Newbie happy with the 59s

ashbass

ashbass

New member
Hello all, great forum! I thought I'd introduce myself with my latest (final? hah) pickup incarnation of my '88 Ibanez 540R. Last week I finished putting in two Little 59s (neck and middle) and a standard 59 for the bridge position. I have them all split to function as single coils with push-pull pots (tone controls for each pup) activating humbucker mode.

The split little 59s sound so much better than the various Ibanez singles or stacked singles I've had in the guitar. Very single coil sounding with good presence and output. The humbucker mode is just a bonus.

Here's a photo with some details. I use the Dan Armstrong Super Strat wiring to get all possible parallel and series combinations of the three pups. The three tone controls are overkill except for what they do when the pups are connected in series mode. In series, the tone controls act only on thier respective pickup, not on the entire signal as they do in parallel linking. This allows from some wonderful tones.

540r-fb.jpg
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

I assume you have a Phd to operate this thing? :laugh2:

Nice work.

Edit: just noticed... interesting to see a picture of a standard bucker with trem spaced strings.
 
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Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

Thats really complex stuff,at least to me because i stay retardidly basic, but its cool how you set everything up
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

It's not that complicated, really. The switching took a little time to get used to but makes perfect sense. Switches up means pickup on and in parallel if more than one is up. Switches down mean pickup off or in series if more than one is down. Quick and easy, really.

Dan Armstrong explains it better in this article:

Dan Armstong's Super Strat
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

SpiderVenom said:
I assume you have a Phd to operate this thing? :laugh2:

Nice work.

Edit: just noticed... interesting to see a picture of a standard bucker with trem spaced strings.
Click to expand...
Someone posted a thread with a picture of his guitar with a T-O-M bridge and had a trembucker put in the bridge. It actually matched up pretty well.
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

walt said:
Agreed, from the duncan line this is my fav.
Click to expand...

I wasn't impressed with them in my LPs or ES335 but here in the "strat" guitar, they do it all. In the other guitars they sounded fine mind you. But just fine. I had no complaints because they didn't sound bad in any way. They just didn't seem to let the guitar breath on its own if that makes sense.

But so what anyway, I'm stoked enough about 540R above and its white sister 540R that's also wired with the Super Strat switching but only the one standard tone control.
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

ashbass said:
I wasn't impressed with them in my LPs or ES335 but here in the "strat" guitar, they do it all. In the other guitars they sounded fine mind you. But just fine. I had no complaints because they didn't sound bad in any way. They just didn't seem to let the guitar breath on its own if that makes sense.

But so what anyway, I'm stoked enough about 540R above and its white sister 540R that's also wired with the Super Strat switching but only the one standard tone control.
Click to expand...


Yeah I tried the 59 in my wolfgang and it didn't work. I put the 59's in my strat and they work great. I use a stew mac mega switch in that guitar. My wolfgang is having a serious romantic love affair with a pair of Dimarzio VPAF & VHPAF :)
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

Howdy,

If I have to play a HB equipped guitar, make it my 1980 Gibson ES-335 w/ '59's. Good, vintage sounding HBers.

Eggman
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

Thats some cool stuff. I had a single HB PV wired up with 5 different mini toggles.

Parallel / series
coil split / not coil plit
If coil split, which coil is active
In phase / out of phase
Tone control in / out of circuit.

These days I go with the simplest circuit possible most of the time but I use the options on my PRS.
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

It's cool that you have all those switching option. I like just sticking 5 way and 3 way switches just makes it easier to switch mid song, but your ways find if you can remember what they do so you can switch up between songs.
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

sufferinrewind said:
Someone posted a thread with a picture of his guitar with a T-O-M bridge and had a trembucker put in the bridge. It actually matched up pretty well.
Click to expand...
I thought SG's took trembuckers in the bridge position???
 
Re: Newbie happy with the 59s

In the picure it says "Tapped by default" underneath your humbuckers. What does that mean and what's the alternative then? I'm thinking about buying a 'lil 59 for in the neck position and I'm looking for every bit of information about it...

Does that tapped thing have to do something with being switched single coil or humbucker? Because I want it in the neck as a humbucker and I have no 'pull to switch' element tone controls, I have an Ibanez SA160 with only one tone control knob...
 
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