Custom Pairing

[Hsb]

I am sure this has been asked about a million times, maybe even me, but what is an unusual pairing with a SD Custom? I have an ESP LTD M400M, mahogany body, maple neck and rosewood board, 1 volume and a three way toggle.

What I have found with this guitar is its very "throaty" is best way I could describe it. At first I thought it was more of a nasally sound, tried a bunch of mag swags, put a BW bridge in it, still had that same throatiness. Best tone to describe what the guitar sounds like that I could think of is CC Deville.

Had a liberator pot laying around here and since I suck at soldering figured Id give it a shot at putting the Liberator in, with some amp tweaking, it doesnt sound bad with the Custom back home in it. With the Liberator, the guitar doesnt sound as throaty as before and

Currently there is a Jazz in the neck, which Ive been kinda meh. Currently the Jazz is also direct mounted, which can rectified but either drilling out the tabs or I think I have enough space under the fret board extension to a a thin pickup ring.

I have a guitar with a 59 neck, which isnt bad, a BW neck, which I like after a few height adjustments. Id like something in between those two, doesnt have to be high output but not your typical pairing. I was kinda thinking a phat cat but not sure how that would go with the throatiness of the guitar.

 

[jeremy]

what dont you like about the jazz?

 

[Hsb]

what dont you like about the jazz?

Too thin and bright for my tastes. It does what its supposed to, sound like a strat pickup, but just isnt it for me

 

[jeremy]

ah1b. alnico 2 pro bridge model in the neck, sounds fat as hell

 

[Mincer]

Or a neck Invader.

 

[Hsb]

I am amazed at how much the pot change from the stock pot to the Liberator has changed the tone of the guitar. Both are listed as 500k, I havent tested the Liberator pot but did test the stock pot, it read 482k, so not that far off the mark.

What I have noticed with the guitar and Custom is overly throaty hollow tone of the guitar is gone, not completely but I can definitely live with it. Also I noticed that the stock pot was very clicky esp with some picks, that too has disappeared.

Not sure what brand pot the OG pot is, whatever ESP LTDs come stock with, but putting the Liberator in the guitar has definitely made this guitar more playable.

I was really starting to believe it may be time to get rid of the guitar but I kinda enjoy playing it now that the tone has evened out some.

 

[Chistopher]

See that's the sort of thing that makes me throw my hands up in the air.

Might as well chalk it up to the Guitar Gods shining favorably upon you on this particular day

 

[ehdwuld]

I'm with Jeremy

I put an A2 in my Jazz neck pickups and the got THIC.

well more mid anyways

 

[GilmourD]

Is that Jazz close but not quite there or is it way off the mark?

Is anything different with the wiring beyond the Liberator?

 

[Hsb]

When I have a moment, I am going to retry the Jazz and see how it sounds now with the Liberator but as it was, just wasnt doing it for me.

Nope, the guitar is a HH with a single volume, no tone, 3 way toggle. So both the pot and Liberator should of been wired the same.

I need to make the volume pot hole a lil bigger to fit the threads of the Liberator through the pot hole. Been using the toggle switch hole as a test for the Liberator.

 

[ehdwuld]

Always use the other hole for practice

 

[Chistopher]

Been using the toggle switch hole as a test for the Liberator.

This could have been it. When you tested the liberator, did you skip any of the longer cable runs in your guitar?

Freefrog could speak on it better than I could, because he is a nerd.

 

[jeremy]

nerds make the world a better place

 

[Hsb]

This could have been it. When you tested the liberator, did you skip any of the longer cable runs in your guitar?

Freefrog could speak on it better than I could, because he is a nerd.

Both pickups had the original length wire. Custom sounded like this when I bought it new, the BW wire had not been trimmed either, just bundled up and tucked away into the cavity of thr guitar.

As of right now, the cavity is a mess, have the loose Jazz and unused Liberator wires just hanging out. Hopefully after we get all the Christmas decos put away this weekend I can finish buttoning up everything

 

[Teleplayer]

Did you check the ohms of the original volume pot after you removed it? If it measured 350k, it might explain the benefit of this upgrade.

 

[Hsb]

It read 482k, supposed to be a 500k, so close enough

 

[jeremy]

yeah, thats close enough for sure