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Hello,
I started my first build ever, I'm trying to do the mock build
Attachment 40572
I have a few questions, I need some help:
about the bridge what this screws are for?
Attachment 40573
the screw of the low E saddle does not fit into the hole, is it a problem?
Attachment 40574
the pickup doesn't fit in the hole, is it ok to dig in the signed spots?
Attachment 40575 Attachment 40576
the bridge big blocks doesn't fit well in holes, is it ok to use some candle wax to push it into?
Attachment 40577
when I start sanding and coloring I don't have to touch the neck bottom end (which I will have to screw on), am I right?
Attachment 40578
I hope not to annoy too much, thank you:D!
The TOM bridge post holes are usually set at an angle to the nut. Those screws are to adjust the angle of the TOM bridge for "fine tuning" the intonation. However they see excessively long to me.Quote:
I have a few questions, I need some help:
about the bridge what this screws are for?
That is not right. The intonation screws should move freely back & forth through the saddle(s). I would contact PBG if you can't get it to go in and travel properly.Quote:
the screw of the low E saddle does not fit into the hole, is it a problem?
That is a "dog ear" P-90 which is intended to be "flush mounted" (sitting on the top) not recessed into the hole.Quote:
the pickup doesn't fit in the hole, is it ok to dig in the signed spots?
The bridge post bushes (or bushings) are meant to be tight so they don't pull out too easily. It is not recommended to push them in during the mock build phase and typically only inserted after all the finishing process has been completed.Quote:
the bridge big blocks doesn't fit well in holes, is it ok to use some candle wax to push it into?
To temporarily insert them for mock build, neck alignment purposes etc, it's best to just wrap enough masking tape around the threads of the male screw part so that it will fit snuggly into the post hole. Just be sure to wrap the tape neatly and evenly to ensure the posts are not askew or off-centre.
Mostly yes. Typically you should only need to (lightly) sand the neck heel to smooth out any rough or loose fibres. You don't want to risk sanding too much that it effects the angle or shape of the heel.Quote:
when I start sanding and coloring I don't have to touch the neck bottom end (which I will have to screw on), am I right?
There are exceptions but I would only recommend experienced builders undertake anything more than just "cleaning up".
Hi Giacomo,
I have not built the kit, and still quite new to building guitar - so hopefully some better advice will come from the experts.
The bridge screws allow the position of the bridge to be adjusted to change string scale length to be adjusted for better intonation.
The low E saddle screw definitely needs to be able to go all the way in - is the screw damaged or is the hole damaged?
It is OK to open the bridge route a bit to get the pickup to sit nicely - a bit of filing or sanding in the corners as marked should do it.
The bridge posts are normally hammered in using a small block of wood after the body is finished. See you tube video (about 6 mins onwards) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd_BZRUE0Ls.
The neck is a screw on? (The PB site shows it as a glue on!) If it is a screw on neck you do not need to sand and colour, you can if you want to. I always do though as it seals the wood. Do not sand it too much though. You do NOT put colour or finish on the neck heel if it is a glue on as the finish may prevent to glue from holding.
I hope this helps - and others will correct my mistakes or add to my advice.
LOL, McCreeds beats me again! I need to learn to type faster.
The bridge saddle adjustment screw is normally held in with a circlip to stop this happening. The small clip is obviously missing here and you need a new bridge from Pit Bull. Whilst you should be able to push the screw back in place, it makes any intonation adjustment much harder and the saddle is likely to move about.
As has been said, the long screws on the bridge are for crude intonation adjustment by moving the whole saddle backwards, in case the saddles don't have enough rearward movement when the bridge is sitting hard against the two posts. Hopefully you won't need to use these screws at all. If you don't, then I'd just remove them. If you do, it should only be by screwing the in one or two mm at most, so I'd cut them down to size after setting the guitar up.
The heel of bolt-on necks will almost always have finish applied to them, so light sand only, but then apply the same finish as you use on the rest of the neck. It's the heel pocket that normally doesn't get any finish applied to it, so you'd mask that off, maybe 2mm below the edges, so that the finish on the top just runs over the edge, which helps it adhere to the wood better. If you mask off right up to the edge, the finish on the edge becomes vulnerable and can chip-off easily.
