My Brownie - Blender Partscaster Project

[ShortBuSX]

Id bought a set of Keystones bout a month ago, but then couldnt decide which of my Strats were gonna get em...I really like them both equally with their stock pickups, but had to try a set of Keystones(theyre just so affordable!).

So I bought this body here on the forum from DanP...and for a few bucks more he through in a Jimmy Vaughan tremolo.(another great deal):AOK:
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/3TB.jpg

Id considered an Allparts neck, but then stumbled upon a "relic'd JV neck" for $110...with tuners too!:AOK:
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/100_2193.jpg
Im a smoker, so I dont mind the cigarette burn...but the rest of the fret board was kinda scorched like the used a torch to "relic" it:thwap:
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/Neck_JV_2.jpg
Fortunately I was able to wet sand most of the scorched look to where its livable.

The last of my parts arrived on Friday...so everythings ready to go.
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/100_2194.jpg

So I spent most of yesterday puttin it all together...pretty much all thats left to do is finish this up(and strings)
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/100_2197.jpg

[warren0728]

that's looking great....a very cool project indeed!

can't wait to see it all assembled!

[M29]

Oh man I love this stuff!!!!! That baby is lookin good. Nice grain pattern on the body and the maple neck, pickups and quality parts will make her sing for ya. Awesome project congrats:rockon:

M

[Andy]

coming along nicely!

[mrmudcat]

Looking good.I am awaiting the tone report on the keystones for sure!!!

[ShortBuSX]

Looking good.I am awaiting the tone report on the keystones for sure!!!

Well so far(without being hooked up) they are very unique in that they have no bobbin on the bottom...everything is crammed inside the cover, the cover is now the pickup(there doesnt appear to be any disassembly) and they are very snug mounted into the pickguard holes...BTW, Im not complaining, just explaining...I cant wait to get the soldering done!

Im planning on using this wiring diagram (http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/pdf/WiringDiagram_Strat_Blender.pdf) from Acmeguitarworks...Ive got a Fender No-Load tone pot for the job, but I might just make my own instead, or later depending on how the FNLTpot works out...just seems kinda funny that it clicks out at 10, seems like 0 would be more appropriate...so I may mod a regular 250k to get the results Im looking for...I dunno, Im not totally familiar with using a blender but really like the idea, so here I am!
Now to do a lil more research before firing up the iron!

[oldguy]

Get 'er done.........and post us some pics and clips........we wanna see and hear it when your finished. Gonna look awesome I think.

[ShortBuSX]

Could somebody answer a dumb question for me?

In that wiring diaram its got an "optional ground to the cavity shield"...Im assuming this is if I didnt have a trem claw to ground it to.
But this body obviously has a place thats been used for this purpose...and heres my question:
The painted on shielding, it apparently has a void, where it looks like it may have had a sticker there, painted with the shielding paint, then it was removed and then cleared...so there is a void in the shield, and if thats the case can I really ground to this spot in the cavity?(right there in the humbucker route)

Heres the pic again:
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/3TB.jpg

[Bloozcat]

Could somebody answer a dumb question for me?

In that wiring diaram its got an "optional ground to the cavity shield"...Im assuming this is if I didnt have a trem claw to ground it to.
But this body obviously has a place thats been used for this purpose...and heres my question:
The painted on shielding, it apparently has a void, where it looks like it may have had a sticker there, painted with the shielding paint, then it was removed and then cleared...so there is a void in the shield, and if thats the case can I really ground to this spot in the cavity?(right there in the humbucker route)

The shield ground isn't necessary...

Generally, you'd ground to the shield if you had a complete cavity shield, or a "Faraday" cage shielding. That's where the complete cavity is shielded, and the pickguard as well. When the pickguard is installed and touching the cavity shielding, it forms a contiguous ground all around the electronics parts. Even without the shield ground, all the grounds would run to the shielding through the shell on the grounded pots anyway. I've used the star grounding method where all the circuit grounds are run to a single point (a wire eyelet), and then grounded to the shield ground. Even though this is a more correct method of grounding (eliminating ground loops), the mini-voltage in a guitar circuit isn't enough where you can hear a difference.

As long as all your components are grounded through the output jack ground, it'll be ok. Of course, if you had completely shielded the cavity and pickguard, it would tame the 60 cycle hum a lot better.

[sunvalleylaw]

Looks great SBX! I like your projects. I have seen you do some great cavity shielding stuff with special foil before. Did you consider doing that again here?

[Ch0jin]

Of course, if you had completely shielded the cavity and pickguard, it would tame the 60 cycle hum a lot better.

I was wondering why you elected not to throw some shielding tape in the mix too. You're going to a lot of effort with some really cool parts, it'd be a shame to have to put up with 60Hz hum for the sake of $5 worth of copper or aluminium tape.

I have a few pics of the process, based on when I upgraded my Squier if you are curious.

[ShortBuSX]

I was more than anxious to get home yesterday!

I got some new tips(for my soldering irons) after work, ran home and fired up the 30watt and began cutting wire...30 minutes later(record time for me) I finished the pickguard and then took a break for a beer and a smoke :beer:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/100_2200.jpg
Heres another angle(Im kinda proud)
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/100_2202.jpg

All that was left was the ground from the trem claw and the leads from the output jack...I put a couple screws in the pickguard and then ran into to test out the pickups, pots and switch on my amp.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/100_2205.jpg

After plugging it in I began to kick myself...for wasting all that time that I could have been shielding the body!:thwap:
I hadnt planned on shielding this one, after all it already had a pretty fancy shield paintin...and the Keystones are supposed to be pretty quiet. Plus my MIJ isnt shielded and its got mojo.
But with the blender...this one needs as much help(in the quiet department) it can get....so shielded it.
BTW, where were you "why havent you sheilded it yet" guys at yesterday before I logged off???
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/100_2207.jpg

[bigoldron]

She's looking mighty good! Can't wait to see the finished product! Of course, clips make it legit!

