Possible Tony Franklin Tribute

[Darkstrike]

Getting the P-J fever... (again)

Just keep the router the hell away from that lovely vintage Fender you just fixed up!

 

[J. Crawford]

I agree with Dark!

Mike did the spacing extremely far, like, past 70s spacing, so well see what happens. You can see build/progress pics Invalid Link Removed.

 

[ExaltBass]

Just keep the router the hell away from that lovely vintage Fender you just fixed up!

She's SAFE! But, I've got a RW P-Bass screaming for a P-J mod!!! (and Fralins P-J pups to boot) My '59 P-Bass will NEVER be modded again! (Still a fan of the 70's P-J rout spacing)

 

[Engine207]

Ok, will keep an eye out for some!
How did you route the screw bulge bits? My routing bit's radius seems a bit big..

Smaller router bit? I think I used 1/4"...

I discovered a potential problem with the 3-way switch. In order for it to fit, it needs to have a cavity that only leaves about 1/4" of body before it pokes out of the back of the bass. Leaves that area pretty vulnerable to a ding that turns into a hole! I think I'm going to dig all the way down just at the point where the radius of the switch is deepest...minimize the size of that weak spot.

Any other ideas (besides scrapping the 3-way altogether)?

 

[Darkstrike]

She's SAFE! But, I've got a RW P-Bass screaming for a P-J mod!!! (and Fralins P-J pups to boot) My '59 P-Bass will NEVER be modded again! (Still a fan of the 70's P-J rout spacing)

Cool, on both counts, I'm digging the 70's spacing I put on mine too, I'm suprised how much so.

 

[Darkstrike]

I agree with Dark!

Mike did the spacing extremely far, like, past 70s spacing, so well see what happens. You can see build/progress pics Invalid Link Removed.

I dunno, that looks pretty much like 70's spacing to me.....

 

[MetalliBass]

I discovered a potential problem with the 3-way switch. In order for it to fit, it needs to have a cavity that only leaves about 1/4" of body before it pokes out of the back of the bass. Leaves that area pretty vulnerable to a ding that turns into a hole! I think I'm going to dig all the way down just at the point where the radius of the switch is deepest...minimize the size of that weak spot.

Any other ideas (besides scrapping the 3-way altogether)?

What about a 3-way toggle switch?
They're a bit smaller I think....
Or do you want to keep it blade switch style?

 

[J. Crawford]

I dunno, that looks pretty much like 70's spacing to me.....

Oh, maybe I just dont know true 70s spacing.

I went with a 3 way mini switch, instead of the blade type. It was cheaper, smaller, and added a bit more of my own vibe to the bass.

 

[Engine207]

What about a 3-way toggle switch?
They're a bit smaller I think....
Or do you want to keep it blade switch style?

In keeping with the Tony Franklin theme, I really wanna keep it blade. If it ever dent's through, I'll just put some duct tape on it!

 

[Darkstrike]

In keeping with the Tony Franklin theme, I really wanna keep it blade. If it ever dent's through, I'll just put some duct tape on it!

I routed mine without leaving much room, seems fine, been banged about a bit too.

After you've it shielded, you may want to put some electrical tape in the cavity, where the switch goes, so none of the switches lugs are touching the shielding, in case you cause a ground loop(I think thats the term).

 

[Engine207]

I routed mine without leaving much room, seems fine, been banged about a bit too.

After you've it shielded, you may want to put some electrical tape in the cavity, where the switch goes, so none of the switches lugs are touching the shielding, in case you cause a ground loop(I think thats the term).

Good thinkin', Dark. I would have never thought of that and would have cursed the darkness every time I shorted out. I'm gonna follow your tip and also try to be careful with my soldering so that the wires come off the tabs to the side, vs. downward.

Tomorrow, after Northwestern loses a squeaker to Auburn in the Outback Bowl, I'm gonna finish the routing, apply the shielding and try to figger out Line6Man's wiring diagram. I think there's one on the Seymour Duncan site, as well...but it's for humbuckers and there are more wires.

Understanding electronics is my weak link. I'll need to ask many questions...

Oh...Jordan...my decal guy is getting kinda flaky, so I may download Yello's decal and get a package of waterslide sheets from Staples or OfficeMax. I'll print enough for all of us and mail them out to anyone who wants them with my leftover Christmas card stamps!

 

[J. Crawford]

Sweet man! Just keep me updated!

 

[Engine207]

Alright, so I finished all of the routing and shielding, and now moving on to the electronics. With my F-I-L's supervision, I didn't have too much trouble with the work up to now. Project photos are [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. Electronics is where I need some help. I'm pretty new with wiring, but I'm a quick study, so please be patient with stupid questions.

First, I need to understand the wiring diagram:

1. Run a jumper from one connection end of the 3-way to the other, including the connection adjacent to the end (as shown, A to C).
2. Solder the neck pup hot wire to the left connection for the neck volume pot.
3. Solder the bridge pup hot wire to the left connection for the bridge volume pot.
4. Run a wire from the "back position" of the 3-way to the center connection of neck volume pot.
5. Run a wire from the "front position" of the 3-way to the center connection of bridge volume pot.
6. Solder both pup grounds, the right connection of the neck volume pot, and the bridge ground to the bottom of the neck volume pot.
7. Solder the right connection of the bridge volume pot, to the bottom of the bridge volume pot.
8. Run a wire from the bridge end connection of the 3-way to the right connection of the tone pot (C).
9. The capacitor should be soldered from the center connection of the tone pot to the bottom of the neck volume pot.
10. The output jack should be soldered to the right connection of the tone pot.

Now...for a few questions.

• Does it matter what order I make the connections?
• I'm guessing I'll use black wire for ground, and white wire for hot. Correct? Should I use a different colored wire to run from the 3-way to each volume pot?
• I noticed that the existing volume and tone pots are 500k and the one I bought for the bridge pickup is 250k. Do I need to return that and get a 500k?
• There are two wires on the output jack. Where do they connect to the pots? I see that one goes to the right connection of the tone pot (which wire), but where does the other go?
• As I was handling the bridge pup, the soldered connections accidentally broke. How do I figure out which one is hot and which is ground?
• Is it best to install the pots onto the pickguard first, then do all the soldering, then connect the pup and jack wires?
• Does the back of the pickguard need shielding?
• My split pickup has three wires to each half, what is black, red and blue? what do I do with the extra wire?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[bassist4dalord]

Is this thing done yet???

 

[trunkshope6]

haha seriously i saw this thread a long ass time ago

jk man i had a squier modding thing going on for a good long while and it still turned out like ****

 

[Engine207]

Is this thing done yet???

I was done yesterday...until I tried to put the pickguard back on and realized my additional routing for the 3-way switch was too small!!

Now I gotta go back and enlarge the trench and re-shield it!!

 

[Darkstrike]

Bummer.

 

[J. Crawford]

Mine should be home any day now!

 

[bh2]

Good. Piccys asap Jordie.

 

[Engine207]

Bummer.

No kidding!

I was hoping to get this completed during my last set of Kelley Days. Now, I'm working hard to get it all done before this set is over!! I'm in the shop now, and I've routed the "bigger" cavity.

The waterslide material should arrive tomorrow, so I can make and apply the decals before putting the keywinds back on. I hope to get this done by tomorrow, so I can bring it to the firehouse on Saturday.