The kit P-90 pickup should hopefully be the type that has the main pickup body with holes in the metal dog ears and a separate loose plastic cover that then fits over the body with matching holes in the dog ears. (Some kits have had P90s where the pickup body is glued to the cover and only the cover has the fixing holes). If the main body doesn't quite fit in the pickup rout, then yes, it's fine to remove some wood at the corners so it fits in properly and the metal ears sit flat on top of the body. As long as the hole still gets hidden by the plastic cover, you're fine. You just don't want to see the pickup rout with the cover on.
It may be that the pickup is prevented from sitting flush by the pickup cable. Sometimes the hole between the pickup rout and the control cavity is a bit high. So check that's not a problem, otherwise you'll need to find a way to lower the bottom of the cable hole by a few mm so the pickup sits flat.
Whilst I have knocked bridge bushings in using a hammer and a block of wood, I prefer to use a clamp to squeeze the bushing in. If you are doing it after the finish is applied, then there's less chance of the finish cracking around the hole, or the hammer or block slipping and you damaging the finish. But you need a G-clamp with a long throat and a decent gap between the jaws to do this. I recently bought a 200m deep G-clamp with a 85mm distance between the jaws for this purpose. Don't forget to put something soft against the rear of the guitar body before laying it down if you hammer the inserts in, and something soft and a thin flat block of wood to spread the load on the back if you press the inserts in.
And don't forget to fit the bridge grounding wire into the treble-side post hole before you finally fit the bushing.
Yes I have the backplate and screws, I think I can choose by screw on or glue it, but I'll mount it with screwsQuote:
The neck is a screw on? (The PB site shows it as a glue on!) If it is a screw on neck you do not need to sand and colour, you can if you want to.
it seems a bit high if I don't enlarge the cavity, isn't it?Quote:
That is a "dog ear" P-90 which is intended to be "flush mounted" (sitting on the top) not recessed into the hole.
Attachment 40604
I fixed the low E saddle, this little part had flown away, I put it back:D:
Attachment 40605
I guess next step is wiring and soldering!!!:eek:
Thanks for help and for your replies
Yes, that pickup rout needs enlarging!
Quote:
That is a "dog ear" P-90 which is intended to be "flush mounted" (sitting on the top) not recessed into the hole.
Ahhhh, didn't realise it sat that way from the first pic! So yes, needs the routing extended as Simon pointed out.Quote:
it seems a bit high if I don't enlarge the cavity, isn't it?
Once again, I misinterpreted the problem - D'oh!!! Glad you found the clip got that sorted.Quote:
I fixed the low E saddle, this little part had flown away, I put it back:
Hi,
I'm about to solder and wire, i think i will use this video as guide, is it good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3RV1_0aYtc
I also checked the wiring diagram for JR1-DC from Pitbull guitars website, I didn't understand how do I solder the wire ground to bridge?
Thank you
There should be a hole drilled laterally to the treble side bridge post hole either from the pickup cavity or the control cavity.Quote:
I also checked the wiring diagram for JR1-DC from Pitbull guitars website, I didn't understand how do I solder the wire ground to bridge?
However, the lack of this hole seems to be a regular occurrence in a number of theses style kits.
The solution is drilling the hole yourself. You'll need a long drill bit in order to get the appropriate angle without marring the edge of the cavity with the chuck. A 3mm diameter bit will be big enough to accommodate the size of the ground wire.
And you shouldn't actually need to solder the ground wire to the bridge. It just needs enough contact with the metal of the underside of the bridge to do the job. Typically splaying the wires so it sits nice and flush when tightening the bridge to the body is a good idea.
I found the holeQuote:
There should be a hole drilled laterally to the treble side bridge post hole either from the pickup cavity or the control cavity.
Attachment 40708
Do I have to touch ground wire with bridge bushing or direct with bridge?
