I have finally nailed the elusive Setzer clean finger picking tone!!

forgive me as I carry on like a lunatic in love:

I busted out the soldering iron last night and busted out the carbon comp bumble bee
resistor and sprague orange drop on a CTS 500K audio taper pot to create the
Tvjones Setzer vol. mod....
It worked perfect

TV,

Congratulations! It must feel pretty good to have finally found what you've been seeking for so long.

I lurk here in the Cave - not being a technical guy at all, I still like to read your (and other people's) posts, because you're so PASSIONATE about it all! Witnessing you guys geeking out on speakers, pedals, modifications...even though I don't know what the heck you're talking about, it still does my heart good!

(I hope you understand I use the term "geeking out" in the nicest possible way. To me, that phrase is one of the highest compliments. You see, I teach high school physics and math, so when the subject is nerdiness/geekiness, I know what I'm talking about.)

Rock on,
Bear85

Trust me Bear, when TV starts "geeking out" you will not find a better source of guitar information anywhere.

Rick

Hey TV,
I think I actually followed what you've achieved...but where does that thingy in the picture you took go? On one of the Gretsch pots? Would one achieve the same picking tone on my Country Club? (G6196T) Everything changes as I also play it through a 65 Blackface bassman as opposed to the blonde.
Brent

sorry to get so Young Frankenstein about it all, it is kinda geek to a degree, but I guess I see it
more like old hotrods/ratrods. You take old parts and swap in whatever it takes to make it kick
ass.

Brett, that is the master volume pot with the resistor and cap. BTW.. your blackface can
be "blonded" for about $80. The only blackface that should no tbe touched (value wise)
is the AB864 Blackface. It was the august 1964 model that replaced the transitional blonde
that same yr.
All to say, "blonding" any blackface or silverface up to model AB165 (jan 1965) is easily changed
back should the owner feel they want the original back.
I have had 4 blackface/silverface bassman "blonded" and it was worth every cent. The only thing
I didnt do was change the transformer to a Mercury Magnetics vintage repro. The stock blackface tranny
is more aggressive than the blonde and unleashes the full 50watts unlike the blonde that with the
old stock tungsol 5881 or 6L6WGBs (like setzer) only really puts out about 40.

I know only enough to be dangerous but, TV is that a wire wound pot or carbon?

kbilly wrote:

I know only enough to be dangerous but, TV is that a wire wound pot or carbon?

The pot is a standard american CTS 500K available in split shaft or solid shaft. ..and yes sir it is an audio taper, carbon composition, chicago telephone service manufactured,
variable resistor potentiometer. (if youre keeping score)

Thanks TV. I'm liking this place more and more

found out sunday I like a 500pf cap alone across the wipers of the 500K at least for dynasonics.. I still have the
tvjones standard treble bleed on my SSU but I'm going to try 1meg linear taper pots as this supposedly is
what Gretsch originally had in their guitars. 500K happened later and mostly because CTS pots dont make
1meg linear taper pots. So... I'm gonna try some alpha 1meg linear that I grabbed, then I'll find something
a bit more cork sniffy

I wonder if 1meg linear would be overkill for the Powertrons in my Spectra Sonic? BZ made some good points about pots/pickup matches over on the GDP. I know the DC resistance of the Powertrons, but don't know the impedence...Billy advised a while back that he doesn't really know about the 1meg pots used with powertrons.

finding out whats really being used in some of these guitars is paradox shifting. I read in an article with Randy Parsons that Jack White's jets he's built for him use TV Jones Classics...