Stewart1983
Newbie
- Messages
- 4
I’m wiring up a Strat with HxH single braid Lollar Imperials, 1 Vol w/treble bleed, 1 Neck Tone, 1 Bridge Tone, 3 way blade switch. Straight forward.
Initially the Seymour Duncan wiring diagram resulted in bridge output while in the neck pickup selection, dead in middle & “bridge” position. Instantly thinking I reversed the wires at the switch. Same results, bridge pickup output, no neck.
Now I’m thinking, I’ve got a cold solder joint somewhere. Checked all solder joints, same results. These are brand new pickups ordered directly from Lollar. I’m using Alpha 500k pots since I’m using Q Parts Dome control knobs, due to their 6 mm fitting. No removable copper sleeves in these knobs to fit the 6.33mm CTS pots.
I might mention that there was no hum while manipulating the control pots. I’m now thinking I may have possibly cooked the Alpha pots while solder grounding the shield braids or grounding “chain” wires. I’m only using a 40 watt soldering iron. I have cooked pots years ago as a nubbie.
Replaced the pots and tried other approaches. Since the Seymour Duncan diagram, no matter what schematic I follow, I now get absolutely nothing. No output doing tap tests. No hum when touching metal parts on the guitar. I have since tested the pickups and the neck pickup is reading 0.00k. The bridge, reads 8.35k. Yet, no bridge output once wired up to the switch.
Then it occurred to me..
The entire back of the pickguard is covered in adhesive backed copper shielding. Could this be canceling out the signal? All components are brand new, not sitting in a junk drawer.
I’ve never used anything other than CTS pots. My blade switch is an Oaks Grisby, and the mono jack is from Switchcraft. I’ve never had any reason to test pickups from Lollar. I always test if I’ve purchased second hand from Reverb or eBay.
I’ve been wiring circuits for 20 years and I’ve never had so much trouble getting a circuit wired up. The only thing outside of my usual process is the Alpha pots and the copper shielded pickguard. Everything else is exactly how it’s represented in the diagrams. I did switch solder brands. But I doubt that’d be the problem.
I never over solder, always going for nice shiny bead drops. Pre tin the iron tip, preheat lugs prior to introducing solder. I feel like I’m loosing my mind. Let’s problem solve!
Current wiring reflects the Fralin schematic for reference.
Initially the Seymour Duncan wiring diagram resulted in bridge output while in the neck pickup selection, dead in middle & “bridge” position. Instantly thinking I reversed the wires at the switch. Same results, bridge pickup output, no neck.
Now I’m thinking, I’ve got a cold solder joint somewhere. Checked all solder joints, same results. These are brand new pickups ordered directly from Lollar. I’m using Alpha 500k pots since I’m using Q Parts Dome control knobs, due to their 6 mm fitting. No removable copper sleeves in these knobs to fit the 6.33mm CTS pots.
I might mention that there was no hum while manipulating the control pots. I’m now thinking I may have possibly cooked the Alpha pots while solder grounding the shield braids or grounding “chain” wires. I’m only using a 40 watt soldering iron. I have cooked pots years ago as a nubbie.
Replaced the pots and tried other approaches. Since the Seymour Duncan diagram, no matter what schematic I follow, I now get absolutely nothing. No output doing tap tests. No hum when touching metal parts on the guitar. I have since tested the pickups and the neck pickup is reading 0.00k. The bridge, reads 8.35k. Yet, no bridge output once wired up to the switch.
Then it occurred to me..
The entire back of the pickguard is covered in adhesive backed copper shielding. Could this be canceling out the signal? All components are brand new, not sitting in a junk drawer.
I’ve never used anything other than CTS pots. My blade switch is an Oaks Grisby, and the mono jack is from Switchcraft. I’ve never had any reason to test pickups from Lollar. I always test if I’ve purchased second hand from Reverb or eBay.
I’ve been wiring circuits for 20 years and I’ve never had so much trouble getting a circuit wired up. The only thing outside of my usual process is the Alpha pots and the copper shielded pickguard. Everything else is exactly how it’s represented in the diagrams. I did switch solder brands. But I doubt that’d be the problem.
I never over solder, always going for nice shiny bead drops. Pre tin the iron tip, preheat lugs prior to introducing solder. I feel like I’m loosing my mind. Let’s problem solve!
Current wiring reflects the Fralin schematic for reference.
