test bed guitar for more rapid learning curve?

[ourclarioncall]

At the moment I have a few obstacles in my way that is keeping me from delving into the practical exploration of guitar electrics /modding /experimenting

1. I don’t have a multimeter but will get one soon.

2. I don’t have much room in my house as I have 5 kids. I use my sons small bedroom to store my guitars/amp. A workbench or workspace would be good , especially for things like having a safe place to store a soldering iron.

3. Money . Bad time of year for me for buying extra guitar components, pickups etc , but that doesn’t have to stop me.

4. Electrocution paranoia haha 😂. This is related to my next point mainly , as I have been assured that I don’t have to worry about guitar electronics it’s more guitar amps that pose a significant risk. But I have thought about using a battery operated guitar amp like a Roland micro cube to give me a bit of peace of mind that I’m not plugged into the main. Also it might simplify my education having an amp that is powered by batteries , so I assume that the circuit is DC all the time and doesn’t have to go through the process of transforming the AC mains into DC.

5. Here is really my main point.

The previous hurdles slow things down and kill motivation, but another potential major problem is the time it takes to deal with taking the pickguard on and off , slackening Stings or taking the off altogether to do a bit of work , then have to put it back on again.

I have looked up pictures of test bed guitars crest have been modified for quickly changing pickups in and out or other things .with the stuff I would like to do I think something like this would be a better idea for me

But then , I don’t quite know what I’m doing or could be doing. Mental blocks like , grounding issues, shielding issues and fear or getting electrocuted come to mind . That’s partly why I thought a battery operated guitar amp would help give me a bit more confidence to just go ahead and try things .

I actually took a few steps already before coming on these forums and routed out the cavity of a cheap strat copy guitar to turn it into a swimming pool route so that I could move the single coils into different positions not normally available

And I also cut the majority of the scratch plate off so that the swimming pool cavity is open .

Any thoughts on this ? Thanks

[newey]

another potential major problem is the time it takes to deal with taking the pickguard on and off , slackening Stings or taking the off altogether to do a bit of work , then have to put it back on again.

I'm disremembering the thread(s) in question, but one solution to that issue with Strat-style guitars is to cut through the part of the pickguard where the knobs and switch reside, so that the lower section can be removed/replaced independent of the rest of the pickguard. This allows for rewiring things without slacking the strings or pulling the pickguard. There are pix around here somewhere . . .

[ourclarioncall]

Dec 9, 2019 22:59:54 GMT -5 newey said:

another potential major problem is the time it takes to deal with taking the pickguard on and off , slackening Stings or taking the off altogether to do a bit of work , then have to put it back on again.

I'm disremembering the thread(s) in question, but one solution to that issue with Strat-style guitars is to cut through the part of the pickguard where the knobs and switch reside, so that the lower section can be removed/replaced independent of the rest of the pickguard. This allows for rewiring things without slacking the strings or pulling the pickguard. There are pix around here somewhere . . .

I decided to do this , so I now have the lower right corner of the pickguard cut off. But as I posted in the other thread with a video I’ve been messing about with the cavity open . Not sure if this is a good or bad thing, I still have a bazillion questions about shielding and grounding

[newey]

I’ve been messing about with the cavity open . Not sure if this is a good or bad thing,

If the guitar is disconnected from an amp, then it is not a thing at all, good or bad. You're not going to fry yourself.

I still have a bazillion questions about shielding and grounding

I'm willing to bet the actual number of questions comes in somewhat below that figure.

[sumgai]

Dec 9, 2019 22:59:54 GMT -5 newey said:

another potential major problem is the time it takes to deal with taking the pickguard on and off , slackening Stings or taking the off altogether to do a bit of work , then have to put it back on again.

I'm disremembering the thread(s) in question, but one solution to that issue with Strat-style guitars is to cut through the part of the pickguard where the knobs and switch reside, so that the lower section can be removed/replaced independent of the rest of the pickguard. This allows for rewiring things without slacking the strings or pulling the pickguard. There are pix around here somewhere . . .

That's from JFrankParnell, located here:

JFrank's split pickguard thread

occ, JFrank is still active here, so you can ask further questions, should the wish come upon you.

HTH

sumgai

[ourclarioncall]

Sumgai

The link isn’t working for me, it just takes me back to this thread

[sumgai]

Didn't work for me either. Worked when I posted it, I test every link I put up, usually by the absurd method of having to hit the Post button, then if it doesn't work, I have to EDIT the thing. Why can't we test a link right in the textbox, like we can see an image if we post that? Get with the program, ProBoards - join the 21st century.

Can't say as to how the link got messed up, all that was there was the bare code for a link, but no actual target. I just re-did it, and tested again. Works for me at this moment, let's see if ProBoards can keep their "stuff" together....

[ourclarioncall]

Dec 11, 2019 12:38:29 GMT -5 sumgai said:

Didn't work for me either. Worked when I posted it, I test every link I put up, usually by the absurd method of having to hit the Post button, then if it doesn't work, I have to EDIT the thing. Why can't we test a link right in the textbox, like we can see an image if we post that? Get with the program, ProBoards - join the 21st century.

Can't say as to how the link got messed up, all that was there was the bare code for a link, but no actual target. I just re-did it, and tested again. Works for me at this moment, let's see if ProBoards can keep their "stuff" together....

Ha ! I’m actually just reading through it now, Did a google and found it. Then I just an email with your response

But thanks, now I jump to it quickly via the working link

As always , interesting stuff.

Shame about the images but that was coz of a hacker or something?

[ourclarioncall]

I like the split pickguard idea

Here’s also an alternative , routing from the back

ironstone-guitar-pickups.co.uk/guitar-pickup-tester/

[ashcatlt]

Yeah I’ve done that to every guitar where it was appropriate since that thread.