This is what im working with...

[rjm1788]

Alright so my first semester at college i was always just playn guitar and this kid across the hall just gave me a never used cheap yamaha strat with a humbucker bridge pickup... and since i already had my brand new gibson SG i decided to fool around with it. I am an art major so i decided to take everything apart and sculpt a new body style and with a custom Jackson Pollack like paint job i did myself, the paint job is finished and everything is ready to put back together... but i did a little mod,,, when i changed the body style i needed to make a custom pick guard... i used a thin hard solid wood when i carved the pickup holes backwards trying to get a little more ""country sound" the humbucker will be at the neck the middle single coil will stay the same and the other single coil im moving down to the bridge with a slant... hint the twang... i really wanna reduce the noise... and mod this guitar to have a great sound without buying new pickups or pots... i will spend money though... help me out with suggestions please because the paint job is amazing... if it turns out great im planning on selling it... well after i have a little fun with it.

[newey]

Hi rjm-

Sounds like an interesting project, be sure to post a photo when it's done.

As far as your reverse pickup scheme, it'll work but you may be less than satisfied with the results. Pickups are sold as "neck" or "bridge" versions for a reason- bridge pickups are usually wound "hotter" than neck pups, because of the dynamics of the vibrating strings near the bridge. By moving a bridge HB to the neck, and moving the neck SC to the bridge, your HB is likely to "blast out" the SCs when played in combination with one or the other of the SCs.

This is not to discourage you from doing what you plan- you may like the sound better for that matter. Individual tastes are what this site is all about.

The issue could also be dealt with by wiring a separate volume control for the humbucker so you could "dial it back" a bit when it's paired with the other pup(s). If your guitar is a standard strat control setup,you could lose one of the two tone controls for the separate volume pot, and then wire a master volume and tone for the other two pot positions.

Or, if you're willing to spend some money, you can get a neck HB and a bridge SC and avoid the issue entirely. I know you said you wanted to keep the pups, but an upgrade in the pickups can make a big difference in the more "budget-friendly" guitars (notice I did not say "cheap"- I'm a big fan of low-cost guitars. But maybe that's just because I don't have anything as nice as your SG )

Oh, and as far as reducing the noise follow the shielding procedures on the original G-Nutz site (Link is at the top of the page)

[rjm1788]

Well thanks a lot newey... im going to finish the gloss protectant painting stage and then look at my options... the extra volume nob looks like the best idea... although i would need to purchase one but thats really no problem im not in THAT much debt from my SG its college that kills me. There is a lot of room underneath for the nob shouldnt be that bad of a project. I'm guessing i dont have to change anything on the 5 way switch? just insert the switch backwards? only because the positioning of the pickups will just be switched around backwards?

[newey]

Yes, you can flip the five-way switch around, assuming the wire runs to the various pups are long enough to allow you to do so, once the pups are in their new positions.

I suspect you may need to rewire the HB as it's a longer distance up to the neck position.

And, no, you don't need to buy a new pot, you can just rewire one of your tone pots to be a vol. Again assuming this is like a regular Strat, all 3 pots in there are the same, difference is in the wiring. As I look back at my post from last night, I should have made that clear- sorry, it was late

[rjm1788]

So i finished the guitar today... took some pictures and il post them once i get them on my computer... finished product sounds great... but u were right newey the bridge SC that i moved is somewhat quiet... but the unique sound with the top neck humbucker and middle single coil is great... the sound isnt that great.. like i said it was a cheap guitar to begin with but after potting the pickups n foiling the insides it sounds a lot better. unique shape, sound, and look... everything i was working towards.

[rjm1788]

s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh118/rjm1788/?action=view¤t=12cd759e.pbw

[newey]

Very nice, rjm!