Re: HOW TO: Make a 59/Custom Hybrid
Bach well to be honest I never really played around with the Custom 5 before I did this hybrid. I am pretty familiar with the 59 N and B though. I think it has the fire and attack of the Custom and the PAF-ishness of both coils makes for a great combination.
I tried it with medium gain which it seems to be best suited, like a plexi model on my V-amp2. I am by no means a Van Halen-esque player but for someone who is, this sounds like a pretty good start on the gear side of things (you still need the chops

) to get you there.
For clean though it isn't bad, but I'm not one to use the bridge for clean stuff anyways so I can't really comment. You can still get a decent basic jazz tone rolling off the vol and tone which isn't that surprising since this has the PAF thing going on.
I used the Custom coil closest to the bridge and the 59 coil towards the neck. I should have tried it with the stock screws/slugs first but this turned out surprisingly well. I used the black plastic spacer from the Custom instead of the maple one from the 59 (which will be used in the other hybrid this will make).
I do notice the A5 that came out of the 59 was really shiney whereas the A5 I put in the Custom from my JB (which now has a Ceramic from the original Custom) looks almost like a ceramic in color on both outer edges but the center is a lighter color similar to the 59's A5. Maybe the color darkens as it ages?
Initially I wanted to try a DD/59 hybrid but not sure if that would work well or not now. Maybe a little TOO mismatched huh?
