Anyone familiar with Carson Electric Guitars?

Thanks Waz. I should have mentioned I had the humbucker sorted, and yes, you picked the right screws, but thanks to the photo being so blurry, you can't tell that they are in fact brand new screws. They look like crap because I checked them in the humbucker tabs to ensure they fit, and one side is perfect, the other jams up and has stripped the threads on the screws, luckily I have a couple more, but I may have to re-tap the dodgy side. The guys in the workshop may have something that I can use.

As for the single cavities, there is not enough room to slide the springs down the side, and because I have undercut the side of the cavities to take the single Pups I got off you, it is a really tight squeeze. The original pups were screwed into the timber, so there are already some holes in place, and they match the replacements. I think I will try a dab of superglue to hold the springs in place.

As for the foam suggestion, where would you suggest getting some from?

Hi buddy, if you haven't already seen it there is a demo video done with Adam installing a neck PUP in a Tele where he just screws it straight into the timber and from memory no springs were used. Surprised me a bit as there is still a lot of space underneath the PUP.

For the foam have a look at some of the stuff things come packaged in as I salvaged some from a box that might have had a flash metal key ring in it. It needs to be smooth like a yoga mat and not open pores like a sponge. Just remembered we have a couple of high density mats used for a single bed mattress when camping that would do the trick. Not many come in black and mostly blue but if cut right it should not be visible from above. If all else fails stores like Clark Rubber should have something. It just needs to be very rigid with a little bit of give. If too soft you may as well not bother with it.

Edit: I have a confession to make....on the EX-1 where the Humbuckers are top loaded they are screwed direct into the timber without any springs. First attempt had them anchored about 6mm too low and recently cut some inserts out of 6mm ply, painted matt black, and dropped them in the bottom and re-screwed the PUPs down through the inserted timber which brought the height back up where they needed to be. It still allows me to have a very small amount of adjustment but most of the time once you have got them to desired height they rarely get touched again.

If you are making more guitars like this, then I suggest you do a search for adhesive backed neoprene foam sheets. I managed to pick up a collection of sheet sizes in the UK, and they've come in vary handy. You don't want too large a sheet of each size as you won't get through it, but I've used a mixture of sizes for propping up soapbar P90s so they are level with the guitar top and sticking underneath pickups as springs or to reduce vibrations. I had a quick look on the Aus eBay site and quickly found this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/neoprene-s...4AAOSwcLxYKo~r , though there are probably other suppliers. You can probably compress the neoprene foam by 1/3 to 1/2, so it gives you some latitude in the thickness you pick, but it is wise to have a selection of sizes in case you need to step down or up a thickness.

Often Tele pickups come with lengths of rubber tubing rather than springs (a lot easier to fit IMO). Maybe Adam had some of the tubing already pushed around the neck pickup screws? That's another option for the two single coil mounts. If you can get hold of some tubing, it's easy to cut it to the desired length.

For the tubing look for "Latex rubber surgical tubing". Whilst searching, I've just ending up buying a 1m length of 3mm ID x 6mm OD tube, which is about the right size for all but the largest pickup screws. Cost me £3.50 (around $5.80) including 'free' postage on eBay. But you'll need to be able to cut it square, otherwise your pickups will want to tilt.

But be prepared for any search involving the words 'latex rubber' to come up with some weird and very uncomfortable looking outfits. ;)

Confession: I had no clue what I was doing when those videos were made in 2012. People still find them useful but they are in urgent need of updating.

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Originally Posted by adam

Confession: I had no clue what I was doing when those videos were made in 2012. People still find them useful but they are in urgent need of updating.

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Haha, Note to self: Don't watch that particular video!!!:p

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Originally Posted by wazkelly

Hi Zandit, a cheats way is to cut up some high density foam to place under the PUP so that it acts with a bit of a spring action and maybe then you don't need the traditional springs. That is what came with the Custom John Bensons that went in the EX-5 and no springs were used at all.

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This what '80s Kramers did. You have to replace the foam after 10-15 years as it starts to powderise. But it would probably be your best bet.

Even a small bit of timber shaped to the correct size and thickness that won't be seen from above should help. The tube idea Simon mentioned has merit but reckon you may still need something under their belly to keep them sitting square and upright.

Thanks guys, gives me some ideas to work with.
I have some old yoga/exercise mats that the wife no longer uses, while they are bright blue and red, I could easily hide them from view in the tight cavities.
Tonight I had Brass band practice, so I'll start shielding and wiring tomorrow night!

Time for an update.
I'm feeling like this guitar is telling me to quit. Nothing seems to be going right, and I've just been very frustrated with it.

