Jesus take the wheel : active guitar pickups and removing those pesky volume and tone potentiometers

Volume and tone pot useless

only stand to add possible component failure or maladroit

remove ASAP

if you have active pickups and you pull the rear cover of your geetr, you'll notice the bullshit wiring inside.  duh.  

it usually looks like shit, and that's because it is.  no exceptions.  

To your (my) output jack, you've got three wires - 

-black lead from the battery compartment

-black lead from wherever

-white lead from (3 pos) switch

switch has four terminals, 

as illustrated by mspaint (photoshop).

*output is determined by switch position, center egnages both internal terminals which results in allowable signal both pickup escape escape

Procedure:

+trace pickup leads to compartment, and back, and back again.  

+locate main positive and negative circuit connections

+locate grounds that will be disconnected when pots are removed

+remove (cut) volume control

+remove (lick) tone control

+twist and solder negative circuit leads to pickup braid where prior grounding (via tone pot chassis) has been broken.  This is probably where I'm actually soldering to a shielding or ... whatever, and it works, but probably not for the right reason, and I'd love to know why, but I don't care right now.  email me.  

To fill the teeth knocked out of her, grabbed some organ parts, peryoush.  

Little buttony bore adaptations

to make her pretty in public

and not dirty inside

I'll admit I tried this before replacing two power capacitors (Power PCB C11, C12) this evening

+replace C11, Power PCB

+replace C12, Power PCB

first test - no ground on pickup leads, so no signal.  

+scratched head

then I just figured I'd try gator clipping things together until I figured it out,

+and I figured it out.  

second run

bridge switch pos - bridge pickup noise, works.

middle pos - blend noise, works

neck pos - neck pickup noise, works

*active pickups are, apparently, less magnetic than passive pickups, and work best when the pickup is really fucking close to the strings.

+raised pickups

shifty eyes.

aslo

*if you're adding tension to your output jack, don't just mash the whole arm toward the male pin; push the curled part (toward the ghostly male phallus) as an alternitive.  It will work instead of not.