Members Preacher Posted October 21, 2014 Members Share Posted October 21, 2014 I was recently given a 2000 Squier Affinity strat. I cleaned it up (including the filthy, filthy fretboard).... Strung it up and it sounded *great* - it really sang. It sounded so good I decided to pull the pickguard and check for aftermarket pickups. The saddles were also very low and the action on the high frets was pretty high so I thought I would shim the neck a bit. I did all of this (by just detuning and not removing the strings) everything inside looked stock. I put in a thin cardboard shim, strung it up, and adjusted the saddles and intonation again. Wow, the action was great. I was playing all kinds of stuff and everything sounded great. Then the bottom fell out. I was playing some rhythm chords on position 2 and getting some great quack, and suddenly, mid-chord, the bass disappears and takes the low mids with it. There's more static on the amp and when I really hit some chords the amp crackles just a bit on the peaks. I plug in another guitar and the amp sounds fine. I checked the wiring and everything looks fine. I put it back together and it's great again - until I play those same rhythm chords and the bottom falls out again. I adjusted the pickup heights, I reseated the neck twice. No improvement. So, any suggestions? The body seems really resonant and I know it can sing - but I've never encountered this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 I'm pulling this out of thin air but possibly a tone capacitor that's going bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted October 22, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 It actually did cross my mind...hmmm.... Thanks for the response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 That might be the most disgusting fretboard I've ever seen. Good luck, I second cap replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 Selector switch bad contact. I gad a guitar with a 3 way that acted the same way. Are you able to cycle the switch repeatedly and make it go away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 ^ If cycling the switch doesn't do it, a judicious application of contact cleaner (the kind that leaves a light residue of mineral oil) ought to work. Simple to try and if it works the OP won't have to replace anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 I would suggest completely removing the strings so there is a better chance of removing/replacing the pickguard without pinching any wires or otherwise compromising any of the circuitry in the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted October 22, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 That might be the most disgusting fretboard I've ever seen. Good luck, I second cap replacement. Heh, yeah, that's what I thought, I didn't even touch the fretboard til after I cleaned it. Selector switch bad contact. I gad a guitar with a 3 way that acted the same way. Are you able to cycle the switch repeatedly and make it go away? Nope, flicking it back and forth repeatedly doesn't really seem to do anything , though maybe I'll track down some contact cleaner as Deepend mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 That might be the most disgusting fretboard I've ever seen. . . . Now that I'm home and I can see the pics, I agree. gubu posted pics of a pretty sad looking fretboard on a P-Bass copy over in the Bass forum (http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/Bass/acapella-17/31186027-generic-p-bass-rebuild) but yours takes the prize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 Check to see if there is a ground wire attached to the trem claw which should be attached on the other side to ground, (cavity shielding). I suspect this may be the issue. Also budget Strats always benefit from shielding the underside of the pickguard to prevent static. The pickguard shielding would not account for the loss of bottom end however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 The likely problem is the connectors to the switch are shorting out, on something like the bridge ground wire. Or maybe you pinched a wire under the pick guard or have a loose solder contact. The switches they put in the affinities are super cheesy crap. I started having issues with the switch in my affinity Tele a month or so after getting it. I kept it limping along for maybe a year cleaning it every so often till I just got fed up and changed the switch and no longer had the problem. One quick check is to connect an ohm meter to the end of your guitar cable. As you switch positions, you should see the changes in resistance. The 1,3,and 5 positions should be nearly the same, maybe 5~6K. The 2 & 4 positions should be half that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 I was playing some rhythm chords on position 2 and getting some great quack, and suddenly, mid-chord, the bass disappears and takes the low mids with it. Does this happen on other switch positions? If not then it's probably the switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MorganB Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 "~~I did all of this (by just detuning and not removing the strings) everything inside looked stock. I put in a thin cardboard shim,"Use something more solid than cardboard or nothing and lower the string trees for a more robust sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted October 22, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 Now that I'm home and I can see the pics, I agree. gubu posted pics of a pretty sad looking fretboard on a P-Bass copy over in the Bass forum (http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/Bass/acapella-17/31186027-generic-p-bass-rebuild) but yours takes the prize. Heh, thanks! Check to see if there is a ground wire attached to the trem claw which should be attached on the other side to ground, (cavity shielding). I suspect this may be the issue. Interesting, I'm not sure I understand. Is there a ground wire from the trem claw to common ground? Yes. The likely problem is the connectors to the switch are shorting out, on something like the bridge ground wire. Or maybe you pinched a wire under the pick guard or have a loose solder contact. The switches they put in the affinities are super cheesy crap. I started having issues with the switch in my affinity Tele a month or so after getting it. I kept it limping along for maybe a year cleaning it every so often till I just got fed up and changed the switch and no longer had the problem. One quick check is to connect an ohm meter to the end of your guitar cable. As you switch positions, you should see the changes in resistance. The 1,3,and 5 positions should be nearly the same, maybe 5~6K. The 2 & 4 positions should be half that much. Good post. I took an ohm meter to everything to verify connectivity and so far so good, but I'll revisit this. The pickup resistance checked out as normal and that was great, I'd never tried that before. Does this happen on other switch positions? If not then it's probably the switch. Yup, once it goes, it's gone everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted October 22, 2014 Members Share Posted October 22, 2014 I took an ohm meter to everything to verify connectivity and so far so good' date=' but I'll revisit this. The pickup resistance checked out as normal and that was great, I'd never tried that before. [/quote'] You can test your volume pot that way too, but a cap is invisible to an ohm meter because the meter places DC on the circuit to measure the components and caps only pass AC. If you hear a tone shift when you twist the knob, then its likely working. If you adjusted the string height up, you probably have to adjust your pup height up too. Use this setup guide for fenders. http://www.fender.com/support/articles/stratocaster-setup-guide/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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