:smack: I only purchased my first electric less than a year ago so I am very much a novice although fairly competent with chords as I previously owned an acoustic
My guitar is a Washburn HB35 and I am very happy with it despite it being a somewhat last minute choice------ I had actually gone shopping with the intention of buying a Cort Jazzbox . I have read here and elsewhere that the factory fitted pick ups on the HB35 scream out to be upgraded and I had mentally already chosen a Gibson Classic 57 or APH Alnico 11 for the neck and a Custom at the bridge. However this summer , whilst on vacation ,my wife and I befriended an extremely competent and experienced guitarist whose abilities have made me think again.
Roy, the guitarist, was a member of a trio which played awesome covers of Clapton, S R V, King , Moore etc at a local bar. He did own a vintage LP but was so concerned about this being damaged or stolen ( a fate suffered by his strat) that he was using a Washburn 166V on stage which he described as being adequate for the job. This was a very attractive guitar with a quilted maple top , mahogany body , edged fretboard etc but the bottom line was that it still only had the same (and I’m pretty sure they were the same) far East p up’s as on my guitar. Obviously ,as well as the skills in his fingers, it was apparent that Roy was also pretty skilled at adjusting his pedals ,Amp and other Gizmos on stage to clone the tones of the guitar greats. However it was equally obvious that there was (a) Absolutely nothing really wrong with the pick ups on my guitar and (b) that as my skills were unlikely to develop sufficiently to get the very best out of them, could I ever justify an upgrade with a clear conscience!
I will probably still do it eventually but will now wait a bit until my playing techniques have been substantially improved.
One thing which did come to light however (and is the main reason for this post) is the tone controls on the 166V designated by Washburn as VCC (voice contour control) which appeared to be far more effective than the somewhat feeble tone controls on my HB35. As I understand it this VCC enables you to change the wiring of the p up’s from series to parallel to make it sound like single coils. Also the rewiring to achieve this is not supposed to be too difficult or very expensive - I understand its possible you can actually use your existing tone potentiometer if you know what you are doing although it might be beneficial to change to something more purpose built. Has anybody actually done this modification and are there any articles anywhere which give an idiot’s guide. I really think the HB35 would benefit from this modification.
The difficulty is of course (for a novice like me anyway) the access problem to the wiring of a hollow body. I read elsewhere in this forum that after taking off the strings the trick is to remove the neck p u and pull out most of the wire thru the hole underneath securely tying line to the pots and selector switch to assist in their relocation. Is there a step by step guideline to this anywhere on the net or elsewhere. Also does one leave the bridge pu and input jack still connected in the guitar--assuming wires are long enough. I know these mods should be ideally left to people who know but if you want to learn, you have to start somewhere.
Some time ago I had a good look inside a cheap Les Paul copy and was surprised at how few wires there actually were. On peeking thru the f hole of the Washburn it looks a bit more complicated.
Hope everybody has a really great 2007
My guitar is a Washburn HB35 and I am very happy with it despite it being a somewhat last minute choice------ I had actually gone shopping with the intention of buying a Cort Jazzbox . I have read here and elsewhere that the factory fitted pick ups on the HB35 scream out to be upgraded and I had mentally already chosen a Gibson Classic 57 or APH Alnico 11 for the neck and a Custom at the bridge. However this summer , whilst on vacation ,my wife and I befriended an extremely competent and experienced guitarist whose abilities have made me think again.
Roy, the guitarist, was a member of a trio which played awesome covers of Clapton, S R V, King , Moore etc at a local bar. He did own a vintage LP but was so concerned about this being damaged or stolen ( a fate suffered by his strat) that he was using a Washburn 166V on stage which he described as being adequate for the job. This was a very attractive guitar with a quilted maple top , mahogany body , edged fretboard etc but the bottom line was that it still only had the same (and I’m pretty sure they were the same) far East p up’s as on my guitar. Obviously ,as well as the skills in his fingers, it was apparent that Roy was also pretty skilled at adjusting his pedals ,Amp and other Gizmos on stage to clone the tones of the guitar greats. However it was equally obvious that there was (a) Absolutely nothing really wrong with the pick ups on my guitar and (b) that as my skills were unlikely to develop sufficiently to get the very best out of them, could I ever justify an upgrade with a clear conscience!
I will probably still do it eventually but will now wait a bit until my playing techniques have been substantially improved.
One thing which did come to light however (and is the main reason for this post) is the tone controls on the 166V designated by Washburn as VCC (voice contour control) which appeared to be far more effective than the somewhat feeble tone controls on my HB35. As I understand it this VCC enables you to change the wiring of the p up’s from series to parallel to make it sound like single coils. Also the rewiring to achieve this is not supposed to be too difficult or very expensive - I understand its possible you can actually use your existing tone potentiometer if you know what you are doing although it might be beneficial to change to something more purpose built. Has anybody actually done this modification and are there any articles anywhere which give an idiot’s guide. I really think the HB35 would benefit from this modification.
The difficulty is of course (for a novice like me anyway) the access problem to the wiring of a hollow body. I read elsewhere in this forum that after taking off the strings the trick is to remove the neck p u and pull out most of the wire thru the hole underneath securely tying line to the pots and selector switch to assist in their relocation. Is there a step by step guideline to this anywhere on the net or elsewhere. Also does one leave the bridge pu and input jack still connected in the guitar--assuming wires are long enough. I know these mods should be ideally left to people who know but if you want to learn, you have to start somewhere.
Some time ago I had a good look inside a cheap Les Paul copy and was surprised at how few wires there actually were. On peeking thru the f hole of the Washburn it looks a bit more complicated.
Hope everybody has a really great 2007
