Amber dye Mustang RSA/QM

[BigSteve22]

Nice job with the pot. I've done something very similar to your solution to correct an oversized pickguard hole. I used 3/8" O.D. tubing, cut just thick enough to match the thickness of the guard. Worked like a charm.  :icon_thumright:

Avoid the temptation to overcontrol. It rarely works out well.

Words to live by.....

 

[Logrinn]

More on the wiring for the Mustang.
I too got those Pure Tone jacks and was really looking forward to using them. They seemed like such a smart idea.
But like BigSteve I too had the same problem with them!

The plug doesn't connect as well with the jack as one would hope and the plug is prone to come out pretty easily.
But insted of bending the contacts as Steve did, I had another approach. I saw that the contacts for the ground part didn't line up as well as it could either, so I went to work on the top of the jack with a file. To make the whole thing slightly shorter ...

And after that the plug made much better contact - as can be seen here even though the picture is a little out of focus:

So now the jack works like it should. A snug and tight fit.

 

[Logrinn]

A treble bleed connected to the volume pot as well as hot and ground connected to the kill switch...

Another view of the treble bleed cap and resistor as well as parts of a cable soldered to the jack ...

And the cable connected to the volume ...

And a cable going between the volume and the switch ...

The only thing left here is to connect the hot outputs from the two pickups to the switch ...

 

[Logrinn]

A Mustang control plate needs a Mustang knob ...

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I've installed two of those PureTone jacks; the first one really impressed me but the second was a let down. Feels solid when you plug in, but the slightest tug pops your cable out. I'll be replacing it with a Switchcraft. I won't buy them again, but it was an interesting experiment.

 

[Logrinn]

I just posted some links to my own and Big Steve's posts with the issues about the jacks, on the Pure Tone website.
Shall be interesting to see if they get in touch and what they have to say if they do. Will keep you guys posted about it of course.

 

[Logrinn]

Wow, that was fast. I've already heard back from Pure Tone and this is what they said:

Hey, Magnus!  Thanks for the honest critique, man.  This was addressed in the latest production run of jacks which will be arriving by December.  It was through having conversations like this with our customers that we realized the need for the change, so again, we really do appreciate you letting us know that.  All future incarnations of the jack (stereo, gold, barrel, etc.) will have this refined.  Check out the drawing attached below of the newest version of the jacks.


James McCaffrey - Product Manager/Marketing Director

And here's the image:

 

[rgand]

Many companies just blow off customer contact. This speaks well of them.

It's nice to know they're interested in improving their product. It'll be nice to see how the changes work out in the production run.

 

[Cagey]

I could be (hope I'm) wrong, but it looks like the redesign on those tip tangs may have gone too far, to where it's going to be difficult to get the plug back out once it's in.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Gotta respect that, very cool.

 

[Logrinn]

Many companies just blow off customer contact. This speaks well of them.

It's nice to know they're interested in improving their product. It'll be nice to see how the changes work out in the production run.

Gotta respect that, very cool.

Indeed! :icon_thumright:

 

[BigSteve22]

Nice work Brother. I especially like your solution to the Pure Tone jack problem, why didn't I think of that! Also appreciate your decision to contact Pure Tone directly, and again, why didn't I think of that! Anyway, their response is encouraging. I just sent them this:

Some friends and I had a problem with your Pure Tone jacks, where the positive contact didn't line up properly with the indent on the plug, making it very easy to accidentally pull he plug from the jack. My man Magnus contacted your company regarding this and received a reply from your Marketing Director, James McCaffrey, saying the problem had been addressed, and that the fix would be reflected in shipments in December. I bought 3 of your jacks, and while I destroyed 1 trying to get it to get a firmer hold on the plug, I still have 2, unusable, jacks in my parts drawer. I bought them directly from Pure Tone,  Order# xxx, any chance of exchanging them for the new version?

I'll let you know what they say.

 

[Logrinn]

Thank you.
I too have got a positive feeling out of this now that they've answered and I believe this will work out for the best in the end.

 

[BigSteve22]

Thank you.
I too have got a positive feeling out of this now that they've answered and I believe this will work out for the best in the end.

I've had a little back-and-forth with Mr. McCaffrey. He responded to my initial e-mail:

Hey, Steve.  I'm sorry to hear that you had such problems with these.  We will be receiving the new inventory in December, so I will plan to have the new versions sent out as soon as they arrive.

I asked if this meant I would be able to exchange mine for the new design, and got this:

That's the plan, my good man!

A positive outlook indeed!  :icon_thumright:

 

[Logrinn]

Perfect! :icon_thumright:

 

[davegardner0]

The only thing left here is to connect the hot outputs from the two pickups to the switch ...

Interesting looking pickup switch you've got there...what kind is it? Planning on doing anything special with the extra poles??

 

[Cagey]

Looks like a milspec/aerospace part. Rare to see turrets on a toggle. Must've been frighteningly expensive.

Facilitates big rule of soldering: good solder joint starts with good mechanical joint.

 

[BigSteve22]

I was looking at that switch too, A quick google search found them on All Parts web site:

https://www.allparts.com/EP-4362-000-4-Pole-On-On-On-Toggle-Switch_p_1403.html

That's a lotta switch for a pup selector.....

 

[Cagey]

If Allparts only wants $30, they must have bought them surplus for next to nothing. Their markups are stupid high, and those are typically very expensive switches.

 

[Logrinn]

I had this in my drawer of parts and you might remember from a previous picture when I spoke about my initial wiring idea, that I had two toggle switches laid out together with the volume pot and output jack:

So, another "normal" switch could be used, but I decided against it and went instead with this extremely expensive 4-pole switch ($30?, I wish. Try $35!). I won't be using the extra switching options either (don't see the need on this one really) but choose it because of it's very low profile:

The switch tip doesn't protrude as high above the control plate as the cheaper "normal" toggle, meaning there's less of a risk of hitting it while playing.
And that's also the reason I chose having the switch there and not the volume knob - should I hit it while playing, the only thing that might happen is I go from the neck pickup to the bridge. But had the volume been there I might have hit it and turned everything down or off.

Plus - I could wire the switch so that should one part of it fail, one pole, then another would be used. Military style!