The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi folks-

Hoping some of you will be able to answer some questions about an early 50s butterscotch Fender T8 Custom I purchased earlier this week. Seems to be in great shape, all original with a wonderfully beat up case. The first thing I noticed is the trapezoid pickups are out of balance in terms of their relative volume. Specifically, the inner and middle necks sound thin, almost out-of-phase compared to the outer neck which is louder and fuller. The 'all necks on' switch works fine, although it does reduce the volume of all the pickups slightly, which I understand is how the switch typically works.

Second, the inner neck pickup cover rattles when playing certain notes/chords. I'm not really using an amp at this point to spare my neighbors so when played acoustically it's kind of annoying. It goes away if I rest my picking hand on the cover. Maybe there are some screws loose in the pickup housing? Another D8 I tried out had a similar issue.

Finally, the tone knob doesn't really roll off treble/high end. It acts more like another master volume. Maybe the cap is fried? I peeked in the control cavities and all the wiring seems to be original.

Thanks for any input from players with experience on these guitars. I figured a 60 year old instrument would need some work but hoping it's minor stuff. I'm in the deep end having stepped up from a 6 string Supro but I am loving it!

The bad news is that a thin sound on pickups and the tone control pretty much acting as a volume can be a sign that the pickups need a rewind. You (or a guitar tech) can test this with a meter - I'm sure someone else will post what sort of readings you would expect from a healthy pickup.

That was the problem with my Dual Professional (the double neck version of your guitar) and I had the exact same symptoms as you.

When working properly, those pickups could not be described as "thin".

The good news is that there are guys who can rewind these pickups although you do need to find someone who specialises in this type (I can't recommend anyone as I'm on the other side of the Atlantic from you) and once this has been fixed, it will sound great.

I've got the same problem with the rattle on one of the necks of my T8 but it's not too bad and I rest my hand on the pickup cover anyway when I play (a bad habit, I'm sure) so it doesn't bother me too much.

You should post some pictures - we always enjoy seeing cool steels.

Regarding difference in neck volume-
Need for pickup rewind is not uncommon, sadly.
Things you might try-
Measure the DC resistance across each pickup. Plug a cord into the output jack and measure resistance between cord tip and sleeve with a multimeter for each pickup using the selector switch. The pickup resistances in my Dual Pro 8 with traps are 10.0 K and 10.4 K.
Pull the selector switch, clean the contacts with contact cleaner and confirm the soldered connections are sound.

RE the rattle-
Loosen the strings and feel around for anything loose. The trap housing is held to the end plate by two threaded studs. Tightening these requires removal of the end plate from the body. I think it is unlikely they are loose.
Examine the nut which has a V guide for each string and rolled contact surface. Confirm each string is making solid contact with the rolled contact surface. You can check this by sliding a piece of thin paper under the string.
Examine the pickup bobbin by sighting into the pickup from the end using a bright light. There should be space above and below each string as it passes through the bobbin. The trap pickup bobbins sometimes collapse and rub on the strings. This problem will require rebuilding or replacing the bobbin.

Concur,

A pickup rewind from Jason Lollar, Lindy Fralin or others.

The rattle indicates that the cardboard has detached from the bobbin and is rubbing against the strings. That'll be fixed up when you get the pickup rewound.

I had mine done by Lindy Fralin. He had me send him the entire pickup/bridge assembly. Three screws and it is off. You'll need to unsolder the leads from the switch.. I suggest you call him (or your choice) before doing anything.

Hope this helps a bit.

h

Regarding the rattling in the pickup... sometimes there is a 'buzzing' noise from these trapezoid pickups due to the liner material inside the pickup drying out and collapsing onto the string(s). This may or may not be the rattling you mentioned. Look inside the pickup opening, where the strings pass through, and if you see the liner hanging down try to gently push it back up with a tool, putty knife, screwdriver, etc.

I've heard some very good things about Lindy Fralin rewinds.

You may just need the magnets re charged.

Thank you for the replies, everyone! I got some resistance readings and they all seem to be clocking in around 11K. Interestingly, there is no ground wired to the output jack. It also appears that the leads from all three pickups are spliced together under their respective pickup housing with tape. For instance, the lead coming out of the pickup is white but then is spliced to a red wire etc. I'm wondering if the wiring was changed at some point or even left the factory as such. The wiring itself looks old as the hills. A pickup builder friend suggested the two necks might be out of phase... they certainly sound that way.

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the T8?

Here's a photo:

Looks good!

Schematic for Dual Professional . Same guitar with 2 necks. Everything else is identical.

h