spicer
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Post by spicer on Jun 7, 2007 8:33:51 GMT -5
so, i just finished my first shielding project asp per the guitarnuts page on my first guitar, an 80s squier strat. this mod makes such a difference--i'm very proud.
however, that is not my gigging axe, the Jazzmaster. Now, this being a vintage piece of work, i have to admit that i'm full of trepidation about modding this guitar--1)because it is so valuable, 2) because no one online seems to have done this before. I've never even popped the pickguard off of this thing!
i'm pretty much a neophyte when i dig around in a guitar's guts, and i won't feel comfortable doing this mod until someone can give me some direction. any takers?
thanks a ton,
spicer
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Post by dd842 on Jun 7, 2007 8:48:48 GMT -5
so, i just finished my first shielding project asp per the guitarnuts page on my first guitar, an 80s squier strat. this mod makes such a difference--i'm very proud. however, that is not my gigging axe, the Jazzmaster. Now, this being a vintage piece of work, i have to admit that i'm full of trepidation about modding this guitar--1)because it is so valuable, 2) because no one online seems to have done this before. I've never even popped the pickguard off of this thing! i'm pretty much a neophyte when i dig around in a guitar's guts, and i won't feel comfortable doing this mod until someone can give me some direction. any takers? thanks a ton, spicer Spicer, I don't think we've "spoken" before. Welcome to GN2!  Repeat this mantra: You shouldn't listen to him You shouldn't listen to him You shouldn't listen to him ... but, looking to the wiring diagram, this doesn't look more complicated than anything else. I think you're spooked because it's your valuable baby. www.fender.com/support/diagrams/pdf_temp1/other/0100800A/SD0100800APg2.pdfI would be spooked to. If it was me, I would either: a) not touch it so that it remains original, or b) just shield it like any other guitar Dan P.S. Now, what was that mantra? |
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spicer
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Post by spicer on Jun 7, 2007 11:21:51 GMT -5
HA! thanks, Dan. Yep, i'm a newbie.
You shouldn't listen to him
You shouldn't listen to him
You shouldn't listen to him
now that i've gone and broken the rule of the mantra...
so when i take a look at the schema, this is what i wonder--
apparently, the pickguard or part of it, is shielded, so, will i need to do any soldering? or should i just be able to disassemble, apply the shielding, and reassemble?
thanks, this is giving me the gumption i need to do this mod!
spicer
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Post by dd842 on Jun 7, 2007 11:47:01 GMT -5
HA! thanks, Dan. Yep, i'm a newbie. You shouldn't listen to him You shouldn't listen to him You shouldn't listen to him now that i've gone and broken the rule of the mantra... so when i take a look at the schema, this is what i wonder-- apparently, the pickguard or part of it, is shielded, so, will i need to do any soldering? or should i just be able to disassemble, apply the shielding, and reassemble? thanks, this is giving me the gumption i need to do this mod! spicer Hi spicer, You likely did what I am about to suggest with your other shielding project - remove everything, ignore the partial shielding, and shield the pickguard as if there was no shielding at all (as one part of the entire shielding project). I think that should do it! Dan |
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Post by dd842 on Jun 7, 2007 12:09:52 GMT -5
spicer,
FYI - you mentioned that you have never even removed the pickguard, and it reminded me that I had read a great tip in one of the posts on this forum. I can't remember who wrote it ... ChrisK, maybe?
When putting a screw back in, turn it counterclockwise first - just until you can feel it become seated in the existing screw thread - and then screw it in.
That way you will avoid creating a new thread and stripping the hole (if my description does not make sense, just think of lining up the lid on a jar ... have you ever had trouble getting it started and gone counterclockwise until you feel it drop into place and seat itself?).
If you do happen to strip the wood in the screw hole, you can always put a bit of glue in their and let it dry. That will, basically, replace the material that you just stripped away. Some go a step further and put a toothpick in there ... but I think that would be for a hole that has become seriously stripped.
