pu dullness

  • Thread starter Thread starter jmrut
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jmrut

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I recently purchased some SD Antiquities (Humbuckers) off ebay. The bridge sounds fantastic. The neck doesn't. It is quite dull. Kinda like the tone control has been turned down even with it all the way up.

Thinking about changing cap values (currently a .022) on the tone knob. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Rut
 
Re: pu dullness

Well, as far as i know, changing cap values won't make any difference if the volume knob is fully opened.

But after all, i'm stupid, so this would just make a good bump.
 
Re: pu dullness

Actually, changing cap values with the volume fully opened does make a difference, it's with the tone pot that it's said to not make a difference but IMO there is some. If it's a no-load pot, then it wouldn't make a difference with it fully open.

Double-check the wiring, put a meter on it and check the DC resistance. A .022 cap is good. Nothing wrong with that value.

Keep in mind too, that the strings vibrate differently over the neck pickup than over the bridge. With the guitar unplugged, strum a chord over the bridge pickup then strum it over the neck pickup. You'll hear a tonal difference that way. What kind of guitar are they in?
 
Re: pu dullness

These are installed in an import 335 knockoff.

I know, everyone probably thinks they are crap but let's do the math.
$2000+ for a genuine plywood 335 or $400 for a plywood copy. Hmmm! My Washburn hb-35 is terrific regardless of the cost.

I have replaced the pots with better quality versions just to eliminate any problems there. I'll double check the wiring and maybe try wiring it straight through to verify I'm actually losing it in the controls are that the pu just sounds that way.

rut
 
Re: pu dullness

Hi Rut

Welcome to the forum from a fully fledged member of the 335 knockoff club!
 
Re: pu dullness

Nothing wrong with a knockoff. I've played some really sweet 335 copies myself. Just disconnecting the tone pot should tell you right away too. If it's wired like a Gibby, it's just removing the wire from lug 3 of the volume pot.

And welcome to the forum.
 
Re: pu dullness

Another big 335 fan here (I've owned 5 [copies] of them through time...presently have a Greco MIJ from 1981 with Gibson pickups) will be putting a SD Seth Lover or '59 in the neck position soon.

Something special about these guitars for me..not sure what exactly.

Played a Washburn HB 35 recently...very nice.

Congrats.

Hope you get the problem solved soon, so you can start to really enjoy "how sweet it is".

Welcome to a great forum.

What amp are you using ?

Dave
 
Re: pu dullness

Thanks. Actually I'm kinda ampless right now. I do have an old Carvin tube amp that I'm not very fond of. I'm in the middle of building a tube amp. Actually got it built but had a lot of hum problems so I'm regrouping and starting over with the wiring. Sounded really nice except for the hum.

Rut
 
Re: pu dullness

Sorry to alter the dircetion of your post slightly.
Just wondered if you built the amp from a kit and, if you did, who supplied it , what size (watts output) did you build and how did the build go in general.

I'm looking into this concept at the moment through Hoffman and Mission.

Thanks

Dave
 
Re: pu dullness

greco said:
Sorry to alter the dircetion of your post slightly.
Just wondered if you built the amp from a kit and, if you did, who supplied it , what size (watts output) did you build and how did the build go in general.

I'm looking into this concept at the moment through Hoffman and Mission.

Thanks

Dave
Click to expand...


I didn't go via a kit. Had the chassis bent at a local sheet metal shop (20 x 9 x 2.5) for $24. Easiest way to get a chassis with an angled control panel.

I have purchased parts from Hoffman. He gives great service and I have no doubt that he provides quality products so I suspect his kits are good also. Don't know about mission.

The schematic I used was one floating around on the net that is suppose to be a Dumble clone. It sounds quite nice (if you don't want that metal sound). Some sample amps built from that schematic can be seen/heard here:
www.glaswerks.com This is what got me interested. I've previously built a deluxe bf clone and it was quite nice sounding. You might want to poke around this site: www.ax84.com if you haven't before. They have nice amp projects and a very helpful forum.

As far as the build goes, the chassis work probably is the least fun, cutting all the holes and what not. I purchased turret board material from Hoffman and built my board using a layout I did in CorelDraw. Wiring isn't bad, just tedious. As I said, I had a bad hum problem that I couldn't ferret out so I'm redoing the wiring.

Hope that helps!

Forgot to mention: I was usig 2 6v6 output tubes for about 20w. Plenty loud for home.

Rut
 
Last edited:
Re: pu dullness

When I compared the Antiquity neck humbuckers to Seth Lover humbuckers, I went with the Seth in my own guitar because it seemed brighter.

There's a cool hollow character to the Antiquity, but I prefered the brighter and, to me, livlier tone of the Seth. Maybe it's because the Seth has a full strength magnet...

Anyways, check your pots and make sure they are 500K.

Changing to a differant tone cap won't give you a brighter tone...especially if it's a .02 cap already.

But connecting your tone control to the output jack or to the middle terminal of the volume control WILL make your guitar seem brighter...as will installing a NO LOAD tone pot.

Lew
 
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