Blackouts Strat Dual-Pin Wiring

[State of Epicicity]

I have an AS-1n (Blackouts Strat neck) and an AHB-1b (Blackouts humbucker bridge) on order, and I have a few questions to prepare a wiring diagram:

• Does anyone have the wiring diagram for the Blackouts Strat, or info on wiring the dual-pin? I searched for the Blackouts Strat wiring diagrams on the Duncan site, but they only had the Strat Live Wires, and no mention of dual-pin switch wiring. ​In this video from Duncan, at the 30 second mark it reads: "Blackouts Singles have a unique dual pin configuration one the underside of the pickup for two modes of output: moderate and high-gain. With the jumper removed, you have a moderate output that's still comparable to passive pickups." Then, at the 37 second mark, it reads: "However, with the jumper in place, the output is significantly boosted, making Blackouts Singles compatible with full-size Blackouts humubuckers. The pins can also be wired to a mini-switch or push/pull for an on board boost!" I could find only one photo of an AS-1 with the dual-pin jumper removed, so using that I made a diagram guessing the proper wiring for the switch. Does this look right?

• Do the AHB-1b and AS-1n come with the 3-wire connector cables that just slide over the pins? If so, are they marked as to the orientation? It seems straightforward here too, that you'd connect a three-wire connector so that the red wire slides over the pin marked "+9." I could then easily solder to snipped ends of the connector cables rather than soldering directly to the PCB pins.

• Does the AS-1n also come with a two-wire connector cable to slide over the dual-pin in place of the jumper?

I'm always going for versatility, so I love the idea of two output levels for any pickup, and with the Blackouts Strat it makes so much sense, because on one hand, classic Strat tones require low output, but on the other hand, in HSS or HSS configurations the Strat pickups have to be high output to complement the humbucker.

I'll install this HS set with two dual concentric A25k pots (also on order), and I'll have this essentially as a Les Paul / SG wiring setup, with individual volume and tone controls per pickup, plus the dual output switch for the Blackouts Strat. I may even install a trimpot to a second switch to allow for quick switching of output levels on the AHB-1.

Many years ago I had a tech wire humbucker Blackouts in the bridge and the neck in my seven string dual concentrics, and I loved them, but since then I've realized I definitely want either a Strat pickup or maybe a P90 in the neck. These days I do my own wiring, but since I didn't handle the wiring so long ago and I don't have that guitar or those parts anymore, I can't remember what came with the pickups.

This time around I'll be installing the AHB-1b and AS-1n to my Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic (Black Limba), which I've already modded to a passive HS configuration, with a stacked Strat pickup in the neck and a humbucker in the bridge, with two dual concentrics. So when I install these Blackouts, it'll essentially be an active version of what I'm already doing, albeit with dual output switches too. The bridge pickup in my guitar has an unbearable brightness, this harshness right around 2.3kHz; it's murder. I've tried so many different pickups to try to dial that out, but it was just impossible. I was considering either an Invader or a Blackouts bridge humbucker, and some time ago I spoke to Chris at Duncan, who said either one might work well for my predicament. Well, I love this guitar otherwise, so it's worth a try.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[jeremy]

i have a set of blackout singles and i love em. i also have the neck and bridge wired to a switch to select the output level. they do not come with a two wire connector cable to use in place of the jumper. you only need one side of the dpdt switch to make the connection. i soldered a wire to each of the contacts then the other end to the middle and top switch contacts.

the as1n doesnt sound like a vintage strat regardless of output selected, but its a great sound

 

[State of Epicicity]

Awesome. Thanks Jeremy. I see what you're saying with the wiring; your way is more efficient. It's a shame there are not more audio examples of these pickups. The one I linked sounds fantastic.

Do you ride your volume and tone knobs at all? I'm curious how the Blackouts Strats sound with the volume and tone knobs rolled back. E.g., right now I'm using an Artec Giovanni GCS-LN, which is pretty hot for a Strat pickup, and it's a stacked noiseless design too; I can get a vintage Strat tone from it, but I have to do it by drastically rolling back my volume knob and adjusting the tone knob to taste.

 

[jeremy]

yes, i use the controls all the time. the blackouts are middier than a vintage strat pup so rolling down the volume will obviously lower the output to vintage levels, but the tone is still a bit more modern. again, i really like these pups a lot!

 

[State of Epicicity]

Very cool. So is it more like a P90 rolled back, like chimey but with mids, or do you just lose the come altogether and end up like a bright PAF?

 

[jeremy]

its still a stratty tone, just with more mids. it doesnt sound like a p90 or paf to me, it sounds like a fat strat. i have mine in a hamer usa daytona wired up with master volume and master tone with an emg spc in the middle control spot. one of my favorite guitars which tells ya how much i like the pups

 

[State of Epicicity]

Awesome. Thanks Man. That's info I haven't been able to find anywhere.

 

[jeremy]

yeah, there doesnt seem to be a lot of first hand experience out there that ive seen but im a fan for sure

 

[State of Epicicity]

My wife got me the AHB-1 bridge and the AS-1 neck, and I love the HS combination! I'll write a full review in another thread that's more on topic, but I wanted to add here that I did wire the jumper pins on the AS-1 to a switch, but honestly, the difference sounded so subtle to me it was not even worth it. I could only even tell a difference when I rolled the volume knob down incredibly low. Since I ride my volume and tone knobs all the time anyway, there was just no point, the way I heard it. Instead I tried a few trimpot values, settling on 1K, on a switch, to provide a low output option on the fly, but I removed that too since the volume and tone knobs are so repsonsive on this thing!

With regard to the quick connect wires, I learned that they are known as Dupont wire, so if you ever want to buy a bunch inexpensively and with greater flexibility, those are the way to go.

Thanks again for the help!
​

 

[jeremy]

so glad you like the pups! with a lot of gain i dont notice the difference as much, but with cleaner tones there is a difference for sure between the the output levels