CHAPTER ONE : "THE PLAN"
"This will be fun! We're gonna' rip this thing to shreds."

   Although we've stated that the list of mods' has not been determined, the basic idea has already been discussed. Since I'm allowed to modify this as if it were my own, with respect to my client; I can't make the final decisions without consent. Below is a list of the mods I typically prefer and would apply to one of my own 550's. If you're familiar with the "JEM" series, you'll notice many similarities; albeit, I assure you, inadvertent.

    1. NECK: Maple fretboard, all 24 frets scalloped. This is the biggest part of the job. The neck on my '87 550 has also been "re-shaped" by hand. The customer has requested I get as close to that shape as possible since he enjoys the playability of that neck so much. I also prefer playing on totally scalloped necks, so that's the plan here as well. Maple is my choice for [this]. It's a hard wood and seems to maintain its strength when cut. Maple is not as porous as rosewood, and requires a sealer, finish, or varnish to prevent discoloration and/or rotting. Such elements combined create a very flat-like feeling which doesn't yield well to vibrato and finger tip movement where you make contact between the frets. Maple, therefore, is a good choice for scalloping all 24 frets. Rosewood necks are more pourus, and don't naturally interfere with this kind of movement of the fingertips. Being a softer wood than maple; I personally choose to scallop my rosewood necks just from the 12th fret-up. I have scalloped entire rosewood fretboards for customer-order only. The original fret-wire is desired in this process. Refretting would only occur if absolutely necessary where a re-leveling/re-crowning is not an option.
    This neck will also be re-finished by hand with my most common method of using tung-oil. Each coat typically takes at least 24-hours to dry, and is buffed and/or sanded down as well. The first two or three coats mainly serve the purpose of filling the pores and act more as a sealer. For this process I recommend my standard 7-coat, satin gloss, tung-oil finish. The end result is a cross between a semi-satin-gloss, and a natural feel. As of yet; I've had nothing but compliments from my customers that have had this done.

    2. PICKUPS: Replace All Pickups & Wiring. The stock pickups are no-good for a player wanting a pro-machine. Another unusual thing about my 550's, is having a single-coil in the 'neck' position. Ibanez® never manufactured a 550 model with a 'single in the neck. This puzzles me because the tone & picking attack of a neck-single is far superior. The clarity makes up for the lack of tone quality these cheaper bodies are also known for. Although they tend to be a bit "plunky" or "snappy", I have a taste for this characteristic. The 550 was also modeled after the "Steve Vai JEM" series, and those all had a neck humbucker.
    The JEM series had a DiMarzio® PAF-pro® in the neck position. The PAF-pro® is a MUCH better pickup than the stock, generic, V-series (and previous model) pickups in these 550's. For this job we'll be using my personl fav'; the DiMarzio® FastTrack-1™. [This series] of pickups are not really single-coils. They mount/fit in a single-coil space, but they're actually a "dual blade style" mini-humbucker design. They're clean, loud, clear, and the customer has several models to chose from for accommodating different choices in tone (and volume/output voltage). The FastTrack-1™ most closely resembles the classic single-coil sound, with the addition of being much louder. When using a very hot bridge pickup, the FastTrack™ becomes both; complimentary, and supplimentary, when switching and combining. Yes, combining! We're adding a special switch to do this. (More about that in the PICKGUARD section)
  For the bridge pickup, we'll be installing a DiMarzio® X2N®. My only other choice for these "super-mods" would likely be a DiMarzio® Dual-Sound®. The Dual-Sound® is a Super-Distortion® model with the added convenience of having the 4-conductor wiring. If you like the Super-Distortion® and want to install it in one of your own guitars, just buy the Dual-Sound®. If you ever want to wire a coil-tap, or series/parallel switch, etc., you'll need the 4-conductor wiring. Other than that, it's the same pickup. I don't even know why DiMarzio® still manufactures the Super-Distortion® model, since the Dual-Sound® can STILL be wired exactly as the Super-Distortion®. If a customer requests a Super-Distortion®; I inform them of these facts, then tell them that I only choose to install a Dual-Sound® upon such request.

    3. PICKGUARD REPLACEMENT: Color Scheme and Switches. These pickguards must be custom ordered to accommodate a single-coil in the neck position. Most of the 550 models had a standard black or white 3-ply laminate pickguard, depending on the paintjob and/or the year of manufacturing. We're going for flashy look, so black or white wouldn't be the likely choice. I already have a lucite clear-mirrored pickguard custom ordered for a neck position single-coil, so we're going with that. It's a similar look, but the highly reflective surface will help break-up the purple color scheme.
    The pickups we're ordering will be Yellow. DiMarzio® is great for their colors. They don't charge extra (don't let a dealer give you any B.S. about ordering a color), and any color humbucker bobbin they make can also be matched to a single coil "cover". If you already have an HS-2™ in 'black' for your middle position, just order the cover (in yellow, red, etc.) if that will match the color scheme you're going for.
    The control set-up will have: *standard 5-way selector, *mini-toggle mounted near the 5-way, which turns the neck pickup on, independent of the pickup selector, *coil-tap option switch for when the bridge & middle are on together, this pre-sets the single/double mode, *volume MAY be replaced with an on/off switch (I use this on my own guitars & some clients have their volume knobs replaced on these custom jobs as well) *standard Ibanez® "JEM-style" selector wiring omitting the neck coil-tap (the neck will be single coil) *No tone control.

