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Capacitors, Resistors and Wagner Darkbursts
To all ~
I've posted this on a few other Forums and wanted to make sure this made it into the system. I had a small "Tonefest" at my home today since my wife is out of town and I'm free to jam all hours of the day...so this is what I did.
1. Resistors and Capacitors / Treble Bleed Mod:
I ordered a 100K and 200K Resistor from Antique Electric Supply with the intention of wiring the Treble Bleed Mod on my Neck Pickup and reducing the Ohm readout of my bridge Volume Pot by either 100K or 200K.
Results: I tried the Treble Bleed Mod on my Darkburst Neck with the following combinations: 100K Res. / .001 Orange Drop; 200K Resis. / .001 Orange Drop; 100K Resis. / .002 Orange Drop; 200K Resis. / .002 Orange Drop.
Honestly, I didn't really care for any of the combinations. I found that the mod worked best when you left out the resistor, altogether. But even then, it cut out the Bass too much, too quickly. I didn't care for it and left the wiring as standard 50's style. I'm not sure what else to say other than it just wasn't my cup of tea. I believe that I would like it on a Strat, though, so I'll have to try it with my Clapton.
Now, adding only the 200K Resistor across the bridge Volume Pot was a different story. I loved what it did for the basic tone of the bridge pickup because it took down the brightness a smidge (volume and tone pot on 10) and provided me a bit more usuable Taper for rolling back the volume under low and high-gain conditions.
2. Pickup Height Adjustments:
For those with decently made pickups, one can achieve great variance in tone by simply raising/lowering the height of the pickup and adjustable screws. I think this is any area of adjustment that most of us (amateur techs) forget about when we install new pickups.
For example, I had my Wagner Darkbursts installed last week and immediately fell in love with the neck pickup. It has so much life, clarity and improved EQ that I didn't know what to say when I first starting playing through my Vibrolux. However, true to form, Jim's Darkburst Bridge also has lots of clarity and EQ and was rather bright in my guitar (which is odd because my guitar is naturally dark), and I no longer had a usuable neck and bridge pickup combination with all controls on 10. However, I knew I could significantly reduce the brightness of the bridge pickup by lowering the screws on the G,B & E strings "flush" with the pickup. In turn, I could also increase the brightness of the neck pickup by increasing the height of the screws on the D,G,B & E strings. The results were great and I am now pretty happy with the controls on 10.
3. Wagner Darkbursts:
These are phenomenal pickups and have terrific string-to-string definition and clarity. The neck pickup is to die for and has some of the best ABB vibe I've ever heard. It holds up great under low/med/high gain conditions and can do ****ey, Duane and Warren with basic amp/pedal adjustments. The bridge pickup is great, too, but could stand to be a bit less bright. It does a good "One Way Out" and "Statesboro Blues" impersonation under high-gain, so I was rather pleased with its tone and output even though she is brighter than I like.[/INDENT]
Conclusion:
I had a wonderful day fiddling with all of these mods/adjustments/etc. and am very pleased with how well alligator clips work for trying out different components and values. If I had to do it all over again I would install only a neck and bridge volume pot and then Alligator clip all the other components to find the perfect fit for all of these items. Using the clips is so simple, easy and efficient.
Anyway, thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to answer them! :jim
Very Best Regards,
Lee Moore
I've posted this on a few other Forums and wanted to make sure this made it into the system. I had a small "Tonefest" at my home today since my wife is out of town and I'm free to jam all hours of the day...so this is what I did.
1. Resistors and Capacitors / Treble Bleed Mod:
I ordered a 100K and 200K Resistor from Antique Electric Supply with the intention of wiring the Treble Bleed Mod on my Neck Pickup and reducing the Ohm readout of my bridge Volume Pot by either 100K or 200K.
Results: I tried the Treble Bleed Mod on my Darkburst Neck with the following combinations: 100K Res. / .001 Orange Drop; 200K Resis. / .001 Orange Drop; 100K Resis. / .002 Orange Drop; 200K Resis. / .002 Orange Drop.
Honestly, I didn't really care for any of the combinations. I found that the mod worked best when you left out the resistor, altogether. But even then, it cut out the Bass too much, too quickly. I didn't care for it and left the wiring as standard 50's style. I'm not sure what else to say other than it just wasn't my cup of tea. I believe that I would like it on a Strat, though, so I'll have to try it with my Clapton.
Now, adding only the 200K Resistor across the bridge Volume Pot was a different story. I loved what it did for the basic tone of the bridge pickup because it took down the brightness a smidge (volume and tone pot on 10) and provided me a bit more usuable Taper for rolling back the volume under low and high-gain conditions.
2. Pickup Height Adjustments:
For those with decently made pickups, one can achieve great variance in tone by simply raising/lowering the height of the pickup and adjustable screws. I think this is any area of adjustment that most of us (amateur techs) forget about when we install new pickups.
For example, I had my Wagner Darkbursts installed last week and immediately fell in love with the neck pickup. It has so much life, clarity and improved EQ that I didn't know what to say when I first starting playing through my Vibrolux. However, true to form, Jim's Darkburst Bridge also has lots of clarity and EQ and was rather bright in my guitar (which is odd because my guitar is naturally dark), and I no longer had a usuable neck and bridge pickup combination with all controls on 10. However, I knew I could significantly reduce the brightness of the bridge pickup by lowering the screws on the G,B & E strings "flush" with the pickup. In turn, I could also increase the brightness of the neck pickup by increasing the height of the screws on the D,G,B & E strings. The results were great and I am now pretty happy with the controls on 10.
3. Wagner Darkbursts:
These are phenomenal pickups and have terrific string-to-string definition and clarity. The neck pickup is to die for and has some of the best ABB vibe I've ever heard. It holds up great under low/med/high gain conditions and can do ****ey, Duane and Warren with basic amp/pedal adjustments. The bridge pickup is great, too, but could stand to be a bit less bright. It does a good "One Way Out" and "Statesboro Blues" impersonation under high-gain, so I was rather pleased with its tone and output even though she is brighter than I like.[/INDENT]
Conclusion:
I had a wonderful day fiddling with all of these mods/adjustments/etc. and am very pleased with how well alligator clips work for trying out different components and values. If I had to do it all over again I would install only a neck and bridge volume pot and then Alligator clip all the other components to find the perfect fit for all of these items. Using the clips is so simple, easy and efficient.
Anyway, thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to answer them! :jim
Very Best Regards,
Lee Moore
. I've been ranting and raving about these pickups (I have a Dark Burst bridge in my Grosh) for ages and I'm glad someone besides me thinks they're all that and a bag of chips 
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