Ok cool. I'll keep that in mind.Also good the tusq nut worked out fine, I'm sure mine will be right but I can get too focused on details at times. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by colin2121
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Ok cool. I'll keep that in mind.Also good the tusq nut worked out fine, I'm sure mine will be right but I can get too focused on details at times. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by colin2121
Lots of progress this morning. Another gentle cut back and buff. It's not as glossy as I think it can be, but I'm happy enough to leave it for now and give it a really good shine after setup.
https://i.imgur.com/qWMLF5wl.jpg
Shielding completed
https://i.imgur.com/ijYW3wCl.jpg
Soldering done
https://i.imgur.com/pljrQiol.jpg
Initial setup done.
https://i.imgur.com/smbQK1Kl.jpg?1
I plugged it in and everything works. Actually sounds pretty passable, on the brief muck around I had the neck pick up is great, but I'm going to change the humbucker. I'm getting a fair bit of fret buzz, but nothing that won't be sorted easily enough. The cheap strings from the kit are garbage, but good enough to get the bridge and nut sorted. Managed to break the g string almost instantly. Nut isn't glued yet, I shimmed it again and I think its almost right.
So I'm going to leave it strung up this week and keep tuning it, then all things going well I'll take these strings off and do a fret level. I thought I might get away with not doing that, but I think it would definitely benefit, particularly the higher frets are too tall, even after a tap with the mallet.
So yeah, very close!!! I'm fairly happy with it. The paint isn't up to my usual standards to be honest, but the next one will be better. I definitely learnt a lot. I probably give myself a 6 or 7 out of 10 at this stage. I'll see how I feel after another polish and a proper set up. I'll get it out in the sun for some nicer pics then as well.
Bit more fiddling this morning. I levelled and dressed the frets and put a new g - string on. The compensation is within the ball park and it sounds pretty reasonable. I also elected to remove the second shim from under the nut. I took about a mm off each end of it and on the one original shim it's sitting perfectly now. So thats had a dot of supa glue. Fret buzz is all but gone. I'll give a couple of frets a quick dress when I put a fresh set of decent strings on it and I think its all good.
Action is nice and low which is great, although the grub screw on the bridge are wound out higher than I expected. It all seems to work - but if anyone has some pics of how their 2 post fender style bridge looks after final set up I'd be curious to see it.
How good are the locking grover tuners? Worthwhile upgrade that makes taking the strings on and off a cinch.
I raised the hum bucker which helped a bit with the output.
Really needs some string trees, but I think I'll pass on the kit ones and get something a bit more solid.
I have discovered my tone pots are not doing anything. Bit annoying as thats all factory wired, but at least I can just unscrew that plate and have a look if anything is obviously off. Will have a look if I get keen a bit later.
After playing it a bit, I've decided I don't hate the switch placement as much as I thought I was going to. I figured it would get in the way, but the way the guitar hangs makes it fine. Its turned out a fair bit heavier than I was expecting. I'm probably going to pass this one to my 13 year daughter so I guess she'll get a bit of a work out hefting it around :)
I pulled off the control plate and stared at it for a bit - I can't see anything wrong, but I am no expert and don't really know what I should be looking for. I pulled the pick guard off and found one of my solders was a bit questionable, so I re did it and made sure the others were good as well. It is as per the diagram on the shop site - which doesn't actually include all the wiring, only the ones you need to solder.
I have sound in every switch position and the pickups are working. The volume control works fine. There is no buzzing at all.
Here is a pic of the control plate. The solders all look fine, but I have no idea if the circuit is correct. I'll post up the pick guard in a little while, I only just put it all back together again....
https://i.imgur.com/iqg0LQSl.jpg
This guitar is so pretty. You must be proud.
Personally I've always thought the pickups are in the wrong places on this guitar. The neck pickup and the bridge pickup should be further away from the centre pickup.
What are the capacitor values on the tone controls? You may need to have different caps to get the tone controls to work properly. The wiring experts will be able to confirm.
Some more pics....let me know if more angles are needed...
https://i.imgur.com/NaSHqDHl.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/Y3g3o6Yl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gllHrZyl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Abk2Lp2l.jpg?1
Thanks for the kind words Fretworn. I am pretty happy with it, especially as a first attempt. Once I have these few shake down issues sorted it'll be great. I tend to agree with you on the pickup placement, it is a bit odd.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fretworn
They are the factory capacitors, the plate was all wired up when it arrived, but also squashed, so it may be that something is damaged. I just want to rule out my own stupid first :)
So the only thing I can see is that the capacitors appear to be on the opposite side to what is in the diagram.
Its confusing because they are also upside down compared to the drawing, but if you rotate it around they are definitely flipped. Would this be causing my issue?
https://i.imgur.com/iqg0LQSl.jpg
The diagram is incorrect with its cap placement, your caps are connected to the correct lugs (middle and left as per photo above).
