Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

[A7xSchecter6661]

Just realized I messed up the title, LOL!

Hey guys I have finally finished my custom guitar.

It is a Schecter Avenger Replica and here are the specs:

Construction: Set Neck Ultra Access
Body: 6 Piece Maple with flamed maple top
Neck: 3 Piece Maple w/ 18" truss rod
Scale: 25.5"
Nut: Graphtech Tusq
Fingerboard: Maple- stained ebony
Frets: 24 X-Jumbo
Inlays: none
Binding: None
Pickups: Gold Seymour Duncan Blackouts
Electronics: 1 vol/1tone 3 way
Bridge: TOM with tail piece
Tuners: Grover
Hardware: Gold
Color: Purple Flamed Maple

I will attach some pictures just so you can see.

 

[youngthrasher9]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

OMG that thing is awesome. Well done. Sorry I can't chime in for advice.

 

[A7xSchecter6661]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

OMG that thing is awesome. Well done. Sorry I can't chime in for advice.

No problem, I am very pleased for it and it came out amazing. I know it looks blue in the last picture but imagine it the color purple from the outdoor pictures. It's sweet!

I am very proud of it for a first time guitar build from scratch.

You can also see my small little website here to see all the pictures and stuff.

I already have another guitar build lined up for a guy on another forum from Korea, looking to get started on that as soon as this one is done!

http://petescustomguitars.weebly.com/index.html

 

[A7xSchecter6661]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Any help is appreciated, I am hoping it's just a bad ground or connection.

So close to being able to play!!!

 

[big kurka]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Did you follow the wiring diagram here on SD website? If you could draw a diagram of what you did would make it alot easier to see what might be wrong.

 

[A7xSchecter6661]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Did you follow the wiring diagram here on SD website? If you could draw a diagram of what you did would make it alot easier to see what might be wrong.

Yes I did , it has to be something simple because the guitar does play, just sounds like the tone is all the way down and the volume does not work.

Should I be changing out the pots that came with the pickups? Are they junk?

 

[jumble jumble]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Could the wires to the jack be the wrong way round?

 

[A7xSchecter6661]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Could the wires to the jack be the wrong way round?

I was actually confused about the wires to the jack.

I reversed the ring and the tip and that's when I got sound.
Why does this jack have 2 clips where my other guitars only have 1?

 

[speed2dirt]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

The three terminals on the stereo jack are for ground, hot, battery. Looking at your wiring, it doesn't look like any of the wires from the jack go directly to the battery compartment. It looks like the black wire & one of the red wires go to the tone pot (grounded twice?) and the other longer red wire goes to one of the terminals on the volume pot.

 

[A7xSchecter6661]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

The three terminals on the stereo jack are for ground, hot, battery. Looking at your wiring, it doesn't look like any of the wires from the jack go directly to the battery compartment. It looks like the black wire & one of the red wires go to the tone pot (grounded twice?) and the other longer red wire goes to one of the terminals on the volume pot.

According to the diagram the ring goes to the battery ground (which is the black wire), the sleeve is the main ground and grounds on the casing of the tone pot and the tip (hot output) goes to the middle terminal of the volume pot.

Now i have the battery ground and the hot output reversed and I get sound, but if I follow the SD diagram I have no sound at all.

This is rather confusing when you don't have any ways to tell what's working or not working

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

I know when I first installed my blackouts I had the jack wired up all backwards and when I sorted it out it was fine... but I did notice the pots seemed goofy in that they didn't really work well. I replaced them with some older bigger EMG 25K pots I had laying around and the problem went away. Problem was they wouldn't turn down at all and would just turn OFF once I got to 0 on volume.

Prob doesn't help though lol.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Awesome work btw on the guitar! Not many people can pull that off! I tip my hat sir!

 

[jtougas]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Nice work on the axe!

As for your wiring:

The stereo jack is wired to work as an on/off switch, to save battery life. You plug in, the ground from the battery (ring) gets connected to the ground on the cable (sleeve), and it turns on the preamp (the obvious caveat to this is don't leave your guitar plugged in for days), and sound flows out (tip).

For the wiring - you do have a bridge ground wired up, right? I see the red and black coming in from the battery compartment... but I'm not sure where the black goes. The red goes to that ziptied bundle center top, yeah?

