Monday 12/19 Lunch

[Dave_P]

Sorry about the late report today guys, busy afternoon at work but it was the last event I have scheduled for the year. Smooth sailing through New Years now so the rest of the week should be on time.

I know there are some new people since my last lunch report a little over a year ago, so a quick intro. My name is Dave I live in Rhode Island and work as an A/V guy.

Lunch was leftover Chinese food from last night. I had some sticky wings, boneless ribs and rice with half of an egg roll. Just as good the second day.

The event I was breaking down today was not too complicated just a couple 12'x12' screens, some lighting on truss and a bunch of drape and, as always, a bunch of cabling. It was a church group that was in over the weekend. They left pamphlets all over the place claiming they performed miracles with pictures of empty walkers and wheelchairs. I always wonder what that person, that got up and walked, feels like the next day. I just imagine them waking up the next morning dazed wondering where their wheelchair went
I have to hand it to them though, they managed to feed 1300 homeless people, had live music and then the religious service over the course of six hours.

Ok enough blathering
G&L/guitar topic of the day: No Load potentiometers or taking vol/tone out of the circuit
Anyone tried it out on their G&L or other guitar?
Supposedly a lot more highs come through while also giving you a more "raw" tone, I was thinking about trying it on my ASAT but I'm thinking more highs might mean icepick.

Winter projects: Anyone have winter projects planned (or Summer for those of us down under)?
I had planned to build an amp kit over the winter but car repairs have derailed those plans for now. Instead I'm finally working on rewiring my '06 ASAT to the '90 ASAT specs. I ordered a couple small parts I was missing and added a brass plate in the pickup cavity for grounding, just like the '90 has. I'll post pics and a full write up in the projects section once my parts arrive. I'm interested to see if there's a sound difference and it only cost around $8 ($5 of which was shipping)

-Dave

[sickbutnottired]

Sounds like you get a little exercise on the job, as well as meeting some interesting people.

I have tried the pots that the 'by pass' setting. I think they were just CTS, but could be mistaken, anyway, if you turn them all the way off, it takes them totally out of the circuit. It wasn't very useful on the f-100 i did it too. But I think on the right guitar it could be.

Projects? I am remodeling my practice room..hope to finish up over the holidays. j

[darwinohm]

Dave,we have some talent on this forum. Times have changed in the A/V business. Our Minnesota Historical still has a lot of things stored on microfiche. It is interesting to thread the roll and start looking.

Lunch today was left over Pizza. I never get tired of that. We had a great dinner at our grand daughters last night Piano Recital Night) and I topped out on that.

I do not have any idea on the tone control bypass. I would suspect that most of us do not need more treble but it would be interesting to see what it does. I will say that Steve has his amp presets set up for lace sensors. When he uses the Legacy it gets extremely bright and he has to cut the settings a bit.

My winter project will be recording projects and keeping the walks into Ginnys salon clear of snow and ice. I also clear windshields off before the ladies leave. I am an important person in this high tech operation. I can always get a refresher on shoveling technique at Home Depot if needed. I also have these ladies fooled into thinking that I am a nice guy.

Thanks for jumping in this week Dave. -- Darwin

[blargfromouterspace]

I've never experimented with no-load tone pots, but have been curious. There's no need to buy a special pot either as you can just open up the one you have and scrape away the last little piece of contact strip so that the wiper in the pot is not in contact with it. I remember reading that you can only have a no-load tone, not volume. I could be mistaken though. I should really know more about this stuff!

Summer plans for me will be getting some songs written. I struggle with lyrics and stuff, and have a pretty average singing voice so pitching things to the other guys in the band is never easy...

[zapcosongs]

Hallelujah Dave! I was getting hungry.... ;+)

I can see, hear, walk, I have food, a warm home and a loving family. So I suppose miracles do happen.

We just dropped of a whole bunch of new and used toys today for Toys for Tots, so I'm feeling (too) good about myself today.

Back to the topic at hand, I have no experience or need to mess around with the tone or pots on any of my guitars. At the level of my playing, it would just be a waste of time. The crickets and spiders in my basement would not likely notice anyway.

I am curious about one thing: I'm assuming that your newer ASAT is a Special. I've never taken my '86 ASAT apart. I'm just wondering aloud whether it's the same under the hood as your '90, and to what extent it might be different than your ASAT Special.

Anyhow, nice start! - ed

[sam]

Hey Dave,

No apologies needed, with the j - o - b market these days, gotta keep everyone satisfied. With that said, glad to here it's smooth sailing from here on for you!

