2 Humbuckers, 2 vol, 2 tone, Vol max, tone Max. tone gone

[leadfingers]

Any one have any experience with rewiring a 2 humbucker, 2 volume pots and 2 tone controls? And, encountered an odd result?
I have a friend who tried to rewire his knock off 335. It looks correct according to all the diagrams I've looked up. And it almost works correctly. (say WHAT!??) Each volume works correctly, so do the tone controls. However, when the Neck volume AND the Bridge volume control is turned to max, and the Neck tone control is turned to max, it sounds like the tone control is turned to zero. All the high end goes away.
I'm wondering if, when he tried to wire it, if he cooked the capacitor that ties the volume control to the tone control. His soldering skills are not the best and there were some cold solder joints, and a VERY large lump of solder on the tone control where the ground wires are connected. So, that had to take a lot of heat. Perhaps it affected the control itself.

Anyway, before I dig into it and start swapping out parts, thought I'd ask here to see of anyone had heard of this before.


Thanks,

Andy

[sumgai]

lf,


Well, look who the cat dragged in, only 11 months later.


Let's back up a minute here, 'cause there needs to be more input. 

A)  Does the Neck Tone operate correctly when the Neck is selected by itself?

B) What happens the pickups are combined and you rotate the Neck Tone pot?

and;

C) You describe both Vol pots being at max, what happens when they're turned down a bit?  (Both when the Tone pot is at 10, and turned down.)


Suspicion of an overheated/destroyed component is alright at this point in the game, but it's also nice to avoid the shotgun approach whenever possible.  Answering the above questions will help avoid wasting ammo time and money on unnecessary parts replacement.

HTH





sumgai

[reTrEaD]

Hi leadfingers .

Mar 29, 2020 22:36:04 GMT -5 leadfingers said:

I'm wondering if, when he tried to wire it, if he cooked the capacitor that ties the volume control to the tone control.

That doesn't fit the symptoms you described, so I believe that can't be the problem.

If a tone cap is shorted, the tone would gradually dull as the tone pot was rotated counter-clockwise but the volume would drop to zero (or very nearly so) when the tone pot was fully counter clockwise. 

If the cap is open, the tone wouldn't change at all when the tone control is rotated. It would remain at full-treble.

Mar 29, 2020 22:36:04 GMT -5 leadfingers said:

However, when the Neck volume AND the Bridge volume control is turned to max, and the Neck tone control is turned to max, it sounds like the tone control is turned to zero. All the high end goes away

We're missing two pieces of information here, and I suspect they might actually lead us to the answer.

What position is the selector in? I'm guessing in the center / 'both pickups' position, but please confirm.

You mentioned the position of the Neck Volume, Bridge Volume, and Neck Tone controls. The are all at maximum clockwise. But what about the Bridge Tone control? If that is set for a significant treble-cut, there's your culprit.

When the both pickups are selected and both Volumes are at maximum, the pickups are directly in parallel. Either tone control can cut the treble from both pickups, not just the pickup it's wired to.

Is that the case here?

[leadfingers]

Hi guys!


Thanks for the quick response.

Sorry for the absence. The last year at work was pretty exasperating. So much so, that I decided to retire a year earlier than planned.
So, now, I have some free time and was starting to do guitar repair on a part-time basis and then along comes COVID-19 and no one is gigging or playing. And with the "Social Distancing" no one wants to bring their gear over to be set-up or repaired, even though this would be an ideal time.

So here is the situation. Both volumes pots are on full. Both Tone pots are full.

Toggle switch in middle position. (Both pups engaged)
That was when I noticed the lack of higher tones. As soon as rolled off the neck volume a little bit (let's say from 10 to 8), the tone came back up to what should be normal. It does NOT do this when the Bridge Vol. pot is rolled back just a little (same amount)



"A) Does the Neck Tone operate correctly when the Neck is selected by itself?"
When the switch is in either single position, Neck or Bridge alone. The pups and pots behave normally.

"B) What happens the pickups are combined and you rotate the Neck Tone pot?"
When both Vol. pots are 10, and both tone pots are set at 10. Muted. When neck tone pot rolled off a bit, still muted, as I recall. Admittedly, I was a bit confused and did not test them all as I should have. I did not check to see what the tone pot on the bridge pup was doing at that point.

Just a note: Not sure where I got this weird habit, but I tend to 1st roll the neck vol pot with my little finger when testing stuff. I think that was why I noticed the change in tone when the vol pot was moved, not the tone pot.

Right now, he has the guitar back. So, I'll contact him and ask him to go through all the combinations.

Thanks!