Menu
Here’s something fun and rare I spotted whilst #guitarshopping yesterday: 1972 #Gibson #ES325 TDC. The 325 is an oddball…my cousin has a #walnut one from ‘73 or '74…and he says it was one of those models #guitar companies come up with to use up old...

Here’s something fun and rare I spotted whilst #guitarshopping yesterday: 1972 #Gibson #ES325 TDC.

The 325 is an oddball…my cousin has a #walnut one from ‘73 or '74…and he says it was one of those models #guitar companies come up with to use up old parts. The 325 has #minihumbuckers and unlike pretty much every other 33x model, a control plate that the #electronics are mounted to, i.e. if you need to change a #pot you don’t have to go in through an #Fhole. And that’s a good thing because the 325 only had one f hole!

This one also had black binding, a fancier #tailpiece, embossed #pickup covers and that groovy '70s “harmonica” #bridge. Selling for just under $3k CAD at the #TwelfthFret in #Toronto.

#gibsunday #gibsonguitars #vintageguitars #semihollowsunday #vintagegibsons #guitarphotography

toronto bridge gibsunday gibsonguitars es325 guitarshopping pot fhole minihumbuckers walnut guitar vintagegibsons pickup tailpiece twelfthfret semihollowsunday vintageguitars electronics gibson guitarphotography

Jun 19, 2016
Quiz for all us amateur #guitar repair people: Here’s my ‘07 #Gibson #SG Special #replica…as I was playing it this evening the #neck #pickup was cutting in and out, and crackling when I turned the #volume #knob. Crackling volume #pot? Must need...

Quiz for all us amateur #guitar repair people:

Here’s my ‘07 #Gibson #SG Special #replica…as I was playing it this evening the #neck #pickup was cutting in and out, and crackling when I turned the #volume #knob. Crackling volume #pot? Must need cleaning, right? Right. So I opened it up and gave the post a few blasts of #DeOXIt. Should have fixed it right up…but it didn’t; the pot was still crackling and the pickup cutting out! So I opened it up a second time (top photo) and found this yellow wire (bottom photo) that wasn’t actually #soldered to anything! But it was pretty obvious that it used to be soldered to that neck volume pot…not to a lug, but to the pot itself. So that must make it a #groundwire, right? And if the #circuit is not grounded (or “#earthed” as our UK friends say!) the #electrons don’t flow, right? Right. No wait: WRONG. Soldering it back in place DID NOT fix the issue! So I went back in a THIRD time…at this point I have almost exhausted my very limited repair knowledge so I’m getting a bit nervous!

So, do you know what it turned out to be?? It was the STUPIDEST thing! See wire with the metal #braidedinsulation going to a #lug in the neck volume pot? The insulation had become frayed and was touching the outside of the pot…so I guess this stray braid was causing a #shortcircuit or something…because when I trimmed it away, the volume pot worked normally. So yeah, what I learned tonight is that apparently some ground wires are completely unnecessary…and metal braid insulation, when it gets ragged, can really f*ck things up! :D

#guitars #electronics #guitarelectronics #guitarrepair #p90 #gibsonguitars #troubleshooting #guitarphotography

groundwire guitarelectronics soldered pot replica troubleshooting guitarphotography earthed pickup lug electronics knob circuit p90 braidedinsulation volume gibsonguitars gibson guitar neck shortcircuit electrons guitars guitarrepair sg deoxit

Jan 28, 2016
A few days ago I made an online appeal to the guitar community to help me with a problem #volume #pot on my #1968 #Telecaster. It was “on” or “off” with no in between. I got loads of advice from my online friends…most of them agreed that a thorough...

A few days ago I made an online appeal to the guitar community to help me with a problem #volume #pot on my #1968 #Telecaster. It was “on” or “off” with no in between. I got loads of advice from my online friends…most of them agreed that a thorough cleaning should help. But it didn’t. I was vexed! so in frustration I plugged in my #SG. To my shock and horror the SG’s volume was now cutting in and out! That’s when I figured out that the cable was the problem…not the volume pot at all! My bad… :\ #guitar #vintage #fender #gibson #iamdumb

guitar 1968 telecaster vintage pot volume gibson iamdumb sg fender

May 17, 2014
Operation “#Clean Malfunctioning #Volume #Pot On The #1968 #Fender #Telecaster” is underway! I really must fire the guy who comes up with the names for my operations… PS: where the hell do I spray the #Deoxit into the pot…?!? I can’t see any openings...

Operation “#Clean Malfunctioning #Volume #Pot On The #1968 #Fender #Telecaster” is underway! I really must fire the guy who comes up with the names for my operations… PS: where the hell do I spray the #Deoxit into the pot…?!? I can’t see any openings in it other than where the #lugs are?! Oh well, here goes nothing….

