Hi guys, need some advice. Just received my kit, everything is fine except for the neck joint, looks to tall for the body. Question is should this be exact or should I be sanding it down to fit?
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Hi guys, need some advice. Just received my kit, everything is fine except for the neck joint, looks to tall for the body. Question is should this be exact or should I be sanding it down to fit?
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Hi Stephen, welcome to the forum, looks like a tele kit. Is the neck fit very tight in the pocket ?
I would sand the neck pocket edges (vertical faces as the guitar is in the pics) where the heel isn't flush. Do a test fit regularly so you don't oversand.
Make sure the bottom of the neck pocket is free of any wood shavings or high points.
When you drill the neck screw holes the heel will need a light sand too, so it sits flat in the pocket.
Also try and match the shape of the back of the heel to the rounded edges on the pocket, that's probably why there is a small gap at the back of the pocket.
These kits the fingerboard are supposed to be a bit proud.
And the pickguard should slide in under the fretboard lip, so you won't see any gap. Run a straight edge along the fretboard and check its height relative to the bridge saddles if you're concerned how the neck is sitting in the pocket.
Thanks guys, its actuallly a strat type with f hole, its a snug fit now so if i gradually sand her down sthe fretboard should be flush. No scratch plate i wanted a pure timber look guitar different to my les ,paul
Stephen, test the action first before you start sanding the heel down. If you sand the heel down too much (so the fretboard is flush for example) you may need to shim the neck a lot to get a nice low action. A bit of height in the neck pocket means less break angle is required. If you have to shim too much you wont like that look either.
cheers,
Gav.
Hi Stephen, it's definitely a tele body, it has binding and the standard tele huge neck pup cavity. It's probably a thinline tele TL-1TH or if it has a Bigsby tremelo a TL-1TB. You will need a large pickup surround to cover these oversized neck pup cavities if not using a pickguard.
Don't sand down the heel until you have done a mock build with the bridge and check the string action. You will probably find the height of the fingerboard should be about right once it fits snug in the pocket.
Can you please post a pic of the whole body ? If its got a hardtail bridge it's a TL-1TH, I've built one and has an F hole
Its the TLD-1TP model - funnily enough in the Tele section though a strat shape. Anyway I digress, ill attach photos tomorrow as file sizes to big. Having done a mock setup, there are a few questions. The tail piece has a tremolo arm, position it one way the tremolo arm sits above the strings, the other position and it sits between the E & B strings between the tail piece and bridge. When you see photos it will be as clear as mud. The other concern is the P90 pickups sit perfectly in their cavities but theres nothing to hold them in bar the wire meandering through the body. So not sure if they need an additional PU cover. There is no pickguard as i wanted something very different to the LP i own with humbuckers. First test build so we'll see. Next question will be which colour and oil to use. Dont want to lacquer it, wanting a matt wood stained guitar
Hi Stephen. My apologies I wasn't aware of this model.
Looks like a cool kit with the P90 pups.
Will have a look at photos on how to mount the pups
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Hi again, here are the pics. This will show the tail piece and tremolo (I'm assuming it goes this way. Flip it and the tremolo sits at the top of the strings. Also you can see how sweet the P90's sit in their cavity but I'll need to check how to keep them in there as there are no screws etc unless there is a pickup frame I can slot in.
Should be a sweet build once done but yes, a few questions but Im sure i'll be bugging you all :)
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Just thought I'd attach a full view of the entire guitar as the neck angle looks fine once i make the neck joint fit and the other photo, which I didn't notice there is a hole at the front of the pickup cavity
Hello Stephen, welcome to the forum & nice looking kit. You are asking all the right questions here! For the pickup mounting, there are holes between the A/D & G/B strings (assuming EADGBE tuning!). I believe the screws go directly through these to mount to the body.
Hope that helps!
http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/mer...p-installation
Especially video 4
Man that is one cool kit stephen. I didn't even know it existed.
Thanks guys, really appreciate you taking the time to help. I love the kit. Wanted a strat shape but its squared edges, binding, ill modify the head stock as it looks fenderish and also quite interested to hear the semi hollow effect. The p90s i guess will be in between single coils and humbuckers. Ill start my research before starting
Hi Stephen, glad you found your way to the Forum, there's so many experienced builders here who are happy to help. Not sure anyone answered this but, yes, the tremolo goes through the B and E strings, like on this Jazzmaster:
http://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Zo...frt_001_rr.jpg
Also, when you get the pickup installation sorted, I think you will find the neck height is spot on.
Just an update on the guitar, given the back its initial dark blue stain. Its a lot more royal blue on the back than the photo shows. The sides will be left natural and the front will be a stunning lighter blue finish showing the grain. Unfortunately the photos dont do it justice but once oiled it will look a treat.
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Hi Adam, thanks for that.
Once the body is stained I'll do the build and by that stage I will be able to see string height etc and then can adjust the neck height if needed PS have a guitar builder watching my every move :)
This is the back, sanded down before the final coat. Was a tad experimental but decided a darker back will work better (hide the 'first timer mistakes) :)
Attachment 9956
Stephen much prefer the darker blue on the back, hope you put some blue stain back on before the clear coats ?
