So. a little while ago I posted a thread on creating my own Eric Clapton-ish Strat. I have to admit that I am in no way experienced in electronics, have never cut a nut, and am only barely fluent in multimeter usage. I have a strong feeling that not knowing what I was getting myself into was what allowed me to try. Several months back, I got the neck (Classic Player 50's), roughly cut the nut (I ended up with a nice set of nut files), and used an emery board nail file to shape the nut. I strung it up to see how to proceed with the nut, and to see what I needed to do to get the proper relief. That done, I ordered the electronic parts, and tried to finish the mod. I learned plenty on these mods, most of which was along the line of taking my time to get things right. I had lots of interruptions along the way, due to work and family commitments, and I made a mid-mod decision to power the mid-boost circuit with a Fishman Fluence rechargeable battery pack, instead of a battery. It was frustrating at times, but I managed to learn enough to get the job done (even had to reverse the polarity on one of the pickups). The guitar finally came to life today, It sounds great, and it gives me a Strat with some really unique tones. I'm still fine tuning the nut - slow and steady will get me where I want to go - and there are no strings hang up in the nut, so I feel pretty good about what I have accomplished there. It doesn't look like much of a difference, but after playing it for a bit this afternoon, I can say it's a huge difference in feel and sound. Needless to say, I am totally excited about my N-ishGD! Not too bad for a total modding newbie. I'm really happy about what I have accomplished, but I honestly think I'd rather play 'em than mod 'em from here on out.
That's great! And now you learned a few things about how the guitar functions and that is a good thing! Congrats!
Looks beautiful man. And I actually like that Fishman. Gives it a distinct look. Glad to hear it doesn't get in the way or have a bad feel to it. Look forward to using one in my own build.
You're absolutely right. Prior to this, I have only done basic setups, and changed out the pickups on one guitar (I changed out the stock pickups for the Lace Senor Gold on this one). To finally get everything right, I had to learn to follow the electrical paths. When I started, I was simply soldering wires exactly as they were on the diagrams I found for this mod. It was when I had to trouble shoot that I learned what each tab on a pot did, so I could follow the flow. I found that even with the multimeter, it was following the flow that put me over the top.
Thank you, everyone! When I play it now, I'll know that I had something to do with it's sound. @Baelzebub, I can't seem to confirm it, but I believe it was you that suggested the Fishman Fluence rechargeable battery pack. If so, I can't thank you enough. Not having to figure out where I needed to put the battery made it much easier. I ended up trimming a corner of the mid-boost circuit board, and it fits quite nicely at the bottom of the control cutout.
It was, and partly from a selfish motive since I'm going to do a build with the EC tone circuit and plan to use one as well. Saw it and thought it looked like the right tool for the job. Batteries that can leak inside guitars make me nervous. And I liked the simplicity. But I didn't have any first hand opinions on if my hunch was right. If you have a pic of how you mounted the PCB I'd love to see it. Not having to do any additional routing would elkminate another place for me to screw it up. Thanks.
I'll try to get the control cavity uncovered and give you a look. I should be able to do that tonight, but please don't hold me to that. I pastor a church and I help out my daughter's family, so I can get busy at any given time. If I can't do it tonight, I will get it done just as fast as I can.
Cool. so you rounded that bottom right corner and then angled it so the 5-way switch had enough clearance and there was enough room for the rest of the wiring and even the TBX pot?
Yes, it is cramped, but it is doable, the key is to not let the wires get all jumbled up. I have been careful, and the pickguard sits down flush. I did reroute some wires to get it that way, though, and I did consider routing out a pocket under the pickguard at one point. The way I have it now works, and it sounds great. When I took the pic today, I did notice one wire that I should have routed differently, but I'm not changing now.
I'm looking at using some sort of quick connect system both to eliminate some soldering and to keep things a bit neater. Still looking at what system might work best for me, but anything I do use will be with an eye towards keeping the clutter down so I can mount the PCB that way.
