rraawwrr
New member
Per request, I am posting on the results of the re-wiring of my Strat, which some of you may be aware of.
The guitar is a Fender 50th Anniversary American Deluxe with Fender/Lawrence SCN's and the infamous S-1 switch. Some of you with the same system may love the S-1 for its versatility. However, Strangegrey and I, among many others, express deep concern about the sound quality of the pickups.
SCN's were toted as a huge breakthrough in noiseless technology, but it seemed that they seriously lacked mojo. Yes, they were silent, but lifeless. Speculation arose that it was the fault of the S-1 system, not the pickups. I have removed the S-1 switch and here are my results.
With the s-1 system, you get twice as many pickup selecting options. Cool beans if you like those sounds and like pressing that obnoxious little button. Before the mod it seemed that the pickups were causing the proverbial "carpet-over-the-speakers" effect. If you like the way the SCN's sound now, that's good. As much as I liked them, their true character is muted by the S-1.
The mod simply removes the S-1 from the circuit. Replace the volume pot with a normal 250k and a normal 5 way will do. Luckily I benefitted from Artie's help greatly, as he volunteered to work on my pickguard free of charge. What a great guy he is, but that's for another post another time:smokin:
Anyway, the SCN's are the best sounding noiseless pickups I've ever played (Barring the new Stack Pluses). I've played strats loaded with kinman's and although some rave about them, the Kinmans didn't float my boat. These however, seem to come very very close to a good strat tone. *I did not say vintage tone - these will NOT turn your tone into Eric Johnson's, no matter how much you or I would like that (of course we would want that!)*
Cleans these babies sparkle and chime. Bass is tight, the midrange is a little more prominant than a standard single coil, and the highs are nice and airy. Notch positions give nice spank and quack. Each position has a unique but very balanced sound. Under high gain (we're talking Rectifier gain, on the Modern mode gain :headbang: ) these things are simply amazing. Most strat pups I've played through such high gain get fizzy and muddled, on top of wicked 60 cycle hum. Great if you're Yngwie, but not for me. These things are extremely clear and silent under gain. Single note solos on the neck position sing and are not lacking brightness. Flip to the bridge and wail away without fear of ice picking - about 11k for the bridge keeps it FAT and loud!
I will be posting clips eventually (some time this weekend) and if you have any questions feel free to PM me or post or whatever!
Eric
The guitar is a Fender 50th Anniversary American Deluxe with Fender/Lawrence SCN's and the infamous S-1 switch. Some of you with the same system may love the S-1 for its versatility. However, Strangegrey and I, among many others, express deep concern about the sound quality of the pickups.
SCN's were toted as a huge breakthrough in noiseless technology, but it seemed that they seriously lacked mojo. Yes, they were silent, but lifeless. Speculation arose that it was the fault of the S-1 system, not the pickups. I have removed the S-1 switch and here are my results.
With the s-1 system, you get twice as many pickup selecting options. Cool beans if you like those sounds and like pressing that obnoxious little button. Before the mod it seemed that the pickups were causing the proverbial "carpet-over-the-speakers" effect. If you like the way the SCN's sound now, that's good. As much as I liked them, their true character is muted by the S-1.
The mod simply removes the S-1 from the circuit. Replace the volume pot with a normal 250k and a normal 5 way will do. Luckily I benefitted from Artie's help greatly, as he volunteered to work on my pickguard free of charge. What a great guy he is, but that's for another post another time:smokin:
Anyway, the SCN's are the best sounding noiseless pickups I've ever played (Barring the new Stack Pluses). I've played strats loaded with kinman's and although some rave about them, the Kinmans didn't float my boat. These however, seem to come very very close to a good strat tone. *I did not say vintage tone - these will NOT turn your tone into Eric Johnson's, no matter how much you or I would like that (of course we would want that!)*
Cleans these babies sparkle and chime. Bass is tight, the midrange is a little more prominant than a standard single coil, and the highs are nice and airy. Notch positions give nice spank and quack. Each position has a unique but very balanced sound. Under high gain (we're talking Rectifier gain, on the Modern mode gain :headbang: ) these things are simply amazing. Most strat pups I've played through such high gain get fizzy and muddled, on top of wicked 60 cycle hum. Great if you're Yngwie, but not for me. These things are extremely clear and silent under gain. Single note solos on the neck position sing and are not lacking brightness. Flip to the bridge and wail away without fear of ice picking - about 11k for the bridge keeps it FAT and loud!
I will be posting clips eventually (some time this weekend) and if you have any questions feel free to PM me or post or whatever!
Eric
