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Post by pete1951 on Aug 22, 2022 12:32:35 GMT
I made this guitar in 1975 and gave it to my nephew. He no longer plays so it’s in for a bit of TLC. I re-wired the Gibson pickups so I could get series/parallel sounds ( this was pretty radical at the time, most pickups were just 2 wire) but I now have plans for an even more complicated wiring.  Some time ago I wired a single humbucker so that you could put one coil through the tone control, the other stayed on full treble . To me it sounded much better ( and certainly different) than the single coil sound. Another thing you could do was swop the coils. First the one closer to the bridge had the tone control,then the one farther from the bridge. There will be a very large number of possible sounds ( most will never be used but it might be fun to find out ) I think 15 ( then there will be in/out phase which may add another 6 or 7) . Pete |
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Post by Stevie on Aug 22, 2022 17:31:32 GMT
Looks the business for a second build Pete. Was the humbucker still bucking the hum after you diverted one coil to the tone control? I'm trying to visualise the topography! Oh and yep, you've anticipated well. It's like chasing the toan dragon, and although the journey is great the arrival is bittersweet as you acknowledge that a few great "tone" birds in the hand are worth more than "a dozen in the bush" ... (!)
でつ e&oe ...
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Post by pete1951 on Aug 22, 2022 18:46:50 GMT
I think it was still humbucking. Here is the basic layout, with all the complicated switches removed.  With the switches I can have the guitar tone as standard ( so it operates on both coils) or split, as drawing. When the phase changes the coil affected by the tone control changes. Pete |
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Post by Stevie on Aug 22, 2022 23:58:08 GMT
A picture's worth a thousand words Pete. Only my imagination is lacking. It's a good idea and coming from you I'm not surprised.
でつ e&oe ...
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Post by pete1951 on Aug 23, 2022 6:39:25 GMT
And also, to make it even more complicated, the guitar is wired Stereo-Monic *
Put a standard jack in and it works as a mono guitar, with a stereo jack you get 1) bass left, treble right. 2) treble only 3) treble left, bass right , when using the 3 position switch.
*pat pending P.Towers 1975
Edit: actually in the middle position with a stereo setup,you get both pickups together through just one amp
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Post by Stevie on Aug 23, 2022 8:10:09 GMT
Excellent!
I especially like the Pete T Pat. Pend. schematic where "ground" is at both the top and the bottom (not that it matters")
でつ e&oe ...
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Post by snakehips on Aug 23, 2022 12:34:24 GMT
Hi there ! Ha ha ! This thread is reminding me of a very recent Facebook thread on "The Real Blues Forum", about what is going on, on Elmore James' Kay acoustic guitar. In the picture below, there is a rectangular plate on Elmore's Kay acoustic (pointed to with a red arrow), on the treble side of the tailpiece, with what looks like 5 buttons, all in a row. Over most of the soundhole, there is another plate, with what looks like multiple holes drilled through it. Some people on this FB thread are convinced that Elmore has a multitude of pickups - all wired together to these 5 switches in a mysterious/secret way, to give Elmore his very distinctive guitar sound, suggesting maybe each button switches on/off a particular string, or that all these 5 pickups could be combined in some secret set of combinations. It's utter nonesense - in the sense that even Les Paul didn't come up with something so daft as that in the 1950's ! Also, why would Elmore need to do this when the Dearmond Rhythm Chief pickup alone, on his guitar between the soundhole & the bridge, gives him HIS sound as it is ? By the way, the clear plastic plate covering most of the soundhole, with multiple holes drilled through it that some people think is some magical pickup, I think is Elmore's very own DIY feedback-buster, predating by decades the soundhole covers you can buy these days to fit into your acoustic's soundhole to reduce feedback ! See pic below : PS. Sorry for hi-jacking your thread !! Attachments:
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Post by bonzo on Aug 23, 2022 12:43:58 GMT
Or he might have said 'it was like that when I bought it'😄. Pete, with all the changes possible on your guitar 🎸 you could open your set with Zeps 'dazed and confused'!
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Post by Stevie on Aug 23, 2022 14:08:46 GMT
Even Jimmy with his eponymous Lester wiring topography would be stumped by Pete's Smorgasbord palette of audio nirvana. Insufficient necks anyhoo.
でつ e&oe ...
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Post by pete1951 on Aug 28, 2022 19:56:27 GMT
Here is the possible circuit.  I thought that a phase switch on each pickup might be a first, but of coarse Fender have been doing it on the Mustang for years ( actually some of the latest Mustangs have a humbucker in the bridge and one phase switch has become a coil tap) Pete |
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Post by pete1951 on Sept 2, 2022 8:13:23 GMT
One thing I didn’t do when I made it was put edge dots on the neck. The dots will go in at the junction between the ebony finger board and the neck, so a guide is needed to stop the drill bit drifting into the softer mahogany .  Hopefully this jig (small aluminium bracket with an old capo) will do the trick  Done,  Pete |
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Post by Stevie on Sept 2, 2022 13:34:27 GMT
Nice work Pete. Years ago I "built" a signature Tele which required "interference" press fit cubic zirconia side dot markers. Literally as cheap as chips on eBay, and they catch any available light from all directions ... Left very slightly proud and they are tactile too. I lacquered over the top of them to add to their installation security.
でつ e&oe ...
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Post by mitchfit on Sept 2, 2022 21:13:27 GMT
pete1951,
please do upload [at least] an audio demo of all PUP wire crossing possibilities upon completion.
your upload of 12hrs ago addresses the unasked/unanswered question of who can even see fret marking dots in the center of the fingerboard unless they play lap-style or have camelopardalis peralta genetic markers.
[or sit in the audience]
keep up the good work,
mitchfit
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Post by mitchfit on Sept 2, 2022 21:22:28 GMT
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Post by pete1951 on Sept 3, 2022 19:40:36 GMT
pete1951, please do upload [at least] an audio demo of all PUP wire crossing possibilities upon completion. keep up the good work, mitchfit Hi G6 Making a video of ALL pickup possibilities might take some time, I think there will be over 20 different sounds, that’s before I use it in stereo ( some will sound very similar) so I may just demonstrate the main sounds ( mainly how the tone controls work when on just one coil) I did a complicated wiring job on a Strat some time ago, 3 push-pull pots and a ‘Mega’ switch (one of the ones with 24 lugs) there were loads of different combinations, series/parallel etc. Many sounds were very similar and I found it rather confusing. Hopefully this guitar will be more manageable! Pete |
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