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TomN

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Everything posted by TomN

  1. That would work exactly as described with the controls you have. Just don't expect to be doing much pickup changing during a song. I wouldn't expect much "On the fly" switching. for the most part you will have to set you pickup setting before the song starts and hope it works for the whole song. Because changing mid song will be a switch fumbling nightmare and by the time you get the switches changed for the part you need to play, that part will be over and you'll need to go back to the other switch setting. Meanwhile, you will be stuck somewhere in the middle. So yeah it can be done. You just really need to decide if it's worth it. Plus while all those settings are different, you need to consider that some will sound very, very similar with only a slight tone change. So while you have every possible parallel configuration, you may have some that you don't really need. I would seriously consider scaling down the concept. Use a 5 Way Strat switch, a mini toggle for coil splitting so easier to do on the fly. And a Bridge on switch or blend pot so you can get the Bridge & Neck tones. As well as All 3 Pickups tone. That will give you most of what you want and a much easier way of getting from one to the other. I think you will be much happier in the end. So your controls would be: 5 Way switch Master Volume Toggle one - for coil splitting Neck Neck Tone Toggle two - for coil splitting bridge Bridge tone - Push Pull Pot to add bridge & Neck tones. Could go on any pot. If it were me, I would actually put the bridge coil split on the Push Pull Pot because thats the harder switch to activate live and for me, changing the bridge to single coil would be the least used settting. Then change Toggle Two to the Bridge On function for Bridge & Neck combos. 5 Way switching would be stock Strat style 5 way. This will actualy give you just about every, if not all the settings you listed, with just a much easier switching method.
  2. Can you post a drawing of how the greasebucket tone pot is wired showing which components are where and their values if you know them? Thanks Tom
  3. I also wanted to add that normally with a two humbucker guitar the screw pole peice coil for each pickup is usually on the outside. Regardless of where this puts the wire. Many neck pickups, orientated with the screw pole peice on the outside, or neck side, puts the wire in the upper outside corner of the pickup, making it furthest away as possible from where it is to be wired. on new pickup there is usually enough wire so this isn't a problem. The reason it matters is because the Screw pole coil is generally considered the "primary coil" and in some cases a little hotter than the second coil. Also this coil has the screw poles which are adjustable. Most people don't do it. But technically you should asjust these pole peices like the poles on a staggered Strat single coil to give you the best string balance. And when the pickup is coil split by connect the two union wires to ground, that screw pole coil is the active coil. So it's designed to be in the location to give you the best single coil tone. And staggering the pole peices will give you an even better single coil tone. If you use a neck version pickup in the bridge location, I would mount it the conventional bridge way with the screw pole peices cloest to the bridge. Regardless of where this puts the wire.
  4. Simply flipping the two wires on the middle pickup of a Strat will not make it humcanceling with the neck and bridge. What it will do is make it out of phase with the Neck and Bridge, meaning you will have a really thin, weak and nasally sound in positions 2 and 4 and still the normal amount of hum. In order for the 2 and 4 positions to be humcanceling the middle pickup on a Strat needs to have a reversed wound coil and a reversed polarity magent from the Bridge and Neck. Most modern sets come with this RWRP middle pickup to get humcanceling in 2 & 4. I should also say that although it's humbucking, the coils are still connected in Parallel, so it's not nearly as hot as a conventional humbucker which has both it's coils connected in series. You can do custom wiring to connect the middle and neck, or bridge and middle in series and with a RWRP middle this will give you a sound very similar to a full size humbucker. But it will have some quack to it, due to the spacing. the Middle & neck however, because they are closer and parallel sound especially thick and warm and will give you a very thick sustaining tone, ALA Santana.
