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OzziePete
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Märkeaux said:
Re: The Binding....
I had originally wanted to have both sides bound, but Eric pointed out that the Carved Top body is no fatter than the usual Tele body - or not that much fatter . If you were to bind both sides of the CT body, it would mean the binding would be unusually closer to each other, due to the drop off at the sides as the CT contours......keep that in mind if you order one. :icon_thumright:
DMRACO said:
Leo would approve as the neck was sitting up on Showcase unloved for a few weeks and the pickup system was something I have had for ages that I tried to fit into another body shape and wouldn't fit. Leo was kinda scroogy so he would appreciate the fact I took what was unwanted or couldn't fit, and made it into something useful.
Dressed up witha custom truss rod, the Warmoth headtsock looks quite professional....I was prepared for the shock of having a 3+3 on a Tele body, but it wasn't that much of a shock, tbh.
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OzziePete
Guest
OK got some strings and tuned up the fundamental notes and gave it a whirl.
Finally, after 8 years of owning these pickups, did I hear them in full glory with the EQ circuits. Quite an exciting moment when I switched on the Evil Robot. :hello2:
The EMG electronics are quite dynamic, they really turn a smooth average sounding neck pickup into one mean mofo if you crank up the midrange. Alternately, if you cut the coil and scoop the mids on the SPC it will sound quite the other end of the spectrum.....Setting the neck pickup a little lower gives some air to the neck pickup like it is installed into a semi acoustic.... I set the bridge pickup up close, it has a natural bit of quack to it because of that....dial in the EXG midrange boost and you get some buzzsaw to it. Half the coils and you go the other way, Strat coils in bridge sounds. Not quite a Tele icepick tho. The EXG seems to have a more dramatic effect on the dual coils than the single coils. On the single coils the EXG will still thicken up the tone, but it isn't as much in your face as the dual coil mode - when it pushes the amp pre amp stage....The SPC scooping out the mids in the neck pickup position (dual coil mode) is quite a workable jazzy tone too, sending the tone near to P90 area. This system encourages you to use the volume knobs too, to effect the tone output, which is a change from the normal passive - all or nothing - approach. :headbang:
This guitar is just about done and dusted. The knobs are now on it, and it will soon go off to have the neck tweaked and the bridge setup. I am very impressed with the quality of tone I am getting out of the flame koa/ebony neck and one piece mahogany body combination.....I don't know what is colouring the tone more, but compared to when these pickups were in a maple/ebony neck (24.75" conversion) & maple body, they sound much warmer and workable.
Please be patient while I get this guitar worked on and set to proper pitch. Then I can get it home and do some samples with my system, the sweep of tones is both workable and varied..... :headbang1:
Finally, after 8 years of owning these pickups, did I hear them in full glory with the EQ circuits. Quite an exciting moment when I switched on the Evil Robot. :hello2:
The EMG electronics are quite dynamic, they really turn a smooth average sounding neck pickup into one mean mofo if you crank up the midrange. Alternately, if you cut the coil and scoop the mids on the SPC it will sound quite the other end of the spectrum.....Setting the neck pickup a little lower gives some air to the neck pickup like it is installed into a semi acoustic.... I set the bridge pickup up close, it has a natural bit of quack to it because of that....dial in the EXG midrange boost and you get some buzzsaw to it. Half the coils and you go the other way, Strat coils in bridge sounds. Not quite a Tele icepick tho. The EXG seems to have a more dramatic effect on the dual coils than the single coils. On the single coils the EXG will still thicken up the tone, but it isn't as much in your face as the dual coil mode - when it pushes the amp pre amp stage....The SPC scooping out the mids in the neck pickup position (dual coil mode) is quite a workable jazzy tone too, sending the tone near to P90 area. This system encourages you to use the volume knobs too, to effect the tone output, which is a change from the normal passive - all or nothing - approach. :headbang:
This guitar is just about done and dusted. The knobs are now on it, and it will soon go off to have the neck tweaked and the bridge setup. I am very impressed with the quality of tone I am getting out of the flame koa/ebony neck and one piece mahogany body combination.....I don't know what is colouring the tone more, but compared to when these pickups were in a maple/ebony neck (24.75" conversion) & maple body, they sound much warmer and workable.
