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Post by Auf Kiltre on Jan 22, 2021 11:59:55 GMT -5
I just went back to a 3 way switch, unsoldered the extra wire coming from the neck pickup cover, taped it off and jammed the dead end wire down into the control cavity. The wire is still attached at the pickup cover. All is operational but for some reason the neck pickup seems to maybe have less output than it used to. I've played with pickup height with some difference. Is there any possible way leaving the wire attached to the pickup but not connected to ground could be a factor in output?
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Jan 24, 2021 12:31:32 GMT -5
Got some guidance from our friend Aaron, he suggested I solder the neck pickup cover back to ground. I made the assumption that the original 3 way config left the pickup cover ungrounded but apparently not true. I don't know if it made a difference output wise, I think its a pickup height balance issue but I'm glad to be back to the original configuration. I found no use for the 4th position, it just seemed like the middle position on steroids. I like playing neck position a lot and found the aesthetics of the pickup selector all wrong. This was my second and last attempt at giving the 4 way switch a try.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jan 24, 2021 15:56:39 GMT -5
Excellent! Sorry I didn't see the original post a couple days ago.
I'm not a fan of the 4 way switch. To get all positions to work, it turns off one of the pickups by opening the ground instead of the lead, and in so doing one pickup remains in circuit when it should just be the other one (I forget which one) so the original three positions aren't the same as a regular 3 way switch. All that for, as you say, a borderline useless extra position.
Yeah, conductive pieces like covers and baseplates always, always get grounded. The lone exception is pole pieces in Fender pickups, which almost never get grounded, and typically aren't a problem. After that, the negative always gets grounded, the positive goes on its merry way. The negative and the metal conductive pieces sometimes being wired together and sometimes being independent throws off a lot of people, especially since wiring diagrams rarely address this. Same goes with the bridge pickup and the grounding of the hardware via the baseplate.
Pickup height balance would be the most likely thing. Far less likely things might be a cold solder joint (a good test is see if the tone control rolls off the volume) or a wonky phase thing. It isn't common at all, but sometimes when a pickup has some windings shorted to the pole pieces it will be very different in one phase or another. Not likely, but if you run out of ideas, you can try reversing the phase to see if it magically gets louder. Stray wires moving around or solder blobs being bigger than they're supposed to be can short out pickups, but a reduction in volume as opposed to completely turning off is is incredibly unlikely.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Jan 25, 2021 10:22:21 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't think its a wiring issue but an artifact of disassembly/pickup height balance. The only other variable is that I did have to reverse the neck black and white leads positions in order to not get an out of phase in the middle position, but that was a thing from the outset. All is now well.
I know there are many fans of the 4 way switch. If I gigged it might have been a factor in keeping it. But the familiarity of flipping to the neck position on the fly unencumbered by the extra click is the aesthetic thing for me. I like stock Tele configs. MY only departure from vintage is an electrosocket jack and recessed Dunlop strap locks.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 27, 2021 13:07:58 GMT -5
Soldering that third wire (cover ground) to common ground in the control cavity is electronically and functionally equivalent to removing the wire and resoldering the connection to the necck pickup's ground lead right on the pickup.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Jan 27, 2021 14:16:34 GMT -5
Soldering that third wire (cover ground) to common ground in the control cavity is electronically and functionally equivalent to removing the wire and resoldering the connection to the necck pickup's ground lead right on the pickup. Yep, that is what Aaron explained to me. I opted this route for not wanting to mess up anything with the pickup. All is well in Tele land.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 27, 2021 14:44:24 GMT -5
Co-inky-dink! I met up with Aaron for lunch yesterday and we solved the problems of the world. I also delivered a custom Tele to him. It's light ash, 5.5 lbs total. I did not recognize him when he got out of his car; he had lost 75 lbs since I last saw him. He's gotten serious about maintaining his health and is exercising amazing discipline in his weight loss plan. It IS possible, people!
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Jan 27, 2021 15:05:34 GMT -5
I also delivered a custom Tele to him. It's light ash, 5.5 lbs total. Awesome Teleness. I did not recognize him when he got out of his car; he had lost 75 lbs since I last saw him. He's gotten serious about maintaining his health and is exercising amazing discipline in his weight loss plan. It IS possible, people Especially more tasking (personally speaking) during these times.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jan 28, 2021 9:33:02 GMT -5
I did not recognize him when he got out of his car; he had lost 75 lbs since I last saw him. He's gotten serious about maintaining his health and is exercising amazing discipline in his weight loss plan. It IS possible, people! I remember him sharing this intention years ago, how great to hear he's doing so well! (hint if he's reading: introduce strength training and weight loss progress becomes far more likely to be permanent) Serious health changes are some of the hardest and most rewarding things a person can do in life. Another thought I had on that neck pickup sounding off: depending on how you wired the 4 way, the bridge pickup can be slightly on when you think it is just the neck pickup. The switch lifts the negative instead of the positive, which stays in circuit. Too late to check now, but anyone with a 4-way can try this. Put the switch in the neck only position and tap the pole pieces. You'll get both pickups. (most wiring diagrams will do this, but it can be done backwards so it is true of the bridge pickup rather than the neck) I'm not sure that it would make the neck pickup HOTTER or not, but it does sound different. Maybe a bit brighter comes across as hotter in your rig?
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