HHH guitar with green magic and dimebucker

garyS503

New member
I'm probably getting caught up in a fad but i like the idea of having the green magic out of phase tones from the neck pickup. I'm also sold on having a dimebucker for the bridge. I'm wondering what sounds I'd get with just those two, but my intention is to have 3 full humbuckers. So the question becomes what do I put in the middle? Should i get the green magic set and put its bridge PU in the middle?
 
I think that will work and it sounds like a great idea. The Dimebucker plays well with vintage spec pickups. I think Dime paired his with a 59, I have mine paired with a Jazz. And I do have a phase on the guitar. One thing I will mention is the Dimebucker splits incredibly well, you might want to consider a push/pull when you are wiring it up.
 
Welcome to the forum!

I'd say you can get the out-of-phase sound with any 2 humbuckers, so it doesn't matter if you use the Green Magic or not- you just have to wire it out-of-phase. So, I'd ask, if that's the sound you like...what 2 or 3 humbuckers would you pick? What sounds are you after? Is pickup balance more important that versatility or about the same?
 
To answer some of those questions mincer, historically I would go with the highest distortion and output I could get. Metal to rule them all. Age has opened my eyes to possibilities. I want flexibility to get nice warm tones for playing blues and classic rock like Led Zeppelin without it being to dirty. At the same time I still want to be able to flip a switch and thrash. Hopefully by having a range of tone options when I have them all on or a certain pair I can get something new (to me) that might inspire creativity. I fear the output levels mismatched might be a problem. I'm not sure but suspect I'll need to max out the volume on the green magic set which might get noisy (for good or bad) or dial down the dimebucker which if too low might not do what I want it to. Hope this gives some clarity.
 
A vintage output humbucker set in neck and middle and a high output bridge humbucker will balance. I've done that before. You might have to drop the bridge a little since it's ceramic but not by much and they should easily balance volume wise. Edit: look at the picture of Securb's guitar.
 
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To answer some of those questions mincer, historically I would go with the highest distortion and output I could get. Metal to rule them all. Age has opened my eyes to possibilities. I want flexibility to get nice warm tones for playing blues and classic rock like Led Zeppelin without it being to dirty. At the same time I still want to be able to flip a switch and thrash..

Not sure if you have the Dimebucker in the guitar yet but it lends itself to classic rock tones. Mine pushes my amp when clean to a slight overdrive reminiscent of a British Invasion tone. It is a very versatile pickup. Are you looking to have the Greenies always out of phase or are you planning on a phase switch? While I love the out-of-phase tone it is not something I want on all of the time. I installed my Dimebucker/Jazz set with a coil split switch on each pickup and a phase switch. It gives the flexibility you are talking about. I can go from searing thrash to sterile clean Jazz or Blues with the flip of a switch.

mIZNoda.jpg
 
To answer some of those questions mincer, historically I would go with the highest distortion and output I could get. Metal to rule them all. Age has opened my eyes to possibilities. I want flexibility to get nice warm tones for playing blues and classic rock like Led Zeppelin without it being to dirty. At the same time I still want to be able to flip a switch and thrash. Hopefully by having a range of tone options when I have them all on or a certain pair I can get something new (to me) that might inspire creativity. I fear the output levels mismatched might be a problem. I'm not sure but suspect I'll need to max out the volume on the green magic set which might get noisy (for good or bad) or dial down the dimebucker which if too low might not do what I want it to. Hope this gives some clarity.

Any PAF-type pickups will work for the neck and middle- you aren't limited to the Greeny set for out of phase tones, as you can do that with any vintage output set. That being said, the Greeny set is fab. With the Distortion in the bridge, it might sound like a different guitar...haha.
 
Not sure if you have the Dimebucker in the guitar yet but it lends itself to classic rock tones. Mine pushes my amp when clean to a slight overdrive reminiscent of a British Invasion tone. It is a very versatile pickup. Are you looking to have the Greenies always out of phase or are you planning on a phase switch? While I love the out-of-phase tone it is not something I want on all of the time. I installed my Dimebucker/Jazz set with a coil split switch on each pickup and a phase switch. It gives the flexibility you are talking about. I can go from searing thrash to sterile clean Jazz or Blues with the flip of a switch.

mIZNoda.jpg

Nice guitar. Is that a Warmoth body? What wood is it? Yes when it comes to the electronics I want to have as many options as I'm able to do. My background is in electronics so I have more confidence in it than my playing lol. I will try to keep the hardware components to a minimum and use the best quality I can because I know there can be noise introduced from bad components or poor soldering ect. Even if I run with a switch always on or off it'll be nice to have it there if I ever change my mind.
 
I believe with one pickup out of phase, you'll want separate volumes for whatever it mixes with so you can control the amount of OOP cancellation and keep your sound thick enough. (The other way to combat that is have it out of phase AND pickups in series, then you don't need separate volumes.)
 
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