A Kahler problem and a humbucker problem

[JFK]

Hi all.
I have recently bought a model 4 and a model 5.

Both guitars have the kahler trems and both trems have the same problem. Each one has a 0.050" hex grub screw that wont come out. The reason they wont come out is that the previous owner (or one of the previous owners) has stripped out the hex key profile from the screw meaning that what should be the correct size hex key is now slack and just spins with out gripping. D'OH! Anybody else had this problem? Any tips? I intend to replace them with decent ones once I've got them out!! lol

Other problem is a humbucker problem. The humbucker on my model 4 doesn't seem to be working properly for some reason.. not sure what the problem is. Sorry, that's pretty much all the info I can give on that as I'm rubbish with electronics!

Are humbuckers repairable? I really want to keep everything standard and in full working order.

One more thing, where's there best place to get spare parts for old style kahler trems found on 80's model 4's and 5's?

That's all.. for now..

Thanks all..

[rjohnstone]

You could use a small flat blade screw driver to remove a stripped Allen head.
Tap it into the head of the bolt and then gently unscrew it.

[nhspike]

Letting a couple drops of WD-40 soak in overnight will increase your odds as well...

Sometimes swapping wrenches from inch to metric (or the other way) will get you close on a sloppy fit...

Also, try tightening first, to break it free... then loosening.

http://www.kahlerparts.com/

[DonP]

I have seen an infomercial selling a tool that digs out stripped screws. Maybe it might work?

As far as your pickup issue, more details are needed (I think you knew this was coming).

Does it make any sound at all?
Does it just not sound correct?
Chances are it's just your wiring, but if it is your pickup that has a busted coil, you can have it re-wound. Probably cheaper just buying a replacement however. Jackson pickups can be found on ebay fairly cheap.

[JFK]

Cheers to all. I think i'll firstly try a combination of the WD-40 and the flat blade screwdriver on the stubborn grub screw, and if that doesnt work then donp's suggested infomercial tool might be the way foward, or something along those lines like drilling through it!..
On to humbucker.. thinking about it, when all three toggle switches are in the 'off' position there is no sound, obviously, as niether of the three pickups are 'on'. When I turn 'on' the toggle switch that is in the humbucker position, there is sound produced, however it just doesnt sound right. it doesnt sound particularly bad, it just doesnt sound the way a humbucker should do. If that makes sense?

[nhspike]

RD,
Where do you get that?
I think I've seen you mention that before...
Thanks Brother!

[nhspike]

JFK,
Do you have a multimeter, or access to one?
That's the easy way to tell if it's properly wired, or if you have a dead coil, etc.

Assuming it's a "working" Jackson humbucker:

-Black is ground (along with the raw ground wire)
-Red & White should be together for series humbucking action
-Green is hot

Hope this helps...

[nhspike]

I'm on it... thanks!!!

[DonP]

Cheers to all. I think i'll firstly try a combination of the WD-40 and the flat blade screwdriver on the stubborn grub screw, and if that doesnt work then donp's suggested infomercial tool might be the way foward, or something along those lines like drilling through it!..
On to humbucker.. thinking about it, when all three toggle switches are in the 'off' position there is no sound, obviously, as niether of the three pickups are 'on'. When I turn 'on' the toggle switch that is in the humbucker position, there is sound produced, however it just doesnt sound right. it doesnt sound particularly bad, it just doesnt sound the way a humbucker should do. If that makes sense?

Are you over seas? If so, I'm not sure if you will have access to that infomercial tool. It's very much like a drill bit that "grabs" the screw and unscrews it. It goes into the chuck of a low speed drill or electric screwdriver. Instead of being a drill bit, it's got a pointed head with tiny sharp teeth that grab inside the hole of the screw head.

You'll have to check the wiring in your guitar, but it sounds like your humbucker might be grounding out one of the coils. Plug it into a high gain amp and see if you notice hum compared to a humbucker guitar that is working. With the control plate cover off of your guitar, check for loose wires or loose wires touching something. It could also be that one of the wires (either positive or ground) is not connected on your humbucker. You'll still get sound, but very, very weak.

[straycat]

Check out the battery first when the battery gets weak the pickups sound kind of fizzy.

[JFK]

Thanks guys. Yes I am overseas.. Uk.
So if somebody could give me the name of the gadget in that infomercial, that would be great. I might be able to find the ad on youtube or something..

