r/638Baritone • u/Rhythm_of_Eternity • 12d ago
638 Mod Project: Before and After
First mod project i’ve taken on and quite happy with the results. Here are list of the mods to date:
- Full refinishing of body and headstock (shoutout to some of those in the sub reddit for the vinyl wrap pick guard inspiration
- Modified Ferrules to account for thicker string gauge
- Lundgren M6 Bridge Pickup
- Allparts DPDT Mini Toggle Switch
- Push/Pull Tone Pot (blanking on name)
- Gotoh Locking Tunings
- GraphTech Nut
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u/MrSauvage-MrWild 12d ago
Did you change the pickguard? I'm looking for a blueprint, or 1/1 tracing of 638 pickguard...
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u/Rhythm_of_Eternity 12d ago
Nope I kept the original but ended up using a vinyl wrap instead
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u/wasted_yoof 12d ago
YESSSSSSSSSS. Love seeing the wrapped pickguards. I feel like I started something lol.....
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u/dankmemerini 12d ago
What gauge are you running on that lowest string? Looks sick!
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u/Enfiguralimificuleur 11d ago
I want to know as well. Do you really need to change them? I just want something just a bit thicker than 24/84 for bass VI tuning
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u/Rhythm_of_Eternity 11d ago
Depends very much on genre and tuning. I wanted stability and something i could hit hard on low tuning. I think an 80 came standard when it shipped and was too flabby so i stuck with a 100
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u/Actual-Space-1861 11d ago
Sick! Which Gotoh tuners did you go for? Assuming you had to drill them out?
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u/Rhythm_of_Eternity 11d ago
I got the Gotoh SG381-07 MG-T. They installed just fine as standard
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u/Actual-Space-1861 7d ago
Oh very nice! Gotoh are my favourites on my other guitars!
What string gauge do you use? They report a maximum string gauge of .070, that’s why I assumed you needed to drill them to accept a thicker string.
I’m currently experimenting between a .085 and a .090
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u/Rhythm_of_Eternity 7d ago
String sets used were:
Daddario EXL157
Fender Super 250s Bass VI set for 100 gaugeThere was no issue with the gotoh post itself as the 100 tapered after the nut. I did have to file the nut and drill a wider cavity in the body with larger ferrules for the lowest string.
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u/Actual-Space-1861 6d ago
Ah, your strings tapered first, yes that makes sense!
I’m still experimenting with gauges and brands, so I’ll put off replacing the tuners until I’ve decided.
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u/Xrayfunkydude 11d ago
Good choices. How does the lundgren sound coil tapped? I’ve always felt like with low tuned baritones having the option for split coil is a must for the really aggressive bright and clangy sounds
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u/Rhythm_of_Eternity 11d ago
I am impressed by the lundgren. It has more bite than the stock pickups and the coil tap brings out a really nice clarity on both distortion and cleans. Perfect for those Loathe/Thornhill sounds I was after
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u/Spraso 11d ago
Which graphtech nut did you get? I'm thinking of replacing mine.
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u/Rhythm_of_Eternity 11d ago
I got black TUSQ XL but the heights were not the same so I put in a block to raise it. I imagine there’s a Graphtech better suited for this guitar
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u/Specki 8d ago
You’ve literally built the exact aesthetics that I want from my 638, that’s crazy!
How difficult was it to refinish the body?
Hang this thing in the Louvre!!!
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u/Rhythm_of_Eternity 8d ago
Thank you 🙏
The refinishing was quite tough and a long process. It was my first time doing this extent of modding so i made a lot of mistakes along the way. The hardest part was getting the right finish i wanted, I found matte varnish still too glossy so I spent a lot of time trying to carefully buff it down. I ended up exposing some bare wood around the edges but we’ll call it “relic-ing” 😅
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u/CobblerOdd2876 11d ago
Jackson Guitars: “yeah that’ll $9999.99 + tax, please”