StratDudeDan

little less than an hour later, and i already feel like exploding...

sounds easy enough, until i actually try it...wonderful.

k, thank you! gonna do what i can, 'cause I want to be the one to make this work, and i refuse to give in and take it to the local repairman. it's my project. poo!

i would pay extra for a misprint...

k, i got the jacks and installed them, and now i'm having an issue with this thing i've never seen with an amp before...

i plug in the guitar, and turn on the amp. i strum the guitar. there is no sound. i get confused. open it up, check the solder joints (especially the ones i made), test the big caps and transistors, they work.

now, i know it's getting the signal through it. when i switch over to the drive channel and turn the gain way up, i hear a massive hissing (from the distortion) and very little of my guitar coming out the speakers.

i checked it with three different guitars, each with different pickup styles (single coils, humbuckers, actives), and different cables. stereo and mono (it's a stereo amp, so i didn't know if i could "trick" it).

what could be happening? how could i fix whatever could be happening or test to see if that's actually it?

thanks in advance!

k, one last question and then i should be set:

1k5?

i haven't seen this before. is this a 1.5k or 5w resistor or, well, i don't know?

EDIT- and where can i get one?

k, after speaking with the guy and doing a wee bit of research, the Fetzer wins over the FET.

new question, below are two differnt wiring options. which one would work out best.

main query is, in option A, would the "pickup volume" change anything about the sound or overall volume of the mod? is it worth my time?

main problem, i only have 2 pot spaces to work with without heavily altering the shape the guitar is in currently (i'm already finding room for the 9V, not interested in more), so i was gonna try and at least use the existing mounts and whatnot that i have.

k, how/where would i wire in either of those? is the fetzer supposed to replace the current volume/tone controls? is the FET booster nothing but an in-line booster? is there any way to make either of these switchable (i.e. an on/on that would cross between boost/non-boost?)?

thanks for the help so far, the guy liked the idea of having a "fender preamp" onboard, and i liked the simplicity of the FET circuit, so we're still hashing out what it's gonna be.

my current project is just a general volume boost inside a Squire SuperSonic, i'll post the link to the schematics soon.

problem: i don't know much about booster circuits. if i did, i would probably be trying to add one to my strat or SG sometime soon.

question: i found this fetzer valve and was wondering if this is what i'm looking for as an onboard switchable circuit for this thing.

i know a 9V pack would be needed, and the wiring for both that and the supersonic are very simple (two humbuckers, each w/ their own volume straight to a pup switch, no tone, no taps, no phase, nothing).

what i don't want: distorted or overdriven sound. i'm looking for a general volume boost. if some of the tone changes, i'm fine with that as long as it doesn't suck. i was gonna breadboard that before i actually installed it.

i also don't want to go into this project if i know in advance that it's not what i'm looking for. other than tone circuits or coil taps, this would probably end up being my most advanced electronics project for a while.

thanks in advance!

EDIT- the Supersonic's schem is found here.

and he's already found the edit button! awesome...i think he'll do fine here.

yes, i can indeed confirm that.

You can get a copy from Fender for 5 bucks - alternately, you can take a look at the schematic for the Ultimate Chorus over at the Mr Gearhead download Area. Opinions seem to be mixed as two whether or not these are different amps or different names for the same amp, but they should be similar enough to give you an idea of what's going on. Spare parts should be available from Fender. HTH.

the "ultimate chorus" was actually the ultra chorus i was looking for, and i found that after posting and continuing a search through fender for parts.

thanks anyway. i have the diagram as well as schematic, and i found a part dealer (fender doesn't carry those style jacks anymore oddly enough...) so it should be working once they come in.

i just dug up a 1992 Fender Ultra Chorus that had been sitting in my friend's shed since about '92...

i'm looking for any and all information on this. i've looked several places already, however, and can't find much.

google: check

my two main sources of amp electronincs online: check

music store: check

search button: check

if anyone has some sort of info, awesome. i love you.

what i'm looking for mostly are wiring diagrams (there are lots of things coming off this amp and i'd like to know where they go) and schematics (so i can give this things a once-over to make sure its working right).

