AS80 - No Serial Number - Tone Pots S...

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Author Message   Imokaysortof Username: Imokaysortof Registered: 9-2007 Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 6:33 pm:    First: I've got a Korean made AS80. Bought it used in a private sale at a really great price. Don't know what year it was made. There is no serial number on the sticker inside the body, but it does identify it as a Korean made AS80. Anyone have any idea whether this is a Cort factory or a Sammick factory model? I realize I could take the pickups out and look for Super 58s vs Super 50s (or something like that), but I'm not a tech type and might mess up something that I can't fix. Second: The tone pots seem to work more as volume controls than as tone controls. The lower-end "tone" settings are completely useless. Both tone pots pretty much need to be kept at 8 - 10. With the tone pots at 8 - 10, the highs and mids sound good, but the low end, for lack of a better descriptor, sounds like crap. I really like the way the guitar plays and feels, and it even sounds great when it's not plugged in, but something needs to be done about the tone control / low-end crappiness situation. I'll need to bring it in to a tech in any event, but I thought some you might be able send me to the tech with some forethought. Cheers, i'mokaysortof   Imokaysortof Username: Imokaysortof Registered: 9-2007 Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 6:35 pm:    I should add that my AS80 is from the Artstar series and was made in the 1990's, just don't know when in the '90's.   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 7:01 pm:    Is there no number on the label INSIDE? If so: what is it? If it starts with an S it's Samick If it starts with a C it's Cort If it consists of digits only, it's Cort too (often handwritten serial numbers lack a letter). IF NOT: What is the shape of the headstock? If it's wide, it's always made by Cort. If it's narrow, it could be Samick or early Cort (Then you should look at the bottom of the pickups if it lacks a serial number: Super 50 means it's Samick, Super 58 means it's Cort). Ginger   Jazzzbo Username: Jazzzbo Registered: 9-2005 Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 7:08 pm:    ginger, do you know of the wires and where they go on a super 58 red blue white black, to do a simple humbucker in neck, running into some problems, Sorry for the hijack, jazzzz   Imokaysortof Username: Imokaysortof Registered: 9-2007 Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 7:08 pm:    Ginger, There is no number on the sticker. I thought maybe someone had seen this before and could comment. I don't want to take the pickups out, as I'm not technically inclined and will likely break something that I can't fix. Any thoughts re the tone pots (see original post)? Thanks for your comments!   Imokaysortof Username: Imokaysortof Registered: 9-2007 Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 7:20 pm:    It's got the thin headstock.   Artfield Username: Artfield Registered: 4-2001 Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 7:30 pm:    Does it look like this one ? http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/40U-3323.htm   Imokaysortof Username: Imokaysortof Registered: 9-2007 Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 7:45 pm:    Yes, it looks like that one, except that mine has a sunburst finish. Come to think of it, it just may have the serial number on the back of the headstock, like the one in the picture (and now I feel rather stupid). I'll have to check when I get home from work (where I'm not working). Anyone have any thoughts/comments on the tone pots?   Gemberbier Username: Gemberbier Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 9:27 pm:    You could replace the tone pots by new MIJ pots and replace the capacitors with good new ones, orange drops for instance. To get a nice jazzy Gibson-like sound, you could use 0.047 microfarad on the neck tone pot, and 0.02 microfarad on the bridge tone pot. The operation costs about $10-15 if you do it yourself. These Sozo capacitors are cheaper than Orange Drops, but I don't know about the quality: http://www.sozoamplification.com/purchase.html Ginger   Imokaysortof Username: Imokaysortof Registered: 9-2007 Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 3:50 pm:    Thanks, Ginger. I should ask a friend to give me a crash course in working with guitar electronics, but until that time, I'll have to go to a local guitar shop and have them work on the AS80. New tone pots and/or capacitors might be the thing. I'll finish off the post when the work is done and let you know how things turn out. Cheers, i'mokaysortof

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