mistermikev

sorry, just saw your last post now.  while everything you said is accurate and I'm not in any way disagreeing... and although I have yet to try the series dummy... I've read there is a perceived (slight) volume increase due to the increased focus on highs - keeping in mind that this is a subjective possibility.   Ultimately, we'll see.  I'd be really happy with slightly less of a drop in vol compared to parallel... I suspect there is a good chance of that. 

Hello again... so flat tire this morning resulted in vacation day today... was going to do another demo so figured I'd toss up a vid of my current dummy pickup setup while there may (or may not) be some interest.  Hope you like it!

oh, also, although this is a ways off as my new neck is still 5weeks out and I have some 'work' to do on this one... I will eventually post some recordings for your and others' curiosity.

curtisa - thank you for what I can only guess is a 'mercy post' in that it didn't look like I would get a response!  I appreciate.

my original notes did have a hand drawn depiction of the pulls and throws much like you would find on a schematic.    this is really the diagram I will use to make sure I don't make mistakes at wire-up - so basically exactly what you said.  notes are attached.

afa dummy coils... I've been very happy with the results on another strat with the pickup placed right next to the neck pickup and wired in parallel to a pot.  parallel does cut the output a bit - sort of becomes a tone control with hum cancelling.  Def more mellow.  Some like, some don't.  The one thing it does GUARANTEED is cancel hum just like pos2 and 4.  Series should boost the output at the cost of some highs... I will probably do a no load tone pot to compensate. 

I hear ya on the 'keep it simple'.  My hope is this will be pretty straight fwd in modes 1 and 2 where it is essentially the typical 5 way setup but in series and with dummies to hum cancel in mode 2.  mode 3: well all I'll remember later is that pos1 is my pseudo tele option.  the rest is fluff. 

All very good points.  I may have to build a washer with label so I know what mode I'm in.  AFA performing... I just record a lot.  never play out any more.

I very much appreciate your thoughtful comments.

SuperstratWireUp.pdf

so... all comments ideas thoughts etc welcome.  I have a strat with a push/pull to do series vs parallel... love the sounds but can never remember what I'm using when I pull and go to series mode.  Building a new strat and wanted something that would ultimately be more straight fwd afa use.  Here's what I've come up with...

3 position mode switch: normal, series, tele/other

series mode will employ two dummy coils in the normally singe positions.  I've removed poles before and while it probably sounds more like a single, I don't think it sounds as good as simply leaving the poles in so my dummies will have polarity and phase.  pos 5 will be parallel...

tele/other mode is just kind of a 'leftover'.  Ultimately I wanted to get bridge + dummy with neck + dummy but I don't want to remove poles, not sure it'll be an improvement if I connect rev to rev wound dummy.  don't really want 3 dummy coils!  there is some redundency in this mode (4 and 5) so not sure if I'll revisit... but it's hard to do anything in mode 3 without adverse effects on modes 2 and 1 which I'm quite content with.  Any ideas here would be welcome... but my constraints are these controls. 

Ultimately I like the idea of a simple 5 way switch with series vs parallel modes that are similar and hence why I'm not going to use the strat deluxe s1 or nashville s1 scheme.

circuit is unverified at present, but I've been over it many times and will verify/update once I get to that point.

thanks for looking!

as an afterthought... this is a rear route strat so I've got plenty of control room space.  will mount my dummies there.  also, cap is missing from the master tone at bottom between tone lug 2 and vol lug 2.

UPDATE: so today I finally got around to reversing the wires on the dummy coils (D1/D2 above) in my superstrat.  apparently the chinese pickups I bought were different wind/polarity to my texas specials/seymour antiquity.  I can tell you the above drawing is absolutely verified (with respect to two things) - there is one 'mis-label' and that is on the drawing the "D1W" label should be "D1Y" to correspond to the notes above.  Also as mentioned the tone pot is missing the cap from lug1 to ground and lug 3 should not be grounded. 

This wireup gives you a standard strat with mode 1.  Mode2 is all hum canceling in series.  It is the perfect thing for going to a 'metal' or 'high gain' sound.  In M2 pos 1/3/5 the output is observed as the same but there is a small loss of highs.  M2 pos 2/4 more lows result in a perceived vol increase.  Mode3 is not hum canceling but has some really nice sounds - more output and great for both clean tones and bluesy as there is a lot more bass with 3 pickups on. 

I removed magnets/poles for the main wireup but did a 3rd dummy coil in parallel on a pot with poles left in tact - I don't think the poles/magnets made much of a difference.  Dialing in that parallel coil in M1 (compared to M2 pos1) results in quite a cut in output.  It really mellows out the single coils and is a nice sort of 'gain trimmer' while cancelling hum.

