mj_gant

I just aquired a used mexican strat. I am wondering when it was made. The serial is MN4.....

I know M is Mexican and N is nineties....could the 4 possible mean 1994? Were there mexican strats being manufactured then?

Thanks!

http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/category/wiringresources/

Maybe something usefull in there.

I ended up going with diagram 2 from EMG which uses the center lug on the volume to feed the switch and all is good.

I just installed a set of ZW 81 and 85 EMG pickups in a Les Paul. There is a slight buzz when I turn down the volume pot, and it goes away when I touch anything that is grounded. I didn't ground the bridge and am sure all connections are good. Any help? I feel like an idiot posting this, but I need help.

hmmm, I like it.

Dude, just slide the bridge over. You won't even see it. Don't go ripping your neck pocket up. Just my 2c.

oops...quick edit. I guess that's a string thru and you have drilled holes. Did you put in the step hole that's larger for the ferruls too? If so....

I had to move a bridge similar to it on a parts guitar my friend had started to assemble. I left the ferrels in place. I plugged the string thru and bridge mount holes with some tight bond and meat skewers. Just be carefull not to slide off back into the meat skewers. LOL. If all goes well, cosmetics, integrity and structure will be unharmed in any way.

And you can still play fast with high action, it's just harder. Yngwie has fairly high action (of course, his Fender axe has a pretty round fretboard radius

Indeed. Here are some "pro" setups taken from Dan Erlewine's Guitar Player Repair guide.

Malmsteen: 4/64 string height at 17th fret and .008 relief at 7th

Clapton: 3/64-4/64 string height at 17th with .010 relief at 7th

SRV: 4/64 string height at 17th fret and .012 relief at 7th

Here is Gibson flat top factory setup specs:

Maximum relief at 7th: .012

Action at 12th: 6/64 low E and 4/64 high E

If the hair like wires coming from the coil to the poles are gone consider a pcikup repairman.

By any chance..are there two poles sticking out where the wires used to be? If so, just solder new pickup lead to there.

Aside from factory specs, guitar variety, Where does your relief and Action measure on your favorite Electric G?

I'll start-

Relief at 7th .007

Action at 12 LOW E .055

Action at 12 HI E .043

Kind of low but clean all the way up neck.

I always shoot for .062 on LOW E and relief of .010 or under. Don't always get there...

When pots are wired as a volume control, there will always be some value of resistance to ground when the pot is wide open. In other words, if you have a 500K pot for example, with the volume full on, there will be 500K resistance to ground. That will give you a little higher output as well as preserving more of the highs. With a 250K pot, the highs are attenuated more.

Thanks Paul!

OK- I thought as mauch, now how about bypassing a pot and going straight to jack? Brighter yet I suppose.

Will pot value effect the sound if it is on 10?

I know 500k typically for HB- 250k for SC- 25k for active....but do the values matter if the pot is wide open?

I would rather have my combo amp pimped out so its actually bigger/louder then a half stack

Not gonna happen. You have a built in power amp meant to handle what is already in your combo. Without a "preamp out"...which you dont have, you can't even add a power amp.

The Bandit was my first combo. I got it for Christmas in 1985... what an awesome amp it was. It probally has a black widow or scorpion in it rated at 8 ohms. The only way to add another cab would be to double the ohms of the internal and external speaker. In short- if your amp is rated to put out 8 ohms you'll need two 16 ohm speakers. Check specs and match speakers accordingly.

Is the end lug being fed from your switch or pickup? Is the middle lug going out to your jack? If you mix these two up...you may experience something like you describe. I have never fried anything and I use a 40 watt iron, I cook things for way longer than I should at times and have never fried anything...especially a pot. You'd really have to cook that thing to kill it.

Double check your wiring with a fresh and carefull outlook.

Why are so many guitars from the factory shipped like that? It makes me wonder if drilling out the body holes is such a good idea...such as neck shifting.

I don't know what kind of wood that is, but I can tell you one thing...you need to find out! Reason being, if it's a very hard, dense wood, you may want to consider a glue in method for fretting. Maybe you could try your saw on a scrap piece of rosewood, or ebony and see if it saws with the same results. You really need to know your wood to offset problems later on.

M

Guys, thanks for all of your suggestions. I am not interested in a preamp. What would happen if i took a 200k mini pot (flat type) and put it inline before it hit my main 500k pot? I could then attenuate inside the cavity and leave it set. Any thoughts?

M

Try screwing the pkp itself down in it's mounting bracket or pickguard, that is the easiest way to attenuate a pkps output.

That was the first thing I tried, not enough though. Thanks anyway.

Isn't there a cap or resistor to lower volume? values?

Is there a way to attenuate a pickups output before it goes to the pot? I know most want more output, but I have a case of trying to match pickups with different outputs in a guit. Capacitor? Resistor?

Any chance those pickups are out of phase? That would give you a lower output when togehter.

Sorry for the hi-jack, but I was wondering what brand of pots everyone prefers. I use the standard CTS from alprts, but mechanically they aren't very smooth. Dimarzio is nice. Any other recommendations, suppliers for 250 and 500k pots?

Thank you for the explanation Paul. So it appears to be normal. That's good!

Paul- thanks for replying. I have no signal from the guitar with all 3 switches off and volume control up. So that's normal. As stated earlier, I hear a hum from the guitar with all switches off and volume up. It goes away when i turn the pot down.