This is the followup to my previous video on how to select a treble bleed cap.  Here in part 2, I explain some basic soldering skills, and then show how to actually solder the treble bleed cap in place:

In part one of this, video I explain what treble bleed is, and how to evaluate and select the right cap.  I demonstrate my G&L ASAT III which has a treble bleed cap on the master volume, and I compare that with my Epiphone Riviera P93 which has no treble bleed caps (yet).

The caps I tried are (as shown left to right): Silver Mica 100pf, 390pf and 1000pf, a tiny 1000pf ceramic cap, and Sprague Orange Drop (polypropylene) 1000pf, 3300pf, and 6800pf.

The tolerances on the caps are a bit all over the place.  I measured the 1000pf caps on my DMM and all were closer to 1250.  The 100pf silver mica was over 250!  This is assuming I can trust my Mastech DMM.

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This time in high definition, and more importantly, with a high quality microphone instead of the webcam mic.  I just run through a bunch of riffs, both clean and distorted, with the pickups alone and in combination, and also demonstrate the sound of the tone knob.

I’m using a large diaphragm Rode NT1 mic, positioned about 4” away from the grill of the Vox VT30 amp.   These recordings will serve as the “before” examples for my upcoming mods.

Incidentally, I had to make a lot of changes in order to record high quality separate voice and guitar audio, instead of using the crappy webcam mic.    Windows Movie Maker just doesn’t cut it.   So I downloaded a free trial of Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum.  It’s so much better than Windows Movie Maker!  Has really nice audio editing features, and full HD support.

Next up will be treble bleed…

I’ve been asked about the thickness of the Epi Riviera P93 neck, in comparison with other Epi guitars.  I’ve also measured the Epi Sharaton II, Dot Studio and Casino, and their necks are all very similar to the Riviera P93, within 1/32” for each measurement (thickness at 12th, width at nut, width at 12th).  And they’re all the same 24 3/4” scale and 12” radius.   The Epi Les Paul’s and SG’s have a slightly thinner neck (about 13/16” at the 12th fret), but the same width and scale.

Here’s some pictures and exact measurements (in inches) of the Epiphone Riviera P93 compared to my G&L ASAT III, Taylor 714CE acoustic, and a very thin necked old Ibanez 540SBC.   Update 5/14/2011: added Vox SSC33.

All measurements in inches:

* Taylor 714CE thickness measured at 9th fret since neck joint to body begins at 12th

Here’s the Epiphone Riviera P93:

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Here’s the diagram of the electronics in my Epiphone Riviera P93, looking at the circuit from the rear.
It has three volume pots and one master tone pot.  All knobs are 500k audio taper.  Strangely, there appear to be three different brands of pots used in my guitar, Alpha, JS and a 3rd that I can’t identify.  

There’s a .022uF capacitor on the tone knob.   No capacitors on the volume pots.

My parts order from Mouser just arrived!  Getting ready for lots of tone tweaking!

This is part 1 of a new series on guitar electronics.  In the video, I demonstrate how to get the electronics out of a semi-hollow body guitar, with some useful tips and tricks.

Once the electronics are out of the guitar, it’s relatively easy to try some experiments on the circuit to see how it sounds.    I’m planning a number of upcoming experiments including:

• Experimenting with replacement pots
• Adding treble bleed to the volume pots
• Trying different tone capacitors to see how it changes the sound
• Replacing the jack with one with a longer bushing Switchcraft jack
• Replacing the pickups
• Putting all the electronics back into a semi-hollow body guitar through the f-hole

Every step of the way, I’ll be recording audio examples, how-to videos, and text writeup.

I look forward to hearing any comments or suggestions.  Please let me know your experiences too!

What is up with the jacks on these semi-hollowbody Epiphone guitars.  When I was shopping for guitars in the stores, I often saw Epiphone Dots and Sheratons with the jack missing inside the guitar.   How can that be good for sales?!  And when reading in the Epi forums, I saw folks complaining of this happening to them.  Does this happen on the more expensive Elite Epi’s, or other semi-hollow body guitars?

I never thought it would happen to me!   I made a point of periodically hand-tightening the jack when plugging in a cable, just to be sure.

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The retainer wire on a standard Tune-o-matic bridge can buzz and rattle if the bridge isn’t machined to perfection.

I didn’t expect this to bother me as much as it does.  The buzz doesn’t come through the amp, but I don’t usually play very loud, so hearing a buzzy rattle from the bridge results in a real lack of clarity in the sound I’m hearing.

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Let’s visit the factory in China where my new Epiphone Riviera was made:  Qingdao Factory Tour.  I love the picture of the drying room full of flying Les Pauls:

There’s lots more pics, and an interview with the plant managers, Scott Lewis and Lloyd Williams at Gibson Qingdao Factory – All Epiphone… All The Time!

Oh, how it pains me to say this: I’ve been playing guitar for over 20 years.  But I can’t call myself a guitarist.

I have a pretty solid background in music theory and harmony.  I minored in music at UC Berkeley.  I can find my way around a piano.   Yet somehow, I never learned how to learn how to play guitar!  I never once took a lesson.

For the first five years or so, I learned just enough to be able to play the songs I was writing, and I even played and sang in a band.  I never learned more than the open chords, the E-form bar chord, and the note names on the first string.   Mostly I wrote songs by noodling on the guitar until something sounded good.  It was “art”.

For the next decade or so, I didn’t really learn much more.  Read the rest of this entry