Swamp Thing Tele (T-S-H)

[Fred_Buzz]

Showed up today (12/19). Kudos to everyone at Warmoth for beating their estimate and delivering 3 weeks early.

Merry Christmas.

It's a chambered, F holed Tele in swamp ash with a quilted maple top in Jungle Burst/Black setup for T-S-H and a showcase compound radius thin Korina/Ebony neck

The neck is amazing in every way and pictures don't do it justice.

The body is super light. I especially love the heel cut. The Jungle Burst finish is fun.

I can hardly wait to hear it (because that's what it's really about).

With a little luck it'll be playable in the coming days/week.

 

[Logrinn]

WOW! That is spectacular!

 

[Fred_Buzz]

Had to at least drop the pups and control on.

 

[stratamania]

I thought that was Jungle Burst lurking under that foam packing in the other thread. Anyway as Christmas has come early and it looks seasonal and pretty I am going to call it Elf Burst... :icon_thumright:

 

[dmraco]

Very nice indeed.

 

[rgand]

This one will be a real killer. Love that neck with the jungle burst.

 

[Fred_Buzz]

Tuners are in. I really like these staggered Sperzels. But this neck.... oh man it's fabulous.

 

[Fred_Buzz]

IDK if this should be in progress section or not but I hate to post multiple threads of the same stuff. If a moderator wanted to move it....

Progressing along. Seth Lover Humbucker is in (I had to shorten it's legs and thin the mount but otherwise drop, plug and play). It's all wired up (even played it a little bit before getting back to finishing things up. It's close.

The last real hurdle is cutting the holes for the Tele and Strat pups in my pick guard (I made it from kydex). Once those holes are in just mount the pups to it and attach the wires.

 

[stratamania]

The thread is in the work in progress section so seems like it was in the correct place unless it has been moved.

I was wondering how you were going to mount a humbucker in a pickup ring as the body looked like it had a wood mount humbucker rout.

 

[Logrinn]

Why the pickguard?

 

[Cagey]

The thread is in the work in progress section so seems like it was in the correct place unless it has been moved.

I'm always on duty!​

 

[stratamania]

The thread is in the work in progress section so seems like it was in the correct place unless it has been moved.

I'm always on duty!​

Cagey, who moves in mysterious ways and times  :icon_thumright:

 

[Fred_Buzz]

Why the pickguard?

IDK, I just always like Tele's with a pickguard.

She's done (mostly). The action is still too high and the Strat pup needs a bit of dial in yet but I'm already very happy with how it feels and plays. 

 

[rgand]

Very nice! What a nice combination with that neck and that body. Well done.

 

[Fred_Buzz]

[youtube]iTWLzM7wWXY[/youtube]

I got the truss and saddles matching up. Action is perfect and she plays like a dream.

Only thing left is the middle pup is stupidly quiet (Seymour Duncan STK-S4M Classic Stack Plus Pickup - Middle Black). No matter the height I set the pup to, its voice only comes in at about 1/3 the volume vs the SD Vintage stack tele and Seth Lover humbucker. Not sure what to do, the tele and bucker pups sound awesome so I don't want to mess with them or dial them back.

 

[stratamania]

Might be the middle pickup is out of phase with the others. Is it just quieter in combination or also alone?

Perhaps also provide some details of how you have it wired up, photos of the wiring etc.

The guitars looking good.

 

[davegardner0]

Nice looking guitar! The unique pickguard shape is really cool.

 

[Fred_Buzz]

Might be the middle pickup is out of phase with the others. Is it just quieter in combination or also alone?

Perhaps also provide some details of how you have it wired up, photos of the wiring etc.

The guitars looking good.

So I found it, the directions from SD call for the red and white wire to be soldered together and taped off but for me to get the Strat to voice I ended up having to ground them. Goes against the directions and contrary to what makes the Tele and Seth pups sing but I'll take it.

I'm slowly dialing in the neck bit more. Slightest amount up upbend left to adjust out. Taking my time doing just a little adjusting per day (already plays amazing). When this thing is dialed in and I’m more used to the new radius it’s going to dwarf my US built Gibson Midtown Deluxe in every way.

Many thanks to Warmoth and the great/inspiring members of this forum.

 

[stratamania]

Might be the middle pickup is out of phase with the others. Is it just quieter in combination or also alone?

Perhaps also provide some details of how you have it wired up, photos of the wiring etc.

The guitars looking good.

So I found it, the directions from SD call for the red and white wire to be soldered together and taped off but for me to get the Strat to voice I ended up having to ground them. Goes against the directions and contrary to what makes the Tele and Seth pups sing but I'll take it.

I am having to assume some things as not all the information needed was provided.

If we are talking about the Seymour Duncan STK-S4M?
And assuming it sounded thin in combination with other pickups it was out of phase.

If so white normally goes to hot. Black and bare to ground. Red gets taped off.  This is probably what sounded thin.

If red goes to ground also it will split the pickup and you will lose the hum canceling which I guess you don't want in a noiseless pickup.

Try this...

Black to hot. White and bare to ground. Red gets taped off.  That should work with the others as it sounds like it was out of phase. This will retain the hum canceling and get rid of the thin out of phase effect.

 

[Fred_Buzz]

Might be the middle pickup is out of phase with the others. Is it just quieter in combination or also alone?

Perhaps also provide some details of how you have it wired up, photos of the wiring etc.

The guitars looking good.

So I found it, the directions from SD call for the red and white wire to be soldered together and taped off but for me to get the Strat to voice I ended up having to ground them. Goes against the directions and contrary to what makes the Tele and Seth pups sing but I'll take it.

I am having to assume some things as not all the information needed was provided.

If we are talking about the Seymour Duncan STK-S4M?
And assuming it sounded thin in combination with other pickups it was out of phase.

If so white normally goes to hot. Black and bare to ground. Red gets taped off.  This is probably what sounded thin.

If red goes to ground also it will split the pickup and you will lose the hum canceling which I guess you don't want in a noiseless pickup.

Try this...

Black to hot. White and bare to ground. Red gets taped off.  That should work with the others as it sounds like it was out of phase. This will retain the hum canceling and get rid of the thin out of phase effect.

Yes STK-S4M in the middle (with a STK-T1N neck and SH-55b in the bridge). Sorry I didn't post up pics. I thought I had it sorted out (it actually sounds REALLY good right now). I'll pull it apart again and see if your suggestions further improve it (and take some pics as well). Thank you for your time and input. I do appreciate it.