The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm not sure whether to post in Electronics or here, but I have a 1956 Fender Stringmaster T-8 that I'm considering selling (can't bear the thought now though, after getting it out and playing it ALL flippin' morning... sigh...)

Anyway, that's not the point of this post. What I would like to know is, how does one get those 'push-button' neck changers to stop being all scratchy and sometimes not fully engage that particular neck? They work most of the time, but sometimes I push a button for a neck, and it kind of half-way engages. I push again, and hold it down a bit, and then it seems to fully turn on that one neck.

I'm sure contact cleaner is in order, for the pots, too; but wanted to know how one corrects this issue? I guess if I do decide to sell it, I could just sell 'as is,' and let the next person get that all squared away, but I'd like to have it function properly, either way I go. The thing is, I'm pretty sure once I have that fixed, it ain't going nowhere! I haven't had it out of the case for about a year, and I forgot how I fell in love with it in the first place. This thing sounds as sweet as pie!



Thanks!
TJW

They are just simple phosphor bronze contacts, take a calling card with some alcohol on it and rub it between the contact points.
If they are really dirty or oxidized you can take them apart and clean them thoroughly.
Should work great after that.

Thanks, Hugh! I'll do that. I noticed just by switching necks many times over while playing it for a few hours, they started working better and better, so it appears that oxidation and dirt was definitely the issue.

I will also do your suggested remedy.

Thanks again,
TJW

Just a word of caution if you decide to take the push button assy. apart to clean. I did just that a while back & accidentally bent one or both of the plates pictured--put it back together & one of the buttons didn't work. Had to take it apart again, studied it & found I had bent one of the contact plates out-of-shape. What makes it so critical is the very close position of the 2 contact plates in the OPEN CIRCUIT position! If they are bent--they won't make positive contact--the circuit will either stay open or closed. The 2 plates are very thin & can be easily bent out-of-shape, so be careful!

Thanks so much for the replies. It turns out that the insulator thick paper had worn through where the push button was and it was shorting out there.

When I first got my '56 Stringmaster the push button switches were very noisy. I shot some electronics cleaner through the output jack and it cleaned them right up.

Tim Whitlock wrote:When I first got my '56 Stringmaster the push button switches were very noisy. I shot some electronics cleaner through the output jack and it cleaned them right up.

Not sure how this would work... the switches are in the front neck, the output jack is in the back neck.

Also, this is not recommended for many reasons... the plates are so easy to remove and put back... why shoot liquid into a wooden cavity on a 65-year-old instrument? I can't imagine that the liquid got anywhere near where it would do any good... more likely to wash dirt *into* the controls than out of them.

My take on the pushbuttons... they work fine if you maintain them. They do have a design defect... there is no 'wiping' or self-cleaning action to them... the switch leaves just touch and un-touch. Proper switches have a slight sideways motion to the contacts that helps keep them working... relays have the same action. Use DeOxit on the contacts with a business card, then treat with DeOxit Gold... these liquids are magical and should be in everyone's tool chest. The mechanical side of the switch could use some 3-in-1 or other oil, just a drop on each mechanism.

I have a 1955 Stringmaster with the push buttons and had the exact same issues. DeoxIt sprayed into the buttons did the job. Works perfectly now.

+1 for Deoxit. I probably learned that from Stephen so thanks, Bud!!!

And, yes, the more often you work the switches the less trouble you will have.

I'm just glad that both of my Stringmasters were "parts" instrumnents so keeping them original wasn't an issue for me.

I went the Leon McAuliffe route and replaced the original switches with toggle switches. I love them, especilly for selecting more than one neck at a time.

Jeff, I was thinking about doing that, but couldn't find toggle switches small enough to fit in the holes without drilling. Did you have to enlarge the holes?

Ethan Shaw wrote:Jeff, I was thinking about doing that, but couldn't find toggle switches small enough to fit in the holes without drilling. Did you have to enlarge the holes?

Yes I did. For my quad, I would have had to do some drilling anyway as I only had the plate from a triple neck so I went for it!

But I did have a Stringmaster ages ago and someone made me a plate with 3 mini toggles on it that mounted below the Stringmaster plate (using the mounting holes for the original switch) with just the toggles poking through the holes so no drilling required but when I came to restore my quad and double Stringmasters, I went with nice chunky toggle switches like Leon.