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Topic: Magnatone Maestro 3 mode toggle switches (and Tuners) |
Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 17 Jul 2019 6:48 pm |
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I've just re-strung a triple neck Magnatone Maestro and are trying to find a rhyme or reason in the pattern between the two 3 mode toggle switches. There are 9 different combinations and they are not very user friendly in trying to figure how the two switches interact with each other and why.
What am I missing???
Last edited by Garry Vanderlinde on 21 Jul 2019 10:41 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 18 Jul 2019 1:11 pm
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I have that one's dual pickup per neck cousin, and while I can't help you with the switch function (maybe if you want to take good pics of the underside of the plate, people could better guess?), I share your general mystification when it comes to the electronics on my Magnatone...particularly how the pickups are switched and what the tone pot really does...
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 18 Jul 2019 2:25 pm
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After some investigation, here is what is being turned on and off by the two toggle switches. They only seem to turn on or off the neck pickups.
Does anyone see a pattern?  It's going to be impossible to memorize.
1 is the front(closest to player)pickup, ON only.
2 is middle neck, ON only.
3 third(farthest from player), On only.
etc...
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 18 Jul 2019 2:46 pm 1953 Magnatone Maestro
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BTW, here's the guitar:
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 18 Jul 2019 4:09 pm
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It's steel guitar semaphore! 
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 18 Jul 2019 9:41 pm
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| Nic Neufeld wrote: |
| It's steel guitar semaphore! |
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Landon Jarrel
From:
Space
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Posted 19 Jul 2019 7:06 am
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| Nic Neufeld wrote: |
| I have that one's dual pickup per neck cousin, and while I can't help you with the switch function (maybe if you want to take good pics of the underside of the plate, people could better guess?), I share your general mystification when it comes to the electronics on my Magnatone...particularly how the pickups are switched and what the tone pot really does... |
Hi Nic, I have a 1955 Maestro. From what you described, we have the same model -- the one with the Bigsby influence. I too was mystified by the way the pickups are wired. It is my speculation that both pickups are always on. I believe that they were intended to be humbucking. The tone pot seems to run the signal through a .047 microfarad capacitor. Both pots are 500k. I will get to the bottom of this very soon and will post the verdict.
Garry, regarding your guitar, I think you're on the right track with your neck selection theory. If the diagram you posted is correct, I cannot believe the designers made it so complicated. Have your guitar's electronics been modified in any way? |
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 19 Jul 2019 8:53 pm
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The electronics look to be original as far as I can tell. Soldier joints are dull, lots of dust and age. All of the pickups and switches work well. Now I just wish the tuners weren't so gunked up. 
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 20 Jul 2019 4:08 am
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| Landon Jarrel wrote: |
Hi Nic, I have a 1955 Maestro. From what you described, we have the same model -- the one with the Bigsby influence. I too was mystified by the way the pickups are wired. It is my speculation that both pickups are always on. I believe that they were intended to be humbucking. The tone pot seems to run the signal through a .047 microfarad capacitor. Both pots are 500k. I will get to the bottom of this very soon and will post the verdict.
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Thanks Landon...here are the results of my spelunking...
And my best guess, interpreting the wiring, from a while back...as a player, I didn't keep the plates off for long enough to really sort this out:
One of the odd things about my guitar is that the tone pot doesn't have an appreciable difference in its travel, just sounds like a three way switch...all the way at one end, anywhere in the middle, and all the way at the other end.
The middle section actually feels louder. From what I'm guessing...at the top of its travel, the neck pickup is shunted to ground...in the middle or at the other end, both are on in series perhaps? And then something with the capacitor, lol.
Well, I'm open to other guesses. I love these old guitars, enigmatic as they are!
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Landon Jarrel
From:
Space
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Posted 20 Jul 2019 9:55 am
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Howdy Nic!
| Nic Neufeld wrote: |
One of the odd things about my guitar is that the tone pot doesn't have an appreciable difference in its travel, just sounds like a three way switch...all the way at one end, anywhere in the middle, and all the way at the other end.
The middle section actually feels louder. From what I'm guessing...at the top of its travel, the neck pickup is shunted to ground...in the middle or at the other end, both are on in series perhaps? And then something with the capacitor, lol. |
Thank you for your reply. It's funny that I noticed the same thing with the tone pot travel. If I turn it just a little bit down, there's a very noticeable decrease in the treble frequencies (more "boo" than "wah"). After that, the pot seems to work logarithmically. I will notify you of my interpretation soon. The mystery in our guitars captivates the imagination! 
