u/mariusbritt

So I bought this weirdo spectrum 5 lookin’ 1 off guitar because it just looked too cool. I plug it in and it works just fine with the top circuit turned off. The 3 bottom (high E side) switches seem to just be normal pickup on/off switches, and the 2 pots in standard location are just volume and tone. Then I clicked on a pot that seems to be a beautiful sounding built in pre-amp.

That’s about where my understanding of these electronics ends. So the top (low E side) switches are a mystery. 1 seems to do nothing, 2 seems to toggle between pre-amp on/off when the pot for the preamp is enabled, and 3 just seems to be a killswitch for when preamp is enabled.

Now pots 1 and 2 seem to never do anything, and pot 3 seems to be an on/off switch with unnecessary extra travel.

This is the first guitar I’ve ever owned with this many switches and pots so maybe I’m just doing it wrong but if anyone could shed some light that would be amazing.

Wondering if I should just set everything where it works and leave it, get it checked out by a pro, or maybe tackle it, if it even needs tackling, myself. I have built electrics from parts before so soldering and troubleshooting isn’t out of my wheelhouse, but figuring out what (if anything) is wrong, definitely is.

TL;DR

Any clue what all these switches should be doing? Should I just get this looked at by a professional smart person?

Or should I just close it back up and enjoy what switch configs work (and sound amazing)?

So I bought this weirdo spectrum 5 lookin’ 1 off guitar because it just looked too cool. I plug it in and it works just fine with the top circuit turned off. The 3 bottom (high E side) switches seem to just be normal pickup on/off switches, and the 2 pots in standard location are just volume and tone. Then I clicked on a pot that seems to be a beautiful sounding built in pre-amp.

That’s about where my understanding of these electronics ends. So the top (low E side) switches are a mystery. 1 seems to do nothing, 2 seems to toggle between pre-amp on/off when the pot for the preamp is enabled, and 3 just seems to be a killswitch for when preamp is enabled.

Now pots 1 and 2 seem to never do anything, and pot 3 seems to be an on/off switch with unnecessary extra travel.

This is the first guitar I’ve ever owned with this many switches and pots so maybe I’m just doing it wrong but if anyone could shed some light that would be amazing.

Wondering if I should just set everything where it works and leave it, get it checked out by a pro, or maybe tackle it, if it even needs tackling, myself. I have built electrics from parts before so soldering and troubleshooting isn’t out of my wheelhouse, but figuring out what (if anything) is wrong, definitely is.

TL;DR

Any clue what all these switches should be doing? Should I just get this looked at by a professional smart person?

Or should I just close it back up and enjoy what switch configs work (and sound amazing)?

So I bought this weirdo spectrum 5 lookin’ 1 off guitar because it just looked too cool. I plug it in and it works just fine with the top circuit turned off. The 3 bottom (high E side) switches seem to just be normal pickup on/off switches, and the 2 pots in standard location are just volume and tone. Then I clicked on a pot that seems to be a beautiful sounding built in pre-amp.

That’s about where my understanding of these electronics ends. So the top (low E side) switches are a mystery. 1 seems to do nothing, 2 seems to toggle between pre-amp on/off when the pot for the preamp is enabled, and 3 just seems to be a killswitch for when preamp is enabled.

Now pots 1 and 2 seem to never do anything, and pot 3 seems to be an on/off switch with unnecessary extra travel.

This is the first guitar I’ve ever owned with this many switches and pots so maybe I’m just doing it wrong but if anyone could shed some light that would be amazing.

Wondering if I should just set everything where it works and leave it, get it checked out by a pro, or maybe tackle it, if it even needs tackling, myself. I have built electrics from parts before so soldering and troubleshooting isn’t out of my wheelhouse, but figuring out what (if anything) is wrong, definitely is.

TL;DR

Any clue what all these switches should be doing? Should I just get this looked at by a professional smart person?

Or should I just close it back up and enjoy what switch configs work (and sound amazing)?