Xaviere offset, my observations

[Bro Blue]

I did some work on a friend's Xaviere offset today, the XV-JT40 with floating trem and P-90s (rosewood neck, surf green). Understand this is my observation on the one and only of these I have ever seen, but I thought it might be useful for some. If not, ignore it.

 

First off, everything was wrong. The action was horrible, the bridge buzzed, the neck buzzed, the trem was stuck, and the pickups were waaay to high. There were three frets (13,14,15) that looked like they had never been touched. The nut was not cut well - the depth was OK, but the slots were ragged as hell. The thing looked beautiful, but it played like hell.

 

Well, I took the entire thing apart, cleaned everything, and worked on the above frets. After cleaning the neck and polishing the frets I took the trem off to see why it was sticking. Answer: the rout was not large enough. I took out my files and was able to remove enough wood to get the trem working as it should (and the trem needed adjusting, as well). I also had to strip part of the ground wire as there wasn't enough making contact with the screw and there was more hum than normal.

 

After lubing the nut and stringing it (with Ernie Ball tens) I had to adjust the neck because there was too much relief. Clearing out the nut slots, lubing everything, and getting the action set and adjusting the neck too care of 90% of the fret buzz, with nothing coming through the amp. The saddles (on the G and B strings) still buzz some, but are better. The trem works OK, but I wasn't satisfied that it was as good as it could have been. Maybe with time it will settle in.

 

The finish was beautiful. The rosewood board was dark and even, and looked really good. The P-90s frickin' screamed. After I lowered them they gave a very nice clean and got down-right nasty with dirt. Very good pickups. No scratchy pots, switches, etc. The tuners worked.

 

I have owned and worked on many Xaviere guitars from the tele, LP, and strat models. All have been in much better shape than this one was and, not having seen or played another, I can only think this one was not representative of the bunch. After all the work it was much improved, and all of them have needed a setup. I know for $209 you shouldn't expect custom shop work, but after the above the thing was fun to play.

 

The weak link to me is the roller bridge. It just felt cheap and I don't think it was up to the task. I don't know if there are replacements that will fit these but, if there are, that would be a definite upgrade.

[stormin1155]

I have that exact guitar in orange. It took a bit of set-up, but not near what you experienced. In all, a fun guitar, and a very good value.

[D34dBaWx]

I like the looks of them. I kinda want the H/H version myself

[pixelchemist]

i did a lot of work on mine... but the end result is a really great guitar. The pickups are surprisingly good as well (but I will be replacing them soon enough)

 

[Deadbeat Son]

The weak link to me is the roller bridge. It just felt cheap and I don't think it was up to the task. I don't know if there are replacements that will fit these but, if there are, that would be a definite upgrade.

You should check out GFS for an upgrade.