Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

[goodtime]

Hi! I'm happy owner of 2008 G&L S-500. I was very impressed by the sound of MFD pickups in the store, but when I've played several weeks at home and tried to record it at studio, I've made the conclusion that it's not what I want. Everything else besides pickups is just excellent and perfect for me, so I've selected couple models of SDs. But I'm a bit confused with some things.
The guitar has swamp ash body, clear gloss birds-eye maple neck with the same fingerboard.
I want hum-free HSS set, so I've selected such models:
SL59-1b Little '59 (bridge)
Vintage Hot Stack Plus STK-S7 (middle)
Vintage Hot Stack Plus STK-S7 (neck)

Some questions:
1. I like how STK-S7 sounds, but is it good with Little '59 and not too hot for it? Maybe it's better to choose STK-S4?
2. Why in many sets middle pickup not so hot as bridge and neck one? The common gradation is like this: bridge - the hottest one, neck - less hot, middle - the least hot. What is the purpose of that?
3. It's my first experience with replacing pickups, so do I need to change something in guitar wiring with new pickups? Here is my current wiring schemes:
http://www.glguitars.com/schematics/S-500_schematic_blockdiagram.pdf
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/main.php?g2_itemId=8078
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/main.php?g2_itemId=6156

Thank you very much in advance for any info!

P.S. Sorry for my English and maybe silly questions

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

I have two USA-made S-500s. Personally, I LOVE the MFD pickups in the S-500 and wouldn't even think of swapping them. And there's no better way than Leo's PTB tone controls to wire a three pickup guitar. I really like having tone control over all three pickups. I "normal" my controls with the T=10 and B=5, and then I set my amp. That gives me the best range of control.

And you should also know one other thing about the MFDs. Because the have such a wide range and such a high output, they are really going to put all of your gear to the test. If you have an amp with a bad tube, the MFDs will expose it. If you have a grainy, edgy SS amp...they will expose it. Marginal OD pedal? It's going to sound nasty.

Another trick you can try is using a graphic or parametric EQ with your S-500 and put a -3 dB notch at 2K, this will take some of the edge out and make the pickup sound more like a vintage single coil. That's probably going in the opposite direction if you want a HB tone. In fact, the tones of the S-500 are about as far away from a humbucker guitar as you can get, but it is a really great single coil pickup. It sounds to me like you bought the wrong guitar.

If you can find one, you might be more interested in the Legacy Special, or one of the Invader models. The LS uses a Gotoph Dual Blade pickup that sounds very thick and PAF-ish. and with the PTB controls you can get very close to vintage alnico tones too. When I gig, I take a Legacy or S-500 and a Legacy Special. That gives me both vintage single coil and PAF tones in the same platform. The Invaders are the more shred version of the Legacy, built to compete with the Charvel/Jackson/Ibanez crowd. They normally have a Floyd, but you can get the DF Vibrato, too. These guitars also use the Gotoh Blades. And if you just want to try a set of the Blades, they are available at the G&L online store. And there's the Legacy HB and 2HB with full-size humbuckers, too.

So do as you will, but I have one piece of advice for you. If you decide to add new pickups, take off the pickguard with the entire wiring harness intact, and stash it away. Then get an entire new harness and pickguard for the new pickups. The guys who know and like G&Ls love the MFD pickups, and the odds are if you ever want to sell the guitar, they will want the pickups and the PTB controls.


Good luck.

Bill

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

That's a shame. MFDs are outstanding pickups, and with skilled amp and pedal adjustments, they should be able to cover almost any tone you want.

That said, it sounds like you probably should have got a Legacy HB, or perhaps even a Legacy Special.

But Legacys are swimming pool routed, so you aren't limited in the slightest. I'd have Pickguard Heaven (the O.E.M. p/g maker for G&L) make you a guard that fits the pickups you want, and sell off the entire stock guard, pots, toggle, and pickups (and drop me a line if you do; I might want to buy it all).

Don't worry about modding G&Ls. They have terrible resale value anyhow. Those who love them really love them, but that doesn't mean that they have a high monetary value. Mods won't affect their value much, if at all.

 

[elelpe]

Re: Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

1. STK-S7 is slighly hotter than STK-S4. It will balance more easily with Lil59 than STK-S4 will.
2. To some people, lower output pickup in the middle position delivers better quack in notch positions. Or if you don't have least hot pickup in the middle, you can adjust the height for maximum quack.
3.