Yes the photos are back to front. The back has since been restained. :) Attachment 9963
ah got it, cheers Stephen, back looks excellent, any shots of the front ?
Hi, this is the front, the darker blue will be lightened after the next sanding. I went too dark. Matching headstock.Attachment 10006Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy
Attachment 10007
New colour on the front. Will show completed one soon.
looks great Stephen, so will the sides be natural ?
Have you stepped down the headstock where the blue stain is ?
I bought the same pack of outdoor light globes on the weekend !!
I'll leave the side natural as will be the neck. Yes the head stock has a step down. Once done and oiled I'll do some nicer photos. Next step wiring etc etc etc ...must admit, sure tests the patience doing this :)
Hey Woks, was that from DB's favourite store? You know the one, the BGSFOS? If so you'll never get paroled from the naughty warehouse.Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy
Nice lookin guitar Stephen. Never seen one before, looks cool and should sound great with those P90's.
Finally finished. Made some changes even added a personal touch from Macau Casino. Anyway, wired it up with the help of a friend. Heaps of noise and the bridge, P90, nothing. So back to the drawing board I guess. Wired it up as per diagram but the p90 has nothing and overall the output is very low but that is insignificant compared to the general noise. I'd ask for any advice on what may be the likely issue but I guess you will all say, recheck all the wiring :)
Was thinking whether or not to line the cavities with foil....Attachment 10814 Attachment 10815
oh dumb question coming up.
Diagram said one P90 should have a yellow wire, the other a red wire. Both P90's had a yellow wire. It's just that I lwatched a video and the two pickups indeed came with one having a red and the other a yellow wire.
I just assumed they were both the same and we decide which one becomes bridge or neck?
There can be variations in the wire colours used by the factory, red, yellow or otherwise. While there may be cases where the pickups are the same, there are typically two ways to tell them apart. If you have a multimeter the bridge pickup will usually have a slightly higher resistance than the neck pickup, and/or the neck pickup will usually have a longer lead as it often has to reach further.
Lots of noise could be something shorting on your 'hot', usually related to the volume pot, which would tie in with your low volume. Noise can also be due to reversed connections on your output jack. it could even be a combination of things. Post some pics of your wiring so we can take a look.
Check all your earth's, make sure you've earthed the end lug of the volume pot.
And it looks great!
Looking great Stephen. I always liked the idea of these guitars, but the pot placement is all wrong. If they had been behind the switch I reckon I would have bought one of these for my first kit. Love what you've done with it though. great colour and the poker chip is a cool addition.Quote:
Originally Posted by stephen_r
I had a similar issue wiring up, then realised I hadn't earthed one the pots to itself. If you watch the wiring video you will see one of the pots has one terminal bent over and earthed to the base of the pot. Easy to miss on some diagrams
Thanks, I was concerned too, once I built it and played it a l;ittle last night (despite the noise) they didn't get in the way. But I do agree, if they were set further back that would have been perfect. :)
I'll have to recheck the wiring my friend has done as I think the issue will be the bridge pickup not being earthed correctly. The diagram has the PU's earthed separately and I think the two were joined first (ie twisted around eachother) then earthed so I think the connection may not be that good.
I'll post a pic of the wiring
Attachment 10856
Full length shot. I'm going in tonight to check this wiring. Stay tuned. Wish me luck :)
OK, re did wiring, sorted some of the noise but still nothing from the bridge pickup. Even when you tap on it nothing. When selected alone on the three way switch, zilch noise.
Short of the PU is dead or the three way switch is an issue, I'm up for suggestions. :)
Have you tried switching your pup wires on the 3-way? I thought I had a problem with my TL-1 so I tried wiring the neck pup to the bridge location on the 3-way switch. It at least proved that there was nothing wrong with my pups. Turned out all the noise and dead bridge pup was the result of wiring the output jack backwards.
Can you post a pic of your output jack wiring?
Nice MArshall DSL
Also if you have copper sheilded, sometimes the 3 way switches touch on the sheilding which short out some circuits.
Hi Stephen,
could be a few reasons why the bridge pickup has no output.
So the neck pickup is working ok and do you have much buzz/hum ?
the output jack should be wired correctly if the neck pickup is operating ok.
Have you got a multimeter Stephen ?
check the resistance of the bridge pickup hot wire and earth - P90's I think they are should be around 6-8k ohms - if you are getting no reading this will indicate the bridge pickup is dead.
both neck and bridge pickup earths can be joined to a common earth point but I'd make sure they have a good contact with the earth wire.
make sure the bridge volume pot there are no stray wires touching other lugs or the copper shielding may be earthing the signal.
also have you run an earth wire from the bridge to a common earth point ? First time I've seen one of these kits, does it have a tremelo with springs on the back ? usually you earth from the spring claw on a tremelo setup.
Also make sure the volume pot the 3rd lug is earthed to the back of the pot casing.
What are the 2 controls is it 1 vol/1 tone or 2 volumes ?
please post a pic of the control cavity.
Also check your switch wire connections are clean and no stray wires toughing the casing or other lugs.
EDIT I just had a look at the kit photos and the tremelo plate has an inbuilt spring on the back. Looks like you had to run an earth wire from the bridge posts to the control cavity, did you do that Stephen ? If you didn't the guitar isn't correctly earthed and will have an ugly hum.