  5. You're going to have to have the body routered. Which it doesn't sound like you are equipped for. You need the proper router and a template. Then you will need a really long drill bit to make a channel for the pickup wire to go through to get to the rest of the wiring. Adding the pots won't be too much of a problem, all you will need to do is drill a 3/8" hole in the location you want the pot. However, You need to be sure there is enough room in the electronics control cavity to accept 2-3 new pots. Also, the easiest thing would be to add a Les Paul style 3 way, because that's just a round hole. But where you put it could be the issue. It's probably not going to fit in the control cavity area with the new pots. So it will need to be off to the side somewhere. and you will need that long drill bit again for the wire. Also it's a neck through, which of course makes it all even harder. Because it's going to be hard to have a flat working area for the routering of the neck pickup. You will need to shim up all the areas around the neck pickup area so the router has a flat working area. The shims will need to be as thick as the neck is high off the body. And of course protect the whole guitar with heavy duty Paper and plastic and tape. compeletely remove all the hardware and everything else that you can. Bottom line. This would be a huge job. A tech would charge a lot of money to do it. There is no reason it could not be done. But just understand you are getting into a major undertaking. You can do it yourself. Why not, everyone has to start somewhere. But you are going to need a bunch of tools and I would practice routering on some scrap first. You can do it, but make no mistake it's a big job. And a made more difficult by the neck through. Normally you would drill from the neck pocket straight into the bridge pickup cavity for the neck pickup wire. But you are going to need to drill through the neck pickup cavity diagonally through the body to the control cavity. You need to be careful here so the drill bit is on the right path and doesn't pop out early. Do you have a photo of the back showing how big the control cavity is? If the control cavity isn't big enough as is for 3 new pots. You will need to enlarge it and make a new cover outof single ply pickguard material. In fact, I would probably recommend enlarging the control cavity (if needed) so it's big enough for the new pots and the 3 way switch. So all your controls and wiring is on one area. That would be the smart thing to do. If you have to, I would consider scaling down to a Master Volume and Master tone so you can fit the 3 way switch in there as well. That will save you a real lot of work. I mean a really lot. I highly recommend that. Adding the 3 way toggle will require a large hole in the back, with a cover made or purchased. That hole will need to be routered all the way until it's about 5/16ths from the top of the body. Then in the center of this hole. Which is about 2 inches, you need to drill the hole for the 3 way switch about 5/8" I think. Then you need a channel for the wire from that hole to the control cavity. That's why it would be best if you could fit it in with the pots. Adding to the existing control area would avoid a whole new area from having to be routered and given access to for wiring. And all this needs to be done without marring the finish. When you drill the round holes for the pots and switch. I suggest using what is called a Unibit not just a drill bit. A drill bit will chip the finish and ruin it. A unibit will drill a nice smooth round hole without marring or chipping the finish.
  6. They aren't Dimarzio and the Dimarzio color code won't work. One looks to have 2 wires with shield. Obviously the two wires are signal hot and signal ground. And the shield is the RF ground. The other is too blurry for me to tell how many conductors it has. But if it has 4 conductors plus a shield. check and see if two of the wires are already connected together. If they are, leave them and protect the connection. Those would be used to coil split the pickup if you wanted. Otherwise just leave them connected together and to nothing else. The other two colors would be signal hot and signal ground and the shield would be RF Ground. You can connect each pickup with either color for Signal Hot or for Signal ground to hot or ground. If after you do that, they sound out of phase. Meaning thin and weak when used together, reverse the signal wires on one of the pickups and you will be all set.
  7. I think all the common ends of the caps should be going to ground not hot and the main lug to the hot. Well, actually it should work either way.
  8. Try www.guitarelectronics.com as well. They will have kits that inlcude all the parts you need for a Dual humbucker setup with standard switching. It will include all the pots, switches and some wire as well. And it will also come with a schematic of how to solder it all up. In addition to that you need the tools. Soldering Iron - 25-40 Watts Wire strippers Wire nippers Small pointy needle nose One of those "Helping Hands" things. The deal with two aligator clip arms and the magnifying glass. I take the glass off and the two arms come in really handy. A hemostat will come in handy as well. Solder 60/40 .032" diameter. That will get you started. You can get all the tools at a Radio Shack.
  9. Is it possible to leave a link to the tutorial? Or is that against the rules? I didn't know these tutorials existed and don't know where they are. I suppose if I knew there was a tutorial I might have looked there first. But then again, I might just start a thread instead to see if it bugged anyone. That's my big plan.
