Gavs JR1-DC

Lookin' good.

@Andy: yeah the pickup was a bit of a bitch. I just screwed it down slowly alternating sides until it was down. It's only just touching the wood really. I think if I try to screw it down hard it's going to break. One side started to pucker around the screw so I had to back it off again. Time will tell if it's there for good or if I need to do more..

cheers,
Gav.

Hi Gav, I've already said it before, but she is looking great, well done mate.

As my next build is a Jr, I have been following yours and Andy's build with great interest. I already know that my effort will not come up to scratch compared with your two, and I also know that the P90 is going to be a bit of a problem, so I am now looking at my next headache. The tune-o-matic wraparound bridge.

I had been waiting for my upgrade parts to arrive so have not started the build yet, but I have noticed that the T-O-M bridge that I got from StewMac is considerable taller than the original kit one. Is yours the same, and if so, has I caused a problem in obtaining correct string height??

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers,
rob

@Robin: thanks for the kind words. Pretty sure you'll blow this one out of the water - yet another GOTM winner for sure :). Yeah my tune-o-matic bridge is just an eBay special, but it is also higher than the original bridge. I haven't looked at it yet, but I'm assuming I'll need to put a shim in the neck pocket to accomodate the extra height. Last time I did this (ok, the only time ;)) I used a piece of milk bottle plastic cut to the correct size. This was a suggestion I read online, but maybe DB and Gav could give a (better) suggestion as to what to use. In any event the process was rather painless and I got the result I needed. The good thing is that at any time you can unscrew the neck and adjust/improve it.

Hope this helps.

cheers,
Gav.

Lol, thank YOU for the kind words Gav. The only GOTM winners that I have been lucky enough to snare have been the ones I have made as gifts for other people. The ones I make for myself are all about playability, hence the T-O-M bridge. Looks come a distant second.

Thanks for the tip about milk bottle plastic, I haven't seen that one before. I have used brand new playing cards before to shim a neck, seemed to do the trick. Plus I was able to convince myself that they are just reconstituted wood anyway. That eased my sense of propriotry lol. But as you said I am sure that DB or Gav will have better (or the correct) suggestions.

Thanks again mate
rob

For a shim I've seen some discussion around using a piece of paper and then painting it to get more width and stability.

Looking at the wiring for the Les Paul Jnr, I came across this interesting schematic from the Guitar Wiring Blog

http://guitarwiring.blogspot.com.au/...up-guitar.html

which provides for multiple tone options from a single, single-coil source. The circuit uses two on-on switches to provide both a tone bypass function and the choice of 2 different capacitance values when the tone circuit is engaged.

Here's how it works. Firstly we start with a standard single-pickup circuit with a volume pot and tone circuit:

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...9w88-image.jpg

We then add two cutoff switches (both controlled from the same physical switch) to provide the ability to completely remove the tone circuit when required:

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...klt2-image.jpg

To this we then add a second switch that selects between 2 separate capacitor values when the tone circuit is active:

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...9061-image.jpg

For me this seems like an interesting idea for the Jnr with its single P90. Not sure about the 2 capacitors thing (not sure i could choose two values that i wanted to use) but the bypass is definitely something i will wire in using a push-pull pot. I'll probably just use 500k pots, one push-pull and a .022 tone cap.

Anyone have any thoughts on the possibilities here?

cheers,
Gav.

Hi Gav,
From the way the bottom schematic is drawn it looks like both capacitors get switched in at once. If that is the case then you only need one capacitor so might as well use the top schematic. If the switch is a toggle between either capacitor then you can chose values depending on which roll-off frequency you want. Remember, passive EQ can only attenuate frequencies, so what you will be doing is selecting the (3dB) roll-off point of the attenuation when you choose the capacitor value. Passive guitar EQ circuits are a low-pass filter and you are just moving the frequency roll-off point when you turn the knob. Keep in mind that an electric guitar has a fundamental frequency range of around 80-1200 Hz (harmonics go up to 6kHz or more) when you select your capacitor. In the schematic below I have shown the roll-off frequencies for several commonly available capacitors to get you started, along with the formula in case you decide to change the pot value from 500k.
NOTE: 1 uF (microfarad) = 1000 nF (nanofarads). E.g. 0.022 uF = 22 nF

Hope this helps in some way.
Cheers.

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...u13l-image.jpg

@Lawry: wow thanks for the detailed response! That's exactly what I was looking for. Sorry about the stuffed up schematic - I drew it myself based on the wiring diagram in the blog. It was meant to be a toggle as you have shown. I understand the theory behind the low pass filter formed by the tone circuit, and that 22uF cap is normally used with 500k pots. I guess this means normally a 7kHz cutoff. What I don't really have a feel for is whether I would like the sound of other caps. Whether a lower or higher cut-off might also sound good to my ear. II guess I'll have to buy some caps and test by ear.

Thanks so much for the time your response took!

Cheers,
Gav.

Hey Gav,
If you want to play around just buy one of each (greencap) capacitor from Jaycar. They're only about 20 cents each.