Brodies IB-1 "V-Bay at Noon"

[WeirdBits]

Are you getting any sound at all in any position?

The jack was my first thought too. A Switchcraft jack of that type has one lug slightly short to identify the hot/tip, but it's not so easy to tell on the stock jack. If you don't have a multimeter to test it with just try connecting the output to the other lug on the jack instead.

The other thing is the switch. The diagram is for an 8 lug 5-way with the two middle lugs being the 'commons' for each side (or pole) of the switch, hence the loop of wire linking them. Your switch appears to be a 7 lug 5-way, which is what the factory seems to use now, and this just has a single 'common' lug in the middle with 3 three lugs each side of it. This means you just have to connect the output to the middle lug and you don't need the wire loop at all.

(Edit: I should add that the extra wire loop wouldn't be stopping the sound in this case)

[west0288]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have our winners!
Swapped over to the second lug, works like a charm. All positions make noise, the correct pups are active when they're supposed to be, and I have a stupid grin cause I've finally got one of these axes working.

Thanks, gentlemen. :-D

[west0288]

Here it is, in it's 90% done glory!



I also scored a new bridge for $25, which works perfectly as well. Props to Nickosaurus for the find on that one. After many minutes of configuration, I got it set perfectly as well (bloody annoying process if you ask me).



Action is really quite good, but I could stand to lower the nut a little more. I have some frets 'bottoming out', where I'm getting the same note at two different spots on the same string, so clearly in need of a good fret job too. No luthiers on KI though, so that will have to wait.

Last but not least, I need to sand, stain and wax the fret board to bring out all the shiny goodness! Almost.There.

[ponch]

That's coming up so good man. Massive amounts of envy.

[lukemichael]

Hey Brodie, seems like you had a similar problem I'm having with the binding. What exactly did you use to stain it black and is it still holding up alright now? Was it just the Feast Watson prooftint black stain and how did you apply it? It seems like all of the photos you uploaded have disappeared, would you mind reuploading a few of the binding?
Thanks in advance for the help, this is a life saver!

[west0288]

Hey Brodie, seems like you had a similar problem I'm having with the binding. What exactly did you use to stain it black and is it still holding up alright now? Was it just the Feast Watson prooftint black stain and how did you apply it? It seems like all of the photos you uploaded have disappeared, would you mind reuploading a few of the binding?Thanks in advance for the help, this is a life saver!

Hey mate, yeah, the binding was a massive let down on this build for me. It had a few cracks that weren't perceptible to the naked eye, but when I stained it bled through and I couldn't get it off. The way I stained it was a base layer of Feast Watson Black (which looked really oily and shiny, with different colours at different angles - a bit like petrol in water) followed by a coat of Wudtone Dark Onyx, which leveled the colour out perfectly. Pablo's comment on your build is right though, the stain doesn't adhere correctly to ABS plastics, so it will rub off if not sealed in (I know, because I experimented). The way I sealed it was by applying my Wudtone clear coats (I think I did 5 or 6, can't really remember). Since then I haven't had any issue with it rubbing off through use, and even if I try and rub it nothing happens, so it seems to have worked.Good luck with it, and if you have any more questions, feel free to post them up.

[west0288]

It seems like all of the photos you uploaded have disappeared, would you mind reuploading a few of the binding? Thanks in advance for the help, this is a life saver!

As for the photos, they still appear fine in my browser when logged in, and also fine on my GF's computer when she is viewing it as a guest, so maybe try viewing the page using a different browser? I use Chrome. Let me know if you still can't see them and I'll try and PM you some.

[bargeloobs]

I hadn't really kept abreast of this thread in it's entirety, but I just had a decent skim through now. Talk about one thing after another.
I know I'm chiming in a a few months too late but re-binding this would have really saved you A LOT of heartache and it's a job that you could have quite easily handled. Better yet, get an instrument that isn't full of errors to begin with would be a much better start, seems to be a recurring theme with these kits:-(
Mad props for the save though man, you've managed to pull one out the bag bro.