Help installing pickup in old Silvertone Stratatone 1421

  • Thread starter Thread starter PsychoholicSlag
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PsychoholicSlag

PsychoholicSlag

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So a buddy dropped off his Grandpa's old guitar, the fretboard was off most was broken and gone, duct tape all over it, a damn mess.

So I'm this far on it and need some help. I'm not an electrician or know the basics of it, sue me, most will go "that's simple how do you not know" well I don't. There were no tone/volume/jack anything just a lone pickup in the neck. So I got new pots (2 are fake can't find another pickup) I wired it up real quick and tapped on it with a screwdriver and it made that familiar "tap" sound. Though when played ... nothing, I noticed with the jack I only ran the hot to it and didn't ground it to the pot which is probably problem #1 (I also read up on the Les Harvey incident and understand the need to do so), 2nd problem is I can't find a bridge ground anywhere on the guitar .... also the bridge is a wood base so where would I ground this/how would I anyway.


Any help is appreciated.


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Go to Seymour Duncan and find their wiring diagrams. Look for the 2 pickup, 2 vol, and 2 tone and follow that. Even with just one pickup working, you should be fine when the pickup selector is switched there.

To get to the pots you have to remove he pick guard....
 
blackba":2rdbl9hv said:
Go to Seymour Duncan and find their wiring diagrams. Look for the 2 pickup, 2 vol, and 2 tone and follow that. Even with just one pickup working, you should be fine when the pickup selector is switched there.

To get to the pots you have to remove he pick guard....
Click to expand...


I've already done that thank you, I understand how to take it apart and have. It the wiring of the ground wire I'm trying to figure out. Before I started this thread I looked up a wiring diagram and followed it besides grounding the jack, as I sad that's probably my #1 problem. But it's where to put a ground wire because the bridge is wood.
 
Grounding the tail piece would be your only other option.
 
blackba":3tlofnpv said:
Grounding the tail piece would be your only other option.
Click to expand...

Would any type of wire work or does it have to be solid? Best way I guess if I can use just regular wire is feed it through the hole where the strap button goes and screw it down with a button. That seems the most logical I guess.
 
Stranded or solid wire would work. Stranded would be more flexible.
 
I thought most Silvertones had concentric pots (so for a 2 pickup guitar, there would be only 2 pots), and a switch...you might find a pickup on ebay for the bridge position, and the ground has to be connected to the output jack, this is not the same as string ground (to the tail piece).
 
Run the ground to the tailpiece where it attaches to the side of the body. I think that's how Gretsch does it.
 
You guys are awesome, thank you very much for the info, don't want to fix this up and have it return with electrical problems. I've been looking on eBay all the time for a replacement pickup, only thing that looks anywhere close is an old chrome Gibson bass pickup with 3 screws in it.
 
Maybe a Gibson mini-humbucker like in a Les Paul Deluxe would fit with a custom mounting ring ?
 
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