The lesson is to inspect carefully and make sure the windings are protected..
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The lesson is to inspect carefully and make sure the windings are protected..
If anyone's interested this is the circuit I'm currently planning. I figured it out while I still thought I was going to have a single coil pickup at the neck, so I bought the switches for that.
Its basically Jazz bass style wiring, with a coil tap switch for the bridge pickup and a phase reverse on the neck pickup. I've set it so the phase reverse switch also coil taps.
I suppose, thinking about it, a more conventional alternative would be to ditch the phase reverse and have both switches simply coil taps, but I have a reverse phase switch on my Jazz Bass and use it.
If I'm honest, the reason why it has 3 pots and two switches is because it came with 5 holes in the body for controls...
Attachment 32736
This is going to be a dumb question, I think.... The lower switch looks like it is a two throw, three pole switch... Is that right?
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Yes indeed, three pole. Sorta fortuitous. I didn't need 3 pole for my original circuit, but the source only had one pole and 3 pole in stock of the design I wanted.
Looks like it will work. You probably knew that but I always post mine to see what grave errors I have made.
Curious why you want the phase switching?
The only piece of advice I have is to try it and see if you like it before putting it in. This wiring harness is a bear to install. I tested both of mine first and inn both cases testing resulted in using different caps than I thought I would use. In both cases have also wondered if I should have done a little more testing.
The first has a weird Dano harness...and I am wondering about the pot values. In the case of the recent one, I might have tried treble bleeds...
If these harnesses were on a Jazz bass I might open it up and experiment a little more. On an ES my unhappiness would need to bend toward clinical depression to mess with in now that it's installed and working. I actually ended up soldering a ground wire that had come loose through the F-holes rather than take it out again. My fingers hurt from weird positions I put them in. I kept hoping that my mom was wrong and that my face would not stay that way.
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Well, there are two answers.Quote:
Originally Posted by fender3x
The first is that I have the phase switch on my Jazz bass, and I like the options it gives. Not with both pickups flat out, but with one pickup on full and the other backed off a fair bit there are some interesting and unusual sounds.
The second is that I want standard Jazz bass controls - 2 vol and a tone in a row, which leaves me with two more holes I need to fill with something. I've never found much use for pickup switching on my bass - I don't do solos and stuff, so wanted something else to fill the holes.
My original plan was a coil tap on the humbucking bridge pickup and the phase on a single coil neck pickup, but after I stuffed up the Maxon humbucker I ordered a pair of budget humbuckers. So what I've gone for is a setup that will deliver both humbuckers as a default, and maybe there'll be something different and useful with the options. Or they might end up just cosmetic in practice!
A nice thing about this - I hope - is that many of the variations I can think of at the moment are on the three pole switch. So I hope I'll just be able to hook that out without disturbing the rest if I want to try other stuff.
That all makes sense.
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The latest irritation is that my new Artec humbuckers have arrived, but are not standard size: they are decidedly narrow. So the cream pickup rings I have carefully shaped so they are the right thickness and curvature for the guitar are of very limited value...
I am traveling at the moment so I can't take a better pic. But maybe there is a way to save your work...
FWIW the black that you see around the cream bobbins is a spacer that I made. I did it with a router to round the corners, but that might be overkill if your pups are a more normal shape. You could do this with an exacto knife or box cutter and maybe a dremmel or sandpaper to clean up anything that needs it.
I made the spacers from hotel card keys that I spray painted black. The material is strong and thin, and the cards are just a bit larger than a pup ring, so relatively easy to cut down.
One day I will catalog the uses I make of these little cards. Remarkably usefulAttachment 32740
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Interesting. I thought of and immediately rejected the idea of a white spacer, or any attempt to match the cream, but a black one might look more designed. I shall certainly add that to the options I'm considering, thank you.Quote:
Originally Posted by fender3x
And my pickup routs are't quite big enough either. However its only a question of slightly extending the cutouts for the ears, so that's easily done by hand.
Attachment 32756
Decided to make new white pickup rings. What you are looking at is bits of a jig to cut the interior using a supplied black one as a master. Bearable but not great results. Just cannot compromise on routing jigs... Gave up the idea of using the router to cut outside to size, here am about to use hacksaw.. its W/B/W sandwich, this will be pretty much the last of a bit i bought in the 80s. You see dear, that stuff I keep often gets used in the end...
Attachment 32767
Its sort of assembled now, but needs major setup work. The nut is too high for my taste i think, and haven't even tuned it, let alone looked at intonation.
Im not very happy with my pickup rings, i ought to be able to do better. I think i like the sandwich though.
Attachment 32768
Umm, question. Where does the strap button go? On the horn or the neck?
Back of the body, roughly where the middle of a neck plate would go on a Fender. Nothing to screw into on the horn.
https://gbmedia.azureedge.net/aza/us...st-RYxMLKk.jpg
The Strat knobs, BTW, are temporary. I bought amber knobs with the pots from the same supplier on the same order, and they splines don't match. I think I quite like white knobs though. Not strat ones I think, have to see what's out there.
