Duncan wiring.

[Herby]

I had a Srtat apart for a couple of weeks to do some rewiring and to give the neck some new frets. Replaced all the pickups and pots. Changed the caps. Put in a new 5 way. Got it all sealed up again then started work on the neck. Finished the neck. Bolted it back on. Set the intonation and action (it's lower now). Plugged it in and started jamming. 3 SCs, two generic alnico 5's ( neck and middle) and one 'NEW' SSL-6 (bridge). All black wires went to ground... Oops. Forgot. So, the only way to fix it was to either take all the strings back off the guitar, take all the screws out of the pickguard, and reverse the wires on the Duncan. I took a shortcut. The strat has a Rose system installed, so I carefully unbolted the neck with the tension still on the strings, making sure the neck didn't change directions. Best way to do this is to lay it down on the bed with the face down. Apply pressure to the body and unscrew the bolts. To make a long story short, it took me all of 5 minutes to fix it, AND as an added bonus, when I put the neck back on the string tension forced the neck tightly into the body and thereby increasing my sustain. Tips and tricks for Strats with Rose clamps.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Duncan wiring.

... AND as an added bonus, when I put the neck back on the string tension forced the neck tightly into the body and thereby increasing my sustain...

Everyone should give this a shot with a bolt on guitar. In most cases an audible improvement.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Duncan wiring.

Don't be doing that too often with the same guitar, you'll wear out the screw holes.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Duncan wiring.

This is the same method I use if I encounter a problem. It is so much quicker than taking off the strings. You'd think that by now there would be back access panels on every guitar, even with a pickguard.

 

[Herby]

Re: Duncan wiring.

Don't be doing that too often with the same guitar, you'll wear out the screw holes.

Good point. I learned my lesson years ago about over tightening neck screws. I did have to fill the holes in the body of this guitar when I got it about 6 years ago (that's about the average lifespan of nickel frets if you play frequently). It was a cheap knockoff and the holes didn't line up with the neck. I just glued in dowel rod with the same diameter as the holes then re-drilled. The same can be done with the neck if the threads eventually get stripped. One consolation is that neck wood is usually pretty hard to strip threads out of. I've had the neck off this guitar at least a dozen times. Still grabs the screws well.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Duncan wiring.

I think at least one of my guitars has threaded inserts and machine screws for the neck. It is a really great idea, actually.