It's a bit difficult to see if anything is wrong in your pics as it needs a bit more illumination and different angles and close-ups on the pots. However, I'd be looking at the tone pot closest to the jack and checking that the cap's legs haven't been squashed down so they short between the middle and left lug or pot casing etc.
Hi Weirdbits, thanks for the response.
Yeah I thought something like that as well, but I can't se any obvious damage, apart from the general squashedness. Some more pics, hope they help.
https://i.imgur.com/SOaLNTil.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Vrn70cYl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/11pf7zwl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/QFB1eMpl.jpg
nice job Sonic, can see you have put in the effort in sanding it flat nice shine nice and level 👍
Thanks Colin, I'll check out your pics against mine and have another look at the pots after work.
Cheers Phrozin, I'm happy enough with the finish for this one. I definitely have some ideas on how to improve my setup for the next one.
I just jumped on the computer and compared, your caps are a reflection of mine - so the same as the diagram, with the cap soldered to the opposite post. I went to check it out with my multimeter last night but the battery is dead. I'm thinking this is the problem from my very limited understanding of how its supposed to work. It's 5 mins to swap it around so I'll try that first.Quote:
Originally Posted by colin2121
Ok, well I switched the capacitors to the opposite posts. The tone controls now work...but in reverse. So 0 is maximum treble and 10 is maximum bass.
The knobs are kind of the wrong way round as well, with the one near the jack changing the neck pickup and the one closest to the volume controlling the Humbucker. The sound out of the Humbucker has definitely improved, so thats good.
I guess swapping the pot positions around will be easy enough. Does anyone have any thoughts on the reversal of the pots themselves?
I'm not really bothered, at least it works now, but would be good to know if there is a fix for that anyway.
I dressed a couple fo frets that were buzzing again. Seems perfect now. I actually can't believe how low the action is on this thing. Its better than plenty I've played in guitar stores. I'm not really an expert when it comes to tone, but the overall sound out of this is really impressive. Can't wait to get some decent strings on it.
Yeah, I think I'll do the string trees, new strings, give another quick polish and call it done.
Your tone pots should have worked correctly as they were originally. I can't see any reason for them not to unless there was/is something wrong with the connections to the selector switch or something wasn't making contact within the switch itself - but is now.
If you look at the yellow wire connection to the output jack. you can see a couple of loose wire whiskers poking out from the connection. I'd trim them off, just be be nice and neat as they are pointing towards where the jack barrel will be. They look too short to touch at the moment, but if the connection lug gets knocked at all in the future, they may well do.
Yes, I can see I'm going to have get some fresh batteries in my multimeter and work out exactly what is going on.If I do that i can at least definitively confirm which lug I should be connecting the cap to.
I was under the impression that if it was the wrong one you would get a very sharp drop off rather than a gradual easing of the trebles, and that doesn't seem to be the case at the moment - they are just working in reverse to what you would normally expect.
The factory solder points look agricultural, but serviceable. I have double checked all mine (I did this before changing the capacitor connection and there was no change) so the culprit may be the switch itself. I do find it weird that I was getting sound out of all of the pickups and the switch appeared to be working correctly (in terms of swapping between Neck, neck/middle, middle, middle/HB and HB on its own) but turning the tone pots did nothing.
It isn't unheard of for an inadvertent bump or tug on the wiring during install to change something and that may be what has happened. I though I was Ok with it, but its just going to annoy me now until I work out exactly what is happening.
With a linear tone pot, you won't get a sharp drop-off, just reversed operation. You'd get the sharp drop-off at one end with swapped connections and an audio taper pot.
There are several ways you can wire a tone pot. All you need is the pot acting as a variable resistor with the capacitor in series, and the cap and the pot connected between the signal and ground. You can have the cap first or the pot first.
Hey Simon. Yep I spent a lot of time reading and taking the trouble to try and understand how it's supposed to be. You are correct, it switched the direction, but putting it back the other way it wouldn't work at all. Even in the swapped direction the adjustment could be best described as 'subtle'.
Anyway, I did some extensive messing around and investigating this evening...
https://i.imgur.com/cdvyTb9l.jpg
I tested one of the pots with the multimeter and could easily see the swapping direction. Double checked all the soldering connections and the switch layout.
Having the tone controls with the front running the rear pick ups and vice versa was also annoying my so I pulled the 'tone' pots out and swapped them around, moving the bridge earth to the rear most post again after realising I had effectively removed one of the pots from the circuit. I put the capacitors back how they were originally. Now the rear most one is working great, but no action from the front one. I remembered reading in Kicks thread about the A and B pots and one of my tone pots does look different to the other. The volume also only seems to work for about a 3rd of the dial - although this depends what its plugged into, far more noticeable on my computer interface than the little practice amp in the shed.....
