vomer

None of that explains the situation albatross describes. You're confusing a relatively simple wiring difference with the nuances of pots. "50's style" wiring = independent volume controls. "modern style" wiring = in the middle position "if EITHER of the volume controls is set to minimum there is no output at all."

Welcome Albatross. Sorry mihcmac but what you said is not correct. It doesn't matter what pots you use or whether there is coil tapping, it is to do with the 'style' of wiring. Usually referred to as 50's style or modern style. There's a Seymour Duncan blog post which explains it here.... Edit: that's not that well written, but it gives the general idea. You could google for similar and get a clearer picture.

Not VSB, and not currently made, but if you can find one second hand, the 1954 Oxblood is the fattest Epi neck I've ever felt. They are a copy of Jeff Beck's '54, have humbuckers and a single wraparound bridge. They look great.

Hello Lord S. Good to see a familiar face! Hi apoc, yes, lots of previous threads here. My 2 cents, the 5102T was also released as the EA250, I believe it was the earlier version, some of which which had different 'staple' pickups. As Lord Summerisle said, definitely made in Japan, not the USA. Many of them had a Made in Japan sticker on the neck plate. I have an EA250, it's a very pretty guitar, I like the sound when it's boosted a bit, the pickups are very low output but give a nice retro 60's tone. Great action and very easy to play with the slim neck.

What slk said. Nice looking guitar, would be a shame to start out with a ding, particularly one where paint is removed.

Are you getting any sound from the bridge pickup when the selector switch is in the middle position, and both volumes are turned up? If so, this is normal, and both volume controls will affect both pickups with the switch in the middle position. There are two basic ways to wire 2 humbuckers/ 2 vols which will either have the volumes operate this way, or have 'independent' volume controls. If you aren't getting sound from the bridge pickup when the selector switch is in the middle position, and both volumes are turned up then something else is happening. Let us know what happens in each switch position?

Yes, welcome and thanks for the info, very useful to know. I looked up a seller and the bridge is described as having, " A receiving hole for M4 Studs is designed as a "slot". Therefore, our bridge fits as a replacement for stud spacing of 72.6 mm to 73.6 mm (center to center)." Obviously some room in those measurements. Glad to hear you got yours sorted.

Thanks, interesting, never come across that. I'll try it. I'd heard this wasn't a good method, physics and the imperfect nature of pitch vs. string length. Yes if we take it to the realms that Buzz Feitin does. But for us ordinary mortals with ordinary nuts, I'd still stand by the usual method of having the strings leave the nut at the edge by the fretboard. What I understand from this is that if you set the intonation using your method which gets you playing in tune along the neck, you might find 12th harmonic doesn't equal 12th fretted. Whereas I would be starting from that point, and trying to make everything work from there. No argument there, that's what we're aiming for. Thanks rct, interesting stuff.

Could you tell us your method? Sorry, I don't understand this. By definition, the 12th fret harmonic is the octave of the open string. How does a harmonic "begin sharp"? The string can't "stop too close" to the fretboard if the nut is in the correct position, and if the frets are in the correct position. As I said above, if the nut is cut incorrectly so the string leaves the nut somewhere further back than the fretboard edge of the nut, it will affect the intonation of the guitar; the frets will be relatively "in the wrong place". This is why: Imagine we have a guitar with a moveable nut and moveable frets. Lets say we start out with a scale length of 30". The 12th fret is half way along at 15". If we move the nut 1" towards the headstock to give a scale length of 31", then the 12th fret will need to be moved the same direction by 1/2", to 15 1/2". If we move the nut but don't move the 12th fret and leave it at 15" from the bridge, the string fretted at the 12th fret will be 1/2" short, and sounding sharp relative to the octave and the octave harmonic. This is why mfowler should check his nut, as this is his symptom, the fretted 12th note sounding sharp relative to the open string and the mid-string harmonic. Could you explain this further? The centre of the string being the 12th fret, a place we can fret, or am I missing something? Thanks.

You can't intonate a guitar without using the harmonic at the 12th. This will only affect the intonation, not mfowler's problem. Not too close, too far away. I should have remembered this, check where the string leaves the nut- it should leave at the edge closest to the fretboard. The slot should be cut with a downward sloping curve away from the fretboard edge of the nut. It's not about the intonation. So, the bridge isn't in the wrong place.

If you are intonating a guitar you rightly compare the harmonic at the 12th fret with the fretted note at the 12th fret. If the fretted note at the 12th doesn't match (i.e. be the octave of) the open string then a number of things could be happening: 1) the 12th fret is in the wrong place (not likely if half your strings are working OK, and not very likely anyway); 2) the 12th fret could be acting as if it were "in the wrong place" by how it has been skimmed and crowned (or not crowned)- a wide flat fret may be wide enough for the fretted string to leave the fret at one edge rather than the middle; 3) you could have dodgy strings if they are an old set, and you could struggle for ever to make any sense of their intonation; 4) you may be pressing down hard on the unwound strings and sharpening them without realising it. Particularly if your action is a bit high, and/or you have high frets. My money would be on 4, and 3 if you have old strings. If they are old, just get new ones and see how they work.