Dan
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Post by sumgai on Jun 7, 2007 14:12:09 GMT -5
Dan,
The preferred repair method is to break off a toothpick within the hole, holding it in place with a moderate glue. Smaller toothpicks may allow for two or three sections to be inserted then broken off.
sumgai
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spicer
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Post by spicer on Jun 7, 2007 14:25:32 GMT -5
wow, well, all of this has been incredibly helpful. i'll be removing the pickguard tonight--wish me luck!
thanks a ton, fellas.
spicer
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Post by sumgai on Jun 7, 2007 14:26:59 GMT -5
spicer, Welcome to the Forums! The preferred method of shielding your Jazzmaster is to send it to me, post-paid, and I'll have it back to you, oh, say...... sometime next decade!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D Seriously, I'm the Jazzmaster guru 'round these parts (aka "that oddball"). What you're facing is even less strenuous than a Strat - the whole thing is one big cavity, with no tiny spots like the Strat's output jack. In point of fact, the original Jazzmasters (up until CBS took over) had two brass pans (hammered into shape!) placed within the the two deeper cavities. The two pickup areas had brass plates over them. All of these were soldered together, and the whole schmear was the common grounding point for the strings as well. The pickguard has an aluminum plate (except the very first year, where the whole pickguard was anodized aluminum!), and that's remained true for nearly every year of Jazzmaster production. Even so, if you're going to shield the cavity, I'd recommend doing the same with the pickguard underside - it doesn't pay to use dis-similar metals that will be in contact with each other like this, the chances of corrosion and other problems are too great. Everything you learned with shielding your Strat applies here. Just be careful, take your time, scratch your head when in doubt, and it should be OK. But you know where to turn if you feel the need, right? Or you can take the preferred route I described above............  HTH sumgai |
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spicer
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Post by spicer on Jun 7, 2007 15:03:57 GMT -5
Sumgai,
glad to know there is a Jazzmaster guru around.
to the total cavity brass pans sound SWEET, and HEAVY, but mostly SWEET.
So, when you say what i learned with the strat is applicable to the Jmaster--well, lemme give you my ignorant hypothesis and you can turn it into an educated idea, yeah?
seeing that everything, according to the schematic that i can tell (man i'm such a newb), all of the electronics are mounted to the pickguard. of course, i'm sure there might be a ground or to that runs somewhere else. anyway, when i followed the guitarnuts instructions (lovingly and explicitly written w/ diagrams) i had to buy some capacitors, some wire, some ring terminals, etc. now, in doing the Jmaster, what parts of that are necessary? Honestly, i was hoping just to apply shielding and make sure it was all grounded (making it a substantially more breezy procedure). so, now, at your leisure, educate me!
and as the resident guru, have you thought of doing the treble bleed mod on the guitarnuts page? i would really consider this if i thought it would work--i love how my AC-30 is so responsive to volume, i just lose too much treble when i back it down.
whoops, didn't mean to vomit all over you, but i really value your experience with this fantastic guitar.
thanks,
spicer
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Post by sumgai on Jun 7, 2007 18:50:31 GMT -5
spicer, No sweat, barf rags vomit clean-up towels are a dime a dozen. (Ooh, did I say that? Can I say that on the 'web?  ) Brass isn't exactly heavy, when it's flattened down to 0.025" or so.  Do this, before anything else. Take out the pickguard screws around the jack, all the way up to the bridge and as far as the toggle switch. Partially lift the pickguard carefully, and tell me what you see....... are the sides of the cavity painted wood, or is there some kind of brass-colored metal where'd you expect to see wood? And if you do decide to go further, take the pickup cover off first. The pickups themselves are held in place by the covers, which are screwed into the body wood - they don't connect to the pickguard at all. With the covers removed, lifting the pickguard will take the pickups with it just fine. The ground wire for the strings runs from the TremoLeo ® (ChrisK, 2005) unit to the brass pan, if your guitar has one. Otherwise, you'll have to unsolder it from the volume pot, in order to get completely detached. Equally obviously, you're not gonna be doing this until you've de-strung the axe and set the bridge aside. But the first part, above, you can do that while everything is still playable. Let me know the results. sumgai |
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spicer
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Post by spicer on Jun 8, 2007 9:02:28 GMT -5
alright,
well i held off opening up the jmaster last night because something is amiss in my strat-mod. it seems that the shielding only works when there is contact with the output plate and the tremolo?