So I pulled them off and it does seem like I have a B pot wired for volume and an A for tone, which is the one that isn't working.
https://i.imgur.com/z4dXtYxl.jpg
So I'll swap that around tomorrow and see if it helps.
This axe looks awesome mate. Great job!
For around $20 - $30 you could upgrade all pots and caps with quality gear and also solve current problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
He could maybe even buy them prewired, even better.Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
Thanks Melkor, I am pretty happy with it overall, its been a great 'training wheels' build, I've learnt heaps.Quote:
Originally Posted by Melkor
The thought has certainly crossed my mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
I actually think I've got it worked out now, just need some time to fiddle with it some more. Biggest mistake at this stage was assuming the factory wiring was correct. The digram on the Pitbull site would be fine otherwise, but its a bit of a problem in that it only shows half the story, so its difficult to confirm if you don't really know how its supposed to work. Its been a good learning exercise at any rate and I have a much better overall understanding of the principles.
LoL.. thats what got me into this mess in the first place! :) I thought about that as well, but I'd rather learn so I can do it from scratch in the future. I have a stack of other semi scratch builds at the planning stage that will require me to make it work from parts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe3334
Some of the wiring diagrams look a bit confusing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
I think that's all wiring diagrams - but I am used to following them. For cars I usually trace it out then redraw just the stuff I'm working on in an easier to follow format. I would consider myself a fairly competent automotive electrician, but thats only because I've spent so long messing around with it. This is just a slightly different application of the same principles, but it still takes some nutting out and experience.
Yes well, I spent an hour or so trying to get it to work I swapped the A and B pots around - I checked and rechecked everything and I was 100% certain it was correct, still no go. So I cracked the shits and went its to band land and grabbed 1 new A and 2 New B's. Wired them both in and presto, it now works properly, in the correct direction and correct order of pots. I guess I fried the original A pot switching it around. Anyway, sorted YAY! Only cheapies, but they work, so I'm leaving it alone now.
New strings going on right now.
Sonic, it's looking really good!Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
About $3 each, super cheap, but they don't seem any worse than the kit ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by colin2121
Cheers Gavin, yeah the two tone has ended up pretty subtle after its been oiled.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavin1393
It's pretty much done now, I just want to give it a wipe over with the polish cloth and wait for some decent weather to take some photos out in the sun.
I'm jealous, I'd love a two tone rosewood fretboard.
These Alpha ones are just $3 each too....Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
https://www.realparts.com.au/electro...ass-shaft.html
OK I’m calling this one done.
I didn’t end up buffing it again, too lazy. I actually quite like this level of shine anyway as it suits the vintage style.
I’m pleased with it but there are plenty of goofs and things I’d do differently next time. I’m passing this onto my 13 year old daughter, who is the only other person in the family thats shown any kind of interest and commitment to learning. She’s stoked with it - I’ll try and coax her into doing a demo.
I ended up using the kit string trees to be finished with it and they actually aren’t too bad.
Setup is very close - compensation is definitely within the ball park, I’ll revisit next string change. Action is surprisingly low and overall it plays really nicely - certainly on par with much more expensive commercial guitars, so I’m very happy with that.
So the only real mods are the grover locking tuners - which are awesome and and the Tusq nut, which I’m also very happy with. The colour is a minty green, but does look blue in some lights and photos. It’s a Rustoleum colour and I like it, but I wasn’t a massive fan of the rattle can paint at the end of the day.
There will be a bit of break before the next project while I finish of some other things and get my work space better set up. I had a lot of fun doing this and I can certainly feel a bit of GAS coming on.
https://i.imgur.com/tFsY0fYl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/KrmMjgtl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/r7IBVh7l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/KAxtsv4l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/savpvB3l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/r8q0AEtl.jpg
Couple of shots in the shade to try and illustrate the finish.
https://i.imgur.com/2UNqIlWl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/1ct1VNPl.jpg
Now I just need the November GOTM thread to pop up……
Great job. You must be thrilled.
Very happy with the end result, a little sad its all over.
There are several other projects in the works, really looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into them. I need to get my project car running and out of the shed before I can do another guitar. At least I've finally found some motivation to do that :).
The new owner took it for a spin yesterday and its now hanging on her bedroom wall. Unfortunately she's too shy to let me post a video, so I'll have a go at a quick demo on the weekend.
https://i.imgur.com/WRmvXLGl.jpg
Nice one. Made me think of Kurt Vile!
Attachment 22618
Hah, yeah she's got the grunge hair down.
Great stuff Sonic you must be stoked as per your daughter should be
Great colour. I used the same stuff on my daughter's 'Hannah must go" project. She's just turned 14 and loves it...but says it's "so loud,Dad!". Oh. the sweet, innocent thing...she will learn.
Thanks guys. That's funny, mine the same, even with the little vox. I think the bug has bitten though, so it's only a matter of time.