Improved Strat for less than $20, Potting and Semi - Sheilding Your Guitar

Well I have an Indonesian crafted Squire Strat (I normally tell people its a vintage Fender). As With all cheap beginner electric guitars especially ones with single coil pickups you get a lot of feed back and un-wanted noise.

After a days work the improvement even surprised me and was worth every bit of effort.

The feedback I am talking about isn't the Hendrix cool type, instead is more of a buzzing popping and rather intrusive noise.

If you play with clean tone on the amp it starts humming, and I cannot put the distortion on the dial more than 4, before it turns into a whinny noise.

Simple ways to over come this problem is:

Cleaning all electrical parts
Setting your pickups in wax.
Shielding your electrics from outside interference.

Also:

New strings and more springs on the tremolo (whammy) unit helps get better tone and sustain.

The next step is a little theory to why the above help improve your instrument, you may skip it if you just want.

Disclaimer: Less than $20 is including foil, wax and new strings (I did not include equipment or any other extra costs I think are readily available). I am not responsible for any damage or harm caused from following this instructable. Follow this is at your own risk.

Step 1: Equipment

Things I used:

- 20 tea light candles enough to be able to submerge the pickups, (I re-molded the extra wax still had 15 left)
- Kitchen foil
- Spray on glue
- 1 small pot
- 1 larger Pot with
- Nuts
- Solderer and solder
- Screw drivers, 2 flat heads and one Philips head
- Duct tape
- WD40 or Shelly's RP7
- Knife

Comments

[mrmerino]

Where are you getting strings for 12 bucks?

[a splosion]

My guess is he buys Elixir's from the music shop.

[Steve Dallman]

WD-40 is not an electronics cleaner/lubricant. It will destroy the pot over time by dissolving the carbon trace. Use a product like Deoxit Fader Lube, or TV tuner/cleaner.

[carbon12 based]

Thanks, I will mention that, but WD40 can do the trick as it was invented by the military for missile maintenance . I guess in the long run its better to use more delicate products.

[Steve Dallman]

I am an amp tech, and at one time, did use WD-40 from time to time. I stopped using it because it did break down some carbon traces, and diluted and washed out the substance on the pot shaft that gives a pot it's smooth feel.

It is best to use a proper electronics lube for pots. For stubborn pots, I will take the pot apart and physically clean it and re-lube it, especially in amps with hard to find replacements, like old Peavey amps. It also gives me the opportunity to see if the trace is cracked or intact.

Sprays will usually do the job, but they basically blow the dirt and debris off the trace, but it's still in the pot.

WD-40 is a great product for a plethora of things and can be used for cleaning switches and some other electronic applications.

[rblee]

It was invented for the military (its NATO designation is PX-24), but as a metal protective. It's basically a mix of petroleum ethers and waxes.

Never use it for any other purpose.

It starts motors, but that's the pet ether. The wax screws your air filter, carburettor, and if you're really out of luck, seizes your piston rings. This all takes a while, but you'll get there in the end.

I'm guessing that on carbon tracks either the pet ether dissolves them or, more likely, the wax just insulates the slider from the carbon track.

If you want to be impressed, try to get some in a normal can (gallon-sized tin can) and paint it on any exposed metal on your car at the beginning of winter. By spring the metal will look a mess, but when you clean off the PX-24 you'll find the underlying surface will look like new - no salt damage, pitting or similar. The spray cans will do the same, but they'll cost you a zillion times more.

The spray stuff works well if you put the item to be protected in a plastic bag and then give it a good spray before sealing the bag.

If I was storing things like missiles, I'd give them a good coat of this stuff too. Fortunately I don't have that problem :)

[Steve Dallman]

It works well for metal to metal contact and the fish oil base is good as a rust preventative. Not good for carbon traces in pots though. For electronic lubrication best to use a product designed for electronic lubrication.

[fastrat2000]

Nice instructalbe, I may try some this I the startcaster it parts and fit are not very good, the neck and mid pick are very niosy Maybe these mods would help with out costly too much. I maybe look wax blocks, sale for canning but can beused in candles too, likly bit ezer to use and get more waz for $$, I not price them out.

Thanks for gving some new thoughts,

Rat

[rockout71]

so i have a squier that i modded so it only has one humbucker and one volume knob, but i wanted to add a single coil neck pickup, so i was thinking i could use the old neck pickup, but i wanted re pot it, and im lazy also so is there any other way i could do this without wax, like some type of tape or something, im also kinda new at this also.

[aritoner]

my guitar already has aluminum on it but it doesn't cover to the outside just the core around all the gear does that work or do i still need to do this step

[carbon12 based]

Yeah, mine came like that too, but if you shield the whole cover should have a better effect.
The best would be to make a foil cage around all the routes for the electrics connect up to the pick guard.

I didn't do the the inside of the guitar since it was too difficult with what i had to use and i didn't want to make a short circuit which will make the sound worse.
Hope this helps

[aritoner]

ok i get it the routed out part needs to be foiled yes???my guitar sounds good as is i dont think its worth all the trouble...but maybe one day...

[black kujo]

does he actually put wax on the pickups or wrap them in foil first ?

[carbon12 based]

I do not Wrap the pickups in foil. The pick guard is covered in foil. The pickups are submerged in melted wax, then left out to dry. That way the wax penetrates into the coils and all the internal wires of the pickup. This prevents internal wires from moving and causing wanted noise. The waxed pickups are then installed back on the foil covered pick guard. **If pickups have tape covering them do not remove it, it will just take the wax a bit longer to penetrate but still works. Hope this helps

[black kujo]

tanks for the help I also have a squire guitar but since it has humbuckers it's not that bad but I'm going to do it on my strat