kevin_lindsay

Here you go mate http://www.fender.com/en-GB/support/articles/bass-guitar-service-diagrams/ The Frank Bello bass is a P / J layout, or the Hot Rod Precision.

Book has arrived. Thanks matey! [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0EA941DF-3709-42B0-8A91-530A124B96CB-303-0000001F307FCE5D.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1358023845' post='1932116'] Frets. [/quote] Eh? You level along the width of the neck rather than along its length????

Thanks matey!

Here's the Tele with my gorgeous sounding Flynn Amps 5E3 Tweed Deluxe. Great combination [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/51C77EC4-5352-4B63-B046-71711679A6C4-259-0000001BCD19AF8A.jpg[/IMG]

I've only got my iPhone at present to take video clips. I'll get some playing clips posted later, but for now: http://youtu.be/wdW2ADGddD8

I wanted the finish to look un-reliced, but to look slightly aged. I didn't want to do that "scrub the finish with a scotch brute pad" faux ageing, as I always think it doesn't look natural. After all, most people polish their instruments over time to keep them looking at least semi-shiny. As the nitro continues to settle over the next year or so, the thin finish will end up with it looking not so "glassy", which will aid the older look. Crazing of the nitro finish is something that happens over time. You can do the "stick the body and neck in the deep freezer" trick. The rapid contraction and expansion of the finish causes it to crack. However, the way you apply the finish can also cause the crazing to start in a natural manner. Here are some close up pics showing the crazing on my Tele's body. It has happened naturally, no freezers or scalpels involved. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/7D35BCA2-8C00-4C10-A53F-45776BACEAEE-279-0000001852C4FD6E.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0C5AC62F-3D98-4F4C-B09A-FC0ABCC51A6F-279-000000184E9FC8FC.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/7696E4F7-26D7-42C8-B83A-EA7BFBD6B066-279-000000184AC2D0CE.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/C408276A-138B-45CA-BF7C-D54F931A8905-279-00000018461572CF.jpg[/IMG]

Great! Cyrene, I'll get the book sent on to you once I've finished reading it.

Could I grab it?

I've been asked how hard it is to adjust the bridge pickup with the bridge plate in place. The answer? It's easy! The three pickup height adjustment screws are located directly below the holes drilled in the mounting plate. All you need is a thin, cross headed screwdriver and you can adjust the height very easily. Here's a couple of pics showing the head of the adjustment screws under the holes: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0B61B7DA-F24B-496F-AECC-8873DDF5E880-633-00000094EC62BDBF.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/42E55909-BD28-4DF3-BF1A-02F752D2B4A0-633-00000094F102BC8E.jpg[/IMG]

Ooh, sounds very cool! Keep us updated with the progress mate.

I've been playing the guitar today and it's nice and resonant. The pickups sound good together and on their own. When placing my right hand on the Armadillo bridge, I found that the sharp edges of the saddles were noticeable to the touch. So, I slackened off the strings and gently filed the sharp corners of each saddle, and then finely sanded the edges. The saddles now feel really smooth to the touch for a nicer playing experience. Before with the sharp points [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/F34924DD-5735-4C9D-BF18-43C3FC85C43E-384-00000036B427E394.jpg[/IMG] And after filing and sanding. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/AF5AB45B-592E-48DC-A778-7F6037E465A9-633-0000005CC323E49B.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/DBE71062-B259-464A-8320-D4EF1CE6AA71-633-0000007D5C15F46B.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/7083685E-E3BA-4F62-A328-7B6AF8B542F2-633-0000007D62D9427C.jpg[/IMG]

The rear cavity required a cover plate. Chris cut the 3 ply black/white/black to the appropriate outline, chamfered the edges and then drilled and countersunk the mounting holes. The plate was then mounted to complete the build. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/FB72A1E0-4FEF-46E9-B2E8-BBF1ABD34592-234-0000000D7747FCC0.jpg[/IMG]

Okay, so the circuit is now working. The control plate was screwed into place, the pick guard screwed down, and the boost control had its knob fitted. Next it was time to string up the guitar: The neck was screwed on, and the string ferrules fitted into the rear of the guitar. The bridge saddles were also re-installed in the bridge plate. The guitar was then strung up. However, there was no nut in place on the neck. So, Chris shaped, profiled and installed a new nut from the Fender blank I had. The two string guides were installed also: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/9E00BC78-5945-418F-95F6-0472F0B33286-633-00000078F335FBB4.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/38A56F02-3972-4A26-85C8-E534C51F3659-234-0000000D41C12255.jpg[/IMG] The neck relief was set, and the action and intonation was set also. The pickup output balance was adjusted also.