Verdict:

dummy coil in series - less output loss but some highs loss

dummy coils in parallel - more output loss but less loss in highs

at least that was my perception with these dummy coils on this guitar on the 33rd of june under a pale moon while drinking absynth.

what a nice figure you have... I mean your wood... err... very nice guitar!

wow, just wow.  very nice - full photo would be nice too.

seems like a lot of work... but a solution is a solution.  will do some searchin'.  thanks

i have no planer and no jointer and not even a table saw.  Just a router and some other stuff.  I do have experience cutting two pieces of solid surface to match using the front/back side of a router bit.  I've heard of others using that method to join two halves of a guitar body.

I'm going to go visit some local lumber yards but wanted to ask: what is the liklihood of finding wood that has been planed well?  Is this a recipe for disaster?  Should I just buy a body blank?  I'm confident I can make a joint that will work, but my whole plan would be caput if after that I was working on a surface that was less than flat.

very inspiring when I see some of these threads.  I admire your hand drawn layout.  You got nuts the size of cantelope to take on that as your first project!  that said you have a planer which means this is obviously not your first rodeo.  Good on ya.  Looks really great.  

I've got a lot of experience using a router in my younger days and have routed pickups and such... seeing 'first time' builds like this is encouraging.  I think I am going to do one... but a lot more conservative - just a body(thank you for your part in the inspiration).  

thank you gentlemen.  I will def update on how things go. 

i hear ya skyjerk.  spacing on this trem has a little forgiveness due to the second post riding on a wide blade, but the two studs not being parallel - yeah, could cause binding.  that'll be the biggest thing to look out for. trying to get my mind around some sort of jig that would lock into the trem cavity and allow the body to slid along a parallel plane.

anywho, thank you both, and everyone for all the comments.  great community!

handen't realized the site might actually tell me exactly what bit to use - good call.  they did.  still good info factoring in the hardness of the wood.  body is maple/alder so I guess that's medium hard.

today I realized that we actually have a drill press at work - right under my nose!  Apparently I need to get out of my office more.  I'll have to run it up the chain of command, as I am but a lowly code monkey, but I think I'm all set. 

thanks again for all the advice!

prostheta - many ways to skin a cat.  i think given my understanding of my skills, dremel is going to be best for me.  I have the router base and will use a board as a fence.  I think the skill and tools to clean up a hole are a hair out of reach for me at the moment.  I will take your advice on shopping around for an HSS set.  love your analogy and pun! 

at risk of hogging the forum 'bump pole position" on this topic... can you please comment regarding bit size for these studs?  I assume the bit size should be a hair smaller than the stud itself... but how much smaller?  stud is  .389 so what is your gut on the bit I should use .375, .354 or .39? my guess is .375.

just thought I'd share something in case someone can use it...

This is a very nice boost, small footprint, that can be mounted in a guitar.  the pcb is designed to mount on an alpha (pcb lugs) 100k push pull pot (you could mount it on a 2PDT + pot) that is easily aquired on the net(Fee Bay).   

NOTE: Since the orig circuit calls for a 5K rev log pot (impossible to find as a push pull) the layout shows a 4.7k resistor from lug 3 to lug 2 on the pot to bring its' value down to 4.4k.  This makes the pot feel a bit more touchy than the original but I found it acceptible.  Note that the pot will 'KRACKLE' when you turn it but that's "OK"!

also note that the .1 uf cap will sit between the push/pull part and the pot - on the board - I used a box cap and I don't think I even needed to bend it over to make it fit - your results may vary.

Hope you can find this usefull!

mlv_sho_push_pull.pdf

oh, yeah, forgot to say thanks regarding the 5 way switch.  good advice.

first off - you guys are great.  I'm really appreciating all the thought to my questions. 

side note: skyjerk - sorry for referring to you as working stiff - thought that was the name area!  (new here)

prostheta - got it... thanks for the explanation. 

I'm sold on the bit you and andyjr1515 recommended.  stew mac sells those and I've actually got to get a few odds and ends there anyway so... the only question is: looks like the stud size for babicz is .389 ... 3/8 aka .375 or 9mm aka .354 or 10mm aka .39?  reminds me - need to find a nice metric set of metal bits for my pedal building obsession! got a set of skill that are pretty nice for aluminum and have lasted a long time despite my lack of use of oil... but 80% of elec components are metric!

http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Types_of_Tools/Drill_Bits/Brad_Point_Drill_Bit_Sets.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=2018-01-gp&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzK6Hl7z72AIVgWh-Ch2FpAxnEAQYBSABEgJyDfD_BwE

afa nice place to store bits - every bit my grandfather owned was embedded in a piece of wood when not in use.  I follow that tradition.  Still, $25 at stew mac - I might as well buy the set.

thank you both again!

