That’s fine. Shielding paint is graphite, not a metal.Originally Posted by tommycarlos
That’s fine. Shielding paint is graphite, not a metal.
We use a lot of shielding paint at work, most is not graphite, but copper based. The spray can to hand (empty after last night's noise source chasing session on a lighting rig) is EMI 35 from Kontakt Chemie. A lot less expensive than the silver-based paints & cleaner to work with than the graphite ones.
(One drawback with using a spray conductive coating is that you have to be VERY careful in masking up anywhere you don't want to coat - don't ask how I know)
That's the reason it's so hard to turn!
But it's so hard to find strings that have the right length thick section. There's almost no data on the strings on most web sites, and it is very important to know.
Another make may be better match, but it gets expensive trying them out.
Yeah, especially when what I REALLY want are LaBella Flatwounds that cost $150AUD (it’s what I have on my Squier).
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My most hated part of any build is the wiring. I suck at soldering, I have arthritis that makes manipulating small things a pain. Etc.
This kit was mostly premiered, so it should have been easier, but in the time since it arrived, 3 of the wires have already broken off and are loose, making it that much harder.
I am thinking of starting from scratch with a much simpler diagram. I only need 2 pickups (they are so close together on this kit, I doubt you’d get much of a bridge pickup sound anyway). I was thinking of wiring it like a jazz bass, where it has 1 tone, and 2 volume… with no switch. Then only using two of the pickups (neck and middle for hum cancellation).
Being designed to fit in a Strat, the bridge pickup will be wound hotter then the middle and neck pickups, and placed more where the middle pickup would normally be, will probably have a significantly higher output than the neck or middle pickups.
If you only use two pickups, I'd swap the middle and bridge pickups round, and not wire the old bridge back in, and then use the new bridge (old middle) and neck pickup positions for a wider range of sounds. Obviously use the neck and middle pickups to keep the hum cancelling aspect, though this will only work properly with both pickups at equal volumes.
Though I may also be tempted to use the physical bridge and middle positions rather than middle and neck as the neck position could be pretty bassy. If you can get it to work with the switch first, you could at least compare the sounds from the three different positions and decide then which positions sound best.
Arthritis is not nice at all. Do you know anyone who could help you with the soldering?
I actually had a go at it tonight. I stripped off all the wires not needed for my Jazz Bass inspired wiring and it actually worked! I have proper cloth wire and nicer pots etc coming, but for now it seems like it’s alive!!!
I’ll have a real play with it tomorrow to know for sure.
I kept the neck and middle wired up so at full volume I have the hum cancelling, but I agree that I should move the middle pickup to where the bridge one is now to get a wider range.
I just wanted to have some fun, but this might replace my Squier
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Last edited by tommycarlos; 27-08-2021 at 09:46 PM.
I had a play this morning. It’s awesome, and that’s with the stock pickups and without switching the position of the “middle” pickup.
It has more sustain than my Squier. Less “tick tack”, more like an even lower tuned baritone…
Even the intonation was easy (notoriously difficult on a Squier).
My only real complaint is that the “treble” strings action has to be a fair bit higher than the “bass” strings side. I suspect that’s due to it needing a fret level and dress. But it might still be solvable with more adjustments of the truss rod. We’ll see. Fret levelling is also something I have never done before so it scares me a bit.
Either way, dang it’s an awesome guitar.
I’ll get some final photos up once I get a set of Jazz Bass knobs (seems like the right choice considering).
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Well, while I wait for the knobs (as well as new pots, cap, jack, and wiring)... this is the "finished" product.
It plays as well or better that my Squier.
Thanks to Simon and everyone else that chimed in on this thread to help get me here
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