DTL-1 Ash body. First build

[McCreed]

...the ground wires can go anywhere on top of the pot. They do not need to be on the lug.

However, the lug does need to be connected to the pot casing either by bending and soldering as it is now, or via a length of wire.

I prefer connecting it with a piece of solid copper wire or sometimes an offcut "leg" from a resistor or capacitor.

[Johnny Bravo]

Thanks, McCreed - Yup, the lug was ground (ie bent and soldered to the top).

So, here it is - warts and all...



I think I had some success with the electrics - my Tele makes amplified noise and the selector/volume/tone pots all seem to work (although the sound is very "thin" to my ears).

And I think I have a grounding issue - although I can't rule out the possibility that it's my 30 year old Peavey practice amp, which has been gathering dust for many years and it might be the poor old Peavey that's contributing to the overall tone.

I won't lie - the strings buzz and it plays like a pig. No success story there. I took a chance that my fretwork was ok but clearly it wasn't. And I'm definitely going to have to revisit my scale length (I'm pretty sure there's not supposed to be a good harmonic on the 6th fret :P )

I reckon I've got high spots on the third and fifth frets, so it's back to more fret work - sigh - and I'm going to have another good look at the nut. I might replace it with something decent, I think. This will be a good opportunity to get some practice in, as the nut on my old Strat could do with replacement.

Oh well, I give myself 5 out of 10 for the current end result. Hopefully some fine-tuning and further work can bring up the standard a bit. I'll take it to my local luthier to get some specific advice on where I went wrong and what to do next.

Cheers everyone for your help along the way.

Regards

JB