Andyjr1515 - thank you for the reply.  I knew there were had to be some people that had confidence in doing it without a press. 

recommendations for a bit brand? 

afa measurement here is what I planned - fasten neck, fasten tuners, temp install nut.  use a straight level set against either side of the neck to draw lines towards the bridge.  measure back from the 12th fret to find the same distance on either 'side line'.  that should give me a line parallel to the 12th fret at the front of the bridge,  find the distance to center of the left side post from the side line - use the same distance on the right side.  any advice welcome!

afa perpendicular - between you and prostheta you have me half convinced that a board is better than a drill guide.  I'm seriously influenced - thank you both for that. 

prostheta - thank you for the reply.

you just taught me that a pillar drill is another name for a drill press!  what did you mean by 'offering up the workpiece'? 

I hear ya on marking the work piece - Perhaps a better marking device is in order too.  (recommend?)

afa knowing your drill - when I was younger I worked at a place making nurse stations and other cabinets.  I must have drilled hundreds of thousands of 3/16 holes through 3/4 stock on edge to a depth of 1" without a guide and without breaking through.  It's not the same level of precision - but you just learn to 'use the force' to know when a drill is perp.  I've done the same thing making speaker cabs and such recently so... hopefully that will serve me well.

good tip on placing the guide wood at the chuck, line it up, then push it back down.

afa splinters... I figured I would mark the diameter of the hole and hit it with an exacto.  also put some masking tape... but with a new bit and - like you said - let the drill do the work - I think it should be ok. 

also last night I looked on craigslist for a used drill press.  I did find a craftsman and a skill in 12" in my price range.  I'm going to continue to think about it, but I might give in and go that route.

thank you again everyone for your responses - i do appreciate.  Helping me get it right in my head. 

curisa - not sure i'm up for the effort of a plywood guitar!  still interesting.  I see the corner idea... not sure that'd be as reliable as a drill guide though but it seems to work pretty good. 

I have read that the brad point would be the way to go and if I do end up doing - assuming there's no issue using them in a std drill - I will get a set.  I figured I could go really slow, freq backing out. 

on the bridge side... this type of bridge technically only requires absolute precision on the one hole (I realize it would be important to get the other hole right but not nec critical as the right side is a long wide knife edge).

I keep watching craigslist too... for a 12" drill press $150 or under... but then who knows how good the chuck/motor/work-rest would be.

thank you working stiff for your response.  I hear ya on the "I would not".  Not my first choice - I did call a local builder but was put off by the price.  I thought $120 was outrageous for drilling two holes.  I suppose they are taking the risk if it goes bad and that is mostly what you pay for. 

I will take your advice and call some other shops but I can't see paying more than 60-80 for it.  If I can get it done locally for that - believe me I'll do it.  Any opinions on how much a 2 pt bridge install should cost?  Perhaps I'm wrong and it's the going rate.

all that said... there have to be people who have done it with a hand drill no?  Assuming you have a decent hand drill, and you've got it lined up right, and you've got the guide clamped down... I suppose if there is any movement in the guide or the chuck... you end up screwing the whole thing or getting creative with wood splinters later.  Just thinking out loud here.

afa switch slot... yeah, I've got a dremel router base and would just clamp a chunk of wood for a fence.  Probably drill two start/stop holes first.  I have to go searching for a router bit smaller than 2.5mm. 

thanks again!  I do appreciate the feedback.

Hello all.

New here... my first impression of this site was literally thinking to myself "well winning build of the month here is on a whole-nutha-level."  Some really outstanding works of art here. 

Anywho, I'm building a new guitar - just building it from parts.  Hope it's ok to post re that.  I've got a flamed maple body to start and have 3 questions:

1) I've got to drill stud holes for a babicz 2 pt trem.  I have no drill press.  I would need a 14" and just not willing to spend more on a drill press than the body! 

$120 for local guitar builder to do it so... (not doing that) talk me out of it or encourage me on!  Have a cheap drill guide and clamps - it worked fine for 6pt trem... neck mount holes, etc.  advice?

as an alternative I do have a plunge router but I don't have confidence that I could do any better with that.

2) was thinking all natural for this body.  below pic is after damp cloth.  I've done true oil plus laquer before but true oil gets yellow... if I go nat I'd like it to be as "white" as possible but still show the grain. advice?  Is this body a good candidate for that finish? 

3) need to do a 5 way slot.  Pretty confident I know how but would be silly not to consider input.  I have a dremel bit that is approx 2.5mm.  It's a hair too big but it could work.  other ideas?  drill holes and use a coping saw?

other ideas on what you would do with this body?

thanks in advance for any comments/advice.