Just the bushing insert. When you're ready to put the bushings in, strip the end off sone wire, put the wire in through the hole leaving the bare ends poking out into the post hole, then put the bushing in so that the bare wire is trapped between it and the side of the hole. That's all that's needed. Then when you put the wiring harness in, solder the bridge ground wire to the back of a pot.
That's great. One less thing to have to fiddle with.Quote:
I found the hole
Hi, which of these is the ground wire?
Attachment 40775
It doesn't matter which colour wire you use for ground, but I always use black if I can. Just be consistent and don't use red for one bit and black for another. It makes it a lot harder to check for faults.
On the output jack, you've currently got the red wire going through the hole in the ground connection tab. The other tab is the signal connection.
ok, thank you
Laying everything out as sort of a "mock build" for the electronics like you've done is a good idea. Especially if all this is new to you.
It helps visualise how things fit together and "see" the flow of signal path. Think of it as water flowing through pipes starting from the pickups finishing at the output jack.
I did it! Look at this abomination of nature (never did it before!) :D
Attachment 40800
Attachment 40798
Attachment 40799
I have a doubt: do the wires have to touch directly the surface of the pot or can they touch just the solderin tin and stay a bit higher? I mean e.g. from bottom to top: pot -> solderin tin -> wire -> solderin tin
Maybe I heated the pots too much, is it possible that I have damaged them? I didn't try if it works yet.
Touching just the solder is OK, though it is better if you can get the wire as close to the metal as you can (not always easy doing it by yourself).
It looks like you struggled to get the pot warm enough for the solder to flow smoothly, which is normally a sign of an underpowered soldering iron. Small low-wattage irons (15W-20W) are fine for soldering small components in place on a PCB, but the back of a pot takes a lot more heating up. Too low a power iron is actually worse here than too high a power. A higher power iron (50W and ideally temperature controlled) will heat up the area to be soldered quickly, before the heat has time to spread all over the back of the pot. With a low power iron, the heat spreads out all over the pot before it gets warm enough for the solder to melt, so there's far more danger of damaging the carbon track inside.
I'd take some cutters and snip off the loose ends of wires as some may move over time or with vibration and possibly ground out the signal.
Good advice from Simon there about the power of the iron. It does seem counter-intuitive that "hotter" is better for not damaging pots, but Simon explained it well.
Coincidentally I just posted about soldering in another thread, so out of laziness, I will cut and paste it here.
My comment may be more relevant if you find there are issues when you test the signal path.
"Well, the important thing is that it's working!
Your suspicion about cleaning up the solder on the pot may very well have been a big part of the problem. When I see dirty great blobs of solder, it sends up red flags for me. High potential for cold solder joints or shorts. I'm not trying to be critical, just honest.
Good soldering technique takes practise and an appropriately sized iron. I've seen some jobs that could only be qualified as "art".
My skill level is far from an artform but has steadily improved over 20 years of doing it and still improving!"
The neater you can get your soldering, the less likely you are to have problems.
edit to add:
If you think you'll continue doing more soldering and building, it's worth buying a "third hand" contraption. It makes soldering so much easier.
Yes, unfortunately it's a cheap low-watt iron and it was hard to melt the solder, hope I did not break all; if it doesn't work is it easy to replace pots with new ones?Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
It is very easy to replace the pots with new ones. CTS, Bourns or Alpha pots are the normal quality brands to look for but Alpha are a bit cheaper and will be more compatible with the kit knobs, as they normally come with 18-spline shafts. I'd suggest 500k audio taper pots for volume and tone.
Another consideration when soldering to the back of pots, is the type of tip that's on the soldering iron.Quote:
Yes, unfortunately it's a cheap low-watt iron and it was hard to melt the solder, hope I did not break all; if it doesn't work is it easy to replace pots with new ones?
Most irons come with a conical tip (sometimes called a pencil tip) as standard. A "chisel" tip is much more efficient for pots as there is wider distribution of heat across the end of the tip, thus the surface of the pot casing. A 4mm chisel tip works really well IME.
Pro Tip: (see what I did there???)
If you can't find a proper chisel tip for your particular brand of iron, a conical tip can easily be fashioned into a chisel tip with a file. The metal used in the tips is quite soft (I think some kind of copper alloy) so it only takes a minimal number of strokes with a flat file to get it shaped to what you want.
