How to make the Rock Band Wooden Strat quieter
almost 2 years agoI recently bought the Rock Band Wireless Fender Wooden Stratocaster Replica when it was on sale on Amazon (http://amzn.to/aiLebW). It’s pretty awesome, except that it sounds like hitting a ruler on a desk every time you strum, and is guaranteed to piss off everyone in the room, including your drummer. I decided to open it up and see where all the noise was coming from.
The switches that they used in this guitar are the same type you would find on an old IBM clickity-clack keyboard. If you look closely, they say Cherry on them, with a cute picture of some cherries.
I Googled “cherry switch” and right away found the manufacturer’s website. It’s pretty obvious that these are the Cherry MX Series switches.
Scroll down to the bottom of that page. There’s a handy chart showing how to build a part number. Here’s what I came up with:
- MX1A-E1NW Click tactile (blue, current switches)
- MX1A-C1NW Soft tactile (clear)
- MX1A-11NW Linear (black, the new hotness)
I ended up going with the linear switches, meaning no tactile feedback when the switch is activated. You can order the switches from Newark or Mouser. I used to look at Newark catalogs when I was a kid, but they didn’t have any in stock so I ended up ordering from Mouser. The switches are pretty cheap (\~$.80/each I think), so don’t hesitate to get a few extras.
I also ordered a soldering iron from Amazon (http://amzn.to/9AMiho), and watched this 7-minute YouTube video to become an “expert” before prodding at my $300 toy with a red-hot metal stick.
Now would be a good time to tell you that I have no soldering experience. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this yourself, find someone who does.
First, be sure to remove the batteries from the guitar before starting.
Next, remove the back panel.
The piece you’ll remove next is attached to that thicker cable on the left. Carefully cut the pull-tie holding all of the cables together, and then gently lift the connector straight up. It may have some glue dried around it that you’ll need to separate first.
Once the cable is free, go ahead and remove the pick-guard assembly from the front of the guitar.
Turn ‘er over. That green circuit board is where we need to be. The four screws are sealed with some red glue/plastic substance. You may need to pick at the screws with a needle to fit a screwdriver in there. Be careful not to strip the screws, as they’re quite fragile.
There they are. They won’t sound all that loud when you press them with your fingers, but that snap resonates on the plastic stum bar and possibly on some other parts.
Here are the new switches. I opted to go for the black smooth-motion model.
Solder ‘em out.
Solder ‘em in.
You should probably test that up and down still works on your console before putting everything back together.
I also added some bonus dampeners (i.e. duct tape) to the inside of the strum bar.
All done! Go rock out! Hopefully your guitar still works, and if it does, it should be much quieter.