I was able to hide the chipped paint with silver and black markers. It's not perfect, but if I keep trying to fix it, I'll make it worse, and just end up stripping the thing back and starting over, something I'm in no mood to do, and prefer throwing it in the bin.

The pickups been frustrating because of the size of the cavities. I got the cavities shielded, however the Copper tape from the green shed does not have the sticking power of DB's quality stuff. It's on there now, but there was a lot of cursing going on!
I tried some foam from a yoga mat, but that was too fiddly, and too thick. I ended up getting some superglue, and putting a little around the bottom of the spring I locked them in place. This was my first idea, and I can recommend it to anyone in that position again in the future.

The small height adjusting screws on the Humbucker just kept getting stripped, so I ended up ditching that pup, and using the second Humbucker that Waz sold me. This is an 11.5 versus the 12.1 I was originally going to put in, but it should still do the trick. I'm not a heavy player, so I guess this will be the softer Humbucker to use.
I will have the 9.7 split-able Hot Stack in the middle, and the 5.7 Magnum in the neck which should give be a good variety of sounds.

So, as it sits right now, the pickups are mounted, and the wires are run through the body. I've applied three coats of primer to the head stock, and tomorrow I'll hit it with a couple of coats of satin black. Then, once that is dry, I'll apply a decal, and some clear coats, then finish the neck in clear Dingotone neck stain.
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...pssza3hami.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps7fwhg3gu.jpg

In regards to the decal, has anyone used adhesive contact? In case there is a difference to what you Mainlanders call stuff, I'm referring to the stuff you often wrapped books in as a kid for school.
It would be curious to see if this is workable, or will it be too thick?

Next big job, will be tackling this nightmare of Weirdy's!!:p
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psyvhtxezo.jpg

You'll be fine, just ask if you need any help.

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Originally Posted by WeirdBits

You'll be fine, just ask if you need any help.

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I already have in my other pickup thread.....:p

See other thread ;)

Hi buddy, I see you have had a dose of the frustrations and we all experience that from time to time.

With the finish line in sight most of the hard work is behind you and only some fiddly bits left to do. Acknowledge the wiring may appear daunting but if you take your time and follow weirdy's instructions it will all work out just fine.

Hang in there mate, I know you can do it.

Yes, keep at it. Not far to go now.

If you are still having trouble with the copper tape, you could always get the thin CA glue, and run that around the cracks. That stuff has very little surface tension and will run everywhere - which is good for getting in cracks but also means that you need to be very careful with it as it does run everywhere. You can buy long needle-thin nozzles for it (though they're not always easy to track down), which makes it a bit more controllable.

Don't forget that once the shielding is finished, you can always paint over it, so if you don't want the copper showing in the single coil cavities, just paint them black.

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Originally Posted by Zandit75

Time for an update.
In regards to the decal, has anyone used adhesive contact? In case there is a difference to what you Mainlanders call stuff, I'm referring to the stuff you often wrapped books in as a kid for school. It would be curious to see if this is workable, or will it be too thick?

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Hi Zandit, in theory it could work on it's own but not so sure how any finish would remain on top of it. Presume you would cover the whole face and trim at the right angled edges with a sharp blade? Tuning peg holes could be done by gently turning a drill by hand as the retaining washers will hide any rough edges.

I'd imagine you would be thinking of cutting out letters or a logo from say black vinyl and sticking that on?

Generically called sticky-backed plastic in the UK, though it is more often called by the leading brand name of Fablon. It is quite thick compared to a standard decal and you will always have problems with the edges wanting to lift. As Waz said, you may have trouble getting a finish to stick, as it is a vinyl product and designed to be wipe-clean. You may also get some solvent interference issues with some clear finishes, as I'm not sure a water-based clear finish would stick at all.

One solution is to get some drafting film (UK name), which is a hi-tech form of tracing paper. Normally has a matt/flat finish on one side so you can draw or trace your logo with a pencil, then using a sharp knife (a scalpel is ideal), you can cut out the shape/letters to make a stencil. You then get some light-tack spray adhesive, spray this on the back of the film, then stick the film on the headstock. Spray with a colour of your choice, remove the stencil and when dry, spray over with a clear lacquer for protection.

It is possible to leave the letters with a hollow centre (e.g. "O") intact before sticking the film on, then lightly cutting through the letter outlines and removing the main part of the letter, whilst leaving the centres intact as a mask.

Easiest way to do decals is with transfer decal paper than can be bought for a few sheets pretty cheap on eBay here in Oz.

Used the stuff on my 4 builds with an ink jet printer and created the logos in MS Paint from memory. Not a huge selection of fonts but good enough and was way too paranoid about importing viruses by downloading fonts from the net.

