real bad news about my model 6

[edw]

just took my 1986 model 6 to a local j/c dealer, he informed me that the "pot scratching noise" i've been hearing getting worse lately is actually my active electronics--not a pot noise. It's a circuit board attached to the pot nearest the neck. Is he right? The next thing he says is that j/c is not supporting this guitar anymore. No replacement circuit board available. any help? Can someone point me to parts?

[Twisteramps]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

might be able to find someone that took it out of theirs... some people (me included) aren't real fans of those active electronics, you should be able to find a used board somewhere.

FYI, if you replace the pickups with active EMGs, it will sound a lot better imho... the stock jackson pickups aren't horrible sounding, but there's a reason why most get changed out for duncans, dimarzios or EMGs.

Pete

[Zerberus]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

They pop up on eBay every so often, and of course here in the JCF classified (which you´ll unfortunately have to wait a bit to access)...

Other than that... maybe there´s a dealer somewhere with one or 2 flying around, but I´ll wager that most are already in the hands of J/C Enthusiasts like ourselves...

[Bert]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

Also realize that the active electronics aren't actually needed. You can run those pickups passively and they sound just fine. You'll actually gain some clarity (but lose output) if you do that.

[edw]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

thanks for quick replies
problem still is the very annoying scratch
i can't touch the pot while strumming without a major pop
any ideas? still thinking i want a plan that keeps me pretty stock-like.

[mm2002]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

I would think that would be the pot, and not the circuit. Of course, the pot's kinda soldered to the circuit so I guess some would see that as an assembly. I had one with a noisy pot and I just took the whole deal out. I removed the pot from the circuit and figured it could be replaced easily, so I kept the board..........(or did I pawn it off on some poor unsuspecting member?) [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
(sorry Dave)

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

Remove it ALL and go EMG 81/85s and a PA-2 onboard Preamp.

Smoldering!

[Zerberus]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

Model 6s are HSS [img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Sunbane]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

I didn't care for the mid-boost circuit of the Model 6, but I gave mine away to Micha, who had problems with his. But I'd second what Mark said, that it's probably the pot on the circuit that's gone bad.

I put EMGs in mine, and although I liked the tone of the original J50BC humbucker, the EMG-85 I put in its place sounded great in that guitar.

A word of caution though: The "singlescoils" in the Model 6 are actually two J-200 stacked humbuckers, so the pickup routes are extra deep in order to accomodate them. This means that if you want to put true singles in there (like the EMG ones), you will have to look for longer screws and springs as well. However, pretty much any replacement will probably sound a lot better than those J-200's.

[edw]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

great support here
i looked at the emg option seems acceptible, likely even better than stock. i'm confused about wiring the three toggle switches. will emg custom wire the whole harness. maybe i should call emg?

[Sunbane]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

When you buy EMG pickups, the pickup wires aren't pre-soldered - so you should be able to wire them up to your liking.

It may be a bit tricky to get the hot lead to the switch and the braid shield to the pot. What I did was peel off enough plastic insulation from the braid so it reached the pot, and then used heat-shrink tubing to insulate the free length of braid. But you could probably just peel off some insulation just where the wire passes the pot.

My wiring:


I'm about to put a DiMarzio X2N into it now though, so all the EMGs are currently out of it. =)

[edw]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

thanks for the hint

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

[ QUOTE ]
Model 6s are HSS [img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I know, I actually just take out the jackson electronics and humbuck and disconnect the two singles! So, I sorta don't even think about the singles. I don't have a guitar that even has them connected.

I am just an EMG81 into a PA-2 preamp and no tone control.

I'm weird I guess, but I don't like EMG singles and never felt like wiring up the passives the way they should be with the EMGs.

[Zerberus]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Model 6s are HSS [img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I know, I actually just take out the jackson electronics and humbuck and disconnect the two singles! So, I sorta don't even think about the singles. I don't have a guitar that even has them connected.

I am just an EMG81 into a PA-2 preamp and no tone control.

I'm weird I guess, but I don't like EMG singles and never felt like wiring up the passives the way they should be with the EMGs.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can fully understand that, my comment was aimed at "81/85b", ´cause it looked like you were recommending a H-H setup [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[pro-fusion]

Re: real bad news about my model 6

You might consider a fully passive setup, as well. A Duncan JB or Distortion in the bridge, coupled with a Cool Rails in the middle and a 'Lil 59er in the neck would be pretty awesome also, and you could just have your tech remove/replace all three existing pots.