The Electra Forums

let me apologize forthright for my ignorance when it comes to the innards of electric guitars and the names for the different parts. But can anyone tell me if I will need a new part for the guitar?
In my own words:
It appears that the wire coming out of the green thingy (potentiometer?) has broken off the hook part/conductor thingy that it's attached to in order to hook up to the round circular guy (capacitor?) that may be either a volume or tone pot for, I'm guessing, the bridge pickup, because only one of the pickups works (the treble, which I believe is the neck pickup). Luckily, I took pictures

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v242/ ... h/electra/

Thanks so much, I know I've been really been asking a lot of questions, but I really really do appreciate all the help and input.

Classic Post... 2nd best one I've read all year! I'll take a stab at this. The top controls are for the Neck (Rhythm) pickup, bottom are for the Bridge (Treble) pickup. The Tone Potentiometer (circular variable resistor) for the Neck pickup has a busted center tab it looks like. You could try soldering the heck out of the nub that's left, and maybe the Capacitor (green thingy) would stick... or replace it with another 500Kohm pot (like $4).

I don't know if that is what is keeping your pickup from working, but its a good place to start. Lots of guitars don't even have a tone pot, and all the tone pot does is bleed off the high end... when the knob is all the way up, the capacitor is basically out of the circuit.

That guitar is routed just like my Jacaranda Bolt-on, which is pretty light for a LP body and rings like nobody's business (in a good way!). The back is natural, is this that same Black 2242 you posted about earlier? Because I thought those were all black... Best of luck, and keep the questions coming! Mike.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

haha, glad I took the prize fore 2nd

Thanks a lot for the info. So, all I need to match up with replacing the pot is making sure it's 500K?

This is actually a 2249. I guess I jumped the gun on the black super rock, because I saw this one for sale, and went and played it, and it plays a whole lot better. Just the overall feel of it you know? And even with one pickup it sounds surprisingly better than the 2242. Even though it looks like a dog attacked the backside of it. I've honestly never seen gouges so deep in a guitar. So now I think I'm just going to try and sell the black one and hopefully make some money back. I replaced the broken pickup ring that was on the 2249 with one off the 2242, and I'm keeping the pickguard bracket off of it, so I guess it's not a total loss. The only thing I like more about the 2242 is that it's a tad bit heavier, do you happen to know why that is? I mean, the 2249 looks to be two pieces of wood sandwiched, but do you know if it's chambered and the black one isn't, or something like that?

Thanks again!

If you get that tab and the green chiclet soldered back on and the neck pickup is still not working, take a look at your 3 way switch. If it looks ok it may be broken inside. You can easily check if your pickups are connected by powering up and setting your switch then tapping the pickup with a screwdriver or paper clip - make sure you have your volume pot up a bit so you can hear it. Up is neck, middle is both, bottom is bridge. It's not uncommon for the 3 way switches to go bad - and I suspect yours has. Looks to me as if your wiring is OK to the pots.

cool, thanks a lot. I really appreciate all the help.

Also, I've heard mention of the 'taper' of a pot. There's a 'B' after the '500k' marking, would this stand for a 'B' tapered pot? The black super rock had an 'A' after the '500k', and the pots appeared to be different, would this mean it's an 'A' tapered pot? If I do get another pot will I have to make sure it's 'B' tapered?

Thanks

I don't know the difference between the A and B suffix's. There are audio and linear taper pots, the difference being how gradual the resistance changes.


Welcome to the world of pre '76 Electras. If you haven't read the historical threads on here, you should. Basically SLM was getting Guitars from multiple suppliers, who used multiple manufacturers, so there are a number of differently made guitars that are wearing the same model number. After 1976 the vast majority of SLM Electras would be made by Matsumoku, and they were much more consistant as far as fit and finish.


Personally I prefer a lighter guitar, easier on my shoulder. The wood used has a lot to do with weight, but construction methods play a role also. Chambered may not be quite the right term, basically instead of gluing on a solid block and carving it to shape, a few Japanese makers would bend a thin top to shape with heat and pressure and laminate that to the body which resulted in spaces between the two pieces. While many have poo-poo'd this as a cheap manufacturing process, the result is a lighter weight and more lively body, and personally I really like them. This may be the difference in feel and tone you mentioned.

You should post some pics of the 2249 (scars and all) so we can all congratulate you.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch