Post-Bigsby Mod Signal Flow Issue

Hey Guys,

It's my first post. Yesterday I successfully completed a Bigsby B5 mod on a 2003 MIM tele. I had to adjust a few things, but I finally set it up and it works nicely. Only problem is for some reason I'm getting no signal now. It was sounding beautiful just the day before.

I'm not the greatest wiring guy, I usually just follow schematics and it gets the job done. I believe I properly grounded the neck PU to the Bigsby bridge plate and to the bridge, but correct me if I'm wrong, lack of signal wouldn't be attributed to improper grounding anyway right?

Anybody have any thoughts on why I'm not getting any signal flow? Thanks.

Broken output wire at the volume pot? Broken signal wire at the output jack? Output wire shorted to ground within the guitar? I'm pretty much using "signal" and "output" interchangeably here.

Go back and think about how much you disassembled your Tele when you put the Bigsby on it. I have zero experience with Bigsbys and don't know how much you have to take a Tele apart to install one, so I really can't help you much there. Anyway, chances are you did something simple to the guitar to kill the signal and it'll show up right away when you take it apart again.

Do you have no output on either pickup or just the bridge?

If just the bridge you probably shorted out the bridge pickup by having the pickup wires touch the bottom of the new bridge plate.

If it is both, then you removed a wire somewhere in the control cavity. Or shorted a wire out in there.

Take your time and look at all the wiring, start with the areas you took apart.

Guy
:-)

Yeah there's no output on either PU. I guess I'll just have to get in there and test each connection. I'm just hoping there's no damage to either of the PU's.

Yeah there's no output on either PU. I guess I'll just have to get in there and test each connection. I'm just hoping there's no damage to either of the PU's.

Shouldn't be. Pups are so low voltage that it is hard to hurt them. It IS sometimes easy to miswire them. Good luck on your search.

So I went in with a multimeter and tested continuity between every connection and everything was kosher. But I'm still not getting any output. I am totally stumped. Any other thoughts as to what the problem could be?

I don't know if it helps to mention but the only modification I made regarding wiring was swapping the bridge plates out, in which case I installed the bridge PU exactly as it was originally. It's one of the PU's that has a ring ground that fits around the height adjustment screw in between the bridge plate and the little rubber pieces.

Is it possible that the new bridge plate is of a different material and not conductive? Still I don't think that would account for a complete loss of signal.

:confused:

grounded the neck PU to the Bigsby bridge plate and to the bridge:confused:

If you got the standard 3 way wiring, the grounds should be on the back of the pots, or at a common ground point.

So I went in with a multimeter and tested continuity between every connection and everything was kosher. But I'm still not getting any output. I am totally stumped. Any other thoughts as to what the problem could be?

I don't know if it helps to mention but the only modification I made regarding wiring was swapping the bridge plates out, in which case I installed the bridge PU exactly as it was originally. It's one of the PU's that has a ring ground that fits around the height adjustment screw in between the bridge plate and the little rubber pieces.

Is it possible that the new bridge plate is of a different material and not conductive? Still I don't think that would account for a complete loss of signal.

:confused:

Can you put the old plate back? Also, try a magnet on the plate. Any attraction? Is there continuity between the plate and ground on the output jack?

I have a Strat copy (Burswood). Took the pick guard off to see what was inside, saw some really gnarly solder joints at the 5 way switch. So I fixed up the connections. Put it back together and I had nothing, no sound at all. Frustrated I sat down with the guitar plugged in to the amp and strummed the crap out of it. after about 5 minutes of strumming hard I heard sound (low volume) so I kept strumming hard and wala full sound. I'm guessing I drained some components when I probed in there. Anyway I'm really glad I did that 'cause I was giving up LOL. Also good to note that this Burswood Strat had an SD Card recorder in it. Maybe that had something to do with it.

Anybody else heard of what Scrapperz was talking about?

That would be truly amazing if that was the issue. Friend of mine gave me a Lollar Special T bridge PU that I popped in there just to see if the PU may have been busted. Still no sound though. I guess I have to break down and take it to a tech. When you're beat, you're beat.

Just an update. It turned out there was a short in the Cap. My tech replaced it and it's working great! I'll have pictures shortly when I finish the project. I'm gonna be adding a neck shim and that should be it for this project.

"Short in the cap." Yikes! That will drive you crazy. :shock: So easy to spot :roll:

"Short in the cap." Yikes! That will drive you crazy. :shock: So easy to spot :roll:

Yeah wasn't bringing my A-game! :oops:

Anyway, here's the final product. Just set it up. Plays like a dream.

http://s18.postimage.org/vi2mwj0gl/IMG_0860.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/vi2mwj0gl/)

It's a super cool thing, the Bigsby tremolo on a Tele. I've got one myself and I really love this one. Plays like a dream, especially since I swapped the original saddle-kit for a MasteryBridge.
http://www.sorvallas.se/guitars/DSC_3499.jpg

[QUOTE=Boondocks;4214154]It's a super cool thing, the Bigsby tremolo on a Tele. I've got one myself and I really love this one. Plays like a dream, especially since I swapped the original saddle-kit for a MasteryBridge.

Oh yeah, that was actually going to be my next question on the thread. That Jaguar bridge kinda blows. I was gonna ask for suggestions. You like the Mastery Bridge?