The final part in the wiring circuit was to connect up the stereo output jack which completes the circuit whenever the lead is inserted into the output socket. The signal output is mono, the stero jack is merely to activate the guitars circuitry. Then it was time to insert a lead into the socket to ensure there was a signal from both pickups. So, a lead was inserted and a screwdriver tapped onto the polepiece. Result? Silence!!!!! Aaaagh!! The selector switch was moved - no change. The preamp in/off switch activated - no change. Turning the pots made no difference either. The control plate was removed to look inside. The problem turned out to be the earthed metal braiding on the outside of the humbucker neck pickup lead. The braiding was pressed into the selector switch terminals when the control plate was screwed down. This shortted the circuit out, resulting in no signal. So, Chris disconnected the humbucker lead and shielded the braiding covering using heat shrink tubing (which was left loose to allow for movement. The lead was then reconnected and the circuit tried out again - bingo!! Tapping the polepieces with a screwdriver resulted in a satisfying "thump" through the amplifier.

Next up was installing the pickups, and then wiring them onto the controls. I installed the humbucker in the pick guard while Chris mounted the bridge pickup in the rear cavity. Unfortunately, being the numpty that I am, I mounted the humbucker back to front and didn't noticed until after I returned home. The bridge pickup was mounted on some pickup mounting foam secured by three tecaster neck mounting pickup screws (which we shortened by grinding them down). This pickup was then removed to allow for installing the neck humbucker. We had to remove it to allow us to feed the humbucker wire into the control plate through the bridge cavity. When we tried to place the pick guard in situ, the pickup mounting "legs" hit the wood of the body, so using his trusty Dremel once again, Chris widened the pickup leg accommodation hole in the pickup cavity. Here's a pic of the hole before Chris widened the deep hole to accommodate the "legs" [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0384DF7B-94FC-42E1-8796-208B487E108E-384-000000373BD75197.jpg[/IMG] The humbucker wire was then routed through the body hole into the bridge cavity, then through to the control cavity. You can see the hole in this pic taken before the body was finished. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/73470D73-12F0-4834-899C-06F87B36DF27-384-00000035743B1D67.jpg[/IMG] On telecasters where the pickup is mounted onto the bridge plate, the contact between the bridge plate, the mounting screws and the pickup metal base plate, means that everything is earthed via the pickup leads. As the Andy Summers Tele has the pickup mounted directly into the body, the usual earthing method isn't applicable. So, an earthing wire was placed under the bridge plate and fed to the control cavity, as we're the bridge pickup leads. The bridge base plate was then screwed back into place (using the drill bits into the outer string guide holes method as before). Then, it was time to wire in the rest of the controls. Chris shielded many solder joint using heat shrink tubing. More time consuming, but provided greater piece of mind. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/88830735-14B0-41E1-855E-BFC8D9748FA6-633-00000065DBA453A2.jpg[/IMG]

Next up was drilling various bits and pieces. First up, the control plate had to be drilled to accommodate the phase reversal switch between the Volume and Tone knobs [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/403A4965-B9D3-4203-B301-30D2F612AA3D-234-0000000CF487A270.jpg[/IMG] Then, Chris took the body with the bridge plate in place, and using his pillar press, drilled three pickup mounting screw guide holes. This ensured that once the pickup was mounted into the body, it would be aligned correctly with the pickup hole in the bridge. He then started wiring in the pots and switches, starting with the preamp on/off switch and preamp boost control pot. Now if anyone is considering doing a similar build using the Fender wiring diagram, be prepared for a LONG day ahead! Cutting the wires and connecting everything is a time consuming process, and the number of wires flying about is a real mind melter. Chris decided to mount the circuit board in the rear cavity using the spongy rubber tubing sections that are normally used on tele bridge pickups. The wires from the circuit board were carefully folded under the board and through to the control plate cavity. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/C0988AAB-FFCF-41E3-9616-D0205736E26A-633-00000064210AB9BE.jpg[/IMG]