If I was to do them again I would set them out so that the section to be cut would fit the size of the headstock and then no edge lines are visible. If you want a black headstock face just do the logo or lettering reversed out in a solid black background. Saves heaps of mucking around masking up and painting. In fact one idea I have in mind is to take a photograph of something and reverse that out so that it almost has a 3D look, or maybe have that 'something' placed on a black background. Same can be done if you want to achieve a clear headstock by placing the object on a white background however if there is not enough White colour balance it may add a slight opaque hue.

Got some more progress shots for you all.
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psomgdocci.jpg

I shaped the edges slightly so I could have a bare timber edge around the headstock, and the way I masked it seemed to work well enough. I've since applied the start of a new logo, but I think I've stuffed it. More to come on that later!
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psk63ythvt.jpg

At this stage, the back of the neck has had two coats of DT clear neck stain, it has since had it's first coat of clear DT top coat.
I've filled the old holes with toothpics and timber glue. Most of the sections should be covered by the new tuning machines.
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...pst6w8ybte.jpg

Part way through the wiring up of the switches and pups. Pretty fiddly work with the 3-way switch, so I made sure to get that out of the way first!
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfu6jl8je.jpg

Hopefully will be able to get a sound out of it tonight if all goes to plan!

Looking really amazing man! Really clean crisp lines.

cheers,
Gav.

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Originally Posted by gavinturner

Looking really amazing man! Really clean crisp lines.

cheers,
Gav.

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Thanks Gav, most appreciated!

I like the headstock with it's pointy beak and the chamfered edge binding look.

In the home straight now.

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Originally Posted by wazkelly

I like the headstock with it's pointy beak and the chamfered edge binding look.

In the home straight now.

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Almost!
I completed the wiring tonight, but I have a couple of gremlins. The Neck and Bridge pups seem to work fine when selected singly, but the Hot stack is proving troublesome.
I'll ask some questions in the wiring thread so Weirdy can have a gander at it.

OK, probably need to re-trace your steps on splitting the middle hot stack to make sure the right wires and going to the correct places.

Everything is checked 3 times over, but I'll have to have another check tomorrow night. My brain is fried at the moment. I'm probably missing something simple.

Have a look at the instructions that came on the packaging for that PUP as it clearly identifies which wires are what.

Unfortunately my Son was around last weekend and took his couple of guitars to his new place otherwise I could have had a look and taken a photo for you.

The mini switch was pre-wired with PUP wires snipped off and this link to dimarzio site might help.... http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/defaul...4Conductor.pdf

From memory it should have been done like the description for 'Dual Sound with Single Coil Switching' which is the 1st diagram on LHS of linked document.

It could be the on/on/on switch. They come in two varieties for middle position pole connections (though the two outer positions should be exactly the same, so up and down should both work).

Well now, what do we have here?? Progress??!!!!

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps2o5ggkxg.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...pswgnm0k7r.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...pskoxcmg1p.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psgden9wlh.jpg

One last one
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps8keil5mi.jpg

I still have to fit the nut which needs a slight amount of shaping, then get the strings fitted and plug here in for some sound.
Not sure about a logo either. Still playing with that one.

Well done buddy. Can't wait to hear how she sounds.

You and me both Waz!
I just need to solder on the jack output, and that will be everything electrically taken care of. Not sure if anything can be done about the pots scratchyness though.

Just keep em on 10 and no worries haha!

Hopefully an expert will drop in soon with a more informed response.

Haha, that's a great idea!!

As mentioned elsewhere, try spraying some Servisol contact cleaner into the pots and waggle them around a few times. It can improve matters and may cure it completely (for a while at least). It's one of those must-have items for guitarists/bassists, always useful for cleaning switches, jack sockets, pots etc.

If that doesn't improve things, then it's time to replace the pots. But this can now be done at your leisure.

FINISHED!!!!
All done and dusted! For some reason the scratchiness/static is gone now that I've soldered on the jack output, so I don't know what the issue was there!
I present to you all the Carsonstein!!
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psdzksmm5u.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psjbwekbcl.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psnr0iv7mp.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psdbjiprty.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfchlejhz.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...pssxgavyvo.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psda6hojxs.jpg

They look good together!
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...psxrtehnly.jpg

Well done, Zandit! Time for a well-earned rest.

If the jack was only connected by twisted wires before then there was probably a high-resistance connection. This can make the electronics very much more susceptible to picking up noise. So your pots are probably very slightly scratchy and the poor connection amplified this noise. But with a good connection, the noise is still there but now at a level too low to hear.