Garry, thank you very much for posting your photos. On goes the search for the truth. My guitar's tuners looked like yours. I got rid of most of the rust by using rust removing jelly in two separate applications using a brush and steel wool to remove as much rust as possible. It's a pain to do, but worth it. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 20 Jul 2019 11:32 am
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| Landon Jarrel wrote: |
| My guitar's tuners looked like yours. I got rid of most of the rust by using rust removing jelly in two separate applications using a brush and steel wool to remove as much rust as possible. It's a pain to do, but worth it. |
I tried the naptha and dry lube method with mine...in fine aesthetic condition, but a pain to turn! It...kind of helped. I probably didn't do everything right...
There's a story I heard about the Magnatone with the "crystal" tuners...that's the kind Barney Isaacs had, and one or two of the key knobs were busted off, and he'd bring along needlenose pliers to tune the guitar!
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 21 Jul 2019 11:03 pm
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| Nic Neufeld wrote: |
| Landon Jarrel wrote: |
| My guitar's tuners looked like yours. I got rid of most of the rust by using rust removing jelly in two separate applications using a brush and steel wool to remove as much rust as possible. It's a pain to do, but worth it. |
I tried the naptha and dry lube method with mine...in fine aesthetic condition, but a pain to turn! It...kind of helped. I probably didn't do everything right... |
Once I got the strings up to pitch the tuners tighten up and refuse to move easily 
So, these could use a good cleaning.
Nic, I watched a similar cleaning method on the Stew-Mac website using naptha and tri-flow, do you think it's a waste of time. That's 24 tuners to remove!
https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online_Resources/Guitar_Tuning_Machine_Installation_and_Repair_Inform/How_to_clean_and_lube_dirty_old_guitar_tuners.html
Landon, did you take the tuners apart or applied the jelly to the outside? |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 22 Jul 2019 10:56 am
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Garry, I don't rule out user error, or more likely, user impatience...not giving the naphtha enough time to dissolve the crud.
What I would most likely do at this point is but period correct modern Klusons and drop them in as replacements. Keeping the originals for resale of course...mine is a player first and foremost. But I think the dry lube helped enough that I am mostly ok for now with it. I'd be more worried about having to manhandle the clear plastic ones, seems like breakage would be more common...
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Landon Jarrel
From:
Space
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Posted 25 Jul 2019 4:02 am
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| Garry, I didn't disassemble the tuners at all. I just removed them from the guitar and graciously applied the jelly. The jelly gets you so far; you need to give the tuners a little elbow grease to make them shine. I think it is worth the effort as compared to getting new replacement tuners. There's two or so tuners on my guitar that are really stiff, so I use a tuning winder to act as a lever on them. |
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Paul Honeycutt
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 26 Jul 2019 7:20 pm
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| The Stew-Mac method is good. Sure there's 24 tuners, but you only have to clean 'em every 25 years or so! |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 26 Jul 2019 7:58 pm
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Does anyone have a source for those knobs? I have a Magnatone that's missing one - replaced with a round Harmony knob. ðŸ˜
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Joe Kennedy
From:
United Kingdom
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 28 Jul 2019 11:56 am
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b0b, I thought you're looking for a clear plastic tuner key, not the pickup switch?
I will keep a look out for one. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 28 Jul 2019 12:21 pm
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Actually, that knob was close but a bit different from mine. The one at Mouser looks correct for your toggle switches, Garry.
Here's my problem. I think that the volume knob is original, but the tone knob is obviously from a Harmony. Maybe I should just replace them both.
The guitar is branded "Roy Smeck". I'm almost positive it was made by Magnatone because of the pickup.
I've posted in "Wanted to Buy" to avoid further sidetracking this topic. See https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=347698
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 28 Jul 2019 3:19 pm my mistake
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 Michael Lee Allen has pointed out that my "Roy Smeck" guitar is actually a Harmony, not a Magnatone. Sorry for the diversion.
_________________
-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Landon Jarrel
From:
Space
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Posted 14 Aug 2019 8:22 pm
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As promised, here's my rough interpretation of the wiring of my 1955 Maestro. The two purple wires from the pickups combine to form one thick white wire that connects to the Tone pot. The resistor (R) is 47K Ohm. The Capacitor (C) is .047 microfarad. The view is of the electronics "pan" upside down, like in Nic's photo.
Nic, the tone pot actually does blend the two pickups. The circuit confirms this.
The tone pot, when actuated, feeds signal from the front pickup into the capacitor in addition to the signal from the back pickup. When it is at 0% of its turn, the back pickup is in the circuit with no capacitance.
Garry, any news from you and your guitar? |
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