Somebody mentioned earlier about using a multimeter. I have one of those in the garage, I'll figure it out lol. Everything in the circuit seems fine. A friend and I went through the whole thing and tidied it up, putting things back in the right places. But we didn't manage to sort out the humbucker.

So, to nhspike, I'll get the multimeter on it and check that its still alive! Then see if something is grounding it as donp suggested. Straycat, the battery is new so its not that. However, the battery on my model 4 seems to discharge itself when left plugged into the circuit when the guitar hasn't got a lead in the jack, however it appears that my model 5 doesn't do this. Strange.. Dunno why it would be using juice when its not actually doing anything?

Thanks again to all

[dg]

I was just about to ask if you noticed anything going on with the jack on the Model 4. The fact that it drains the battery when not plugged in makes me think there is. The jacks on these guitars have a fragile plastic housing that is prone to breaking over time. The contacts can get loose and shift around when that happens. When it happened on my Model 6, I got a signal, but it was weak and would cut in & out. The symptoms were much more noticeable with the bridge pickup than with the middle & neck, probably since those pickups sound kinda weak to begin with. It's possible that this is what's going on with your guitar, and if the contacts have slipped out of place enough to touch each other, that would explain the battery draining down. A new stereo jack is about $4, and easy to install. Another possibility is that you guys created a short somewhere when you redid the wiring, but take a good look at the jack. I had to take mine out & plug the lead in & out to see the contacts sliding out of place.

[JFK]

ok folks.. update.

Prepare to be n00bed!


Ok, dg - checked the jack and it seems totally fine. There's no movement what so ever, and it looks very clean and in good nick, so we can rule that one out. Was kinda hoping that would be the issue as it would have made things nice and easy for me to fix! (DAMN!)

Moving on..

The humbucker in question is the bridge pickup on my S-S-H arrangement model 4.

It is (as I'm sure you already know) two single coils linked together in either series or parrallel. (Series or parrallel is decided by the arrangement you make with the wires that come from that pickup, correct?)

This humbucker has 5 wires.
Red
Black
Green
White
Metal

Am I right in saying that red and black are from one coil and green and white are from another coil, and metal is ground (earth) along with black and green, and red and white are 'hot' or 'live' as we say over here??
(Black and green could be live, and red and white earth, not sure).

On my guitar red and white (live?) go to the toggle switch for that p'up. Black, green and metal go to the tone pot (the one with the capacitor).

This is my circuit according to the manuals on this website.

http://www.jcfonline.com/resources/JC_Electronics_Manual/target7.html

And this is the nearest thing I could find that ressembles my pickup arrangement. I have toggle switches for each p'up, where as this image shows a 5 way switch.

http://www.jcfonline.com/resources/JC_Electronics_Manual/target16.html

I have about 10 wires here soldered directly to the back of the tone pot. Looks a real mess, this can't be good, right?

I wana get my multimetre going and check the humbuker, I just don't know where to put the contacts! :ROTF:

Please help me!

[dg]

Here is how the humbucker on a Model 4 should be wired. This is how my Model 6 came from the factory (same wiring as the 4):

The red & white wires should be soldered together & taped off, not connected to the switch or anything else. This is how you wire it for normal series operation (no coil splitting).

The black wire should be soldered to the top contact on the mini-switch. There should be wires connecting the middle contacts of all 3 mini-switches together, and then to the circuit board of the midboost, with another lead going to the middle contact of the tone pot. Nothing should be soldered to the bottom contact of any of the mini-switches.

The green and bare wires should both be soldered to ground. On my guitar, they are grounded to the back of the nearest pot, which is the midboost control pot.

[JFK]

Thanks dg, I'll look into that.
Further to what I wrote above, I have had a good look at the humbucker and taken it off the guitar. However, I am concerned that in doing so I have managed to do some kind of damage as the guitar now makes very strange buzzing (like bees) noises at all times, and even more so when any of the pots are turned?!?!

Nothing appears to have changed. Non of the wires connected the the pickup have become dislodged or loose in any way. Perhaps the finer wires in the main cable at the pickup end have been damaged as the cable has been flexed as I have moved the pickup? I dont know.
Or perhaps the pickup isn't earthed well enough. I've spoken to my dad about this and he seems to want to have a go at re-earthing the pickup as he doesnt think it's earthed very well.. :S

Who knows..