collin wrote:aceonbass wrote:I recently built a wiring harness for a '66 450 to replace one Winfield had previously done. The customer had asked Winfield to make a 5-control guard (which they did well) and wire it. Although CTS pots were used, they were the current issue and didn't have the correct appearance like the vintage style I use. The tone caps were Orange drops instead Ajax Blue caps. Although the Ajax caps I have are slightly different in appearance, they are real 60's NOS caps. The wire was current issue vinyl insulated wire that wasn't even the right color, while I use red and green cloth insulated wire. The worst part was that it wasn't wired even remotely correct. It ended up with two master volumes, no working tone controls, or blend control. I don't know who at Winfield did the work, but the customer's happy with it now, and it looks and works like a 60's harness should.
Just playing the devil's advocate here, but did that customer specifically request a perfectly accurate 60s reissue harness down to the last detail?
Some people just want a working harness and don't mind what it looks like (after all, it's under the guard).
No excuse for it not being wired correctly though.
OK, time for "the customer" to chime in here...I was just made aware of this thread, and I realize I'm quite late in responding. First, as Collin suggests, I did not request a perfectly accurate 60s reissue harness from Chip for the '64 450. Why bother, when the guitar in question is a customized
5-knob 450 with early '80s hi-gains?
My concept for this instrument from the get-go was a gig-able '60s guitar with vintage neck playability and a readily achievable Smiths/REM sound. When I received it back from Chip, I was very pleased with the refin/refret work and all the other laborious detailing necessary to bring the carcass back to life. The wiring, however, was indeed awry, and I know Chip would have corrected it if I'd made the request. Instead, having a little extra scratch at the time I contacted Dane to upgrade the entire harness - not to fix someone else's mistakes or to bring it to 60s spec (I did, after all, request a push-pull tone pot...not something you'd likely see on an unrestored 60s Rickenbacker) - but rather for the purported tonal benefits of having upgraded pots, NOS tone caps, vintage style wiring, etc. While I'm admittedly no expert when it comes to these items, I certainly wasn't "surprised" that there was a difference between components such as these and the stock harness I had ordered when the guitar was being restored. The '64 450 now looks, plays, and sounds great, and kudos to both Chip and Dane for all their excellent work in getting this guitar just right. While the initial incorrect wiring was regrettable, as mentioned this is something that I could have easily had fixed and, really, should have been left as a matter between Chip and myself; however, having privately disclosed who did the initial work on this wiring, I am surprised now to see this being brought up publicly as evidence against Chip's work. At any rate, I hope the extended explanation here helps to clarify what my initial expectations were for the restoration job and what was requested and received from each of the good people involved.
And while we're showing pictures...