...so the volume pot in my Strat is fucked. So's the input jack. They finally gave up the ghost after aeons of being soldered and re-soldered to different things. So I replace them.

...and now my volume pot's functioning as a tone control and I have a really bad grounding issue that's producing microphonic madness under high gain and a nasty buzz clean.

The good news is I can plug in and it sounds fucking great 'cept for that.

...except for that.

FAILURE.



Help!

Oh, and if it's relevant, the bridge pickup is a Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Solo.

I assume you have checked your wiring. So you mean your volume pot doesn't cut signal? Do you use the traditional strat wiring?

Hmm. That is an odd collection of problems.

I would say that the most likely fix is going to come with comparing what you have in place, to a stock strat setup diagram.

It is also possible that a pot or jack or something has spun enough to make contact with something it shouldn't be touching, also. Like the bare wire leg of the tone cap, or something brushing up against ground in a weird place.

Post photos of your wiring if you can't figure out what it is, and have the means to shoot some sharp close shots of the thing...

Fiss'd.

I changed the location of some of the wires on the volume pot. I think things were touching that weren't supposed to be. Also, the one leg of the volume pot that's attached back to the pot itself... I, er, forgot that bit.

Dimarzio Virtual Vintage pickups have a four-conductor wiring scheme that involves approximately eighteen meters of bare wire as a ground. I think that may have been an issue slightly... Oh, and I had hot and ground reversed on the input jack like a retard.

Now all is well and it sounds like... if not a million bucks, at least a thousand. So thick and girthy!

SCIENCE!

In your best Thomas Dolby voice, no doubt.

When in doubt, compare to photographs and check all connections.

The innards of Custom Shop Fender Strats are so neat and elegant. Mine is a mess in comparison, full of heat-shrink tubing, electrical tape, and bundled up bits of wire because Dimarzio gives you far more lead than I could ever imagine having a use for. I could probably ground the thing to my drummer's snare and use a fader on the mixing console in place of the five-way switch and still be able to move about freely.

I have the problem that my tone knob sometimes does its job and other times it does nothing... next time i change strings I need to take a look

but its very inspiring to hear that you problems have been resolved.

That sounds like something has worked it's way loose.

update puuulease. How is the ill strat?

I was recording with it last night, and will probably do the same again this eve.

fuck. I somehow skipped over that post. I need to drink more to slow down muh brain....