BOLT GUITARS RAFFLE - DONE! @Jonathangus won!

Jonathangus · August 2023

TTony said:

@Jonathangus - I'll be shipping it, so let me know if any days are better/worse for it to arrive and I'll try to schedule it accordingly.

Thanks @TTony - PM incoming.

Nitefly · August 2023

Good work @Jonathangus , and thanks again to all concerned.

Stavros · August 2023

Congratulations @Jonathangus and well done everyone for donating the kit, building it, organising the draw and raising some dosh!

Emp_Fab · August 2023

See.... I told you I wouldn't win it, which is exactly why I didn't enter. Congrats to @Jonathangus.

Neilybob · August 2023

Congratulations @Jonathangus ;

Can't wait to see you rocking it!

BoltGuitarsUK · August 2023

Congrats @Jonathangus!

We are made up over here to be able to contribute.

Well played to everyone involved.

lovestrat74 · August 2023

Good on you @Jonathangus !

Jonathangus · August 2023

Cheers, folks!

@neilybob; @lovestrat74 - I'll bring it down to Bristol, and if we ever get High Wycombe sorted out, there too.

digitalscream · August 2023

OK, taking this one down now - again, thanks to all who participated and donated!

Jonathangus · August 2023

So, this just arrived...

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/be8d5b2a5f8701f238c832bcd1089879207dba192cfd585b9a

stickyfiddle · August 2023

Awesome!

roberty · August 2023

I'm amazed that it got to you with that blurry label

TTony · August 2023

Jonathangus said:

So, this just arrived...

There's a co-incidence.

That box looks just like the box that I sent on Wednesday!

Jonathangus · September 2023

So, about time I gave my thoughts...

It's gone together really nicely indeed. The neck is a good fit in the pocket, the tuners work well, and everything feels solid. Nice light weight, too.

Comparing the pickups to my Mex Player Tele, I'd say they're a little hotter with less spanky high end than the Fender. Not better or worse - just different.

On to the neck, which is the definite high point. You've already seen the tremendous flame from Tony's pics, but you can't sense the lovely feel of the oiled finish. It's actually the first maple board I've owned since my original Squier Strat back in 1988, but where that has tiny frets and a glossy, sticky board, this is just wonderfully tactile and smooth, aided by the well-finished, decently chunky frets. I'd say the profile is a little fatter than Fender's Modern C, but very comfy. Nice rolled edges, as well.

It's already had one mod - which is to swap in my fave Gotoh oversized strap buttons - and it'll get a control plate with the volume moved away from the switch in due course. (As an aside, why is it impossible to source these in the UK? It makes a Tele so much more usable you wonder why it isn't standard. @Graingerguitars - can't help feeling this would be a straightforward thing to do, and would sell well.

)

Overall, delighted with this; unfortunately, there is a 'but'...

The switch is not selecting the neck pickup properly. Just popped the plate off, and it looks like one of the switch contacts is bent. If I push it down to touch the curved plate, I get sound - but also if I just push the curved plate itself down. Trying to get my head round the switch wiring - what should be making contact with what, exactly?

BoltGuitarsUK · September 2023

Hey Jonathangus,

Happy to hear that everything is more or less groovy, made up that your happy, but let’s address the issue you’re having.

Please send us an email to support@boltguitars.co.uk if you’d like us to help you troubleshoot the issue.

If you’re having no luck whatsoever with it, we’ll send a replacement.

TTony · September 2023

@Jonathangus ;

IIRC (and it *was* a fair few weeks ago now), I think the switch / wiper is just moving a fraction too far when you engage the neck pickup. If you pull the switch as far as it will go towards the neck pickup, it breaks the connection. If you position it a fraction back towards the bridge, it works fine.

If you look at what's actually happening within the switch when you push/pull the switch level, you might see the issue. I think it's a very marginally dodgy switch rather than a wire soldering issue.

I did notice it at the time, and thought to myself "I'll have a look at that", but then forgot to do so.

Unless the issue now is different??

BoltGuitarsUK · September 2023

It’s not something that we’ve come across with any of our other kits (and a we’ve sold a fair few), so I don’t think there’s an issue with the ‘switches’ as opposed to ‘this switch’, if you catch my drift.

Whilst we test the travel of the switches in our quality control process, it’s not out of the realms of possibility that something may be wrong once it’s been wired up.

So let’s do this. We’ll send you an after market replacement for free.

Please drop us an email (support@boltguitars.co.uk) or a PM on here with your address and a reasonable suggestion for your preference of switch.

We can’t bear the thought of having any of our guitars existing in the world without them being perfect!

Jonathangus · September 2023

Thanks, gents. Apologies for not replying yesterday; out at rehearsal - with the Bolt, which was sounding really good!

TTony said:

@Jonathangus ;

IIRC (and it *was* a fair few weeks ago now), I think the switch / wiper is just moving a fraction too far when you engage the neck pickup. If you pull the switch as far as it will go towards the neck pickup, it breaks the connection. If you position it a fraction back towards the bridge, it works fine.

If you look at what's actually happening within the switch when you push/pull the switch level, you might see the issue. I think it's a very marginally dodgy switch rather than a wire soldering issue.

I did notice it at the time, and thought to myself "I'll have a look at that", but then forgot to do so.

Unless the issue now is different??

Yes, that's it. I haven't completely worked out what's connecting/disconnecting, but I think it's probably caused by the bent contact in my pics.

@BoltGuitarsUK - thank you for your generous offer, but I've already got one on the way from Thomann (which pushed my order over the free shipping threshold, so I'll treat that as a bargain!) So all good. 10/10 for customer service, though.

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BOLT GUITARS RAFFLE - DONE! @Jonathangus won!

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