With much due respect, a second grader taught me a trick while stringing popcorn for our Christmas tree ...while silently cursing at reinstalling a Martin F-55 hollow pickup switch. Tie strings to the posts of the pots before removing the nuts, pulling the string through the nut washer and top like stringing popcorn. When reinstalling after rewiring, re-tie the strings to the posts and draw the pots through the guitar top washers and nuts in exactly the same order they were removed. Your videos have become my comfort screen time to sit back, relax, and listen to an excellent Luthier. Thank You Ted.
I'm fond of this style of guitar. I have three of them: archtop, hollow body, with a pickup. Two are true hollow bodies, and the other has a block in it, like an ES-335. Two have single P 90's and the other has a neck humbucker, and a bridge P 90 that I installed. They sound very nice, and are easy to play due to the thin bodies. They are all pretty attractive, also. However, the true hollowbodies feedback like demons if you are not very careful. Hint: get a piece of medical tubing with a 3/16" [5 mm] ID, and use it to grab the pot shafts. You then simply pull them through the holes and secure them. Easy-peasy. Repeat. A 1/8" [3 mm] piece of tubing works for most switches, etc. These latex tubes are extremely handy.
I like the look of these guitars. I can't play them because I like to rest the palm of my pick hand on the bridge. Yes, I'm a electric guitar player. Bad habits I know. But I use the muff alot. But when I play hollow body I use strumming techniques or use my pinky finger for my base when picking the strings. But when I'm finger picking no need for a base. But these half hollow bodies will just mess me up. Maybe I should learn a different style of playing to incorporate this guitar into my repitar. And yeah I know, bad spelling. I blame it on phonics!
A trick I learned working on my semi-hollow: aquarium tubing; helps with keeping track of things, and with washers and nut, also saves you from a lot of trouble
I know it would add a ton of complication to the carpentry but I'd be tempted to put a removable backplate on when building an instrument like that just so you don't have to lose your fingers and/or your sanity fishing stuff around inside there.
I just swapped out the pickups and wiring harness in my hollow body Gretsch guitar. I used clear plastic tubes, that fit snuggly over the pot shafts, as the 'fishing line'. The tubing goes onto the shafts of the old pots, and is pulled through the pickup hole along with the old pots. Plug the tubes onto the new pot shafts with the retaining washer in place, and pull them back into place. They come straight back up and through the holes in the guitar top, slip the washer and nut over the tube and secure the pot. It makes this type of job doable for many hobbiest.
Catching up on older vids and still fascinated by your techniques as well as presentation. Watching is like freshwater stream fishing for me: always cathartic. Thank you.
Your skills and abilities are just amazing! I know you have worked for years to hone them so you can do these modifications and repairs, but you make it all look so easy! Great video once again.
Tired of waiting for Sunday, so going back in time. As a hobby fettler of guitars I thank you for sharing your skill and knowledge with us. I mostly give my stuff away to people that can't afford guitars. Like you I like to recycle...
having had various archtop and hollowbody guitars and having the same deal with the difficulty of getting the electronics back in pots jacks etc first time I did it unprepared. here is how you do it the prepared way...Each jack/pot you take out you tie a piece of either high breaking strain fishing plastic line to each one or if you are a cheapskate or a non fisherman Dental floss will cut it basically anything that isnt going to snap if something gets hung up, but no massive tugging just gentle coaxing. Then when they are out, remove the line from the pot/jack/.switch but leave it though the holes and the pickup holes and tape both sides down (you can even label them if you wanna waste time as pulling will quickly tell you which is what) Then when you want to replace tie all the innards to the correct strings, pull them through gently to their correct hole and button down, Have done 4 pot, switch and jack wiring harness replacements with this system in 15 minutes max...Simple easy and once you have tried it once if you can find a better way good luck to you...Preparation is the art of thinking ahead...
I used to see which wire was connected with ground, or go by a color code,but, I like the way you did that because it would work with unknown homemade types of pickups as well.
Another neat job and a nice idea allowing for future pickup installations. I think that I’ve seen the idea of running the pickup leads under the scratch plate and through the f holes on old Harmony Rocket guitars.
Ted this was fine example of your on point Luthiery, and covered a beautiful guitar-form I enjoy learning more about. Thank you for sharing your experience with us all.
When taking pots out of a hollow body I used to part undo the nut and tie a long thread around the pot - after you finished soldering or whatever I pulled the pots back into place with the thread - bit of fiddling into position then re fit the nut remove the thread and tighten. In your case as you had to rout the hole this wouldn't work but otherwise I used this trick many times. I have a 2 pickup Eastman and got the pickups swapped out for Duncan Alnico Pro IIs. The shop I bought the pickups (and the guitar) from did it for free - great service! I had a lot of trouble with sharp fret ends - I think this may be common on Eastmans.
@Ray Clark You're _what_ when a video has just posted...? (10-1 it's, "About to throw my phone off a roof for mis-hearing what I was trying to say...")...
Your videos are always great but I found this one particularly interesting and beautifully explained ... thanks, buddy .... keep 'em coming because a lot of us out here love watching your work
Nice vid, Great job wiring that guitar I just finished restoring my 1980 Epiphone Sorrento (es175) Man my fingers took a beating trying to fish the the wiring & pots thought the f hole. I used surgical tubing on the top of the pots but it was really a pain I broke a connection my first attempt. Anyway Thanks for your channel you make things look so easy.
another classy job - the d'armond sounds great, I had one of their soundhole p/ups years ago and it sounded very similar but squealed like a pig without great care
I have a thinline (a Hofner) with no control compartment or pickguard and I am so impressed with the delicate surgery luthiers use to wire these instruments up. Mine is only 1.25" deep and has four pots. You did a much neater job than the guys at Hofner did.
i really enjoy watching your videos your a master at your craft and i love how you explain everything in detail please keep the videos coming thank you for showing us your talent easily one of the best channels or the best channel on RU-vid
Have you ever considered using clear plastic tubing as your 'fishing line'? I just swapped out the pickups and wiring harness in my hollow body archtop Gretsch guitar. I put in a pair of TV Jones Classic pickups and a TV Jones wiring harness, that had all the pots and the switch pre soldered in place. I used their very inexpensive installation tubing kit, which worked brilliantly. I imagine that you could have run pieces of tubing, that are sized to fit snuggly over the pot shafts, from the pot holes and up through the pickup hole. You can pre load the retaining washers in place on pot before inserting the tubing over the shafts. You can then pull the pots neatly into place, and secure. It's a good method for working with these types of guitars, and saves a lot of time and effort.
I've used the same method on a Country Gentleman (just using tubing from home depot). It's pretty well explained on the TV Jones site. Made the re-install a breeze.
Great job Ted and as always I learned a few things. If I was that player I would have wanted the out-of phase *option* on a push-pull pot. Not a sound you’d need all the time but I bet w the DeArmond it would be a cool low-fi slide sound.
Nice. That's kinda the sound I went for with the one in my profile pic. Put it together from a kit from Pitbull in AU, put one of the new TV Jones Ray Butts in the neck, and a Dynasonic clone in the bridge. Rockabilly for days.
