Got a weirdish guitar wiring question for ya
- inverseroom
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Got a weirdish guitar wiring question for ya
Hey strangers. I am restoring this old Teisco ET-460, and it is wired very strangely. Four pickups, each with switches...plus a conventional tone control...PLUS a BASS/RHYTHM/LEAD switch. And the latter switch is a ROTARY.
The original switch used isn't really a three-way--it's continuous rotary, with only two of four thingers used. You can see it in this diagram; this is the switch I have on the guitar now. It's dumb though, as the knob spins all the way around and in most positions does nothing.
I bought a "real" three-way rotary, and it looks like this:
This is clearly what the guitar was designed to use but doesn't. I want to replace the old one with this one. HOW DO I WIRE IT? Do I just imagine that the whole left half of the original switch is gone, and of what's left, the top right middle-and-three group is moved over to top left?
Also somebody please explain these peculiar cap values to me
The original switch used isn't really a three-way--it's continuous rotary, with only two of four thingers used. You can see it in this diagram; this is the switch I have on the guitar now. It's dumb though, as the knob spins all the way around and in most positions does nothing.
I bought a "real" three-way rotary, and it looks like this:
This is clearly what the guitar was designed to use but doesn't. I want to replace the old one with this one. HOW DO I WIRE IT? Do I just imagine that the whole left half of the original switch is gone, and of what's left, the top right middle-and-three group is moved over to top left?
Also somebody please explain these peculiar cap values to me
- ubertar
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Re: Got a weirdish guitar wiring question for ya
Most likely, yeah. The thing to do is use an ohm meter and map out what connects to what in each position. Do that for new and old, and set it up so you're making the same connections on the new as you did for the old.inverseroom wrote:Do I just imagine that the whole left half of the original switch is gone, and of what's left, the top right middle-and-three group is moved over to top left?
- inverseroom
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- inverseroom
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.03uF is about halfway between the two "standard" values - .022uF and .047uF. The "rhythm" position will sound like if you turned a tone control all the way down. .002uF is a little smaller than the "strangle cap" in a jaguar, and about half the value of the bridge pickup cap on old Rickenbackers. It's a value commonly seen in a "treble bleed" network. Should do a fine job of castrating the thing. The two parallel .03uFs on the Tone pot will add to .06uF, which is bigger than what most people use. When you crank this down it will be a bit darker than what you might expect in another guitar (all other things being equal) but will be noticeably different from the "rhythm" position of the rotary. It also may have been chosen to counteract the icepick nature of four coils in parallel. When you combine that cap with these other two you end up with .09uF - a very dark and bassy sound, pretty much useless for clean work, but try it through a cranked Big Muff!
Theoretically if you were to put it in "lead" mode and then turn the Tone down you could get a bit of a midrangey, almost wah type sound, but I think you'll find the volume drop and attendant reduction of signal-to-noise ratio unacceptable.
Theoretically if you were to put it in "lead" mode and then turn the Tone down you could get a bit of a midrangey, almost wah type sound, but I think you'll find the volume drop and attendant reduction of signal-to-noise ratio unacceptable.
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- alignin' 24-trk
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You're already replacing the switch. Why not put in something more useful like a varitone?
http://www.diyguitarmods.com/custom-varitone-wiring.php
http://www.diyguitarmods.com/custom-varitone-wiring.php
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- alignin' 24-trk
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This one looks better. Leave the depth pot out and have position on the switch open to bypass it. The full/half coil could be left out or be a push/pull pot.
"Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison
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- inverseroom
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