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Post by LM on Feb 24, 2020 20:57:33 GMT -5
I completed modding my Carvin Bolt to add a humbucker in the bridge and a new pickguard. I love the new look, but it's really kinda sorta completed. I opted for the Fralin blender mod but it sounds muffled on all three pickups and the tone pot doesn't seem to have much effect. I'll need to open her back up to see if I missed something. Or, I may go with a different wiring scheme.
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Post by Leftee on Feb 24, 2020 20:59:53 GMT -5
That looks great!
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 24, 2020 21:52:52 GMT -5
The pickguard perfectly matches the color of the body. Nice!
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Post by Riff Twang on Feb 24, 2020 23:49:57 GMT -5
Yeah, good call on choosing that pickguard.
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Post by LM on Feb 25, 2020 19:10:16 GMT -5
Thanks, guys! I'm really happy with it.
Something is screwy with this blender circuit. Adjusting the tone affects the volume and the tone goes from dark to darker. Also, I tried LH pots and they just feel weird to me because I'm so used to RH pots. So, I'm going to gut it and start over with 2 volumes (1 for bridge and 1 for middle & neck) and 1 tone for the bridge only.
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Post by Leftee on Feb 25, 2020 20:47:34 GMT -5
Yeah, I wouldn’t know how to act with lefty pots.
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Post by LM on Mar 5, 2020 7:58:47 GMT -5
I decided to give the blend pot one more try and it works as advertised by blending the bridge and neck pickups. The humbucker mixes well with the single coils and, at 8.2K does not overpower them. I really like the beef of a bucker in the bridge on this guitar.
I still have one minor problem. I shielded the entire swimming pool cavity and I think I have something shorting on the middle pickup or switch position. It cuts out intermittently but, if I tap the pickguard, it stops. I'll take it back apart and apply some electrical tape to strategic places to avoid contact.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Mar 5, 2020 9:56:12 GMT -5
Anytime there's a signal problem where all signal (not associated with any one pickup) cuts out, it's usually a hot to ground contact on the switch or the volume pot. If one pickup is cutting out, it's a bad solder connection on that pickup's lead or an intermittent contact issue on/in the pickup itself.
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Post by LM on Mar 5, 2020 11:59:50 GMT -5
Thanks! I'll check it out.
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Post by LM on Mar 7, 2020 13:30:20 GMT -5
I opened 'er up again today and touched up all of the solder joints. I could tell a couple looked cold. I'd bought a new soldering iron but it's not all that. I also covered potential contact points with electrical tape that could touch each other or the shielding. After I put it back together, everything works. The pickups sounded brittle before this attempt but not anymore.
This guitar now sounds amazing. I realized when I first started the project that it still had the 20-YO Carvin mini pots. When I swapped out the pups many years ago to Fralins, I never changed the pots. The guitar always sounded thin to me with no character. Now, every position sounds great with tons of dynamics that were lacking previously.
I almost sold or traded this guitar many times through the years. Now, it's a keeper.
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Post by LTB on Mar 15, 2020 4:29:44 GMT -5
I opened 'er up again today and touched up all of the solder joints. I could tell a couple looked cold. I'd bought a new soldering iron but it's not all that. I also covered potential contact points with electrical tape that could touch each other or the shielding. After I put it back together, everything works. The pickups sounded brittle before this attempt but not anymore. This guitar now sounds amazing. I realized when I first started the project that it still had the 20-YO Carvin mini pots. When I swapped out the pups many years ago to Fralins, I never changed the pots. The guitar always sounded thin to me with no character. Now, every position sounds great with tons of dynamics that were lacking previously. I almost sold or traded this guitar many times through the years. Now, it's a keeper. Very nice looking guitar. Sounds like you raised "out of the grave"!
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Post by LM on Mar 15, 2020 7:52:37 GMT -5
Ain't no grave gonna hold this guitar down.
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Post by LTB on Mar 16, 2020 3:14:06 GMT -5
Ain't no grave gonna hold this guitar down. Kinda hard for me to tell but is that a string thru the body fixed bridge?
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Post by LM on Mar 16, 2020 7:22:18 GMT -5
LTB, yep! I've never been a fan of trems.
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Post by LTB on Mar 17, 2020 1:04:48 GMT -5
LTB, yep! I've never been a fan of trems. Understood, I like the effect but they can be a pain in the butt. Sometimes I consider doing without. I tried a fenderstyle trem on a stratwanabe and hated it. Could not keep it in tune despite everything I tried wasn't good enough. I see why many lock theirs down and remove the arm. Set up right, a Bigsby does much better, not perfect but better as long as you don't divebomb it.
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