retro_10s

Meh this is just masking a problem. Practice and it will come.

I think as far as damaging the Pot, just be as quick as you can with the heat.. but Pots aren't as fragile as they used to be... when i did my first re-pot last year and new nothing I must've held my 40w iron on a dimarzio pot for a good 10sec and it still worked fine when plugged in etc no probs.

The body shape really matches up with the Inlay on the fret board... looks like part of a tree or something! Crazy... Love it! nicely themed.

Ooooh more new bits:

6 terminal DPDT switch for the above circuit and some Proper Wilkinson Waxed cloth insulated wire, Yellow for Live, Black for earth.

Also started the new Wiring loom today but need to Get another two pots before I can really get something resembling a Guitar Circuit.

**Edit, have just ordered Two new Alpha audio 500k Pots, The two new ones I wired up today were also Alpha Audio, I like to use matching Pots, think it's looks better too.

Nice one.... I was just trying to do some soldering and i couldn't get the stuff to stick to the back of the volume pot, I'm using a 40w iron and the stuff wouldn't melt. Anyway, I've cleaned up the tip and it was better but then I saw this about surface prep.

I just used some White spirit (Mineral spirits to the Americans) to clean the surfaces AND the solder too.

worked great, much better.

Iv'e put a post up in the Wiring section asking if anyone could double check this diagram i've drawn up will work. but here it is anyway.... see any probs that i can't?

Ok, I've read up a lot but still don't feel I 'know' exactly what's happening: could some one confirm this wiring diagram I've drawn up please?

This pickup Is wired as a Duncan whereby Red and white are paired.

would this work??????

The only other thing confusing me is that on my pickup, the black wire is soldered at the end to the core,..... would this mean that the black is actually the ground and not the green or... am i getting confused... does it even matter which wire (green or black) i use as the ground as it will still be a complete circuit? arrrgh.

Better pics as promised of the home made P90 surround. Have also mocked up the Quad rail though it's not attatched.

And another:

It's a soapbar P90. They don't require frames. Indeed, a frame around a soapbar pickup would just be cosmetic.

Like the one I just made hehe,... neck soapbars rule!!!

Yep, with you on that one, the single coil looks good in that frame, neat mod. Mike, I am thinking that neck pup is going to sound warm and chunky, have you plugged it in yet?

Cheers, I know it's just a piece of plastic but hey... it's little things like this that give you the feel of accomplishment, and fiddly things like this are great when they work! Regarding the P90 yes I believe it should be quite a Warm and chunky sound, I'm hoping with a bit of Tone control I can get quite a woody tone from it, But yes, the reason I wanted a P90 on the neck is for that 'wall of sound and probably mud too '

If it answers any of your questions, GuitarFetish makes a P90 in the shape of a humbucker.

They name it the Mean-90 i think

Cheers for the info matey. However I love the look of the soapbar P90 on an LP... which is why i went to the length of getting it to fit and building a surround for it.

Cheers Greg! I think it's pretty neat (i'll get a proper Picture up tomorrow) and when it's in view with the rest of the guitar you still get the long, skinny look of the soapbar. Though If I see another sheet of sandpaper again it'll be too soon

No, there are no pickup rings that will suspend a P90 in a humbucker rout. Just look at the thing, do you see any ears sticking out the sides like a humbucker?

Yes I'm well aware that the customary 'Dog ear' type P90 Mounting wouldn't suffice and I'm also able to see that the P-90 will not mount in the Humbucker Ring.

Probably due to my posting you've misunderstood what i'm trying to do

I'm not trying to 'mount' the P90 using the Humbucker ring i.e. screwing it down with the two spring loaded adjusters. I'm simply trying to cover up the gaps I showed on an earlier picture using a 'dummy' ring made from a basterdised Humbucker ring;)

In any case... all this is now immaterial... In the time it's taken form my last post on here till this one i've built a dummmy ring out of scratchplate material and I'm VERY pleased with it. I'd go as far to say I think it even looks like it's meant to be there

sorry about the crappy lo-res pics... in a rush to pack everything away now.

surround made:

Surround fitted:

Cool,.... Ok so... the final spec will be the Quad rail on the bridge with a Tap to turn it into a Normal humbucker. (i figure If i need lead parts this will be great as It will give me back some high end clarity... but for rhythm and shredding... well... turn that Quad on!) and P90 in the neck...

