Hi,
I have a couple of wiring questions I wanted to ask the community. I have a second pickguard and set of pots and switches, so I was thinking of doing some experimentation.
1. I know that many people remove the rhythm circuit completely. Does this carry advantages? Is the rhythm circuit not true bypass, or does its presence contribute to added 60 cycle hum?
2. If you removed it, did you do this by reconfiguring the wiring on the 2-way switch on the upper bout, or just ignoring it altogether? (I left the 2-way switch and the rollers in place on the upper bout, but with nothing wired to them, so the guitar is wired just like a tele. The rhythm circuit is just there for decoration (or to keep dust and debris out!)
3. I looked up the specs for the American Vintage '65, since it has the same pickups I have, and the lead circuit on these guitars has two 1 meg pots and a .1 cap. Has anyone experimented with 500k pots or a lower cap value? (With my current configuration of 1 meg pots and a .033 cap, I typically run the volume at 7 or 8 and the tone at 7 or 8. I wonder how the vintage specs would alter the behavior of the pots.)
Gracias!
Wiring questions
-
caldera
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 68
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:29 am
- Location: Minneapolis
-
caldera
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 68
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:29 am
- Location: Minneapolis
Re: Wiring questions
Well, with a free morning today I went to work to test my assumptions.
I measured the sound of hum with my amp and guitar in the same place and with all the same dials set. I measured the sound of the hum coming out of the amp with a decibel meter. Then I re-wired the guitar, removing the rhythm circuit entirely (wiring it like a telecaster). I also desoldered and re-soldered all the ground wires to make sure there weren't any suspect joints anywhere.
After doing these things, I saw perhaps a 2 db decrease in hum at all switch positions. The hum may have been made quieter very slightly, but not enough to where I noticed any difference by ear. I think that with the meter I was using, 2 db might be well within the margin of error.
I did switch the tone cap from .033 to .022, and after a few minutes of play I think I like this better. It seems to make more of the tone knob's range usable for me. Not a huge difference but at least that part may have been a success.
I measured the sound of hum with my amp and guitar in the same place and with all the same dials set. I measured the sound of the hum coming out of the amp with a decibel meter. Then I re-wired the guitar, removing the rhythm circuit entirely (wiring it like a telecaster). I also desoldered and re-soldered all the ground wires to make sure there weren't any suspect joints anywhere.
After doing these things, I saw perhaps a 2 db decrease in hum at all switch positions. The hum may have been made quieter very slightly, but not enough to where I noticed any difference by ear. I think that with the meter I was using, 2 db might be well within the margin of error.
I did switch the tone cap from .033 to .022, and after a few minutes of play I think I like this better. It seems to make more of the tone knob's range usable for me. Not a huge difference but at least that part may have been a success.