    4. Other Mod's (?): The "handle" and touch-ups. To truly copy my 550's, we'd have to include the "handle"! This isn't something I'd recommend, but if you're gonna' go all-out, ya' might as well. The handle is the one thing I intentionally copied from the JEM guitars. The standard 'monkey-grip' style is an option here, but I prefer the oval-style (like the Root-Beer models).
    The next thing I don't overlook is any visible cavities. The older 550 models had not yet included the rubber-like padding in the floor of the front trem' cavity, so I paint this area black. This cavity can still be "blacked-out" but we'll paint around the rubber (or); remove the rubber, and replace it after the cavity is painted. The rear trem' cavity will be blacked-out, and on the 540/saber models I'll also black-out the angled output jack cavity. If the headstock wasn't a matching color, I'll offer to paint that (subsequently replacing the logo in a desired color of vinyl lettering). Colored headstocks are much prefered. If the original model has a black headstock I'll suggest leaving that stock unless the paint is really chipped or damaged.

    5. FINISHED PRODUCT: Our Present Expectations. Here's the list, broken down:
- 24 fret scalloped maple fingerboard. Re-shaped radius. Original frets. Custom tung-oil finish.
- DiMarzio® pickups; X2N®(bridge), HS-2™(middle - option is to use the original and replace the cover to match color), FastTrack-1™(neck).
- Custom wiring. Neck pickup selector giving 7-positions (instead of 5). Bridge coil mode selector (bringing the total of pickup positions up to 9). (Volume control may be replaced w/switch)
- Replace Edge Tremolo arm socket to standard retro-fit Floyd Rose™ adjustable collet style.
- Original 'violet metallic' paint job, clear mirrored pickguard, yellow pickups.
- Rear trem' cavity "backed-out". Oval-shaped body handle finished in ebony-stain (this thing's gonna' be SCARY when we're done!)
- DiMarzio® Clip Lock® strap tabs.
- Sooooper low 1mm action! Minimized string tension & this customer uses .008 guage.

STAY WITH US:
As each stage is completed (and photographed) additional pages for this project will include the details of the work. We'll show this thing disassembled, in progress, under the tools, being finished, etc. It's gonna' be fun!

The stock pickguard on this particular model isn't all that bad of a look.
This purple-mirror style matches the body color too closely for what we're trying to accomplish I have this exact model 550 (a year earlier, '92). A customer/student purchased a white 550 (a '90? or '91?) from me. He saw [this model] when I got mine, loved the pickguard, was ordering RED pickups, so I used the purple-mirror on that white one he bought (24-fret scalloped maple neck). It looked great, and the neck position he ordered was a DiMarzio® "Humbucker From Hell®" which is designed to simulate the tonal characteristics of a single coil. Nice choice if you want a humbucker in that space on your 550. No need for series/parallel switching to get that single-coil-attack, (but still has the 4-conductor wiring if needed). It's loud, no hum, and pairs up nicely with an X2N® or Dual-Sound®.

To reference the pickup model numbers I've mentioned:
X2N® - DP102
Dual-Sound® - DP101
Humbucker From Hell® - DP156
HS-2™ - DP116
FastTrack-1™ - DP181
The "F" has been omitted from the model number, because all pickups mentioned here are F-spaced.

Here's the general overview of the guitar we're working on:

This circled area was the only spot on the bridge with any significant wear:

The original trem' socket is removed and replaced with a retro-fit version of the standard Floyd Rose™ adjustable collet mounted arm. They're durable, maintenance free, easily replaced if lost or damaged, and can be interchanged with any trem' arm accepting the standard "Floyd-arm".

Getting the action & string tension perfect is a bit of a process. More than one set-up is required, and I do this quite well. Even brand new guitars require some fret work if you want CRAZY action. After completing the major renovations, breaking-in the instrument might mean that we'll adjust the neck, bridge, and tilt until we're totally satisfied. It can work on the first try. If the player lives locally, I'd rather they play it for a while and we'll decide if we still want to level a couple/few frets.
As per my usual expected results, this these things play with 1mm action at the 24th fret.

One last look before we chop-it-up!

Here's a cheap fireworks version of what it might look like:

I just pasted some color swatches and simulated the switches & handle.

 

...I REALLY hope we cut the handle in it!