[ShortBuSX]

She's looking mighty good! Can't wait to see the finished product!

Like Id be able to sleep, leaving it as is?
After getting so much done????
No way!!!(sorry, got busy @ work)

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/100_2209.jpg

With strings even!
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/ShortBuSX/100_2211.jpg

:pancake:
I dunno how long the neck went without tension...but its taking a minute for it to set up.
It still needs some intonation and 2 more springs for the trem claw.

But it should be playable this evening!:rockon:

[sunvalleylaw]

Looks great! I like it a lot.

[ShortBuSX]

Thanks SVL...youre always so supportive:AOK:

I was a lil worried bout the faux relic'ing...but I think it turned out alright.

[Katastrophe]

Guitar looks great, man!

Just tell folks that you can take "burnin' up the fretboard" to a whole new level!

[oldguy]

It's lookin' good, the relic job gives it some mojo, especially considering you didn't have to pay mega-bucks for it.:AOK:

[hubberjub]

That looks great. Can't wait to hear it. I've been eying those Keystones.

[Ch0jin]

BTW, where were you "why havent you sheilded it yet" guys at yesterday before I logged off???

Well I can't speak for Bloozecat, but I was probably lying on my hammock outside the bar I own on the coast of Belize, being served fruity rum drinks by bikini clad ladies.

Oh wait.........

Nice build man. It looks real good. Nice neat wiring too :)

[warren0728]

that guitar looks great....it must be cool to play something you built yourself! :AOK:

[ShortBuSX]

....it must be cool to play something you built yourself! :AOK:

Not at first...
...without the intonation, string height, neck adjusted, pickup heights.
And then getting acquainted with the blenders functions.
Its really a bit much at first...but it does keep getting better and better.

Im taking it to a jam tonight, I let everyone play my new gear. For some reason I like hearing it through other hands for a bit, not only am I able to listen a lil more intently without playing, but anothers feedback is always helpful in dialing it in.

Im afraid I dont know how to record and post a clip for yall...so I dunno if thats ever gonna happen, although I wouldnt mind doing that...I mean if theres an easy way *shrug*

Its still a lil tough to give a full review of the Keystones yet.
But I find them really quiet in the 2 and 4 positions, which is normal for any RWRP Strat pickups. Right now Ive got all the pickups set at the same height, for some reason I feel they should be set up differently, but with the master tone knob they all sound equal. When I tap on the pickups its a lil different, I think its because of the lack of bobbins, but if I tap on the pickups with a pick they feel almost soft and rubbery, and its kinda hard to tell if the pickup is on cause I cant really hear the tapping...just a lil different than what Im used to.

Now having said that, the blender brings the noise! Which is also normal cause Im blending(for the most part) 2 non RWRP pups...but this does get me a really nice Telecaster twangy tone(in either the bridge or neck positions) and Im able to adjust(or blend) just how much of the bridge(or neck) I want...same with the 2 and 4 positions:AOK:
Im also finding my tone knob adds more noise as well with the higher the level of tone added...I think Im gonna do more shielding, to the pickguard and jack cup, Ive skipped this step in the past with great results, but this one needs all she can get...Im probably going to add another ground to the cavity while Im at it, but thatll likely happen with the first string change.
But I imagine with my Kluson(split shaft) style tuners I shouldnt need to wait.

Dont get me wrong, this isnt a bad set up...its just gonna take a minute to set it all up, tweaked and to my liking.

[warren0728]

keep us posted on your tweaking and stuff! :pancake:

[ShortBuSX]

keep us posted on your tweaking and stuff! :pancake:

Well shes 98% dialed in...Im pretty damn lucky I havent run into any issues, even the electronics went in without a single hitch.


the blender brings the noise! Which is also normal cause Im blending(for the most part) 2 non RWRP pups...I think Im gonna do more shielding, to the pickguard and jack cup

I totally jumped the gun in saying/posting that...I took it to the jam room and plugged it into my Deville and a Deluxe without a single hum or noise, I was floored! She was dead quiet.
I reckon the Blues Jr is the "Acid Test"...and sitting 4 feet away from it really doesnt help:thwap:

I took it to a jam on Weds, several people played it...and it got very favorable reviews from everybody, one of my buddies even wants me to build one up for him "with the exact same electronics", hes really diggin the blender as well as the Tele tones coming out of it.
While everybody was playing it I was able to make some really great observations, and Im really learning how to use this blender now.
In the #3 position it does nothing...just pure middle pup.
In the #1 and #5 positions(with the blender) is where you get that Tele tone and Twang...while my buddy was playing he camped out in this position, hed blend in the bridge and then take it away for leads(which BTW that neck pickup has so much definition that he was doing most of his leads with it).
In the #2 and #4 positions with the blender, this allows you to have all three pups on at the same time...Id read reviews that this was somewhat "unusable", I dunno what thats all about as I find it great for doing acoustic type stuff, like "Over the Hills and Far Away"...it give a nice mild echo-y reverb-y kinda tone, you can hear the ever so slight time delay it takes the note to travel up and down between the pups...I really just keep thinking reverb like, thats about the best way to describe it...rolling off the volume a lil really sounds nice.

The Keystones are sounding very nice and defined, not the usual break up Id been getting from the ceramics...I'll try and work on a better description over the next couple days.

[warren0728]

sounds like you got a real winner there! nice job....i've been thinking about trying some mods myself....it seems like it would be a lot of fun!