After putting down the shielding the next step was routing the grounding wires. I installed the wiring, soldered the ground to the tremelo and jack pin. Everything tested correctly with the multimeter.
Next the pickups. I went with a set of hand wound, aged, Alnico 5/2, with flat poles. According to the description, the combination of Alnico 5 rods for the low strings, and Alnico 2 rods for the high strings, “creates a smooth, well balanced output… punchy attack with well defined bass response on the lower register and warm swelling vintage tones on the upper register.”
This part of the project was a lot of fun. I spent a fair amount of time researching materials and proper shielding techniques. There are many differing opinions about the effectiveness of shielding and when it actually matters. In the end, the copper tape was cheap, and it was fun applying it.
I covered each cavity with the copper tape then ran a small copper wire between the jack cavity and the main body. Using the multimeter, each cavity and wall tests conductive to every other cavity and wall.
The other day my friend Clay from Franklin Music messaged me asking if I wanted to take on a new project guitar. I’ve jokingly become his salvage guy. Clay had purchased the guitar just for the pickups (and apparently the tuning machines) but didn’t want to invest the time or money to build it back up. Perhaps it was too beat up for the average customer at his shop, or perhaps he wouldn’t get out of it what he would have to put into it. Lucky for him that’s what I like, that’s what I like.
October 2, 2025