Please be patient while I get this guitar worked on and set to proper pitch. Then I can get it home and do some samples with my system, the sweep of tones is both workable and varied..... :headbang1:
Death by Uberschall
Master Member
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Glad you like the EMG stuff, I love it. Especially in the warmer woods. My Strat with the EMG DG20 setup is great, more tones than you can imagine. :headbang1:
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OzziePete
Guest
Death by Uberschall said:
Yeah I got the idea about using the EXG & SPC in one guitar from the DG20 set..... The blurb from EMG mentions something about a buffered system in the DG20......something about issues with the EXG-SPC combination? Do you know something about that issue? On the brief run through I just gave the Uber Tele, I couldn't detect any problems.... :dontknow:
Death by Uberschall
Master Member
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OzziePete said:
No problems what so ever for me. Now I don't have the coil splitting HBs, but the SA singles sound great with both the SPC and EXG controls, separately or together with any of the pick ups.
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OzziePete
Guest
Death by Uberschall said:
Yours - being buffered - wouldn;t encountered any problem that might exist. Mine, being unbuffered and from individual parts might encounter whatever the problem might be... it might be some sort of phase cancellation or maybe a signal overload? I ahve no idea at this stage, but...whatever.. :icon_scratch: . I am just happy I got the guitar to this stage! :icon_thumright:
Death by Uberschall
Master Member
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- 4,162
OzziePete said:
Check here for all wiring options, it may help.
http://www.emgpickups.com/search/wiring
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OzziePete
Guest
Death by Uberschall said:
They don't have exactly what I have in this beast (1 x 89R, 1 x 89, EXG, SPC, 18v), but the issue is not something I am too worried about. The tone I am getting is very encouraging...... :headbang1:
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OzziePete
Guest
Latest on this, is that the Uber Tele went off to the repair shop today. The guy who took down the details, was quite impressed with the look of it, though he had never heard of Warmoth. :doh:
This was your atypical suburban music shop nearby to me, but the owner of the shop seems to know his stuff, does some minor setup work himself, but has a repairer come in on Saturdays to pick up the repair jobs and drop them back the next week..I also gave them the MIJ Precision Bass and the Epiphone Casino to work on. These are the minor work jobs for my guitars....didn't want to scare them :evil4: with the Trashy or the Jazzmonster, when that is ready to go (yet another pickguard and another attempt at mounting mini hums).
I will work on the JM over the weekend, and if they do a decent enough job on these guitars, they will get the Custom Acoustic, Trashy and JM to work on....At this stage, the Strat looks OK after a fresh set of strings so I think it will be ready to work as it is. :icon_thumright:
This was your atypical suburban music shop nearby to me, but the owner of the shop seems to know his stuff, does some minor setup work himself, but has a repairer come in on Saturdays to pick up the repair jobs and drop them back the next week..I also gave them the MIJ Precision Bass and the Epiphone Casino to work on. These are the minor work jobs for my guitars....didn't want to scare them :evil4: with the Trashy or the Jazzmonster, when that is ready to go (yet another pickguard and another attempt at mounting mini hums).
I will work on the JM over the weekend, and if they do a decent enough job on these guitars, they will get the Custom Acoustic, Trashy and JM to work on....At this stage, the Strat looks OK after a fresh set of strings so I think it will be ready to work as it is. :icon_thumright:
DangerousR6
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It's actually "The Monster".... :laughing7:Marko said:
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OzziePete
Guest
Marko said:
Believe me Marko it IS! But it is loaded with some serious aftermarket hardware and an original Bill Lawrence L500 & an original DiMarzio Super 2. Makes Marshalls weep (have had it hooked up to a Marshall stack ONCE at a guitar repair store - they TOLD me to give it a whirl -and I believe I 'ji :evil4: d in my pants' ). But it looks bloody horrid (deliberately) - it is my 'punk' statement on what I thought of Gibson at the time. It's action is too high atm, and I'd like it lowered but because you have to fight the bitch to get the sounds and hold on for dear life, it makes a hell of a lot of satisfaction when it roars. Here's a few pix, I warned you it ain't purty...But this guitar + Evil Robot + a stinking G chord, on the Super 2 up cranked.....= :headbang1:
http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz274/ozziepete_2009/Trashy/P1000258.jpg
http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz274/ozziepete_2009/Trashy/P1000259.jpg
http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz274/ozziepete_2009/Trashy/P1000263.jpg
( I believe I have just lowered the reputation of this forum down a notch or two by posting those pix.... :sad: )
DangerousR6 said:
The Monster is the 'Jazzmonster' which is slowly threatening to come to life.....all it needs is somehow to mount the mini humbuckers neat enough..and then it can go off to the shops to get the nut installed and setup.