You might have something shorting out... wrap the connections out in the open in electrical tape, and check. It also looks like you don't have any shielding in the cavity - might want to add that eventually.

 

[A7xSchecter6661]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Nice work on the axe!

As for your wiring:

The stereo jack is wired to work as an on/off switch, to save battery life. You plug in, the ground from the battery (ring) gets connected to the ground on the cable (sleeve), and it turns on the preamp (the obvious caveat to this is don't leave your guitar plugged in for days), and sound flows out (tip).

For the wiring - you do have a bridge ground wired up, right? I see the red and black coming in from the battery compartment... but I'm not sure where the black goes. The red goes to that ziptied bundle center top, yeah?

You might have something shorting out... wrap the connections out in the open in electrical tape, and check. It also looks like you don't have any shielding in the cavity - might want to add that eventually.

I have no way to ground it to the bridge, but on the right side of the cavity I did put a screw into the body for the grounds to go to, is that sufficient enough or no?

 

[jtougas]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Erm, traditionally speaking, no, it's not.

But look into 'star grounding', and it may give you a way around it (but I don't think you'll be able to get around not shielding the cavity, with either shielding paint, or copper foil tape).

 

[A7xSchecter6661]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Erm, traditionally speaking, no, it's not.

But look into 'star grounding', and it may give you a way around it (but I don't think you'll be able to get around not shielding the cavity, with either shielding paint, or copper foil tape).

Well I have another guitar apart, and the wire for the bridge ground is like 20 gauge.

So why is a screw not enough to ground the 2 wires going to it? the screw is probably the diameter to a 14 guage wire.

Anyways, something stupid simple has to be up. I reversed the ring (Battery ground) and the tip (hot output) and that's what gives me the sound, but weak tone and no volume control (doesn't even shut off)

 

[jtougas]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Because that wire connects to the bridge, then the strings, then you. You become the ground.

This is why some buzzes go away when you touch the strings (this is also why you can get your ass shocked if you're playing through a Silverface or Blackface Fender, so there's that). Thanks, Leo.

Star grounding works around that, but requires a buttload of shielding in the control cavity to work.

This doesn't explain your signal quality, but it may be contributing. Where does the black lead from the battery go? You've got a connection somewhere that Ain't Right.


ETA:
Okay, I think I see part of the problem - the battery negative should go straight to the ring - do not pass stop, do not pass go.

You've got a lot more wire in that control cavity than you need.

This is actually a very simple circuit... it looks like you've tried to make it more complicated than it needs to be. Trim it back to just this, and add in that shielding, and let us know what happens.

Good luck!

 

[A7xSchecter6661]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Because that wire connects to the bridge, then the strings, then you. You become the ground.

This is why some buzzes go away when you touch the strings (this is also why you can get your ass shocked if you're playing through a Silverface or Blackface Fender, so there's that). Thanks, Leo.

Star grounding works around that, but requires a buttload of shielding in the control cavity to work.

This doesn't explain your signal quality, but it may be contributing. Where does the black lead from the battery go? You've got a connection somewhere that Ain't Right.

black wire from the battery I have going to the tip (hot output) and that's when I get sound.

But it's supposed to go to the ring main gound, but when it's there I get NO sound!

 

[jtougas]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Then you've got something very seriously wrong somewhere else.

Draw up what you currently have connected, and post it.

Or start over from scratch with the wiring I posted (which may be quicker).

 

[A7xSchecter6661]

Re: Cusotm guitar, blackouts (56k)

Then you've got something very seriously wrong somewhere else.

Draw up what you currently have connected, and post it.

Will it do any good? I've looked it over 3 times completely wire for wire. So it will look exactly like the stock wiring diagram

The only difference I have is no bridge ground (which Idk if I will be able to do without messing up the finish)

and instead of connecting the bare wire directly to the back of the pots, I connected a new segment of wire to only the bare wire and ran that to the pots so I didn't have to strip back the bare wire a few inches (which is completely braided around the white wire, not just in the same tube as the white)

The only thing I am unsure of is the stupid jack. I used the jack that came WITH the blackouts so I assume doing it just like the picture is the correct way. But no sound, then if I switch the ring and top I get sound. Very annoying!!!