Benjy_26
25's Nemesis
I have run into something pretty unexpected lately and I thought that I should share with the group.
First, some background.
I've been playing guitar for damned near half my life now, and have always been of the mindset that guitar "types" should stay within certain parameters, i.e. a LP should have 2 pickups, 4 knobs and a three way, a strat has 3 singles and a 5 way, and a tele has a 3 way switch with a beefy single in the bridge and something better-than-stock in the neck (I *really* dislike traditional tele neck sounds).
I've had a few HSS guitars in my life, but I've either gotten rid of them because I didn't vibe with them, or have made them closer to a "real" strat somehow. An example of this is an old Alvarez offset guitar that's currently sporting a pair of Fender 57/62's with a Phat Cat neck in the bridge.
I have recently come back from a year long break in playing and have been messing with some different tones. I slapped a SM -1n in the neck slot of my LP and really enjoy how it interacts with the PGb. I purchased an Epi Nighthawk Custom (always wanted the Gibby version) and have really enjoyed the wide range of tones it gets after upgrading the pickups and modding the wiring.
This got me thinking that maybe I should re-think my position on HSS guitars. Due to that, I got myself a beat up MIM standard Strat and installed a fairly traditional set up: a pair of singles with a PG+ in the bridge and auto-split wiring. It sounds pretty good and covers quite a bit of ground
Where I really surprised myself was with an old Washburn Mercury II that had been taking space on my rack. I had bought it almost 10 years ago because the flamed top under the green finish looked cool, it had a real Wilkinson bridge, and it was about a hundo at a pawnshop. I threw in a SA/SA/85 set into it and used it as an occasional backup, but I mostly forgot about it.
I got the idea that maybe I should play it more. This guitar sounds good unplugged, has a nice neck and very nice fretwork, but didn't speak to me plugged in, so I ripped out the EMG's and looked at my options.
Due to the way that this guitar is routed, my pickup options are somewhat limited. I had heard good things about Carvin's AP11 ceramic singles, and I was able to pick up a pair for a song, so I got myself a pair to go with a C22T that I have laying about. A pair of push pull pots and a CRL switch and I was in business...until I tried putting the C22T in. The mounting legs are too wide for the body route, so I had two options: grind the feet on the Carvin pickup, or look in my parts drawer and see what was available.
In my parts drawer was a SH-13 with the mounting holes stripped out. I had been thinking of gluing some nuts in place in order to use it in one of my other guitars, but, since the Washburn uses direct to body mounting (and I'm impatient), I decided to wire it into the Mercury.
I used traditional strat switching on the 5 way, but used a push pull on the volume spot as a "bridge on" switch to get neck and bridge together, and I used a push/pull in the tone spot to put the Dimebucker in series when I pull UP on it (Dime is wired split when the tone knob is in its "normal" position).
HOLY. CRAP. This is one of the best "strat" sounds I've heard in a LONG time. Despite the 24 fret neck and the fact that all the pickups I'm using are ceramic based, it REALLY has a lot of strat tone and feel to it. The Dime is cutting, plucky, and growly when split and is VERY quacky when combined with the middle AP11 (4.3k on those AP11's, BTW). The #2 notch position sounds just like a good strat should, and the neck is warm, with big, tight, piano-like bass notes.
Pulling up on the volume and using the split Dime with the neck AP11 gets you into pseudo-tele territory and pulling up on the tone gets you the full Dimebucker, which does thrash, metal, and shreddy stiff very well, but also does classic rock and hard rock surprisingly well in this guitar.
This combination of pickups and guitar put a big, unexpected smile on my face.
First, some background.
I've been playing guitar for damned near half my life now, and have always been of the mindset that guitar "types" should stay within certain parameters, i.e. a LP should have 2 pickups, 4 knobs and a three way, a strat has 3 singles and a 5 way, and a tele has a 3 way switch with a beefy single in the bridge and something better-than-stock in the neck (I *really* dislike traditional tele neck sounds).
I've had a few HSS guitars in my life, but I've either gotten rid of them because I didn't vibe with them, or have made them closer to a "real" strat somehow. An example of this is an old Alvarez offset guitar that's currently sporting a pair of Fender 57/62's with a Phat Cat neck in the bridge.
I have recently come back from a year long break in playing and have been messing with some different tones. I slapped a SM -1n in the neck slot of my LP and really enjoy how it interacts with the PGb. I purchased an Epi Nighthawk Custom (always wanted the Gibby version) and have really enjoyed the wide range of tones it gets after upgrading the pickups and modding the wiring.
This got me thinking that maybe I should re-think my position on HSS guitars. Due to that, I got myself a beat up MIM standard Strat and installed a fairly traditional set up: a pair of singles with a PG+ in the bridge and auto-split wiring. It sounds pretty good and covers quite a bit of ground
Where I really surprised myself was with an old Washburn Mercury II that had been taking space on my rack. I had bought it almost 10 years ago because the flamed top under the green finish looked cool, it had a real Wilkinson bridge, and it was about a hundo at a pawnshop. I threw in a SA/SA/85 set into it and used it as an occasional backup, but I mostly forgot about it.
I got the idea that maybe I should play it more. This guitar sounds good unplugged, has a nice neck and very nice fretwork, but didn't speak to me plugged in, so I ripped out the EMG's and looked at my options.
Due to the way that this guitar is routed, my pickup options are somewhat limited. I had heard good things about Carvin's AP11 ceramic singles, and I was able to pick up a pair for a song, so I got myself a pair to go with a C22T that I have laying about. A pair of push pull pots and a CRL switch and I was in business...until I tried putting the C22T in. The mounting legs are too wide for the body route, so I had two options: grind the feet on the Carvin pickup, or look in my parts drawer and see what was available.
In my parts drawer was a SH-13 with the mounting holes stripped out. I had been thinking of gluing some nuts in place in order to use it in one of my other guitars, but, since the Washburn uses direct to body mounting (and I'm impatient), I decided to wire it into the Mercury.
I used traditional strat switching on the 5 way, but used a push pull on the volume spot as a "bridge on" switch to get neck and bridge together, and I used a push/pull in the tone spot to put the Dimebucker in series when I pull UP on it (Dime is wired split when the tone knob is in its "normal" position).
HOLY. CRAP. This is one of the best "strat" sounds I've heard in a LONG time. Despite the 24 fret neck and the fact that all the pickups I'm using are ceramic based, it REALLY has a lot of strat tone and feel to it. The Dime is cutting, plucky, and growly when split and is VERY quacky when combined with the middle AP11 (4.3k on those AP11's, BTW). The #2 notch position sounds just like a good strat should, and the neck is warm, with big, tight, piano-like bass notes.
Pulling up on the volume and using the split Dime with the neck AP11 gets you into pseudo-tele territory and pulling up on the tone gets you the full Dimebucker, which does thrash, metal, and shreddy stiff very well, but also does classic rock and hard rock surprisingly well in this guitar.
This combination of pickups and guitar put a big, unexpected smile on my face.
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