It all looks good to me. white knobs will look good with the pup rings and truss rod cover. The pic is not super sharp, but the flaws you see may be flaws only you will see...
Simon's right about the button placement. I think you could put it on the heel if you prefer, but definitely not on the horn.
Best source for knobs that are not black that I have found is here:
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/knobs-1/
Hopefully the shipping won't be prohibitive to the UK.
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Attachment 32858
I gave it a hopefully final polish today: the tru oil has now gone hard enough that the abrasive auto polish is burnishing up to a shine that satisfies me. Here we have moody lighting r us - I was hoping for some sunshine earlier, but no such luck... the Maple flame is less than spectacular, but I've kinda aimed for an understated look so I think its OK. I had a bit of a go at my homemade sandwich pickup rings, and while not perfect I'm much happier with them now.
Remaining jobs are
- to coat the fingerboard with something as the engineered rosewood is a bit prone to losing fibres. I want to use SP systems eposeal, which is a clear penetrating epoxy sealer, but its 30 quid for a litre and I need about 50ml...
- get some final volume knobs - these are off a Squier strat hence my 2 vol one tone say one vol two tone
- decide whether I want to splash out on smaller tuners so it fits my acoustic bass case
- do a proper setup, which I may well try and persuade Simon to do. The nut is too high, the neck has too much relief and I haven''t set the intonation.
- put some decent strings on
Not looking bad at all.
Those Fender knobs certainly don't belong on a Gibson body shape.
And Jim already knows I'll set it up.
Looking good, however your powers of persuasion needs some more work.
So, as there seem to be at least two arrangements of splined pot shaft which are not interchangeable, how does one go about finding whether a given set of knobs will fit? Especially bearing in mind I got my pots and knobs from the same vendor and brand... Which, I suppose, I should be discussing with them...
Sunny this morning - about the first time for weeks...
Attachment 32869
I ran into this issue last week, when replacing a Bourne push pull pot, which I think are 19 spline. The DiMarzio pot looks identical and was told they were made in same factory but spline count turns out to be higher (20-21?). If your eyes are really good you can count them 🤣🤣 I just had to go to my local luthier and ask to try some of his spare tuning knobs out till I found one that pushes on easily. Need to be very careful with push/ pulls because you can break the action and pull the spline out if your not careful (ask me how I know 😭)Quote:
Originally Posted by JimC
Black knobs,
Attachment 32916
Amber knobs,
Attachment 32917
or White knobs?
Attachment 32918
Although having persuaded (thanks Simon for the hint to check the spline count) the not especially well moulded amber knobs on the pot shafts I'm not sure that the pots would survive them being taken off again...
I'm not quite sure between white and amber, but the fact that I'd need to buy a new set of white ones since those need to go back on the Strat might be a clincher...
This really looks great! I agree about not using the black. The amber ones look very good. It's a close thing between the white and the amber. That said, I have had once pulled the entire shaft out of pot trying to get the knob off. That's one of the reasons I try to use only solid shaft pots and knobs with set screws. Unless you're unhappy with the amber knobs I'd leave them.
It can be confusing picking knobs. Part of it is there is no one way to talk about them... "fine spline," "USA spline," "CTS spline," and "24 spline" all mean the same thing. "Course spline," "18 spline," and "Asian spline" all mean the same thing too. Anything with a set screw, is, of course, for a solid shaft, although I like set screw knobs so much better that I have some inserts to use with splined pots to adapt them for solid shaft knobs. There are also knobs that have a soft enough insert to take either kind of splines... You might get away with putting a fine spline knob on an asian pot, but the other way around will generally not work. I have a broken knob to prove it.
I destroyed a spare pot using it as a tool to ease the knobs a bit before putting them on the guitar!Quote:
Originally Posted by fender3x
I have some Allparts collars for converting splined shaft pots to grub screw ones if you fancy putting some of that type of knob on, Jim. Gold or silver knurled Tele-style knobs?
I did think about chrome Tele style knobs, but decided against it.
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I think I'm going to treat the instrument to new tuners as a cheaper alternative to buying a new case! One in particular of the kit tuners is definitely not its manufacturer's brightest day - more backlash than telling your friends you voted a different way to them in the notorious Brit referendum - and so it will do no harm to replace them. I think there's going to be some work making them fit without major headstock reworking: funny how all the small Y head tuners have equally small mechanisms.
If you go with the grub screw approach this is where I go for knobs of unusual color.
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/knobs-1/
Hopefully not too expensive to ship from Brooklyn. That said if you are pleased with the wiring harness you've installed, the gold knobs look good with your finish.
Lighter tuners are a good idea, regardless of case issues. I was quite surprised how much lighter my Jazz bass felt when I installed lighter tuning machines, because I knew it was only going to drop by a half pound or so. I think it feels like more because that weight is out at the end of a long lever bearing down on your shoulder.
