instructions Useful tools and materials Provide the following tools and materials for the assembly of the guitar: n n n n n n Phillips screwdriver Rubber mallet Ring wrench Pliers Varnish and accessories Sandpaper Body and neck should by all means be painted before assembly. When applying spray lacquer or paint, you must wear a dust mask. 3.
Assembly instructions Neck finish The guitar neck is sealed with a thin layer of matt lacquer before delivery and is ready to use. If you still want to treat the neck with coloured or clear lacquer, proceed as follows. Carefully mask off the fingerboard and all frets before painting. Make sure that all sur‐ faces are free of dust and dirt. Carry out all painting operations in a well-ventilated, dust-free environment. For the neck, use a clear or slightly tinted wood paint of good quality.
Assembly instructions Turn the neck and fasten all the machine heads finger-tight to the front of the head‐ stock with the washers and nuts provided. Tighten the nuts on the front with an appropriate spanner, then tighten the screws on the back firmly to fasten the tuners.
Assembly instructions 3.3 Mounting the guitar neck Place the body on a suitable work surface. Use a soft pad in order to avoid damage to the surface. Insert the neck into the neck cutout. If necessary, use a sharp chisel or sandpaper to adjust it. Be very careful when removing material.
Assembly instructions 3.4 Wiring pots, pick-ups and switch The pickups, potentiometer and jack socket are wired using connectors. Thread the cable for the string earthing (after stripping the insulation, and without the connector) through the channel from the opening in the back into the hole to fasten the tailpiece.
Assembly instructions Pull the cable far enough out of the hole that there will be sufficient contact with the metallic surface when the tailpiece is installed. Earthing the strings reduces noise (humming). Then insert the potentiometers into the opening in the back as shown and wire the potentiometers to the switch. Guide the switch from the back of the body com‐ pletely into the opening provided for it.
Assembly instructions Screw the potentiometers finger-tight to the body surface with a washer and a hex nut each. Screw the switch to the body surface with the plastic cover provided, a washer and a hex nut. The neck pickup is generally activated with the switch in the upper position, and the bridge pickup in the lower position. This configuration can be changed at any time simply by swapping the two connectors.
Assembly instructions Tighten the hex nuts of the potentiometers onto the body surface using an appro‐ priate ring spanner until the potentiometer housings can no longer be turned. Insert the output jack into the hole provided on the edge of the body. Guide the con‐ nector cable through the channel into the opening in the back for the electronic and plug in both connectors.
Assembly instructions Set the holder for the output jack in place and check whether the jack protrudes. It should stick out over the holder enough that it can be screwed firmly in place with the nut provided, but no further than necessary. Correct the position if necessary by turning the counter nut inside appropriately. Then screw the output jack holder onto the body.
Assembly instructions Thread the pickup cables through the channels from the front opening into the back opening. The neck pickup is somewhat flatter and is inserted into the opening nearer the neck of the guitar. Insert the somewhat taller bridge pickup into the opening closer to the bridge. Fasten both pickups into their openings using the screws provided.
Assembly instructions Connect the plugs to the potentiometers: The upper tone and volume potentiome‐ ters are generally connected to the neck pickup, and the lower tone and volume potentiometers to the bridge pickup. Then screw the plastic cover for the regulator and switch openings into place by inserting the screws provided into the pre-drilled holes on the back of the body.
Assembly instructions 3.5 Mounting the pickguard Screw the pickguard onto the body using the screws provided as shown in the pic‐ ture below.
Assembly instructions 3.6 Mounting the tailpiece and bridge Use a rubber mallet to drive the bolt fasteners for the tailpiece and bridge into the body as shown. Be sure there is sufficient contact between the stripped end of the earthing wire and the bolt for the tailpiece.
Assembly instructions Place the tailpiece and the bridge on the fastening bolts. These two components are still loose, and will only be fastened when you string the guitar. 3.7 Mounting the potentiometer knobs and strap buttons Push the knobs onto the shafts of the individual potentiometers.
Assembly instructions Screw the strap buttons into the pre-drilled holes in the body as shown.
Assembly instructions 3.8 Strings, neck relief and the position of the strings Stringing The strings are threaded on the tailpiece and led over the bridge and the string saddle. Thread the strings into the holes of the machine heads, wrap the end of the string a few times around the peg, and then hand-tighten each string. Be sure the individual strings are in the right position on the saddle. Then tune each string in turn to the correct pitch. You can using a tuner or a pitch pipe as a reference.
Assembly instructions Adjusting the neck relief The neck is equipped with a steel truss rod that can be used to adjust the relief to your preferences. After tuning the strings, check the relief by pressing on the low E string at the first and twelfth fret. The closer the string is to the fingerboard at the sixth fret, the more noise (buzz) will be audible when the guitar is played. Adjust the neck relief using an appropriate Allen key as follows: n Turn the truss bar clockwise to increase tension.
Assembly instructions Screw the cover for the truss bar onto the header headstock. Adjusting the position of the strings 24 Electric Guitar Kit DC Style Electric Guitar Kit Once the neck has the desired relief, you can use the screws to the right and left of the bridge to adjust the string position to suit your taste. Here, too, the lower the strings, the easier they are to fret, but they will buzz more easily when the guitar is played.
Assembly instructions After adjusting string position, you can check the octaves of the guitar and readjust if necessary. Tune all the strings to the correct pitch, gently touch the first string right above the twelfth fret and then pick the string. The resulting overtone (harmonic in the 12th fret) must have the same pitch as the string in the 12th fret. If the pitch of the two notes is different, move the bridge piece forward for this string (tone too low) or back (tone too high).
Protecting the environment 4 Protecting the environment Disposal of the packaging material For the transport and protective packaging, environmentally friendly materials have been chosen that can be supplied to normal recycling. Ensure that plastic bags, packaging, etc. are properly disposed of. Do not just dispose of these materials with your normal household waste, but make sure that they are collected for recycling. Please follow the notes and markings on the packaging.
Musikhaus Thomann · Hans-Thomann-Straße 1 · 96138 Burgebrach · Germany · www.thomann.