If you decide to add new pickups, take off the pickguard with the entire wiring harness intact, and stash it away. Then get an entire new harness and pickguard for the new pickups. The guys who know and like G&Ls love the MFD pickups, and the odds are if you ever want to sell the guitar, they will want the pickups and the PTB controls.

 

[goodtime]

Re: Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

Bill, ItsaBass, elelpe, thank you very much guys for the info!

I don't want to take off the pickguard, because I also love PTB system and mini toggle switch, it's very easy and fast to dial good tones with them
I also don't want other guitar, I really like this one, it's the best guitar I've ever played in my life. It has very resonant wood, beautiful finish and excellent craftsmanship.
As to MFDs, I've not said that they are bad pickups, they have kinda unique voice and it's a bit unusual for me. So I want to try something more traditional, but it's possible that I leave MFDs after trying SDs in the end. Who knows?

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

I think what I would start with then, is the Everything AXE set. This set is designed for maximum versatility, and they are all humbucking.

It has the JB, Jr. in the bridge. It's a good rock pickup, with nice thick lead tones. I had one in the bridge of an S-500 and liked the tone, but the MFD's just drowned it out--they are so hot. I put the original bridge pickup back in and I'm much happier with the guitar.

The Duckbucker in the middle position is designed to deliver maximum quack in positions 2 and 4, and still keep things quiet.

Then there's the Lil '59 for the neck, which should give you some classic neck bucker tones. these pickups should work with the PTB system too. The big deal here is that it is a calibrated set.

They also do two sets with their Stack pickups, and a Rails set. I'd probably go with either the Everything AXE set or the Stack set with the Custom Stack Plus in the bridge, the Classic Stack Plus in the middle and the Vintage Hot Stack Plus for the neck. This stack set is probably the closest you'd get to single coil tone, yet still be humbucking.

I think I would start with one of these sets, or order one of the Gotoh Blades sets from G&L. The Blades will definitely have a thick humbucking tone, compared to typical single coils.

There's just too many choices--it can drive one crazy!!!

Bill

 

[goodtime]

Re: Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

Thanks again, Bill!

Yeah, you are right, there are so many good pickups, it's a nightmare to choose something

The Everything Axe was my first variant, but I don't like JB Jr. (too cutting as for me) and I've heard bad things about volume drops on bends with the Duckbucker, It has also very weak output (the same problem with the Vintage Rails) as opposed to Little 59 and especially JB Jr.

What do you think about such set?
Little 59 (bridge)
STK-S4 (or STK-S7?) (middle)
Little 59 (neck)

Vitaly

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

I'm not sure. I've only ever used the Lil' 59 neck for a short while in a used guitar I bought. It had a mishmash of pickups that didn't really fit my needs, so I replaced them with a Texas Hot Antiquity set.

Hopefully someone else can chime in with more knowledge about the Lil' 59 and the Stack pickups.

Good luck!

Bill

 

[goodtime]

Re: Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

Ok, I think I'll pick:
Little 59 (bridge)
STK-S4 (middle)
STK-S7 (neck)

The last thing, if higher DC Resistance means hotter output, then STK-S7 is louder than Little 59 (11.97k vs 11.78k) and it is it better to take STK-S4 (9.62k) for the neck position? Am I right?

Thanks!

Vitaly

 

[goodtime]

Re: Replacing pickups in G&L S-500

I've found good points for HSS:

You can have good notch position tone, or you can have matching output levels. You can’t have both. Choose one and live with it.
For a notch position tone to work, you need to split the humbucker, and you need one coil of the humbucker to be close in output to the middle pickup. For matching output to work, you need the single coils to be close in output to the whole humbucker.
Pretty much any full-on humbucker will be hotter than a vintage output single coil. Yes, this includes the lower output humbuckers, and yes, this is true even if the DC resistance is the same or close to the same. A humbucker has a much stronger and wider magnetic field than a single coil, which translates to a significantly more powerful pickup. This means you’re going to be looking at getting, at minimum, moderate output singles for the neck and middle.

The source - http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/t...t-strat-single-coils-and-humbuckers-at-peace/

So, matching levels is more important for me and my ideal set will be the same as at the beginning then

Little 59 (bridge)
STK-S7 (middle)
STK-S7 (neck)