  10. Okay, I have a few necks I need/want to add some decals to. Some Fender decals (Yes I'm vain) and some custom ones. But I have never done this and I am looking for the proper start to finish technique for a neck that is already finished and has a decal on it. I have heard that you don't sand down to the bare wood. But I don't know. I also need to know the easiest, recommended way to spray over it after it's on. How long do I wait. Will it wrinkle if I use the wrong kind of finish, any other concerns I should be aware of? I would also like to add a little tint to the final color of the finish. And finally, does anyone know how to make or where to get a custom decal? I could cut it if I could get a blank sheet.
  11. Yeah, I absolutely don't have a lot of woodworking experience. But doing things like this are how I plan to get it. You can't get experience without trying. And this isn't a high priced neck or anything special. So if I screw anything up, it won't matter and I won't be out any money or out a neck that is hard to replace. that's why I plan to use this one. I really like V profiles, which is actually what I am going for. Those are what are hard to find with 22 frets. So I will probably stick with reshaping it from a Fat C to a V like I prefer. Thanks for the advice. Tom
  12. I really like having 22 Fret Necks and I have been having a hard time finding one in the profile I like. I found a great neck with an Ebony Fretboard and a compound radius fretboard that feels great on the fret board. Nice Frets, Nice everything except it's as thick as a Louisville Slugger. Ala an older Jeff Beck signature neck. I would like to remove some wood off the back of the neck to thin it out. Nothing radical, not as far as an Ibanez or anything like that. But a nice comfortable feel. A Small amount should make a pretty big difference. So I just need to know if this is commonly done or just not recommended. Although I will probably try it anyway. I have a 62' reissue neck that I love. That's my target profile. So what would be the best way to evenly remove the excess wood (being careful of the truss rod of course, I don't plan to go that far). Should I sand it, or use some kind of wood plane? I will also need help spraying it once it I get to that. But I will make that a seperate topic if I can't find any threads on it already. Thanks in advance for your help. Tom
  13. Do we talk amps here? I just joined and didn't see an Amp section, I know it's project "Guitar" but I need some help. Just plugged in a used Marshall DSL401 that I purchased and I am having a couple of issues. I wanted to know if they were major or if it just needed some new tubes and general service. The first thing of note is it's noisey. With my guitar volume all the way down, or even unplugged, I hear a real lot of swooshing sound in the background that gets worse when I increase the volume. (Power amp Tube?, Biasing? ???) I know it's a Marshall, but the clean sound is really thin and has no low end at all. Hitting lower notes just farts. Could this be related to the first problem, or is there maybe a bad speaker as well? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I knew the amp might need to be serviced so I am just trying to pin down exactly what I need to do. Because I will probably learn how to do it myself on this amp. It's okay to just poke around in there with a screwdriver right? Any links or sources of Tube amp service and diagnostics would be appreciated as well. I'll check on my own as well of course. But if someone knows a good place to point me that would be great.
  14. What is the recommended process for removing a nut from a traditional Strat neck? Can it be done without damaging the nut to just shave it down a little, or do you need to replace and make a whole new nut?
  15. You going to run into some weirdness with the 3 seperate volumes, depending on what your expectations are. But when you are in a setting that uses two pickups, both their volumes will act as a master volume. I'm not sure if that's what you want or not.
  16. Stranded is much better to use. While Solid will technically work, it is more prone to bending and breaking. Stranded is much easier to work with and more reliable to a guitar application.
  17. I have a stange question. Where did you get that drawing of that 5 Way? Not that it's any kind of problem, but it would be weird. It looks exactly like a drawing a did. I know all Strat 5 ways look alike, but this is uncanny.
  18. Hi everyone, Just joined. Have been frequenting many more general guitar forums, but really wanted to join one geared more towards guitar projects. I have been doing guitar electronics for 20 years, but I am just starting to venture out into the more wooded side of things and fret work etc. And this seemed to be the place. Well, just wanted to say hi. Tom
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