i opened it up and went through all of the wiring over and over again. i don't get it. anything obvious to you guys that apparently isn't to me?
this makes me fearful to do the jmaster. i might just have a pro do it.
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Post by dd842 on Jun 8, 2007 9:38:56 GMT -5
alright, well i held off opening up the jmaster last night because something is amiss in my strat-mod. it seems that the shielding only works when there is contact with the output plate and the tremolo? i opened it up and went through all of the wiring over and over again. i don't get it. anything obvious to you guys that apparently isn't to me? this makes me fearful to do the jmaster. i might just have a pro do it. spicey, Can you clarify? What do you mean by "when there is contact"? Contact with what? Your hand has to touch it? There are little things that could have been missed ... but would appear to be normal: - Did you remember to remove any wires that run from the back of one pot to the back of another pot? - Have you reversed the wires on the output jack? When you went through the wiring, did you go through each and every step of the instructions to see if you actually did what you supposedly did? Go through it again, with the instructions and a fine tooth comb. Let us know if you find/don't find anything. Dan |
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spicer
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Post by spicer on Jun 8, 2007 10:44:05 GMT -5
ok, ok, sorry for the vague description.
"when there is contact": when my hand touches both the tremolo/bridge and the output plate simulataneously.
i did remove the ground loops running pot-to-pot.
i checked and rechecked the lines running to the output, and even reversed them just to make sure i wasn't crazy.
now...there is a place in the instructions where i get confused--and my understanding of it may be convoluted, so here goes.
the star grounding needs to look like this:
ring terminal on one pot, ring terminal is connected to cap that is connected to another ring terminal. the non-pot terminal is then tinned and the pickup grounds and a line from the volume pot are connected to it. right?
ahhh! as i look at the diagram 5b, i see a line that i can't account for... it is the left-most line running to the star ground...what is that line? this may be the missing link...
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spicer
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Post by spicer on Jun 8, 2007 10:56:18 GMT -5
alright, somehow i missed this extremely valuable diagram here and realize that i do not have the C1 cap wired into the star ground. i'll report my findings and hopefully get to shielding that Jazzmaster this weekend! |
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Post by dd842 on Jun 8, 2007 11:02:46 GMT -5
alright, somehow i missed this extremely valuable diagram here and realize that i do not have the C1 cap wired into the star ground. i'll report my findings and hopefully get to shielding that Jazzmaster this weekend! 'at a boy, spicey! Keep us posted. Dan P.S. In case it has not become aboundantly clear. Listen and hang on to every single word sumgai has to say ... do this and all will end well. |
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Post by sumgai on Jun 8, 2007 11:40:25 GMT -5
spicer, Well, it's either that, or you'll go splat on the concrete about 20 stories below!  Of course, that height will depend upon your recreational method of choice. ;D PBR users tend to get only about a foot off the ground, comparatively speaking of course.  sumgai p.s. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dan. |
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spicer
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Post by spicer on Jul 16, 2007 13:12:25 GMT -5
Guys--
sorry for going awol--i just spent an unexpected month in the Czech Republic, so, uh, this became less of a priority.
So, for anyone who still cares to know, i completed the mod on the crap-strat, and its all good, except that it is still a crap-strat!
I opened the J-master to find that it was, indeed, factory shielded from back in the day. So, i'm gonna let it be.
thanks for all of your help and input on this.
spicer
ps--sumgai, Dan, you guys rock.
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