My Jazz is about a pound heavier than my Precision, but feels a little lighter. I think it may be a balance issue because the P has neck dive and the J does not...
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Smaller tuners - now it fits in the case.
These are own brand Stentor in the UK, but are made in Korea by Jin Ho and appear to be these: : http://www.jinhomusic.com/bass/jb_150.html
They are pretty much impossible to distinguish between the OEM tuners on my Ibanez acoustic bass, and could well be the same.They seem decent enough so far, I can't detect back lash off the guitar.
Attachment 32932 Attachment 32933
Unfortunately they don't quite cover the holes drilled for the standard tuners, and even the washers are too small to cover the hole, so they are sitting on the ferrules for the stock tuners which they actually mate well with. I'm going to try just wood filler for the tuner holes. Its such a small gap hopefully it won't show too much when its been sanded flat and given new coats of tru oil.
So, truss rod cover. Its been suggested to me it looks too simple and cheap in contrast with the rest. I've got plenty of scraps of the bwb sandwich I used for the pickup rings, so its not a problem to fabricate something else, at least if not too complicated, but what shape? I really dont like the standard Gibsxn style. I suppose I could make it wider with two separate corner radii, which would better echo the pickup shape, or maybe a larger version of the current one... any other suggestions?
Maybe just a bit wider, and widening out towards the nut. Get the screw hole properly centred and certainly use a smaller screw to fix it. The current one does look rather industrial.
Attachment 32939
Like this? I think it does look a little better, although I don't know why. Think it probably needs shortening a little.
Yes, that just looks more natural to me. No idea why, it just does.
1+Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
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Irritations:
1) it takes just as long for a finish of tru oil on the back of the headstock to harden enough to burnish as it does for the whole guitar...
2) after spending too much time in my life removing recalcitrant case screws from motorcycles, I've developed the habit of immediately chucking cross head screws that were hard to remove - eg tuner screws on maple headstocks. Its saves a lot of aggravation. But I do wish I'd kept just one so I could use it for the truss rod cover. I have scratch plate screws, but they look too big, so the new cover is held on with a tiny black one which doesn't look right either.
In the words of the immortal (or was it immoral?) Bill Clinton, "I feel your pain."
It is totally sensible to throw out stripped case screws, or any other stripped screws, as well as most screws that have come out of maple. I have way too many of these little suckers because it's better for my mental health to chuck the old ones and only put in nicely waxed fresh ones. So I have gotten used to just buying a box of that ever I need.
With regard to finishing...the only satisfaction is to know you are in good company.
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Well, we're getting there.
Jobs left are
- Treat the fingerboard with some penetrating epoxy sealer, because I'm not happy about the stability of the fibres of the artificial rosewood.
- Setup
- Chrome or stainless steel screw for the truss rod cover
- And some decent strings.
Attachment 33007
Attachment 33008
Attachment 33009
Attachment 33010
Interesting lesson here about colours. and photographs. Those photos were taken a few seconds apart with a tablet, all on the same carpet, but look how much the blue carpet varies in tone in the photos, and all because the camera electronics were playing with colour balance.
My tip for lining aligning the tuners is to get something dead straight with a reflective surface and align it across the tuner heads. Then set the tuners up so each corner is touching. Only works with this style of tuner of course.
I'm not unhappy with the aesthetics. A cherry or something dye job might have been nice, but the simple tru oil on maple has a certain appeal too, gives it a kinda vintage look I think. A scratch plate might have added to the vintage ethos, and I did consider making one, but the way I play it would have been 100% cosmetic. Were I doing one from scratch I think I'd get it with no controls drilled, and have the controls on the scratchplate like some Framus Star Basses. I should note the Framus Star was the bass for teenagers to have when I was about 15, Fenders being far too expensive to consider.
So, variations from the standard kit.
Hipshot bridge screwed down flat to extra long ferrules glued into the body. Body scraped back under the bridge so it sits flat.
Slightly different pickup positioning.
Non-kit Artec pickups.
Home made sandwich pickup rings and truss rod cover
Two vol, one tone pot, amber knobs
Pot positions juggles so controls are in a line
Coil tap switch for bridge pickup
Coil tap/phase switch for neck pickup
Narrower tuners
Slightly reshaped headstock
Headstock logo
"Binding" on the sides of the neck pocket to disguise shims
Looking quite good. As to aesthetics it looks good. I like the in line controls. Sort of T-bird-ish. I tried and failed to get cherry at one point. Stains can fail as can almost any clear finish on the flame maple veneer--which is plenty fancy finished natural. Add to which that you are part of a very exclusive club that has gotten a good clear finish that super thin veneer, so a victory right there. On the build front you also may have solved the bridge pull out problem is a very solid way. So pretty nice all the way round!
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Great job! love it