Also, re: burning out or ruining pots with a soldering iron, I'm not saying it can't happen, but I've never personally seen it happen. And I've seen some pretty horribly messy gobbed-up soldering jobs on pots that still worked just fine (and I may even have been responsible for a few back in the early days :o).
I think I may have burnt out a pot once, but then as I never tested it before I soldered it, it may have been faulty to start with.
It works! :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgrDekx-Kvc
Interesting pickup mounting method! :p
Congrats on your success.
Hi everyone, it's been a while but I completed the build!
It was tougher than I thought, there are many flaws and imperfections but I'm happy with the result:
Attachment 44286 Attachment 44287 Attachment 44288
Attachment 44289 Attachment 44290
But now I have a problem with the neck, the first three frets are unplayable, strings touch the fretboard completely, the action is high beyond the 7th fret but too low in the first frets - I tried to unscrew the truss rod to his limit, now it's a bit better but strings still touch when I play on first frets - maybe do I have to lift up the bridge a bit? Or maybe does the neck have problems(faulty)?
Also I have to raise the pickup for sure because is too far from strings but shouldn't be difficult(I hope).
Thank you for the support!
Could be any number of things or a combination of all of them. Do you have a notched straight edge? Or even a long regular straight edge? It's an easy way to see how much (if any) relief you have. It sounds like you might still need to ease off the truss rod a bit more but it's better to check it rather than guess. Also, keep in mind that you want to do small adjustments and then wait as it takes a while for the strings to pull that neck up once you loosen off the truss rod. It might be overkill, but I generally like to wait 24 hours after an adjustment before I'll make another one.
Usually, if the bridge is too low, you'll get buzz or worse across most frets, but I wouldn't rule that out either. If you fret at the 1st and last fret (using a capo or two is easier for this test), do the strings ring out if you pluck between the two fretted points?
Oh, I just read that you said you adjusted the truss rod out to the limit. Well, assuming you've given it time to settle into place, I'd be checking with a straight edge. You should have plenty of relief if you've loosened it right off. If not, might be worth seeing what your options are for a replacement. Not sure how you'll go since you've finished it, but no harm in asking the question.
You could also have an issue with your neck angle at the pocket. It may be too shallow. That's the sort of thing you can fix with shims.
Hi giacomo.
Can you post a picture of the neck relief? It could be the neck, or the truss rod, or the height of the bridge, or all of them.
Hopefully, the truss rod can still be adjusted, or the neck tilted in the pocket with a bit of sanding! With a bolt-on neck there are a few options available.
So I unscrewed the neck, sanded a bit the lower back part that touches the body and mounted all again, after a few days it got better, the neck settled a bit more and now there is a small buzz only in the first and second fret in low A and D strings but you can't hear it when you plug it to the amp - here some pics:
Attachment 44305 Attachment 44306 Attachment 44307
Attachment 44308 Attachment 44309
Truss-rod is still untight almost to the limit, if I push the first and last fret to check the neck relief the low E string touches the frets until the 6/7th fret after there is less than a mm of room, I think I'll leave it like that by now, looks like it works and it's playable, I am afraid of doing some damage.
I also rised the pickup a bit with some small cardboard shims in the right side (high strings side) because the volume was too low :D.
If you're happy with it, except for the buzz on the A and the D strings, you might try just lowering the frets a hair just under those strings. I use a fret dressing stick for this:
Attachment 44310
This tool is cheap on Ebay or Amazon...even at StewMac it's under $9 US. Good for just sanding down small parts of a fret.
If you are not happy with the way the guitar plays...you might want to check if your frets are level. They usually need some work from the shop so if you have not done a fret leveling and crowning you might want to. You can check the fret level with one of these to see if any frets are standing a little proud.
Attachment 44311
You can get these under $8 US on Amazon if you don't have one.
After some days the low E string still touches a few frets if I push it in the first and last fret...
I was thinking if I sand the lower part of the neck that touches the body pocket by a millimeter for example, will the neck have some relief?