This Bird is Ready to Fly

Guess I missed it Ian, what are the pickups-exactly? Guitar looks killer man...............Isn't that a fralin split blade in the bridge?
I know you mention KInmans.........
 
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I'm not confident there's a solid, electrical connection between the bridge plate and the bridge pickup. I'll check that first. I guess while I have it apart I can put copper tape in the cavity too...can't hurt.

If the noise dims or disappears when you touch the strings, it is working.

If you are still wanting to be double-sure, in my VZ Tele, the copper shielding inside the cavity is extended up onto the surface between the cavity and the bridge attachment screws, and it makes for a very solid connection....
 
Guess I missed it Ian, what are the pickups-exactly? Guitar looks killer man...............Isn't that a fralin split blade in the bridge?
I know you mention KInmans.........
Totally missed this question, sorry!

They're Kinman Broadcasters: https://www.mobile.kinman.com/products/fast-broadcaster-set-pickups.php

A friend bought a Tele many many years ago with Kinmans that I've always loved the sound of. And @Admin M@ is a big fan of Kinmans. And then @Burgs did a killer video that sold me on them:



The Fralin is in @Joe Bfstplk's Tele. :)
 
Totally missed this question, sorry!

They're Kinman Broadcasters: https://www.mobile.kinman.com/products/fast-broadcaster-set-pickups.php

A friend bought a Tele many many years ago with Kinmans that I've always loved the sound of. And @Admin M@ is a big fan of Kinmans. And then @Burgs did a killer video that sold me on them:



The Fralin is in @Joe Bfstplk's Tele. :)

They are good if you need the hum canceling but there are compromises compared to the best single coils.
 
I'm not confident there's a solid, electrical connection between the bridge plate and the bridge pickup. I'll check that first. I guess while I have it apart I can put copper tape in the cavity too...can't hurt.
Copper tape won't make any difference with humbuckers and it can be detrimental with great single coils. If you have top quality pots and screened cable to the jack that's the best option.
 
Holy hell why did I wait this long to try a Telecaster?!?!?

Took it out to a jam last night and it performed AMAZING. Was tweaking the action a bit right up until I packed up to leave for the bar. Have it set nicely now. I probably still need to do some fine tuning on the intonation, but I really didn't notice much in the way of drift as I played higher up the neck last night.

I paired it with a preset on my FM9 built around the DIV13 CJ11 model and a G12M speaker. I think I finally experience what people refer to as keeeerrrrrraaaaannnnggggg. Hitting those big, open G chords was nearly a religious experience.

The slimmer neck was comfortable. And the compound radius felt good up and down the neck. Love that unfinished, roasted maple feel under the palm of my hand too.

No tummy cut or arm bevel was noticeable towards the end of the night. Not a huge deal, but those are ergonomic improvements I might consider adding in the future. Especially the arm bevel.

I did find the fourth position on the selector useful for a few solos where I wanted really big, chunky tones. So that's good.

Yea, super happy with this one.
 
Copper tape won't make any difference with humbuckers and it can be detrimental with great single coils. If you have top quality pots and screened cable to the jack that's the best option.
Maybe something else was borked up on the guitar, but I've got a Les Paul that is perfectly quiet at home, but buzzed at church with all the PWM lights. So I installed copper tape on every inside cavity and now it's as quiet as can be.
 
That looks like a very nice build. I need a T-style guitar. My next guitar (excluding the one that I have on order) will likely be a tele of some kind.
 
Maybe something else was borked up on the guitar, but I've got a Les Paul that is perfectly quiet at home, but buzzed at church with all the PWM lights. So I installed copper tape on every inside cavity and now it's as quiet as can be.
No, copper screening is pointless it the parts are screened and good quality.
 
No, copper screening is pointless it the parts are screened and good quality.
I do think my problem is that the bridge+pickup aren't connected to the ground at the control jack and thus the cable. Easy enough to fix and it wasn't really noticeable at the loud jam last night.
 
I do think my problem is that the bridge+pickup aren't connected to the ground at the control jack and thus the cable. Easy enough to fix and it wasn't really noticeable at the loud jam last night.
Does the pickup not have a ground wire?
 
Does the pickup not have a ground wire?
Not on the bridge pickup. Or at least there’s only two conductors. I suspect that a bridge plate <> control plate ground is expected and the pickup grounds to the bridge plate via contact when it’s attached.

Edit: Kinman says it's shielding assuming the screws are in contact with the metal plate on the bottom of the pickup: https://kinman.com/diagnostic-harness.php

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm not sure I care TBH. It's less hum than any other single coil guitar I own and dead silent if my hands are on the strings.
 
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