Well I THOUGHT it was done...

Pilgrim · April 30, 2015, 07:53:15 PM

Daan, you don't have to abandon that nut. Put masking tape on each side of the slot, put some baking soda in the slot and drip one or two drops of super glue on it. The combination will form a very strong bone-like material that is bonded to the nut. Then take a needle file and try a more accurate nut slot. If you don't have needle files, use a drill bit with emery cloth wrapped around it (totaling the correct diameter, and you can be pretty precise) as your file.

Dave W · May 01, 2015, 09:33:30 PM

Quote from: daan on April 30, 2015, 07:52:49 PM
I'm printing this out now, I will rewire it the next chance I get. Stupid question: WHich one is the "tone" pot? My guess is the one next to the output, but I thought I should ask before I start soldering the wrong things (again)

Yes, it's the one closest to the jack.

daan · June 18, 2015, 05:53:15 PM

Well I got tired of messing with the circuit on this. I flipped the pickups over, and the "E" became the quiet string. I took those pups out, and found some other ones to use (they haven't arrived yet) I gutted all the rest of the wiring and ordered all new, I got CTS pots and a Switchcraft pup selector I don't know why the "Vol/Vol/Tone" wiring bugged me so much, but it did, so I'm going V/T/3-way. I've downloaded a bunch of wiring diagrams, so hopefully I'll get this one right the first time (or is it 9th by now

) I did figure out the holes in the control panel aren't big enough for the pot shafts to pass thru, but I have a reamer I can open them up with. Or, a friend of my Dad is a retired metal worker, with a garage full of tools, maybe I can bring him a box '0' donuts and listen to them tell Army stories while getting my plate fixed...
I did the superglue/baking soda thing to the nut, and then filed it too deep again right away. Maybe I'll find somebody who can cut a new one for me locally (not many guitar places in rural WI though)
I learned my lesson, just do it right instead of cheaping out and having to re-do it multiple times!

Dave W · June 18, 2015, 09:23:37 PM

Dan, I can check with a friend who teaches guitar in the Glenwood City area, he may know a qualified repairman.

drbassman · June 19, 2015, 05:56:45 AM

Sounds like many of my projects.....rework....redo....start over......ugh. It takes a lot of patience! The learning curve is steep.

dadagoboi · June 19, 2015, 11:58:27 AM

Yes, tone is next to the jack.

daan · June 19, 2015, 12:06:41 PM

Quote from: drbassman on June 19, 2015, 05:56:45 AM
Sounds like many of my projects.....rework....redo....start over......ugh. It takes a lot of patience! The learning curve is steep.

Yeah but your projects turn out beautifully! That's why I'm so hesitant to post anything here, "I got nuthin'"

drbassman · June 19, 2015, 05:10:36 PM

Quote from: daan on June 19, 2015, 12:06:41 PM
Yeah but your projects turn out beautifully! That's why I'm so hesitant to post anything here, "I got nuthin'"

Well, I never posted the two or three bodies I struggled with so much they ended up in the fire pit and we made s'mores over! I learned a lot from the mistakes and now I make fewer errors and have to do less rework. I still make mistakes but they tend to be smaller now!

Dave W · June 19, 2015, 06:36:05 PM

Dan, my buddy uses Speed of Sound in Eau Claire, that's the only one he knows in the area. Might be as far for you as the Cities but at least there will be less traffic.

Highlander · June 20, 2015, 06:31:56 AM

Mistakes, trials, and tribulations... all part of the learning curve... We've all had a few train-wrecks...

daan · June 21, 2015, 07:56:33 PM

Quote from: Dave W on June 19, 2015, 06:36:05 PM
Dan, my buddy uses Speed of Sound in Eau Claire, that's the only one he knows in the area. Might be as far for you as the Cities but at least there will be less traffic.

Thank you! I will check them out. There's a music store in Hudson (WI) but they don't do work there, they send stuff out somewhere to have it done. And they wouldn't really tell me where when I asked...

daan · July 17, 2015, 08:24:59 PM

So I got my Dad to take me over to his buddy's house (retired metal worker with a shed fulla power tools-now THAT"S a man-cave!) ANyway I measured my electrical components, he dug out some drill bits and in about 5 minutes I had a control plate that my parts fit in.

He also beveled the holes, so they weren't razor sharp

I have all the components on the plate

and everything fits in the control rout on the body (I was worried the switch would be too long, I'd have to deepen the rout but it's fine.)

So assuming I get a little time this weekend, (and the wiring diagram I have is correct) I may actually have a working bass by Monday.

And I GOTTA stop using my phone, and start taking pics with my "real" camera. They look fine on the phone's screen, but as soon as I see them on a monitor they look terrible. Well, you know the joke- "I'm an American, give me convenience or give me death"

Highlander · July 18, 2015, 05:44:17 AM

Plenty good enough images for here... anyway, laziness is not an "American" thing... it's a malaise that has taken root in Western culture...
So, lets see what the weekend brings...!

Dave W · July 18, 2015, 03:44:17 PM

He did a nice job for you. Pics look fine too, it's not like you're entering a photo exhibition.

daan · July 30, 2015, 04:54:01 PM

Of course I haven't even opened the case on this since I posted last... Maybe once school is back on I'll have more time to fool with this again.