TL-1H.....Tele Deluxe

[OliSam]

Well guys. I re-wired this guitar 3 times and now it seems to work . Quite relieved.

But some thing has got me SERIOUSLY CONFUSED.

Help with pot functions (pleeeeeease).

OK.........Here is the scenario:
*Both tone pots on 10
*Both volume pots on 10
*Selector in middle position (so both pickups are engaged)
*Tons of reverb (because I like it and it drives my wife crazy)
*Big sound. All great.

Now…

Exercise 1. I turn down the bridge volume to zero and leave the neck volume on 10.
Result: All sound disappears – the guitar is now silent.

Reverse this: I turn the bridge volume back up to 10 and now both volumes are on 10.
Result: Big sound. All great.

Exercise 2: I turn the neck volume down to zero and leave the bridge volume on 10.
Result: All sound disappears – the guitar is now silent.


My big issue here is that, in both scenario 1 & 2, I am expecting that the other pickup will still give me some sound.
I have only ever played a tele and a strat so have no experience with twin humbucker guitars.

Am I missing something here?

PS: this guitar sounds just AWESOME! I really cant believe that I made it myself. Super chuffed.

[WeirdBits]

Working as intended.

Traditional twin humbucker wiring has 'linked' volumes in the middle position, so turnng one volume to zero will mute both pickups. So, yours is working as intended. Basically, the output from each volume is on the middle (wiper) lug of the pot so when the switch in the middle position turning one pot to zero shorts the output to ground which affects both pickups.

The alternative is 'independent' volumes wiring like on a Jazz bass, so your can turn down one pickup without affecting the other in the middle position. But, this has other effects including tone changes so it's generally not done on guitars.

Great job to get it working!

[OliSam]

Working as intended.

The alternative is 'independent' volumes wiring like on a Jazz bass, so your can turn down one pickup without affecting the other in the middle position. But, this has other effects including tone changes so it's generally not done on guitars.

Great job to get it working!

Doh!! Thanks Wierdbits.
And thanks for your guidance. Tops!

I am so super happy with this guitar.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Simon Barden]

these pots have really fat bottoms.

Fat bottomed pots, they make the rockin' world go round.

If you are worried about the pot lugs touching the shielding, you could stick a piece of electrical insulating tape under the lugs onto the shielding.

[OliSam]

thanks Simon. I did that and it is really good now. just a faint buzz which goes the moment i touch the strings.

on another note - the buzz changes as i turn the tone nobs.
eg: i am on a setting i like and it is quiet.
then i turn the tone dial the buzz comes in and out as i twist to different settings. is this normal?

[OliSam]

interesting note. I went online and looked at other tele deluxe 72's and the dials were well spaced out. on my scratch plate the dials are quite close together.
this makes turning them a fumbly experience and i cant use the dials that came with the kit cos they are quite fat.
perhaps i redrill the holes further apart next time? or get another scratch plate?

i went out and got two different kinds of dial to test.





whole kit in working order!!

[OliSam]

hey.....quick one.
i oiled the neck and headstock

is there a way to put a logo on it now? or is it not possible if i use oil ??

[Simon Barden]

What sort of oil? Some oils will soak in to the wood and be barely noticeable, whilst others will hang around on the surface and make a decal far less likely to stick. If it's Tru-Oil, then once it's dry, looking at other builds, that should take a decal well.

If not Tru-Oil, I'd leave it a few days before trying to add a decal, and maybe wipe the area with naptha (liquid lighter fuel) and a clean cloth as that should remove any surface oil and grease. But a decal really needs covering with something protective, so maybe you could get a small bottle of Tru-Oil if you haven't got one already, and just treat the top surface of the headstock.

[OliSam]

Hi Simon
I used Tung oil and final coats of fine buffing oil
Both by Feast Watson

Are you saying that I can put a decal on it and tru oil over the top of te decal?

[Simon Barden]

I'm not familiar with using anything other than lemon oil for fretboards, so I'm really not the best person to ask. But anything that's a straight oil product is going to repel water, so anything like a water-based decal glue won't stick to an oily surface that well.

With something like Tru-Oil, the oil is more of a carrier for the finish and will evaporate fairly quickly leaving a non-oily surface. Looking up details for tung oil, it seems that it too does dry completely after a while, so in theory it should be OK once it's fully hardened (Wiki says 5-25 days).

The buffing oil is tung oil plus carnauba wax and beeswax, which may prevent good adhesion, though again they should dry hard after a few days.

Hopefully this may prompt someone else who's used these products to comment!