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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 10
Location: Jacksonville, FL | Okay, by now I'm sure you folks are getting pretty darn sick of me going on about this guitar, ;) but please hear me out.
1 - A previous owner changed the controls to V-V-T-T, but it is not quite right. I don't think the blend pot was replaced. It behaves like one side was just disconnected. It's weird. Also, the pots are very scratchy. I'd like to pull the electronics and clean it up but realize that replacing the pots would pose quite a challenge.
What is the trick to this?
2 - The pickups are microphonic (?). I can talk into the pups and my voice is amplified. Is this normal for these pickups?
Thanks in advance. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6191
Location: Phoenix AZ | So ... when you talk to the pickups, what exactly do you say? If you ask them a question, will they give you an answer?
Sorry to joke, but I can't answer your technical question. I own lots of Theads but I never dabble in the guts of them. I too had some with scratchy pots. My repair guy was able to clean some. Others he had to replace. But it was not expensive to have done. I think it's like a lot of things that are easy if you know what you are doing and have the right tools.
Good luck. Dave |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | servicing the wiring in a 335-style guitar is a pain, but it's not impossible. Basically you have to work through the pickup holes. Remove the knobs, loosen all the nuts & drop the pots and switch inside. Unscrew the PU surrounds, desolder from the pots where possible (use something to protect the finish from molten solder) & pull the whole lot out through the pickup slots. Do it in reverse to reassemble. Pass some thread or thin wire through the pot holes and tie to the pot shafts, use it to pull the pots into place. Have a washer & nut on the thread, ready to bolt into place. It's a little like gynacolgy, but I guess nowhere near as much fun.
Having the pickups wax-potted will help with the microphonic problem |
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Joined:
January 2003
Posts: 1498
Location: San Bernardino, California | It helps if you tie thread or fishline to the control shafts before removing them from the guitar. For the output jack; push a loop down into the jack and 'hook' it around the contact.
I've been wondering if you could 'pot' a pickup with superglue. I realize that would make future repairs difficult or impossible (like the epoxy covered pickups), but it seems like the real thin type of superglue would go down into the windings. I'm not recommending this, but it's an option. |
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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 10
Location: Jacksonville, FL | THanks for the suggestions about tying the thread to the shafts. That makes a lot of sense.
Re potting with super glue (cyanoacrylate):
While these glues are available quite thin, they generally do not cure well in thick sections. And you would loose the ability to adjust the pole heights.
I think I'll get some wax this weekend and pot them the old fashioned way. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Superglue won't work. DIY wax-potting is not a great idea unless you have the correct tools & a little experience, it would be a shame to screw-up 40 year-old DeArmonds. The Wax is actually a mix of wax & parrafin. Do a search, there's been a few threads on this. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | For threading the pots back through, I just use heavy "coat button" thread. Tie it to the shafts of the pots and leave enough to pull them out and work on them. I also use a piece of 14 guage wire to manuever the little buggers back into place. You'd be surprised at how well the thread stays on the pot. You may even find the remnents of string when you take the pots out as I have found on several.
It's a fun game we call threading the pots. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Originally posted by BruDev:
It helps if you tie thread or fishline to the control shafts before removing them from the guitar. For the output jack; push a loop down into the jack and 'hook' it around the contact.
I've been wondering if you could 'pot' a pickup with superglue. I realize that would make future repairs difficult or impossible (like the epoxy covered pickups), but it seems like the real thin type of superglue would go down into the windings. I'm not recommending this, but it's an option.
Just for referance, superglue is not the same as epoxy. I don't know of anything that will dissolve epoxy, but superglue (CyA) can be completely dissolved with acetone. I use acetone in a capped jar to store my glue nozzles when they become clogged with glue when I'm building model airplanes. Overnight submerged in acetone & a completely plugged nozzle will be clean as new.
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Thunderhead electronics question.