also, if you know of any places that would carry spare parts for this (mainly jacks), awesome. send 'em my way. i need 2 stereo input jacks, but the normal J11 style won't work. these are all mounted directly to the PC board.

thanks in advance!

my string choise is D'Addario for everything but acoustic.

on my strat(s), i use XL 10-46, 11-50 once the school semester starts and i'm in jazz band.

bass, 1/2 rounds, 45-100 or 45-105 if i can find 'em. used to use Slowwounds, but after i tried out the semi-flats, i loved them more than any other string i've played.

acoustic, Elixor poly-web. nothing has ever lasted as long as these things. year and a half straight, woulda been longer, but a string broke. still sounded awesome. best part was when i put the new strings on, the guitar sounded exactly the same as before. loved it.

You know your a guitar dork when you cry when you have to be without your guitar for a week.

that's not funny...

good friend of mine has a '78 jetglo 4001 that he found in his church attic and bought from them for $150. i thought that was a little weird, considering how much he stole from the church on that deal...

anywho, plays wonderfully. i've never been a fan of clear-coat on fingerboards, but the low radius somehow makes up for it, or at least something does, 'cause it actually does feel rather nice. sound is a little too bright for my taste (i like the very low, warm, crunch of a musicman over the pop of the vintage stuff), but still a great instrument. i would buy an older one if i found it and could afford it.

I'm green, but I noticed a few other things are green too...

SCREENSHOT

they're black for me...

i see a duck or a goose w/ a fro...wait...there's the moose. okay.

i like the duck more...

k, ima get started on this tomorrow, then. please close the thread. i was only wondering what people thought about it.

or, better yet, you could keep the thread open, then other people could get ideas for tuts they've been thinking of, so we can almost organize what goes into PG? dunno, just an idea.

or he could switch string types. i had a set of elixor poly-webs on my acoustic for over a year and a half, and they still felt and sounded incredible. they would most likely still be on (4 months later) if one of them hadn't snapped.

there are also the "black" strings that are supposed to be rather corrosion resistant.

however, these strings are slightly expensive (poly-webs for acoustic are $24 sometimes at the store i get 'em from...), and you can always avoid corrision with simple care-taking techniques like everyone else said.

well, looked into that wraparound bridge style a bit more, and found this. Gotoh 510. a little over what i was expecting to spend, i'm just gonna take it like a man and go for it, though.

EDIT- but now...i found this... man...decisions...

i was gonna start doing making a pictoral tutorial on the "pattern" staining i did on my dragon strat. i was wondering two things:

a. is anyone interested in this? it's basically just how to get clean lines while using stain so there's no bleed. most advanced guys probably know this already, but it might be helpful for someone.

b. is this already common-place knowledge enough? or are there people out there that have wondered "how could i get this stain to not bleed so i can do smaller graphic patterns?"

but yeah, before i get started on this, i'd like to know if there'd be some interest in this, or if it's "too simple" of an idea ending up being a waste of my time an a thread on PG?

not to say i don't kinda want to do it, i just don't really want to post something and then have people saying to me, "well, thanks, but i already knew that guitars had strings," or the knowledgable equivalent.

Are those staples on the center joint?

no. those are pencil marks. i lined up the two pieces before gluing, then put those lines across so i would be able to line it up and make sure the bodies were even before the glue dried. kinda an idea i came up with on my own, and i figured, well, once i sand, those will basically be gone, and there's gonna be a neck sitting on top of it anyway, so what's the harm?

You should check out the Leo Quan bridges, I bought mine from Brian for a good price. It's one of the best bridges that's an all in one wraparound. I'm gonna use it on my next guitar.

pretty, but WAY out of my pricerange.

think broke college kid budget here...'cause well...that's what it is...

look at prs's. the single bar on top of the guitar is a wraparound bridge. very unobtrusive.

i might just enjoy that. do you know of anywhere that sells them for less than $20? that's how much the bridge/ferrules will run me, and i'm kinda going for cheapest over style right now...

this is an exceptionally deep poll for what it's worth...

musician. if i do nothing else but entertain people doing something i love, i couldn't be happier. granted, that would mean i'm dead next year, but thinking about it, if i were able to have defined a "new era" in bass playing, my life would be exceptionally beyond satisfactory.