National New Yorker lap steel - electronics?

D Schubert · From: Columbia, MO, USA

I horse-traded for one of those black-and-white beauties today. I got it home and I can't figure out, how do you get to the electronics to clean the volume pot and selector switch? And, can you adjust the height pickup pole-pieces for better string balance? I assume that they're somewhere under the upper end of the fingerboard.

John Bushouse · Posted 12 Jul 2005 5:58 pm

Is this one of the ones with four knobs (Master, Natural Haw., Treble, Bass) and no selector switch? I took mine to Gryphon, where they have a tool to get inside the sealed pots to clean them.

In order to get to the electronics, I just started removing screws. The entire top comes off, in different layers. The pickups underneath the fretboard don't have polepieces; they're separate bar magnet pickups.

D Schubert · From: Columbia, MO, USA

I also read some other archived posts on the NNY. I wonder if I should even open it up as long as it's working? Mine has the chicken-head knob with three "click" positions -- chimes, harp, and hawaiian and no serial number that I can find. Does that mean it's late 30's or early 40's?

D Schubert · From: Columbia, MO, USA

If the magnets in this NNY were weak & needed re-magging what would be the symptoms? Slightly low volume output, slightly dull sound?

Steinar Gregertsen · From: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.

I had a '50s New Yorker with two pickups side by side and a blend knob (where you have the three position switch).
I'd say the output on mine was somewhere between a regular single-coil and a humbucker,- or like a 'hot' Telecaster. It's very hard for me to compare it to your since it's obviously a much older model, but I remember it seemed impossible to get access to the volume control on mine. The blend control behind the bridge was no problem though.

If you have a very weak output there can be a number of reasons for that,- dull magnets, broken wiring on one of the pickups, bad volume control... the options are plenty, so it's really hard to come up with a positive 'diagnosis' on the spot.

Here's an earlier thread about changing the volume pot; http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum2/HTML/005509.html

Also, check my posts in this thread to see how something you'd never suspect can change the output on a vintage instrument: http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum2/HTML/007291.html

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Al Marcus · From: Cedar Springs,MI USA (deceased)

I had a National New Yorker in about 1938 after my Supro and what a difference! More powerful pickup and Sounded so much better. .....al

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My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

[This message was edited by Al Marcus on 13 July 2005 at 08:23 AM.]

D Schubert · From: Columbia, MO, USA

...so, I took off the strings, removed the bridge cover, and the bridge -- which has a pickup mounted on the underside. Also removed the plate behind & underneath the bridge where the 3-way rotary switch is mounted. Was able to squirt some contact cleaner on the volume pot and the rotary switch, which took away the scratchy noises.

I did not examine the rotary switch that closely, to see how it was wired. Hard to see without removing switch, and besides that I couldn't get a good grip on the 1/2" retaining hex nut to remove it.

Put it back together and tried an unwound 3rd string. This string is just a tiny bit weaker than the rest, wound or unwound.

Also, it sounds none of the three rotary switch positions are "wide open" with full output of pickup. Any ideas on how that switch is wired?

Paul Honeycutt · From: Colorado, USA

My New Yorker has the settings that say "harp" & Hawaiian" but it's a regular pot. Has it been altered? I've never opened it up. I don't want to screw it up!

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