daddymack

I was thinking you could grind off the plastic saddle and bond on a bone saddle, since you'd said you were going to make one anyway. But if you want to replace the entire thing, go for it! Since I do not know your electronic skill level, and as I mentioned, I am not very familiar with that model, but be aware that the control system installed may be designed specifically to the OEM pick-up, and not compatible with an 'off the shelf' piezo or other under saddle type mic. It is possible there is no on-board preamp...is there a battery compartment?

Looking closer at the pic, there appears to be a seam line above the pickup, so you might be able to remove [all or most of] the old saddle and replace it with bone...I have not worked on that model, so I can't say one way or the other. The sound of those ceramic pickups is pretty unique. Have you asked at a Yamaha authorized service shop?

strings? That really is a personal choice of the player. Why are you wanting to change out the tuners on a brand new guitar before you have played it?

sadly, yes, the ceramic pickup on those are integral to the bridge. If the p-up works, leave it be!

my suspicion as well...a travesty...the one guitar there that would have benefited from a p-up mod was the Hondo LP...but it looks stock....

If the Martin's head stock were shown that would settle it, as the GT series had the big flared' head stock, whereas the F series had the square style Martin head stock. The Martin is missing the trem handle, but I'd go with GT75 because most 'Fxx' [F50,F55,F65] models were 'trapeze tails', not the Bigsby-made trems, and this one appears to have the metal bridge base, not the plexiglas originally issued on the F series. The Bigsby was part of the standard GT75/GT70 equipment. IIRC, the serial and model number should be stamped inside the bass [upper/left] f-hole. The serial number can be traced directly to the year : http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/information/martin-guitar-serial-numbers.php It is a shame they modded that Martin by changing out the original 'custom' DeArmond Dynasonic pickups for a P90. [It is also a shame the ES125 was modded...] The Martin electrics don't get much love, especially from Martin aficionados, but, IIRC there were less that 600 each of the Fxx series made, which should make them somewhat collectible. The GTs, there were about 3000 made [roughly 1500 each, IIRC]. I have not found production numbers on the 12 string version, which was only made in 1967. That one should be a collector's item!

I didn't know Donner 'made' guitars. I do own a couple of their inexpensive mini pedals. What made you decide on this particular package? The two humbuckers? The maple fretboard? Can't get anything here until they unload all the container ships sitting off our beaches.

even if they are alnico, they are going to be bottom of the line p-ups, so keep that in focus. Seriously, if the guitar costs $120, how good could the p-ups be in there? A decent set of Alnicos for a Strat will run way over half the price of that Squier.

Value? Based on a serial number? no model, no year, no condition....what are we basing this value on? Here...you decide: https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Fernandes 5 string bass

I keep a small herd of vocal mics around [SM58, SM57, SM55H, e835, Blue enCORE 100, EV ND967], and I am looking at a few more relatively inexpensive performance mics. To be fair, the ND967 is my personal 'go to' for my gigs, but when I was hosting jams, the e835s and the Blue were the ones on the stands. Not one complaint about the mics, ever. If you have not tried the Blue enCORE line, the 100 is the 'low end', but absolutely serviceable, excellent clarity and response, but a slightly lower output overall. The enCORE 200 [which looks like it may be discontinued*] is a phantom powered dynamic super cardioid. A problem if you don't have phanpow on your live mixer [I do...] and I have been toying with getting one [* they are easy to find used at around $75 USD], although the enCORE300 is tempting [phanpow as well] too, but pricier. A number of players who tried my enCORE100 bought one. Another 'hundred dollah' one I'm eying is the Beyerdynamic TG V50d, which has outstanding feedback rejection and a built in hi-pass filter. I have not been able to try one out, but I may just take the proverbial chance on that one.

not hot, honestly..too much of a stylistic mash-up for my taste: a 'thinline' semi, an offset, a H-S-S with only two knobs, a whammy, and the big honkin' D'A headstock...I own a D'A, but I would not own this one.

yeah...too bad I didn't see that before I guessed. That makes the guitar much more recent than I thought, and explains things like the bad fit pick guard/bridge and no serial number on the plate.. So the guitar is definitely no earlier than 1995, when they started making electrics in Indonesia. And pre 1999, when they started using serial numbers. https://samick.fandom.com/wiki/Indonesian_Models

nothing to apologize for, if the amp works for you, then that is all that matters.