Nando Vallart
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It's so ugly that it's cool! 
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OzziePete
Guest
Marko said:
Worse still, Hondo.... :sad1:
The splotch on the back of the body was my impression of a 'sunburst' finish - apologies to Tonar- a blob of yellow swirled around til it got sticky, then I had my mate's Boxer dog put his pawprint in the middle of the yellow.
It was also hit with a gas burner and thrown around a bit...the veneers on the body laminations bubbled, so I busted them and made them look like chunks taken out. Very punk.
I was very surprised when I first plugged it in after it's setup. The guys who did that were insistent I give it a play on their Marshall stack so I could hear it!
A couple of players have plugged it in since & they laugh a lot when playing. It's rough on the fingers but the sound...... One guy didn't want to hand it back, he was doing Angus riffs for a solid 15 minutes with it..
NonsenseTele said:It's so ugly that it's cool!
Thx for the compliment Nando.... :icon_thumright:
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OzziePete
Guest
....the saga continues....
Got the guitar back from the repairer, who did a nice job setting it up. There was a need to level the frets, and dress them properly. Also work to get the action nice and low & intonate properly. Plays well now...BUT>>>>>
>>>>something has happened to the electronics that wasn't evident before. :confused4:
The volume knobs seem to interact, and the bridge pickup volume knob is the main dominant pot, if it is turned down no pickup works.....Also very little definition between the single coil sound and the humbucker sound on each pickup......I would like to think that maybe there's a wire or two loose from the transporting to and from the shop and not the repairer having a look see into the controls and rewiring as he pleases! I definitely said no electronics work please. Also note that the pickup toggle selector is in a vertical position even though I am pretty sure I had set it horizontal....mmmmmm. Not pointing fingers yet, but when the mish mash of tones came out as I fired up the Evil Robot, the swearing was intense.
I will open this up today and see what is going on.....I was pretty certain when I dropped it off last week, that the only electronics issue was the loose tone control......and I remember the crystal clear humbucker and single coil tones. It might be that the repairer rewired it with a genuine tone control leaving me with 1 volume pot, and the coil cut selection DPDTs maybe disconnected or something? We will see later today...
On a more positive note both the P-Bass & Casino came back with significant improvements to their playability. :icon_thumright:
Got the guitar back from the repairer, who did a nice job setting it up. There was a need to level the frets, and dress them properly. Also work to get the action nice and low & intonate properly. Plays well now...BUT>>>>>
>>>>something has happened to the electronics that wasn't evident before. :confused4:
The volume knobs seem to interact, and the bridge pickup volume knob is the main dominant pot, if it is turned down no pickup works.....Also very little definition between the single coil sound and the humbucker sound on each pickup......I would like to think that maybe there's a wire or two loose from the transporting to and from the shop and not the repairer having a look see into the controls and rewiring as he pleases! I definitely said no electronics work please. Also note that the pickup toggle selector is in a vertical position even though I am pretty sure I had set it horizontal....mmmmmm. Not pointing fingers yet, but when the mish mash of tones came out as I fired up the Evil Robot, the swearing was intense.
I will open this up today and see what is going on.....I was pretty certain when I dropped it off last week, that the only electronics issue was the loose tone control......and I remember the crystal clear humbucker and single coil tones. It might be that the repairer rewired it with a genuine tone control leaving me with 1 volume pot, and the coil cut selection DPDTs maybe disconnected or something? We will see later today...
