Long Or Short Shaft On A Sheraton II

[CM]

I put a new StewMac Golden Age Humbucker on the bridge a few weeks ago using the cheat method and it

sounds fantastic. It took about 40 minutes for the install, a good cleaning, and new strings. The wiring access

hole under the pickup looks like it's big enough to feed a wiring harness and its components through (I hope) so I'm going for it. I'm going to order the matching neck pickup and everything I need for a new harness. My question is,

should I order long or short shafts on the pots, jack, and switch or is it a mix for some reason or other? I did a search

of this forum and read the Sheraton Rebirth thread. Looking at the pictures it's kind of hard to tell. The wiring harness

description for the 335 at Mojotone mentions short shaft pots and a extra long input jack.

 

Click Here For Mojotone

 

I could yank everything out and measure it but I don't want the whole mess sitting on the kitchen table while I'm waiting for parts. Thanks for reading and also for any help.

[jcwillow777]

Pots and switch - short shaft

1/4" jack - long shaft

 

If you use a short shaft for the output jack, you won't be able to get both the washer and nut on, I know from experience.

 

Some of the older Sherries are impossible to get full sized pots into, the F Holes are smaller. I have a newer one, '06, and I used the full sized Alpha pots. It was a little tricky, but I got them in.

[CajunBlues]

What is the cheat method ?

 

All you need to do is measue the depth of the pot-hole in the guitar body.... Basicallly that is the width of the wood top... With that in mind, ask Stew Mac which pots are compatible...

 

Don't forget that thick fishing wire...

[CM]

The cheat method is to install the pickup by cutting the wires on the old one and then just

splicing and soldering the new and old together instead of removing the entire harness and

soldering directly to the pots.

 

I don't want to take anything off of the guitar and measure without having all of the parts I

need to just go ahead and finish the project. But I will if I have to.

 

I figured I could probably ask the supply company for a little guidance on sizes but I

thought I'd ask here first for a little comparison just in case. I'm not sure I'm going to buy everything

from Stewmac.

 

Thanks for the replies.

[dbirchett]

I just replaced the pickups and switch on mine as well via the same method. I was barely able to get the nut on the switch, but it is on. I assume that it is the short shaft.

 

The cheat method is splicing the new pickups into the existing wiring without going through and wiring them in at the pots. On mine I cut right behind the connector and soldered in the wires. Very easy and worked first time. (That doesn't happen very often). I may have to replace everything later but my trusty backup has told me that if I do, I do it alone.

 

I figured I could probably ask the supply company for a little guidance on sizes but I

thought I'd ask here first for a little comparison just in case. I'm not sure I'm going to buy everything

from Stewmac.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

If I was really going to do this, I think I would send a PM to TWANG. No telling what he could come up with. <Wink!>

[TWANG]

I'd say I'm cheaper but then the mods would get me for pretending I work for epi, too.

long shaft on the output jack for sure.. it's waaaay easier to hold onto after you get it through the hole with that, too.

I use allparts and wd and all the switches and pots fit fine.

for the switch consider WDmusic.com SKU: WD7GM.. that's the gold tip.. also in chrome and black.. really nice switch!

output jack from them.. long, gold, is SKU: WDE12LG switchcraft.

the top isn't very thick.. I've done mine in metric and usa and always just regular pots.

CTS or Alpha are the way to go.

Get you some sprague orange drops while you're in there.. and consider trying a couple sizes of treble bleed caps.. very cheap, cents apiece, and as long as you have it open.. may as well investigate..

using different value caps will give you a different roll off..so you could keep some highest highs or move the freq. a bit lower..

some don't like treble bleed, I know, but your mileage may vary. spice of life.. to each his own.. etc. etc..

with treble bleed when you turn down the volume it doesn't cut treble.. so you dont have your volume control acting as a tone control.

and you can play with the same tone loud or soft.

 

by the way if you use shielded wires for your hot wires.. remember that you can push them into a ground or another pot or switch connection and create noise, ground loop, or even short the thing out. making you do it twice.. so get a sheilded wire that's covered.. far less hassle!

[CM]

Thanks very much for your reply TWANG. Allparts and WD were on my list. For the caps I was looking at the

Allparts Vitamin Q Oil Paper Capacitor .022. From what I've read it should have .022's in it right now. As far as shielded wire goes, would you suggest shielded or unshielded? I'm not sure if it would make a difference.

 

What is the difference between mini and regular pots besides the size. What could the drawback be other than

not having a whole lot of soldering area. Thanks.

[jcwillow777]

Use shielded wire, or you will have a major problem with noise. Again, I learned the hard way. Stewmac has some, 1586:

 

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Supplies:_Wire,_cables/Shielded_Guitar_Circuit_Wires.html

 

There have been ongoing discussions here about caps. I happen to be in the camp that different brands aren't really gonna affect the tone that much, however, different values will. That being said, when I rewired my Dot and Sherry, I used Orange Drops.

[CM]

Thanks jcwillow777. 1586 it is then.

 

Yeah, I've read a few of the discussions on the caps and I feel you're probably right. I say "probably"

because I haven't had any real experience with them......yet. Thanks again.

[CM]

OK TWANG. Now I know what you're talking about as far as the treble bleed caps. This is copied off of the Mojotone's

PDF wiring diagram..................................

 

........................................................................................................................................

Volume Mod(Stock on most prewired assemblies): Jump a 220k resistor and a

471pf capacitor parallel from the un grounded outer lug (the same lugs that the

pickup leads go to) to the center lug on each volume pot. This will give you a

smooth taper and preserve your highs when you turn down. This also helps bring

your pickups to life a little.

.........................................................................................................................................

 

This sounds like something I'd like. They sell this little baby right here.........Click Here For The Cap And Resistor Setup

 

If anyone's had any experience with this combo feel free to chime in.

[TWANG]

I'm not of the belief that vitamin Q is going to sound any different.. the voltages on the guitar being so low in the first place..

I am not positive that changing from say rat shacks green caps to spragues really makes a difference..

that being said, I go with spragues or mallorys and call it all mojo.

but hovland, and other oil filled caps have mojo, at least.. though it's pricey.

 

with a sherry there's no sheilding. so sheilded wire is a good idea.. all parts again.. they have a big selection.

 

good minis are good minis. they feel firm when turning. they last a long time and you can get 'em through your f holes.

the advantage of a larger pot is the travel.. the path that regulates how much signal can pass.. tends to be a bit smoother because it's longer.

However, it really seem to me to be mostly 'on paper'.

I've got minis in the sherry and full size CTS in the LP and I'm not unhappy with either of them in any way.

 

you can also just use a cap, and not the resistor when you do a treble bleed.

an .001uF or higher.. .0015, .002 etc.. google treble bleed and read some opinions.. they vary quite a bit. from pickup to pickup from genre to genre and in the way it's used.. what value changes will affect frequency.. very good stuff to know.

 

ceramic caps work fine for this.. but you can get fancy silver micas in the 400 to 500pF range.. you can go higher or lower, too.

 

See.. I tend to think I'd skip the expensive oil filled caps.. and spend instead on a variety of caps.. build your new controls on cardboard, outside the guitar but run the pup wires out and tape it to the guitar.. then you can swap treble bleed and tone pot caps out .. you may very well find you like a certain combination at the neck and another at the bridge.. and cheap! unique individual tones personalized to your taste and set up.

 

So it takes a bit longer.. you really get to know your guitar and amp doing this.

and caps.. what .50 ea. max?

a little more for sprague or mallory.. that's about as high as I'd pay and that's like a buck or something.