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ottovola

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Everything posted by ottovola

  1. A couple more combos to try: .001 Cap (102J) to TL218R Coil .01 Cap (100ICG) to TL218R Coil I just reassembled the Ibanez I installed one of these 12 position switches in I mentioned earlier- & these are the 2 settings I'm using the most for rhythm sounds. Try it with the guitar volume rolled down, suddenly the harmonics just pop out- very sweet. This only works for the lower strings, top 3 will sound dead- so good for metal rhythm sounds. Of course, this is my experience with a 7 string using lots of distortion! So really could be different on a 6 string. Cheers.
  2. HOTSTUFF HOTSTUFF 7 String 'Materials Finish' Hot Rod Flames 'Fire Girls' project. This was a stock Ibanez RG-7321 7 string; basswood body, 5 piece bolt-on neck, jumbo frets, axis seven pickups. Fun guitar to play- great sound, nice action, but very boring looking in all black.RG-7321 Taking inspiration from Brian Calvert's "Materials Finish" tutorial on this website- Thanks, Brian!- this is what I came up with: A couple of interesting features: Pickup covers: These I made from thin sheet metal, covered with same fabric. These are easily removable (they stick by magnetism only), & I usually remove the bridge cover when playing. So they are mostly for show- sounds very different with them on, somewhat muted & somewhat of a midrangey sound. Custom Tone Circuit: I was thinking about calling this the omnipotone, as it's a variation on the varitone I pieced together. Way over the top. It is a 12 position rotary switch using three inductor coils and 9 capacitors. Lots of choices! Being my first attempt at this, I had many setbacks and problems. It was all done by brush and spray can. I wanted to find a glue that would work to stick the fabric to the guitar without removing the finish- I tested everything I could get my hands on, 8-10 different adhesives. The ONLY one that works is Artstuf Label & Foil adhesive. More pictures of the process can be found here:Hotstuff Cheers!
  3. REANTAL & posters- Lots of great ideas here, I'd like to add mine: In case anyone is into trying out a cap/coil switching tone control, here's the info. I'll describe the process, and then provide a parts list. First off, I have to say that I went a little overboard with my switch, I think I mostly use 4-5 settings out of the 12, and you could most likely do well with only one coil. Also, a disclaimer- I am not technically adept, just a tinkerer- I can't explain the science here nor guarantee my accuracy. This thing is pretty fun- I get bored pretty quickly, especially when practicing- a change in tone is awesome. Couldn't figure out how to post pictures, so if you'd like to see it, try here: Tone Circuit Pics 1) Looking at the coil (inductor), it has 6 wire leads. You only need 2. One side of the coil has a 'P' imprinted on it- I believe this is for primary. Turn the coil so the 'P' side is facing you. Snip off the other 3 leads from the other side. Then snip off the middle lead, leaving one to the left of the 'P', and one to the right of the 'P'. It took me forever to figure this out with trial and error! 2) Solder your caps to the left coil wire lead. The other coil lead should go to ground. Experiment a little (different coils/cap values) to find your favorite tones- there are a multitude of possibilities. (the other end of the caps should be your hot wire) 3) If using a rotary switch,(these can differ) connect the hot to the center terminal. Connect the caps in desired order to the outer terminals. Connect the coil right wire lead to one of the terminals. Connect the ground to this terminal, as well as one end of any caps you don't use with a coil. (now one position is an off switch- very fun for playing tricks on your friends). Leave one outer terminal unconnected (or break it off) to be your bypass setting. My 5 favorite settings : Off (ground), .22 cap to TL-021R coil, .22 cap to TL218-R (this is the dogmeat setting I mentioned in another post- It actually is pretty cool it sounds fat like an old fender amp sound), .047 cap to TL012-R coil, & .0033 cap to ground (best straight cap-cool midrange sound) Parts list from Mouser.com: 1 x switch # 105-SR2511F-12S 1 x coil # 42TL012-R 1 x coil # 42TL021-R 1 x coil # 42TL21-RC 3 x cap # C320C224M5V5TA (.22mf) 2 x cap # 140-100Z9-473Z-RC (.047mf) 2 x cap # 140-50S9-102J-RC (.001mf) 1 x cap# 140-100Z5-223Z-C (.022mf) 1 x cap I bought from Radio Shack- .01uf 100ICG A note on parts: I don't think you have to be too particular about the caps (any cap with these values should work- get these anywhere. Also you may like other values- try it out! ), but the coils- I tried 10-15 different ones, these three were the only usable options I found. The only exception is the .22 mf cap- I really got better results with this particular cap (printed K5M on part). The switch was a 12 selector switch, You could choose any value you want (6 position, etc), just get one with a long shaft to fit in a guitar! Test these out- have fun.
  4. Hello Reantel- You have probly solved this by now, but here is the basic solution: The hot pickup wire should be connected to the center terminal of the rotary switch, each capacitor should have one lead connected to one of the outer terminals, and the other ends of the capacitor need to be connected to ground. (polarity/direction seem to make no difference) The rotary switch idea works great, you just have a wiring issue. Best scenario is to solder a wire from the volume pot terminal where the hot wire connects to it (not the ground- most likely it comes from your pickup selector switch to the volume pot terminal) to the center terminal of the switch. All the caps can have one end soldered together and send that to ground- either the back of your volume pot or the ground of your output jack. By the way, I've been messing with this concept for years on all my guitars, and the best sounding cap is.....drumroll, please.......3300 pf, aka .0033 mf. Definitely try that one. I did something similar a few years ago to one of my guitars, it had a 6 position switch with 5 different caps. The problem is, there isn't much audible difference between the tones when using only capacitors. To REALLY upgrade your tone options, you have to include a coil (inductor) in the circuit! Cap + Coil (the right coil) = awesome. This is the concept of the 'varitone' circuit, except I don't use any resistors- they are not needed. A Jarring difference in tone, sounds like you've changed amps, distortion pedals, guitars just by turning a switch! Pretty fun- guitar players always get bored & want more, this really helps, especially if your playing with a friend's amp and need more options. So I recently experimented & came up with a 12 position rotary tone control using 10 capacitors & 3 coils. Some of the sounds are really different- one sounds like a fat fender tone, others high thin mid, others bassy- lot to choose from. I'm not down with the science of how this works, I am a tinkerer, and have tested tons of coils and caps, and this was the wildest collection I ended up with. Position 1 goes to ground & is like an off switch- great for playing a trick on your friends-they can't figure out why it doesn't work. Also there is one setting that sounds like dogmeat, another one to play a trick on your friends! If you want more info, let me know- I can give you a parts list of the best combos of caps and coils. Keep up the modding- you should try at lest one coil!
  5. Has anyone refinished a guitar in a mirror finish? I am talking about a MIRROR- reflective coating. I have seen it on a few guitars, such as the Schecter Bada-Bling, and some of the Ibanez Jem guitars. What would be the process? Is it actually some sort of sheet material; i.e. real glass, or plastic material. How is it shaped, applied, etc. I want to aplly this to an old Explorer I am refinishing. Thanks, Todd
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