Not so sure about this P90 now... I liked the way it looked against the guitar..but now with those gaps it looks crappy! if I can find a way of Covering those gaps I'll stick with it. Hmm not sure. I do have some scratchplate material: I could butcher up a std H/bucker surround and glue some other pieces in the filler it and paint it up gloss black...

Does anyone make and sell P90 soapbar surrounds that are essentially modified std Humbucker surrounds?

I've cut the guitar for the Soapbar and it fits... but now i want to fill the gaps at the top and bottom...... easiest solution is to cover them over with some sort of hybrid surround unless there's something already on the market?

Here's a pic of what i mean:

Can you help me guys... I've been looking at wires and wiring diagrams for an hour now and i'm beginning to get confused ...

Is it possible to have a 6 terminal On/On switch perform the following function:

In one position the whole Quad rail Humbucker is powered and working.

In the other position Only the bottom two rails are on.

or do I need an On/Off switch? argh... wires... why do they head my make hurt so much

Ok I've done some research... I believe my bucker is wired as per a Seymour duncan. the red and white wires are a pair and the black and green are a pair. My reasoning behind this is that the red and white are already soldered together at the tips.

If this is so.... would this wiring diagram work for a coil split with the 6teminal On/On switch I've bought?

Looking at the SEYMOUR DUNCAN example.

but what about the woods? is the guitar built with solid woods? maybe plywood on the body.

The top is almost certainly veneered plywood bent over a block of wood under the bridge and glued down at the edges to look like a carved top. You can see the plywood rising away from the body base in the shot inside the control cavity.

What brand is the humbucker? Some good info on circuits phase switches etc at http://mediawebsource.com/guitar/pickup.htm

I believe you maybe right... I 've just been looking at the top from the inside of the guitar and It looks like ply with veneer,... at least I think it does, I can't physically see where the ply stops and veneer starts so I guess it's super thin and rather cheap lol. Would suit the rest of the guitar then

I've just changed an order I placed for parts, instead of getting crap Wire, I've decided to this properly

Ordered 40" (to allow for errors) of Wilkinson Hook up wire, yellow and black stuff.

Also orderd a 6 terminal On/On switch for Coil switching,... is this right?

Mike.

I played through a Vtronix 50/60w (think it was 50) and my god... stunning amp, excellent piece of kit. I have the 30 and it's a loud little amp! stood up to a Drum kit, two other rhythm players, 3 singers and a hall full of screaming girls very well!... could easily here me shredding

Over here in the UK the 'Earlex' brand of Electric sprayers are the ONLY electric sprayers worth looking at, theyr'e fuggin good, I sprayed a mates car with one and was very impressed.

I really do like the look of that guitar... Need to sort out the Head stock though... what about kind of making it into a Leaf shape, similar to some of the Vintage guitars.

Looks like a Kramer Quad-Rails humbucker to me, though they usually had "Quad Rails" stamped right on it. There should be specs on the internet somewhere, which might still prove useful even if it's just a clone.

I belive it's a clone of the Kramer. But having said that... It could be a clone of any old Quad rail.

Regarding the shielding-- yes, it has to be gapless and continuous to be truly effective.

Excellent, this is how I've built it so glad i'm doing that right.

Back to the 'bucker. When you say you want to "split the coils" do you mean reduce down to a single humbucker, or all the way down to a single-coil? Those quad-style buckers always seemed so... "wrong" to me. <chuckle>

Aha.... I see what you mean, I'd never thought of it that way, yes it does have four rails doesn't it... Personally I'd quite like to be able to Have a coil split switch that Will leave me with the bottom two rails on... like a single coil on the bridge, But becuase there are two rails... would this act like a bucker in the space of a single?... confused!

is the guitar built with solid woods? maybe plywood on the body

Oddly, considering the quality of the rest of the guitar, (which was poor) the Top is maple and the rest seems to be spruce but it's really been butchered into shape..... edit that... just been mentioned maybe it is ply... hmm..

Wow, that's a really high DC resistance. Are you sure you're measuring it right?

I haven't measured the Bucker myself but those are the specs it came with... I think I'll get my multimeter out later and explore. As long as it's loud what DC resistance should I be looking at getting? what does a high readout mean?

shexy!!!!

Got some specs of this Humbucker to help me work out how to wire it in with a Coil split switch.

green - 23Kohms.

Red/white - 11.5Kohms,

Black/open - earth.

Inductance is 8.23 Henries.

What does all this mean?

Could someone help me please...

Vox Valvetronix 30watt, loud enough to gig and some really good sounds.