ES355 pick up change

DannyP

I'm having a real job getting the electronics to work. I keep getting it working outside the body and then something stops working by the time I get it inside.

The loom's a bit of a mess now with repairs and resoldering. And I've managed to snap the leg off one of my caps.

I'm seriously considering shelling out for a ready wired loom now.

DannyP

Funkfingers said:

It is possible that the metal braid shielding of the OCP output cables is shorting against a metal part amongst the controls. If, for instance, the braid touches the metal leg of the capacitor for the neck PU tone control, there will be a path to ground and the treble will be bled away.

@Funkfingers - As it happens, I'd already thought of that possibility, so I put a bit of electrical tape around the cap....

...which is why it took me an hour to realise that the reason it had stopped working was that the capacitor leg had snapped under the tape!!!!!

DannyP

Right I'm done pissing about with whatever spare wire i've got to hand and a £7.99 soldering iron!



So I've got rid of all this nonsense, bought a Hakko soldering iron and learnt to do it properly:



So hopefully we'll see how those Oil City pick ups sound soon!

DannyP

OK, harness fully installed and it all works!

I'm glad to say the Oil City Forces Sweethearts sound great, and it was well worth the effort!

I was worried that they wouldn't be much of a change from the Iron Gear Blues Engines, given that they're the same magnets and similar output.

Actually the difference is pretty distinct.

In terms of the usual axes that we use to describe pickups - dark>light, low-output>high-output - they're quite similar. But there's also that other axis which is the slightly esoteric one that's about quality, refinement, openness, airiness, articulation and all that bullshit!

On that axis, the Oil Cities win. The guitar is just so much more fun to play now!