A couple of set up questions

mbe

Capo on first fret, slacken strings, undo neck screws, fit 1/2" strip of business card in bottom neck pocket, screw neck back on, remove capo, tune strings up, raise bridge to desired height and retune. 

baldy

Thanks @ Maynehead that makes sense now.
Also thanks @mbe & anyone else I have forgot.
Off to find a business card.

baldy

Success.
Business card shim added to body end of the neck pocket.
Bridge raised  to give a string height of 2mm bass E & 1.5mm treble E at 12th fret.
Pickups adjusted to 2.4mm bass side & 1.5mm treble side (I had to cut 3 more coils off each of the bridge pickup height  springs so they are now just under half their original length).
No buzzing or choking.
Tuned up & intonated.
The bridge Hot Slag is now singing with plenty of punch, bite & clarity, the neck Rolling Mill already sounded great.
Thanks to everyone who gave advice.
As usual this forum is great.
Thanks again.
Off for another quick noodle.

mbe

My cheap flying V has a set neck and I couldn't get the action low enough so I had to file the bottom of the bridge down. Fortunately I have diamond coated files, made light work getting through the chrome plating.

baldy

My flying V was free. 

baldy

Another question 
After a few hours of playing this thing I have noticed that with the selector in the middle position, only in the middle position, I get some string buzz ?
This disappears if I touch the strings so I guess it is a grounding issue ?
I have grounded the bridge.
However I have wired the guitar as per the Irongear wiring diagram & have checked all the solder connections several times.

mbe

Have you got any wall wart type power supplies connected to the mains in the room?

I had a similar problem and it was a switched mode power supply for a drum machine interfering with the amp power supply. Took me a while to figure it out after nearly rewiring the guitar. 

baldy

This was playing it through an Amplifi TT & headphones, my usual evening living room noodling set up.
I don"t get any string buzz with any of my other guitars played through this set up. 
As I said only with the selector in the middle, not bridge or neck on their own only when combined & it disappears if I touch the strings so I am thinking grounding ?

baldy

Well mbe you are correct.
I just tried the guitar in my back bedroom through my Katana 50 & no string buzz.
Brought it down to my living room & string buzz.
It is weird as none of my other guitars does this but it must be something to do with the power supply in my living room & this particular guitar.

ICBM

It’s not string buzz, it’s electrical noise - string buzz is when the strings buzz against the frets.

If touching the strings stops it then the grounding is ok, and this is completely normal. 

baldy

Thanks ICBM & thanks mbe.
It is obviously something to do with this particular guitar being played in my living room.
I will try unplugging things in my living room & see if I can identify the offending thing as I would like to be able to play it in my living room same as my other guitars.

mbe

Have you got a dimmer switch or a fluorescent lamp? Also could possibly be a fridge motor.

baldy

I put the guitar on my settee where I play connected to the Amplifi & it"s buzzing.
One by one I unplugged things that were on, which in the living room was only the cordless phone charger & the 4 way phone/tablet charger that is permanently plugged in & turned on & still buzzing.
Went into the kitchen where the only thing that was turned on was the fridge/freezer, pulled the plug on that & the buzzing stopped, plugged it back in & the buzzing started, unplugged stopped etc etc so it must be the fridge/freezer, which is only 6 weeks old.
The buzzing only happens when the selector is in the middle position, which TBH will very rarely get used, so it is not that much of problem but is there anything I can do other than turning the fridge of if I want to play this guitar in my living room in the middle position ?

robgilmo

Run an extension lead from where the other amp is plugged in.

ICBM

More shielding in the guitar can help, but passive pickups and electronics are always a bit prone to noise. Grounding the strings and using the capacitance of your body to help suppress it is the easiest ‘quick fix’, and always will be!

baldy

I have shielded the cavity with non conductive paint & copper tape. The other amp is in my back bedroom so an extension from there is not really an option. I can try powering the amplifi from a different socket in my living room I suppose.

Bridgehouse

I suspect that the ring main in your lounge has a grounding issue..

baldy

How would that be identified/corrected ?