Classical drop-D extension focused build

[Jon Clegg]

Ok then! I just removed them and now it's acting more like it should - so it's not strung-up, just doing the screwdriver on pole touching test to determine what works. So both pu's go off/on (check), and the center (series/parallel) switch does this => when on the opposite side of the two 'on' pu switches (pu switches both R, center switch L) - everything seems correct. But once it's switched to the same side as the on pu switches (all R) - the B pu goes off. Not sure if that is what's supposed to happen or if not what I'm doing wrong. I'll check everything again - but at least I can assemble the bass and string it up to hear the differences in tone/sound.

Any chance you can snap a photo of the wiring? maybe I can spot what's up.

 

[JIO]

Any chance you can snap a photo of the wiring? maybe I can spot what's up.

I'll do a drawing which will be clearer than trying to decipher a pic of my bowl-of-spegetti wiring! I think clearer with a technical pencil in my hand also.

 

[JIO]

Here's my drawing of wiring - hope it's clear Jon.

Cavities painted w/carbon paint, bases of copper tape to ground to, and foam to rest pu's on for stability (the pu's are attached to the pg and are essentially floating on the springs) -

 

[Jon Clegg]

Clear enough. I'll see what I can figure out.

 

[Jon Clegg]

OK, I found a few errors with the way you hooked up the bridge. Rather than redrawing the whole thing, I redrew the diagram with things oriented like your drawing:

I didn't redraw the tone control etc, since that all was good.

Hope this is clear.

 

[JIO]

OK, I found a few errors with the way you hooked up the bridge. Rather than redrawing the whole thing, I redrew the diagram with things oriented like your drawing:
View attachment 2780927
I didn't redraw the tone control etc, since that all was good.

Hope this is clear.

Great! I'll sort it out and post my results! Thanks again Jon!

 

[JIO]

I followed the latest schematic and... the exact same order of operation occurs (!);

So both pu's go off/on (check), and the center (series/parallel) switch does this => when on the opposite side of the two 'on' pu switches (pu switches both R, center switch L) - everything seems correct/works. But once it's switched to the same side as the on pu switches (all R) - the B pu goes off. Not sure if that is what's supposed to happen.

Interesting right? I mean, wires were switched and yet it turned out the same. (?) Only thing slightly different is the I left my center solder connection between the two linked center poles (red+) instead of soldering it to the upper center pole of the s/p switch and then routing it up to the lower center pole of the N pu switch. As they inner connect, I figured I could attach the (hot) red wire at any point between the 2 poles.

May just put it together (this weekend) and string it up to hear what is going on 'as is'.

 

[Jon Clegg]

My best guess would be that the Red of the bridge is being shorted to ground when in Series -- this could be because the Black and Green leads from the Neck pickup are connected internally or the Black and Green are reversed from what we thought they were.

What SHOULD happen in the Series position is that the Green lead has to go through the Bridge coil before getting to ground. Now if our collective guess that the Green lead is the 'Cold' side of the coil and that the Black lead is the case-ground was wrong, I think we'd see this exact sort of thing happening. Using a meter to confirm would help (hint: find your meter )

<edit> Just took a look at Japanese wiring color codes: Red - Hot Black - Rtn Green - Ground. Hmmmm....

 

[RBS_Johnson]

My experience with vintage Japanese guitars has been such that I always check things like wire colors when possible. Most of the info for this era was hit or miss for me.

 

[JIO]

My best guess would be that the Red of the bridge is being shorted to ground when in Series -- this could be because the Black and Green leads from the Neck pickup are connected internally or the Black and Green are reversed from what we thought they were.

What SHOULD happen in the Series position is that the Green lead has to go through the Bridge coil before getting to ground. Now if our collective guess that the Green lead is the 'Cold' side of the coil and that the Black lead is the case-ground was wrong, I think we'd see this exact sort of thing happening. Using a meter to confirm would help (hint: find your meter )

<edit> Just took a look at Japanese wiring color codes: Red - Hot Black - Rtn Green - Ground. Hmmmm....

Ok, that would be easy enough to try (reversing black & green) ... on the N pu. The B pu has red/black/white ...

 

[Jon Clegg]

Ok, that would be easy enough to try (reversing black & green) ... on the N pu. The B pu has red/black/white ...

For this scenario, the neck is all that matters, since both black and white go to ground on the bridge.

 

[JIO]

For this scenario, the neck is all that matters, since both black and white go to ground on the bridge.

1st to focus on! Thanks Jon!

 

[JIO]

Ok - I just revered the black and green wires of the N pu and doing the screwdriver-on-poles test --- everything checks out! Will now assemble it and listen for the series/parallel tone difference of the middle switch.

 

[Jon Clegg]

Great to hear!

 

[JIO]

star grounding the cavities -

A late-in-the-day shot of the assembled body -

 

[JIO]

Done! (part 1) Thanks to Jon's gracious assistance sorting the electronics - it sounds awesome! So glad I added the bridge pu as now it roars! And the series/parallel sounds great also - I love having tonal options at the flick of a switch. And speaking of flicking, now that it's playable - part 2 now starts in earnest with development of my automatic capo. Will set up a meeting with my co-designer and the fabricators as soon as I can to start the ball rolling. (rock & rolling that is ) Just weighed it - 7lbs/4oz - I could rock that all night!

 

[JIO]

family portrait

 

[Jon Clegg]

Done! (part 1) Thanks to Jon's gracious assistance sorting the electronics - it sounds awesome! So glad I added the bridge pu as now it roars! And the series/parallel sounds great also - I love having tonal options at the flick of a switch. And speaking of flicking, now that it's playable - part 2 now starts in earnest with development of my automatic capo. Will set up a meeting with my co-designer and the fabricators as soon as I can to start the ball rolling. (rock & rolling that is ) Just weighed it - 7lbs/4oz - I could rock that all night!

Glad I could help. Gorgeous work as always.

 

[ICM]

That looks realy awesome all complete. Another successful build!

 

[Jisch]

That looks great - I like the way your designs are consistent throughout - headstock, body shape, pickups etc. Nice job.