Installing Sustainiac in Strat.. trials, tribulations, pictures

[333maxwell]

I'm wiring up a sustainiac in a Strat.. I really can hardly focus because I don't feel very well and anyways, I decided to start, got a good way through (mind you it calls for the incorporation of 18 additional wires, a circuit board and two additional push pull pots in lieu of the original wiring for a Strat, so this is fairly complex and 'tight' to fit it all in..

Just about finished her up in fact.. and then it downed on me.. hit me like a ton of Bricks.. Seymours (for straight humbucker) uses BLACK for a HOT and I had wired it up Green.. I mean I had to pull the hots off to get to the pup in the first place.. there would of been no doubt even if someone didn't know seymour.. it was a stupid stupid oops..

This means all my grounds are long and all my hots are now too short..

And I knew this.. I have wired so many it isn't even funny.

It was kind of funny too.. I was doing a google search just to make sure after it dawned on me.. in some kind of vain hope they had changed more than a quarter century of wiring code to suit my stupidity..

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Soooo.. I've put it away.. tomorrow will pull all the pup wiring, rewire the pup leads and then the guitar again..

Nothing like turning what they call a 4-10 hour job into a 3 hour 'fix my own screw up' session..

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Still.. all that said.. what the hell was Seymour thinking..

Black is never ever ever ever ever hot.. it just isn't.. it is a time honored tradition that black is earth..

If I wasn't laughing so hard right now, I think I would cry. Confused

[333maxwell]

I'm wiring up a satanic Strat..:?

:shocked:
Shall I call a preist?

It's worse than Satan..

I got my lovely bride to snap a pic (you need to learn to use your own f'kin phone mr, she tells me)...



This isn't really a very good shot.. but amongst my other hassles, the cat thought it would help at the last minute.

Basically I remove the circuit board, and re-wire over half of what I have already done AFTER repairing the existing pup wires..


Grrrrrrrr

[333maxwell]

Woo hoo..

I know someone may be watching, sooner or later someone may wonder what it is like to install one of these things.. , so to update I just finished all the basic internal wiring and am getting ready for the big task of soldering 13 new grounds to a volume pot.. anyone who has tried to solder just one to the case of a pot knows it can be a bit nasty to do more than 1.. I may melt the pickguard before I get it hot enough for the solder to take.. *L*

From there it is mostly try it out pre final installation.

Here is the guard now, looks much like yesterday, but it is not..

The remaining non ground wires are battery and input Jack which will get directed though the body upon final installation.

The funny thing is, I know in a few hours I will test this, and it wont work.. some tiny small thing.. but where do you start looking.. *L*

[333maxwell]

Testing Testing, 1-2-3-

No turning back now..

All ready to hook up that battery and get my lil soul crushed when it doesn't work..

Nothing left to do but cross the fingers.,,. and if it works, how the hell to get it all stuffed into the unmodified cavity..

I'll know soon enough.. just going to go grab a bite to eat (finally up to full solid foods.. ) and come back and get ready to cry..

[333maxwell]

The initial electronics check out fine.. I can't test the driver until I get it put together.

I went to stick it in the designated body, which is a lovely piece of wood and it is way too shallow. I try both a Squire and American Standard body, neither has deep enough routes.

And this boys and girls is why the invented hammers and screw drivers (it's only wood right? Only Strat right?)

So I've spent the last hour whittling with nothing but a screwdriver and hammer on a body I hadn't intended on using, but I am not about to start chopping up my really nice body, I'll rebuild a nice guitar out of it with the parts from the others.. a few whacks of wood from the insides wont matter at all on this one..

You can't tell by the pic, but probably an inch deep all the way around I had to go.



Of course the new body means I have to rebuild the rem as I just put a nice sustainer block on the other and took the nicest saddles from sevreal parts projects and incorpporated them etc.. but that was for a 6 screw trem, and the new one will have to be a 2 pt trem which means rebuilding the whole bridge, finding the neck that fits in this one etc..

Hopefully that will go all rather quickly..

[333maxwell]

Starting to look like a Strat again..

I still have no way of knowing if the driver is going to work, or if I have to crank up the amplification which can only be done INSIDE the damn pickguard, and the only way to find out is to string her up.

Obviously I have a bit of work to do still..



Need to use my fancy hammer and screwdriver to whack about a 1/4 inch battery sized piece out of the trem back for the battery.. very simple little thing.. although I can test drive the guitar before I do this.

Also need to rebuild the trem which I am going to do now, and I have to find the right neck.. I may go with the Strat neck I scalloped, or likely if the big Fender headstock Squire 22 fret neck will fit on this one I may go that way.. either way I have to strip off the prime machine heads to put them on whatever neck I am using..

From there it will be put it together and test the driver, if it is adequate then I do a neck setup etc.. and hopefully by this time tomorrow night I have a fully functioning WTF guitar.. likely some quick soundclips just for fun, although with cotton stuck in both my ears it wont be anything but a quick demo to say 'did it'.

I am eager to finish and assess the project and illustrate the things that might make the project a bit easier for the next guy should he have the cajones to try something like this.. It's nothing like swapping a pup.

My biggest hangup is I didn't realize how bad my eyes had become.. this is a very tight space with some very minute pieces and intense soldering and the eyes.. oh the poor eyes..

[Ch0jin]

Wow dude!

I'll admit I had to look up what a "sustainiac" was because my assumption was you were just stuffing a gain circuit inside your guitar. A practice that usually underwhelms me frankly.

But woahhhh, this is something entirely different altogether!

I'm quite keen to hear how this turns out so thanks for the cross-posting!

(just quietly I'm thinking this might be a great project to try on the next junker that takes my eye.....)

Also, hammer and screwdriver? I'm assuming you aren't a cabinet maker by trade huh.