Okay, so how did the final part of the build go? it was a LONG process! Chris McIntyre began around 11:30am, we didn't stop for lunch or a later break. The final screw in the backplate was put in place around 6:45pm and I was then driven to the train station to head home. So lets see how the day went. I arrived around 9:30am at Chris's workshop beside the Easter Rd football stadium in Edinburgh. I had arrived with the Andy Summers Tele and the associated parts, as well as David King's Gibson Midtown, and gorgeous sounding Lag acoustic. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/E670115C-5388-4F2B-BF4A-D543156B849E-234-0000000CD669DE4B.jpg[/IMG] Chris set to work on David's guitars to get them sorted, then around 11:30am the work began on my Tele. Chris then got the body back to the bare finish and decided first of all that he wanted to ensure the bridge was accurately aligned with the rear mounting string holes in the body. He did this by inserting a drill bid through the outer bridge string holes into the body guide holes. Screwing the bridge down then ensured it was perfectly aligned. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0AFEFC03-1CDE-4A82-A5F7-5F7006BF0EB8-234-0000000CDF0013B3.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/9BE603B2-6A36-480F-8138-0C1F9D0FA542-234-0000000CE35AD7A9.jpg[/IMG] He then noticed that when the bridge pickup was in place, it was scrubbing against the wall of the routed hole. On some Teles, you can see the edge of the routed hole visible under the edge of the bridge plate due to them having slightly larger pickup routing holes. Here's some pics where you can see the visible routing holes at the edge of the bridge plate: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/3358F8C9-5C41-4982-9D86-71130416A541-234-0000001E16DA67D5.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/49A9D8A6-F1EC-4C97-AB76-F96810E866BC-234-0000001E2051C493.jpg[/IMG] Rather than routing the whole cavity to a larger size, Chris simply used a sanding cylinder on his Drenel tool to increase the clearance on the two sections where the pickup was touching. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/2A51E7CE-0C3B-4C62-B721-9FCB1360447F-234-0000000CF0527930.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks matey! I also took through a couple of guitars belonging ton a friend of mine, David King (http://www.davidkingmusic.com/#menusystem ). I took David's guitars back to him this evening after returning home from Edinburgh. He loved the work done on his guitars, and asked if he could see the Tele as he is a big Police fan. It was great hearing him play Andy's lines such as "Bring On The Night", "Roxanne", and the like. David said he thought the guitar was "stunning" which was very nice to hear. It's strange hearing someone complement something I've been involved in creating.

Rectified!! [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/CFADFBC7-D4A7-4983-B3A7-C30D3E97801A-1391-00000181D858FE7C.jpg[/IMG]

Aaaagh!! I just realised the reference in the last post before mine! The neck pickup being installed the wrong way round is my fault! I put it on the pick guard before Chris wired it in place. I'll get it turned round the right way.

Nope, it's a Gibson '57 Classic PAF neck pickup in the neck position. Bridge position is a Fender Custom Shop '51 Nocaster pickup. I'll get the pickup volume balance finely tuned tomorrow. Don't want to disturb the neighbours tonight at this hour. I've given the guitar a quick blast through my Flynn Amps 5A3 Teeed Deluxe and it sounds really good.

It's alive!!!! I'll post more pics when I get home after traveling back across country from Edinburgh. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/12876D50-2C68-44C9-955F-0311EADAF72A-1046-000001572F1C749C.jpg[/IMG]

I might buy a pair of converse tomorrow, and pink paint so I can paint them just like Andy did with his! As for the jacket, l have to dig out my old clothes from the 1980's! Hahaha

Only 1 day to go until my Tele is complete - yippee. I'll get some pics posted tomorrow of the finished instrument. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/B4F1533A-B57A-4596-9726-53D25D4D27D6-232-00000018FC26ACF5.jpg[/IMG]