You might try a more 'strident' bleach, but if the stain has been in the binding for many years, likely you will never get it all, short of replacing the binding. The drawback with bleach is you could also wind up damaging the core material, or creating 'white' spots on the wood. I could have told you that scraping won't work because the stain has been absorbed into the material [which is what it is designed to do], it is not just a surface stain, so a 'mechanical solution' [sanding, scraping] will not achieve the goal.

Does it really matter? If you like the guitar, how it plays, how it sounds, then its age and construction are moot....😎

FYI, LS 11/RS8 is the model number not the serial number. They used to put the Serial Numbers on the neck screw plate, but either yours was swapped, or that was discontinued before yours was built. This was likely made in the Inchon factory. Beyond that? The LS-10/LS-11 are pretty basic entry level hard tail strat copies, like a Squier.

😎

you might want to get a read on the input voltage on that tube socket. It might be over spec, just enough to blow an older tube. Agreed that powering up a tube amp absent the tubes is a potential death sentence for the filter caps...interesting that in standby the Sunn doesn't light them up. Also powering up without a load on the OT can be bad for the amp as well. I have not worked on a Sunn tube amp, but when you described the mod you had done, and the fuse blowing repeatedly, my first inclination was fried diode...

The binding looks pretty pitted in those pix...is that from the sanding or long term 'abuse' [poor storage/exposure]? You might try a mild bleaching agent [like peroxide] on that stained binding to lower the contrast....depending how deep it goes...it won't totally 'whiten-up', but it could lighten it..stain bleed into binding is common error made by novice refinishers. I know, I've done it. Which is why I have a couple of guys on the hook for the paint/stain/sealing for my repair/mod work [oh, I have a spraygun and can mock up a 'spray booth' in an hour, but it is a headache I can do without ] No decision on tuners yet? You have some great options, since the headstock is not pre-drilled. You could also forego the typical 6-in-line and go 4-2, like Music Man, just to be a little different. Are you painting the headstock to match the body color? Funny, I never noticed how 'flat' the bottom of a Coronado is until I looked closely at your pic.

b-b-b-but the booster will have the Bill Gates new and improved microchip! The same one they put in the Ivermectin ...

example please?

well, I'm glad the SophistiCats >^. .^< >^. .^< will be performing again...but please be very cautious! The last thing I would want to hear is that you or Leilani got sick [I know you are both vaxed, but that is not 100%, and you are admittedly in a Covid hotzone].

clearer photos of individual pedals [so the nomenclature is legible] would be very helpful! Have you tried the pedals out? I mean, that would be the first thing I would do....Also opening them up sometimes reveals information, like MFR date, serial numbers, etc. The 'backtalker'...might be similar to the reverse delay Danelectro Backtalk Pedal The Burford Sitar is likely similar to the EHX Ravish Sitar or the Danelectro Sitar Swamp pedal. The Dirty Little Secret is a classic Catalinbread OD pedal, but the case you have is not a standard case. The control config does look like it could be a 'MKI/V1' rehoused. Shapeshifter is the name of a tremolo pedal by Seymour Duncan, and also intellijel/Cyclonix used that name for its VCO modulation pedal, neither of which are the pedal you have, so These are very possibly either clones made by 'one-off' builders, repackaging of other pedals or pure custom models.

I'm assuming you bought the amp used, right, since they only made the 100W AxSys 212 in '96-97. So think about the fact that these typically sell used for about $300 [oh sure, there are some who ask ridiciulous amounts, but they are all over the web at 3-350]. Think about he fact that Line 6 stopped making them after 2 years. Think about the fact that it was about a generation ago [a quarter century] when the amp was designed and built. Time for a new amp. Fixing these older solid state modeling amps is an involved process and rarely worth the expense. Cut the head out and keep the 2x12 cab and get a used Quilter head... Or save up for a Kemper...

it could be rare...