On a more positive note both the P-Bass & Casino came back with significant improvements to their playability. :icon_thumright:
Cagey
Mythical Status
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Aussie Pete said:
That's normal on Les Pauls, or any dual-pickup dual-volume/tone guitar. But, it usually only happens when you've got the pickup selector switch in the middle where both pickups are on. It has the effect of putting the controls for both pickups in parallel, and there's little you can do about it. If it still does it when only one pickup is selected, then you've got a wiring problem.
O
OzziePete
Guest
OK took the covers off and looked at the spaghetti underneath......mmmmm the switch wires weren't so well done so I rewired them into the switch and that diminished the background hum a fair bit, also still some static.....
The more I assessed what I had originally done, it dawned on me that the cavity just was pushing the thick wires onto the solderless sockets at the pots and they were being pushed around under pressure, as the moment I took the cover off a lot of crackling noise ceased. Also the solderless output jack was a concern, the plugs must go fully on and they weren't.
I also felt that the EQ circuits were amplifying the power hum of the 18v. So the EXG & SPC were removed and that also removed 2 power lines from the circuitry. I installed 2 passive tone pots (solderless) in their place, and the guitar had less interference. I am guessing the 18v mod might not be the best if you install EQ or boost circuits, as they might also boost the power lines that may be close by. Either that or the lines being used to carry that 18v were not shielded well enough in manufacture? I dunno! :dontknow:
Anyways, a bit of refining of the circuitry, removing the EQ circuits and replacing them with std. tone pots, and then moving cables within the cavity so the power lines were at one end and the pickup cables at the other and things got a lot better with any background noise or interference.
Cagey, I didn't pay attention to the in-between setting and so can'[t comment about it being like a Les Paul guitar, but I will check next time I have it out (tomorrow). I was more interested in cutting out the interference and background static which should not have been there at all.
In summary, if one is to get a totally EMG solderless system the noise and static etc. might not present a problem. But in my case, I have had to adapt old pickups to the solderless system as well as use a std. toggle switch instead of the EMG solderless 5 way lever. That meant soldering on the plugs required to install the pickups and that leaves a mighty join area that can be affected by interference.
And that just about raps up this project.........when the rain stops belting down and I get some good light, I will venture up to the communal pool and take the obligatory pool shoot and others and post it all up with specs in the Gallery section.
PROJECT COMPLETE!
:blob7: :blob7: :blob7:
The more I assessed what I had originally done, it dawned on me that the cavity just was pushing the thick wires onto the solderless sockets at the pots and they were being pushed around under pressure, as the moment I took the cover off a lot of crackling noise ceased. Also the solderless output jack was a concern, the plugs must go fully on and they weren't.
I also felt that the EQ circuits were amplifying the power hum of the 18v. So the EXG & SPC were removed and that also removed 2 power lines from the circuitry. I installed 2 passive tone pots (solderless) in their place, and the guitar had less interference. I am guessing the 18v mod might not be the best if you install EQ or boost circuits, as they might also boost the power lines that may be close by. Either that or the lines being used to carry that 18v were not shielded well enough in manufacture? I dunno! :dontknow:
Anyways, a bit of refining of the circuitry, removing the EQ circuits and replacing them with std. tone pots, and then moving cables within the cavity so the power lines were at one end and the pickup cables at the other and things got a lot better with any background noise or interference.
Cagey, I didn't pay attention to the in-between setting and so can'[t comment about it being like a Les Paul guitar, but I will check next time I have it out (tomorrow). I was more interested in cutting out the interference and background static which should not have been there at all.
In summary, if one is to get a totally EMG solderless system the noise and static etc. might not present a problem. But in my case, I have had to adapt old pickups to the solderless system as well as use a std. toggle switch instead of the EMG solderless 5 way lever. That meant soldering on the plugs required to install the pickups and that leaves a mighty join area that can be affected by interference.
And that just about raps up this project.........when the rain stops belting down and I get some good light, I will venture up to the communal pool and take the obligatory pool shoot and others and post it all up with specs in the Gallery section.
PROJECT COMPLETE!
:blob7: :blob7: :blob7:
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