1968 telecaster pot lugs deoxit volume clean fender

May 13, 2014
Another day…another #guitar #repair! Here’s my #vintage #1968 #Fender #Telecaster. Its #volume #pot delivers only 2 variable resistances… “on” and “off”! Not sure if that’s a fixable issue or if I have to replace the 46 year old pot. Hopefully I can...

Another day…another #guitar #repair! Here’s my #vintage #1968 #Fender #Telecaster. Its #volume #pot delivers only 2 variable resistances… “on” and “off”! Not sure if that’s a fixable issue or if I have to replace the 46 year old pot. Hopefully I can fix it (maybe clean it with that DeoxIT stuff)…wish me luck! :

volume repair 1968 telecaster vintage fender guitar pot

May 12, 2014

Late 1990-something Gibson Blues Hawk.  Courtesy of my cousin's  collection.

I love this guitar.  It’s about 6 lbs (super light!) due to its hollowness, it has great-sounding “Blues 90” pickups and a Varitone too!  Plus the tone pot is also a push/pull switch which cuts the Varitone out of the circuit if desired.

My cousin lent it to me a few months ago, and I tried desperately to distract him, hoping he’d forget I had it…just so I could keep my filthy mitts on it!  But he has decided to sell it and put the money towards a vintage ES-125, so he  came by and picked it up.  I can’t begrudge him the decision to sell this rare and fun instrument…I just wish I had some cash because I would buy it from him myself! :(

So wait…if he picked it from me, why do I have it again?  And no, I did not STEAL it back from him.  :D  The push/pull tone pot is not working…there should be a “click” when it’s pulled into the “up” position, but that is not happening…i.e. the pot won’t lock into the “up” position.  

So I told him I could replace the defective pot - I’m not a wiring expert, but I do have the ability to solder stuff…and I have a schematic from the Interwebs plus multiple photos of the old switch before I unwire it, just to accurately document all the different connections required for the push/pull!

However, true to guitar industry protocol, the Alpha push/pull pot I had lying around has a shaft that is too big* for the stock bolt and washer on the Blues Hawk, so it doesn’t fit.  I mean…it would work if I used the bolt and washer that the replacement pot came with, but the Blues Hawk has gold plated hardware - including the bolts that secure the pots to the guitar top - and I think it would look crappy if one pot had its original gold nut, while the other didn’t.

I think I need a 6mm shaft to fit the gold plated nut - or at least that is what it looks like to a guy that does not own a set of calipers!  I used a ruler to measure…so my numbers could be off by anywhere from a couple of millimeters to a couple of kilometers!  

Looks like Stew Mac sells a 500k push/pull with a 6mm shaft**, and so I ordered one today.  Time will tell if it’s the right fit or not…

* heh heh heh… I said “shaft” and “big” in the same sentence!    

** heh heh heh… I said “shaft” again!

gibson usa blues hawk blues 90 varitone rare pickups guitar electric guitar not my collection wish it was pot replacement potentiometer gold hardware photographers on tumblr original photography nikon d3000 lightroom

Nov 06, 2013

What is happiness?  Forgive me while I wax philosophical:

Happiness is, after replacing a pot on your 1987 American Standard Stratocaster, and losing the original tone knob in the process, and so you have to use a replacement knob, only the replacement knob doesn't exactly match the others (it’s much whiter in colour…and the font isn't exactly the same size or proportions as the original) and so it looks funny, and it p*sses you off a bit, but what are you going to do, and then one day about 4 or 5 years later, you are cleaning the house, which you really should do more often than once every 4 or 5 years, but that’s another story so whatever, and you find the original knob hiding at the bottom of a drawer!   

That, my friends, is happiness! :D

And here are some shots of me triumphantly putting the original knob back on and banishing the crappy-looking replacement forever to the Land of Wind and Ghosts…  :D

mr sparkle guitar electric guitar fender american standard stratocaster strat olympic white my collection solder potentiometer pot maintenance diy project hapiness fun photogrpahers on tumblr toronto nikon

May 02, 2013

Thanks BSVG, guitarlust, and gear-addiction-syndrome too…

Sounds like a weird thing to say doesn’t it??

But what I mean is thanks to my 3 Tumblr friends Bay State Vintage Guitars and guitarlust and gear-addiction-syndrome for learnin’ me something new today!

I was wondering what the fingerboard on the new Gibson Les Paul Custom Classics was made of…it did not look like traditional rosewood…and they both replied to say it was maple.

In fact, BSVG even went so far as to say it’s “baked maple”, which sounds to me like the fret board may have been be smoking something illicit!  But hey, if the maple wants to get baked that’s it’s own decision and we should respect it.  It may even be legal up here in Canada!  But don’t quote me on that… :D

image

BSVG guitarlust gibson les paul custom classic fret board rosewood maple guitar electric guitar smoking baked drugs dope pot

Feb 29, 2012

Indy Theme by Safe As Milk