little '59 neck pickup help!

[dabrams]

hello all, i just installed a little '59 in the neck position of my strat. i only have the little '59, a volume and a tone knob, and no other pickups or selector switch. i combined the little '59 diagram that came with the the pickup and the diagram of just one single coil, one volume, and one tone. both of knobs are 250k and brand new. i'm getting sound out of the guitar, but neither of the knobs are having an effect on the sound meaning the volume and tone do not change. does anyone have a diagram for this or know where i can find one or have any insight? thanks!!!

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: little '59 neck pickup help!

Try this one.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=1hum_1vol_1tone

You may have a wire out of place.

[dabrams]

Re: little '59 neck pickup help!

thanks so much for the response. that looks to be just about what i have. the only thing i did differently is i didnt solder the wires to same exact spot as it shows in the diagram. they are on the same pot, but not in the same spot, ie the green and the bare are not soldered to the same spot as the ground from the bridge, but they are on the volume pot separately. does that matter?

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: little '59 neck pickup help!

Nope. As long as they touch the same piece of metal, it's ok.

What you should be comparing is the wires from pot to pot to jack in the diagram vs how it is in your guitar.

It's also possible you've baked the pots, and the wipers have separated from the internal contacts, leaving you with both knobs full-on.

[dabrams]

Re: little '59 neck pickup help!

i hope the picture is enough to help describe my problem.. i have the little 59 in the neck position and want only 1 vol and 1 tone. the tone knob is working fine, but the volume knob is behaving like a tone knob. can anyone help? thanks in advance for saving me money by not having to take it to my guitar guy! thanks

[AlexR]

Re: little '59 neck pickup help!

I'm actually seeing a lot of those solder joints look like they've not flowed onto the back of the pots...I'm also seeing a lot of wire strands on the hookup wire - like they weren't tinned before soldering. These hookup wire joints also look like they aren't attached that well to the lugs. Also the bare wire perhaps has the potential to touch the hot where the stripped part is exposed. Maybe moving the bare/green around the pot a bit

Not to be harsh, but quite frankly I think your soldering needs to be completely re-done.....what type of iron do you have, and what wattage is it??

[dabrams]

Re: little '59 neck pickup help!

I'm actually seeing a lot of those solder joints look like they've not flowed onto the back of the pots...I'm also seeing a lot of wire strands on the hookup wire - like they weren't tinned before soldering. These hookup wire joints also look like they aren't attached that well to the lugs. Also the bare wire perhaps has the potential to touch the hot where the stripped part is exposed. Maybe moving the bare/green around the pot a bit

Not to be harsh, but quite frankly I think your soldering needs to be completely re-done.....what type of iron do you have, and what wattage is it??

thanks so much for taking the time to look at my post... yea i was concerned that it was due to shoddy soldering. i've been using my father's extremely old iron, and i knew i should just buy a new one with the proper wattage, but was too cheap. so you think it's a matter of being more precise with the soldering? other than that everything looks to be in the right place? this is only the second time i've attempted to do my own wiring work. thanks again!

[AlexR]

Re: little '59 neck pickup help!

It just looks like you've not got enough heat on the ones on the back of the pots. You need a 45W iron, preferably with a temperature control. That way you apply lots of heat locally to get the pot hot, but there's not the time for the whole thing to heat up and fry. When the iron is really hot, the solder blobs like you have spread out and become more puddle like.

The wires not being tinned and splayed everywhere is asking for cold joins or short-circuits. Its also quite messy to look at. You keep the wire strands twisted once the insulation is stripped, and heat the end and flow some solder into it. This stops fraying, but also encourages the solder you use in making the joint to adhere to the wire and whatever it is being attached to.

The last point is trimming the excess. Once you have the join, the wire should be inserted to the point where the outer insulation starts. Then the excess on the other side of the join should be trimmed. On the back of pots you really only need 1/4" of exposed wire for the join.

[GuitarDoc]

Re: little '59 neck pickup help!

I agree with AlexR 100%. Your wires are connected correctly, but you have very cold solder joints (blobs not flowing pools) and splayed wire ends. Soldering iron needs to be at least 40 watts (I use 50 watts with a temp control). You want to heat the solder and back of pot hot and fast...time is your enemy. When you cut your wire, twist the strands together and "tin" the end with solder before soldering to its intended connection. After making the soldered connection trim off any excess and extraneous wires so they don't short against anything else. Keep that bare ground wire away from any other wires, lugs, or connection points or cover it with insulation.

This should correct your problem. With such cold solder joints, I doubt that you could have fried your pots, even though anything is possible.