el pucho

Thanks for all the help, I think I've found the problem. I very stupidly hadn't realised the braided core of the PUP wire was connected to the baseplate (4 wire PUPS). In my defence I wired the guitar quite a while ago when I had even less knowledge than I have now (Which isn't much). Thanks again for your help, I appreciate it.

Thanks for the reply, I checked and the covers are soldered to the base plate (I also checked continuity using a DMM between the covers and bottom plate, and the is no continuity). Perhaps the problem is due to the baseplate not being grounded? I'm not entirely sure of the best way to ground it, if anyone has any views I'd appreciate the help. Thanks

Hi, I have a few more dumb questions I have noticed when playing my Les Paul with a metal slide that I get a crackling sound from the amp, the guitar seems fine at all other times, it only crackles when I use a metal slide. I assumed this was some kind of grounding problem so I checked using a DMM and it turns out the covers on my pickups (metal cover over humbuckers) aren't connected to ground, everything else seems to be connected to ground (bridge, strings etc). So I was wondering should the covers be connected to ground, and is this likely to cure this problem, and also what is the easiest way to make the connection if it's needed. Thanks

Hi everyone, I have carried out the T-riffic mod, using a double wafer switch, I seen on Guitarnuts using a set of GFS pickups (Front PUP is RW/RP). http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/triffic/index.php It sounds great and seemed to work fine, with one tiny exception. My selector switch seems to be out of synch with the description. On the site it says the switch should work as follows. Position 1 - Neck, Pos 2 - Neck & Bridge out of phase, Pos 3 - N & B in parallel, Pos 4 N & B in series, Pos 5 - Bridge. On my guitar positions 1 & 5 are as expected, but my position 2 is N & B in parallel, position 3 is N & B in series and position 4 N & B out of phase. I don't think it affects the sound, at least I hope not, but I was just wondering if anyone could tell me why this is, is it because the front PUP I have is RW/RP? The 2nd part of my question is related to the first, I bought a Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue bridge pickup to try in the guitar and have had problems getting it to sound well with the GFS neck pickup, as far as I can see this is down to the way polarity and winding directions of the pickups. So I decided to buy a Seymour Duncan neck PUP to try with the JD bridge, will buying a RW/RP pickup (or not) affect the T-riffic mod? Thanks for your time, and i hope that made sense!

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes the pot is turned all the way to maximum, but there is no continuity between the centre lug and either of the outer lugs. Looking like a dodgy pot?

Hi guys, Hopefully a quick and easy question that someone can answer. I just bouth a couple of 250k pots and I was checking them out before I attempt the T-riffic wiring. They both check in around 250ohms, which is great, but I notice on 1 pot I get a continuity check (the multimeter bleeps) between two of the lugs, but on the other there is no continuity check between any of the lugs. Does this mean one of the pots isn't working properly? I just wanted to double check all the parts were working before I started (I spend forever trying to track down a fault before, and it turned out to be a dodgy pot! doh!!) Thanks for the help

Thanks for the input, and the pic...That looks a nice finish, I'd be happy if mine turned out as good. I'll give one of those methods a go, and let you know how I get on with it, if it looks good enough I may even post some pics. One last thing...Would a 500ml tin of oil be enough to finish a Tele type body?

I've decided to go for an oiled, "raw" finish (Grain not filled). Does anyone have any views on the best way to do this, I have read a lot of differing opinions, wet sanding between coats, buffing with steel wool between coats, using undiluted or diluted oil etc. Oh, I'll be using Danish Oil on Swamp Ash if that makes any difference. Thanks for all the input and help.

That would be a great help if I could see a picture, or two. Thanks frodemo

Thanks for the help Mattia, I did wonder wether using oil as a finish would work with grain filler or epoxy, that's why I thought the oil slurry would be the best option. Most of the advice I've read has mentioned filling the grain on Swamp Ash, I hadn't even considered not filling the grain. I haven't seen how it would look not filled, but just oiled, if anyone has any pics I'd like to see the end result. Cheers

I’m looking for a cheap and easy way to achieve a natural finish on a swamp ash telecaster body. I’ve decided to use Danish oil as the final finish on the guitar, as it seems relatively easy to apply, and is pretty cheap, so the only real help I need is with the grain filling (I think…hehe). As far as I can see the options for grain filling are using epoxy resin, grain filler or wet sanding Danish oil into the wood. What’s confusing me is which one of these options would be “best” for what I’m intending to do. To be honest I liked the sound of wet sanding the oil into the wood, but I have no idea if this is more, or less difficult than the other methods. As you may have guessed I’m new to all this. Thanks everyone.

Thanks for all the input again guys. I'm going to try out some of Jim Wagners humbuckers, they seem to get excellent reviews wherever I look. Now all I need to do is decide on what set to get, and what ones, if any, are "better" for splitting. I'll try the uncovered ones as it saves some cash, and it's easier to add covers than it is to remove them if I ever choose to cover them (I prefer the look of covered ones). No doubt I'll be posting again soon when I get lost in a mess od wires attempting to re-wire the guitar.

I meant to ask about coil splitting with humbuckers too. Are some pickups "better sounding"" than others when it comes to splitting? And I still haven't decided wether to have them covered or not, I do prefer the look of covered humbuckers, but does that muffle the sound a little? Thanks for helping me out, I think the more I learn about this stuff, the less I know!

Hi, I'm in the process of upgrading my Les Paul Standard to include a Jimmy Page type mod, and I need to replace my pickups, as the stock Gibsons are the one wire connection, and I need 4. I know this is almost impossible to answer, but I'll ask anyway After looking around for reviews I originally decided on one of Jim Wagners sets (Darkbuster, or Crossroads), but I also see that Lindy Fralins PAF gets excellent reviews too. As I'm spending what is a small fortune to me, i thought it wise to do as much homework as possible before committing to anything. So, if anyone has used either of these pickups, or even another set that would suit my needs I'd be very glad to hear your opinion. And also, I've yet to decide wether or not to have covers fitted, again...any views? Thanks. PS - I'm basically looking for that classic Les paul tone (who isn't) Page, early Clapton, Paul Kossof etc.

I think opening the PUPs and attempting to rewire is out of my depth, I really don't want to end up damaging them. As I'm sure you all guessed I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to all this. So I'll have to decide whether to utilise the two wire setup as best I can, or invest in a new set of humbuckers, although I do like the ones I have, even if I'm not entirely sure what they are, just the stock Gibson PAF's I think, I've never changed them. If anyone has any ideas about how best to utilise the PUPs I have, feel free to help out. Thanks again, this advice is invaluable to someone with little experience in guitar electronics.