Possibly looking at rewire of my DIY guitar, maybe some setup, advice also sought please!

thecolourbox

Funkfingers said:

Down tuning filth is generally associated with humbuckers.

If your Eastwood pickups are actually single coils under HB metal covers, perhaps, you could swap them for a pair of dual-coil Eastwood pickups?

Do you mean the ones from the Twin Tone? I honestly have no idea whether the ones I have are single or double, is there a way I could tell from the outside?

TTony said:

*Various clever stuff*

Thanks for this but those diagrams scare the life out of me, I don't think I can convey accurately in words my low level of cleverness. I am pretty sure I followed that specific diagram for the existing pickups and it stopped working in about a week at most.

I'm guessing the pots jack and switch are the cheap part and would need them either way, I already have the pickups and they are worth precisely nothing so I'd rather pay somebody to do it than pay for more pickups to be honest. I'd imagine about the same cost though I've not added it all up just yet, so would just be easier to give to somebody to do.

WezV said:

TTony said:

Given the Wez has fettled the neck join for you, it's got to be a reasonably decent guitar to play.

It was only a quick adjust whilst working on other stuff... Not a full setup

If I remember right, it took a much bigger shim than is ideal, which is why I wondered if it was stable. Ideally I would suggest a full pocket shim that both raises the neck and adds some angle.

Yeah it's still fine in that respect, but to be fair I don't really play it very often so maybe it might loosen with use. I'm a very wimpy-limpy player anyway so I doubt my playing style would cause it too much trouble...hopefully

Funkfingers

thecolourbox said:

Funkfingers said:

Down tuning filth is generally associated with humbuckers.

If your Eastwood pickups are actually single coils under HB metal covers, perhaps, you could swap them for a pair of dual-coil Eastwood pickups?

Do you mean the ones from the Twin Tone? I honestly have no idea whether the ones I have are single or double, is there a way I could tell from the outside?

Yes. Those chrome covered items.

Test #1
Hold Eastwood pickup loosely by the baseplate screw lugs between second finger and thumb. If the pickup wants to tilt under its own weight towards the polepiece screws side, the cover may only house one coil.

Test #2
Tap on the baseplate. If the half of the plate away from the polepiece screws sounds hollow compared the side with the screws protruding, it suggests that half of the cover houses nothing but wax.

Test #3
Connect one pickup directly to a jack socket. Connect to an amplifier. If hum and radio frequency interference can be heard through the amplifier, either you have a single coil or your soldering is completely to cock.

Er, maybe, given your earlier comments, perhaps you should skip non-invasive Test #3? 

ICBM

I haven't seen fake "half" or "un"buckers in any guitar made after the 1970s, so I think it's very unlikely.

Whatever they are, those pickups are likely to be perfectly adequate. I would definitely avoid anything complex or needing more expensive parts like push-pull switches.

thecolourbox

Funkfingers said:

thecolourbox said:

Funkfingers said:

Down tuning filth is generally associated with humbuckers.

If your Eastwood pickups are actually single coils under HB metal covers, perhaps, you could swap them for a pair of dual-coil Eastwood pickups?

Do you mean the ones from the Twin Tone? I honestly have no idea whether the ones I have are single or double, is there a way I could tell from the outside?

Yes. Those chrome covered items.

Test #1
Hold Eastwood pickup loosely by the baseplate screw lugs between second finger and thumb. If the pickup wants to tilt under its own weight towards the polepiece screws side, the cover may only house one coil.

Test #2
Tap on the baseplate. If the half of the plate away from the polepiece screws sounds hollow compared the side with the screws protruding, it suggests that half of the cover houses nothing but wax.

Test #3
Connect one pickup directly to a jack socket. Connect to an amplifier. If hum and radio frequency interference can be heard through the amplifier, either you have a single coil or your soldering is completely to cock.

Er, maybe, given your earlier comments, perhaps you should skip non-invasive Test #3? 

I'll give #1 and #2 a try tomorrow.

Are there any way diagrams for pickups with only two wires rather than four wires? If you try to Google two wire pickup diagram you just get diagrams for two pickups with wire

ICBM

Two wires is extremely easy - solder the braided shield to the back of the pot and the core wire to the end terminal.

TTony

thecolourbox said:

Thanks for this but those diagrams scare the life out of me, I don't think I can convey accurately in words my low level of cleverness. I am pretty sure I followed that specific diagram for the existing pickups and it stopped working in about a week at most.

Looking at that positively ... it means that you did manage to follow the wiring diagram and successfully wired the guitar up.


That it failed after a week probably means that one of the wires came away from a join - ie that your soldering wasn't quite 100%.  That just takes a little practice.  There's definitely a knack to soldering and once you've got it, you're away.


Persevere.  Nothing to lose, and a lot of skill and satisfaction to gain (and saving the cost of a tech!).

usedtobe

It’s a ball ache to have to go over it again, I know, but the feeling you’ll get, when it works, will be fantastic!

ICBM

It does seem to be remarkably hard to find an absolutely clear, straightforward diagram for the totally standard 2-wire circuit!

This looks like it though...


The only thing not shown is the bridge/tailpiece ground wire, which should be soldered to the nearest pot casing - usually the neck volume, upper left in the pic.

thecolourbox

ICBM said:

It does seem to be remarkably hard to find an absolutely clear, straightforward diagram for the totally standard 2-wire circuit!

This looks like it though...


The only thing not shown is the bridge/tailpiece ground wire, which should be soldered to the nearest pot casing - usually the neck volume, upper left in the pic.

In a moment of madness I thought I'd give this a go...sadly it doesn't seem to bear any resemblance to what mess I have here so I've no idea where to start. Will call around some places over the weekend to see what quotes I can get

Thank you everybody