G&L/guitar topic of the day: No Load potentiometers or taking vol/tone out of the circuit
Anyone tried it out on their G&L or other guitar?
Hoave not changed any thing other than switches (4-way) but depending on feedack to your question I could be swayed.

Winter projects: Anyone have winter projects planned (or Summer for those of us down under)?
No major projects, but may scale down some spare parts and pieces from projects that were never finished or changed midway. Could be enabling someone else in the near future.

[louis cyfer]

I've never experimented with no-load tone pots, but have been curious. There's no need to buy a special pot either as you can just open up the one you have and scrape away the last little piece of contact strip so that the wiper in the pot is not in contact with it. I remember reading that you can only have a no-load tone, not volume. I could be mistaken though. I should really know more about this stuff!

Summer plans for me will be getting some songs written. I struggle with lyrics and stuff, and have a pretty average singing voice so pitching things to the other guys in the band is never easy...

you can have a no load volume. it will change your tone even more though.

[louis cyfer]

dave, when i first came to the us, i lived in central falls and pawtucket for a short time. i change the volume pots on all my guitars to bourns low torque linear pots. i also move the tone pot on the asat to the bridge pup only. opens up the the neck pup and gives me control where i need it. i also flip the control plate and use one with a slanted switch.

[Philby]

Hi Dave, thanks for stepping up this week.

No load pots: I've never tried one, only different tapers and resistances. I don't currently have any guitars that need the extra brightness.

Summer projects: I want to build myself an IKEA pedal board to get some use out of the pedals I have. The only downside is that I'll have to go to IKEA, surely one of the most confusing retail experiences on the planet. I also want to put foil on all my pickguards after the stellar results in stopping my ASAT's from spitting/popping/crackling from static build up. Thanks for the tip Darwin!

[Ahryn]

No load pots, I always thought it would be interesting to have one with a push pull pot so you could remove the tone control from the circuit in some songs but be able to use it for others.

[gitman001]

Hey Dave,

Sounds like a cool job....call me crazy but i enjoy the behind the scenes stuff. The guys in the band don't mind since i am usually the one running cables and setting up the PA!

G&L
Interesting about the no load pots... i don't think i would ever give it a try as i cannot solder to save my life

Projects
We renovated the kitchen just before school kicked back in and i didn't get around to the backsplash yet... Only a few more days til the holidays, then i need to get tiling!

Scott

[Dave_P]

Thanks for all the responses!

SBNT: I do get some exercise on the job some days more than others, I'm in my slow season now so I'm mostly at my desk now. Good luck with the practice room, sounds like a fun project!

Darwin: The oldest equipment I have in inventory are 35mm slide projectors and overhead projectors. I have never used the 35mm slides in the 5 or so years I've been doing this but the overheads still get use once or twice a year. Everything else is powerpoint/lcd projectors. I haven't seen microfiche since elementary school

Jamie: I have the same issues as you when it comes to writing songs. When I do, finally, get them written I feel like they are well thought out, but it's always a slow process. Unfortunately I haven't found anyone local who is a strong lyricist and consistent enough to form a band. Best of luck to you, I'm sure you'll get some good tracks down.

Ed: Yes, the newer ASAT is a "special". From what I have gathered the wiring was standardized at some point for all 2-pickup ASATs. The .022mfd tone cap and the 200pf cap are the same in both but the '90 also has a 6.8k ohm resistor in there. I can't remember the connections off hand but it is wired a little differently as well. I just got notice my order has been shipped should have a full report with picks by next week. I'd be interested to see what your '86 looks like under the hood.

Sam: 4-way switch is a great easy mod, I have my asat apart at the moment I'll let you know my thoughts on it when I get a chance to test it out.

Louis: I have some friends that lived in Pawtucket for a few years, I'm not too far from there but then again nothing is really far in this state. Interesting mods, one of your previous posts had me interested in low torque pots. Those will have to come at a later date, but I really like the idea of the tone pot on just the bridge pup.

Philby: IKEA is a very interesting place, one can easily get lost in there. I've been meaning to do the very same project for a while now but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Ahryn: A while back I read an interview article about Larry Craig, Neil Young's guitar tech. He has a mini toggle on his les paul for this purpose. A push pull would be nice and stealthy though, no drilling required.

Scott: I enjoy the behind the scenes stuff too, especially on big shows. We had Travis Tritt last year and Kid Rock this year, not big fans of either but still fun and interesting to see. I only get to pop in on those things though, my day to day is 95% corporate meetings. Who knows though someday maybe I can work my way up.
I put a backsplash in a couple years ago, the best advise I can give is to not cheap out on the grout. I went with a adhesive/grout all in one and now whenever it gets wet the grout bleeds out a little.

-Dave