Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

[ratherdashing]

This is a pretty wacky (but hopefully useful) idea I had for my H/S/S Strat. Check it out:

bridge: 59 trembucker
mid: Vintage Rails
neck: Cool Rails

switches: standard 5 way for the pickups, mini three-way for the SD Pickup Booster resonant peak shift switch.

knob 1: master volume, push-pull splits the 59
knob 2: SD Pickup Booster boost knob, push-pull activates the booster
knob 3: master tone, push-pull activates the Cool Rails regardless of switching

The only really wacky thing I suppose is the Pickup Booster built into the guitar (you can get the circuit here). I may decide to do without it, but I think it would be a really cool feature that would take the instrument into a new realm of unique tone. Notice that I went with noiseless pickups out of respect for the booster. I like the idea of having a simple Fat Strat as a starting point, and being able to turn it into a fire-breathing monster if I need to. I also like to experiment with unique pickup combinations, as you can see.

What do you think? Too much, not enough, or just right? Push the keys and make words appear on the screen.

 

[Kac]

Re: Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

I think it would be kool without the push/pull for the cool rails

I like the pickup booster idea, very kool!!

Rock On ~ Kac :banana:

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

I think it would be kool without the push/pull for the cool rails

I like the pickup booster idea, very kool!!

Rock On ~ Kac :banana:

The push-pull for the neck pup is important. I want to be able to do bridge + neck (like a Tele), or all three.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

Sounds like alot of fun.....I see noise as being your overall enemy though!

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

Sounds like alot of fun.....I see noise as being your overall enemy though!

I agree, which is one of the reasons I chose the VR/CR in the mid/neck. I would also shield the crap out of the interior.

My plan is to put in the pickups first, and try it out with the pedal version of the Pickup Booster. If I decide I don't like it, or it's too noisy, I'll just forget about the booster and use the other knob for something else ... a spin-a-split for the 59 perhaps?

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

I like the way you think.

Just one thing: I wouldn't split the 59, rather, I would put it in parallel. This way, you'd invite less noise in. :burnout:

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

I like the way you think.

Just one thing: I wouldn't split the 59, rather, I would put it in parallel. This way, you'd invite less noise in. :burnout:

Oooohhhh ... very clever you are

 

[thor666]

Re: Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

if u don't like the pickup booster, you could try a varitone. i tried my friend's modded Ibanez S520 and I'm quite sold on what a varitone can do :laugh2: - u can even turn on/off distortion with that thing!

 

[MikeS]

Re: Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

Very cool. The only thing that I see as a little out there is the pickup booster circuit in the guitar, but the wiring for that should be pretty straight forward should you decide to add it.

I don’t think your pickup choices are odd, either. I’ve been sporting a CRn, VRb, SH-12 in my fat strat for years. The CRn/VRb (middle) is a combo made in heaven. The bridge version of the VR is used to help balance the outputs.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Strat mod idea: have I lost my mind?

Sounds like an excellent idea. Without the Boster, that's a strong HSS Strat setup. With the booster, you should be able to cover a ton of ground.