Hi Marty,

Understood. I only included the ruler in the images as it was in my instrument toolbox & provided a handy scale reference to illustrate the situation.


Hope so.
A short while ago I did a little exploring and a nice first discovery was that Strick strings are so slack I don't need to slacken them off very much to lift then off the screws for each adjustment. I'd thought I might need to do a whole lot more unwinding/winding! I hope to make a proper start later today (other stuff permitting).


Judging from the estimated shipping element of my future Railboard order, here in 2021 that $750 might not even cover the two way shipping across the Atlantic!


It really is BEAUTIFUL to look at. I now need to try to adjust so it is again capable of making the beautiful sounds it would have when it left SE in '85. Then I need to learn play it well enough to bring out those beautiful sounds.

Thanks for your input.

You know, I'm going to be 64 in February and the Stick just brings me enjoyment I don't care anymore about playing something perfect or well for that matter. It just IS. Have fun...

Hi David,

I have also played an old borrowed ironwood for a few months. They will never be playable as a newer instrument, but have a lot of character... Andy Salvanos does magic with such an instrument…

Best regards, Andi

Congratulations on your acquisition. As has been stated, it's a beautiful instrument.

Well, I've made a start. It went much smoother than I expected. I'd thought it would take much longer making each tweak, but the strings could be eased out of the slots with only a little loosening off.

I've done a first pass across all strings (one at a time, nut then bridge), then a little further adjustment to some of them. Some of the screws have been moved 3 whole turns, but for most it was less. I'm sure the job isn't finished yet, but the setup feels & sounds a whole lot better than when I started, which is encouraging. To improve it from here I think I need to start trying to play a bit, to get an better idea of how it's working out.

I'll let the setup settle overnight now, then review tomorrow.

Set up is improving with each iteration.

However I'm wondering if I have either a pickup issue, an output jack issue, a cable issue, or maybe I just don't understand?

I know there is supposed to be stereo output.

I believe the two knobs are bass strings & melody strings volume.

With a stereo to 2x mono output lead plugged into the 2 stereo inputs of a Zoom H4n, if I turn one knob right down & the other right up I only hear sound in one ear.

If I reverse those settings I only hear sound in the other ear.

So far so good...

What seems unexpected is that with both of those two settings if I play across all 10 strings I get to hear all 10 strings.

It's not just a bit of cross talk from one side to the other. There's no difference, i.e. string 10 sounds just the same whether it's only bottom knob full on or only the top knob fully on. I can't tell which of the knobs is melody or bass, because in practice it's as if they are simply left and right controls on a feed that is exactly the same to both left & right.

N.B. The sale didn't include a proper SE supplied cable (the PO didn't have one), so I'm using a standard off-the-shelf stereo 1/4" to 1 x mono 1/4" splitter cable. I've tried two different ones of different brands & both give the same behaviour.

Is it just that I don't understand?

My first instinct is take the pickup off and open it up but, assuming that's a last resort, try plugging a mono-mono cable in -- you should only hear one side (bass or melody, not sure to be honest). If you hear both sides still then your jack is at fault -- possibly it's been replaced incorrectly in the past.

I'd try that first because I have a bunch of mono-mono cables lying around. I can also lend you a stereo-mono stick cable if you wish?

Regards

AxS

First, congratulations on getting hold of that instrument. The wood is really beautiful, particularly in the photos in sunlight.

The pickup should not behave like that. It's rather easy to open though, so I think you should take a look inside to see if it's been customised in any way (or if there's any conductive debris in the jack, perhaps).

First remove the two recessed screws that hold it in place, and then you can slide the whole module out and unscrew the other two screws and the bottom should come right off.

Great idea arcodath. No shortage 1/4" mono-to-mono cables here!

Result:
Bottom knob at full, top at zero => all 10 strings heard.
Top knob at full, bottom at zero => silent right across.

Looks like

is the next move. Thanks for the detail on the removal process AndersGoran.

Okay, so I've had the pickup block off & open. Here's what I found



There was a tiny bit of metal fluff on one of the pickup magnets. It's hard to see how that might have caused any issue. It's now been removed. No change to behaviour.

I can't see any issue with the socket itself, i.e. no obvious sign of contamination (but I tried to clean it anyway).

It all looks neat & tidy.

There are 4 black wires jonied together and heatshrink wrapped, but it doesn't look 'new', and could be perfectly reasonable (e.g. common ground).

Now reassembled. Nothing has changed.

Maybe someone who knows what it should look like can spot something?

PS. When I took the block out I noticed writing in the recess. Looks like RJ. Above and right of that is a symbol that's not quite 'just a circle'. Here's a pic