Post by petros on Apr 11, 2008 17:43:30 GMT -5
Original thread for this guitar mod was started here guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/v45index.cgi?board=wiring&action=display&thread=1936 when I was inquiring about a wiring diagram.
Original Squire Stagemaster Strat
Here's some background: I had this guitar for about 7 years in its original state, and given it's an Asian made Squire Strat (with a "made in China" stamp and serial number) that doesn't say much. Although with the original humbuckers I could get the thing to scream with overdrive, I could never get a decent clean tone. The bridge pickup on its own was shockingly harsh. The overdriven tones using both pickups together were respectably fat, but they were lacking definition so that in recording situations I would have to EQ the hell out of it, and I couldn't just add highs to take away the dullness without killing the sound. In general, there just wasn't much sonic versatility from this guitar. So, when the opportunity came to modify the electronics I thought of trying to create a guitar that could add variations of the single-coil strat/ tele sound with the humbucker sound-- somewhat of a hybrid that could range between a Les Paul and a Strat (but of course would still be somewhat of a compromise compared to the tones of the actual two guitars). This concept is by no means something new and you can see a variation on a design for a Les Paul-Strat switchable sounding guitar here: www.alloutput.com/Wiring/hsh_wiring.html .
Add to my gripes above that I had always wanted a white pearl pickguard instead of the boring stock white and you can see the job had to be done. I began with the pickguard. I tracked down a decent 3-ply plastic blank for a good price at Grizzley.com and did the work by hand, taping the plastic to a HD particle board template of the original pickguard (differs in shape from American made strats enough so that I couldn't just buy a ready-made pickguard) and a coping saw. Yes, it was slow, took some time, and it's not as perfect as a machined part would be, but I only cut myself once in the process. ;D The final results were satisfying. I even put a small bevel along the edge but only as deep as the first ply because I wanted to see only the pearl and not a white and black line going around the edge.
The new and improved Stagemaster
The pickup choice came after reading a lot on the Internet about the Lace Sensor Hot Gold "Duallys" being a true single coil design but having very low noise much like a humbucker. These pickups are also wound to DC resistances of 12.1K for the neck (2 x 6K) and 26.4K for the bridge (2 x 13.2K), so I assumed the response would be a bit warmer than other single coils despite a few people claiming that the original Lace Sensors can often be too bright. For the wiring, I originally thought of switching the pickups as if this would be a 4 single coil pickup design, but that proved to be frustrating when it came to finding a wiring diagram that could turn each pickup on/off and also provide series/parallel switching combiniations (not to mention the thing becoming a switch monster). I also realized that I would mostly want combinations of two single coils at a time. I settled on Wolf's Funky Five switching design without the phase switching option www.1728.com/guitar5.htm and this allows for series/parallel switching of different combinations of two single coils at a time providing much more tonal options than the original 3-way switch design could ever manage.
Some photos of the wiring:
Switch Detail
But what does it sound like?
First, let me just say I finally "discovered" the tone control with this new modification because having the original humbuckers I would always leave the tone full up so that when using them both I could avoid a very flat sound and get as much definition and dynamics as possible, and they were fat but still quite dull. The new mod gets me tones that are definately fat enough for my taste (not quite the true humbucker "punch" but close enough), to a leaner more single coil definition, to a shimmering strat or tele tone with plenty of sparkle commonly described as "glassy overtones," especially when the pickups are switched to parallel arrangements. If your ears have spent too much time in the land of humbuckers you might think the brightest settings are unuseable (for rock or blues). Not so because you can still attenuate the tone control and "dial in" what is a pleasing sound.
But what does it REALLY sound like?
By far, one of the most frustrating experiences for me throughout researching info on the Internet was the absolute PAUCITY of sound clips available that would have given me some idea what to expect from these pickups. So, below (scroll down to the last post) is a rough sound clip recorded not with an actual amp but using Amplitube. Because the plugin is designed to work just like a real amp (of course not perfectly), the pickups you have on your guitar make a difference in the response you get. I recorded each clip without making any adjustments to the amplifier settings so that you could hear what differences only the guitar switching makes. The volume and tone controls on the guitar are full up on each clip. Obviously this is not an exhaustive array of the tones available, but it gives you some idea of the range of humbucking sounds possible (Remember, in this switching design there are always two coils on at the same time).
Original Squire Stagemaster Strat
Here's some background: I had this guitar for about 7 years in its original state, and given it's an Asian made Squire Strat (with a "made in China" stamp and serial number) that doesn't say much. Although with the original humbuckers I could get the thing to scream with overdrive, I could never get a decent clean tone. The bridge pickup on its own was shockingly harsh. The overdriven tones using both pickups together were respectably fat, but they were lacking definition so that in recording situations I would have to EQ the hell out of it, and I couldn't just add highs to take away the dullness without killing the sound. In general, there just wasn't much sonic versatility from this guitar. So, when the opportunity came to modify the electronics I thought of trying to create a guitar that could add variations of the single-coil strat/ tele sound with the humbucker sound-- somewhat of a hybrid that could range between a Les Paul and a Strat (but of course would still be somewhat of a compromise compared to the tones of the actual two guitars). This concept is by no means something new and you can see a variation on a design for a Les Paul-Strat switchable sounding guitar here: www.alloutput.com/Wiring/hsh_wiring.html .
Add to my gripes above that I had always wanted a white pearl pickguard instead of the boring stock white and you can see the job had to be done. I began with the pickguard. I tracked down a decent 3-ply plastic blank for a good price at Grizzley.com and did the work by hand, taping the plastic to a HD particle board template of the original pickguard (differs in shape from American made strats enough so that I couldn't just buy a ready-made pickguard) and a coping saw. Yes, it was slow, took some time, and it's not as perfect as a machined part would be, but I only cut myself once in the process. ;D The final results were satisfying. I even put a small bevel along the edge but only as deep as the first ply because I wanted to see only the pearl and not a white and black line going around the edge.
The new and improved Stagemaster
The pickup choice came after reading a lot on the Internet about the Lace Sensor Hot Gold "Duallys" being a true single coil design but having very low noise much like a humbucker. These pickups are also wound to DC resistances of 12.1K for the neck (2 x 6K) and 26.4K for the bridge (2 x 13.2K), so I assumed the response would be a bit warmer than other single coils despite a few people claiming that the original Lace Sensors can often be too bright. For the wiring, I originally thought of switching the pickups as if this would be a 4 single coil pickup design, but that proved to be frustrating when it came to finding a wiring diagram that could turn each pickup on/off and also provide series/parallel switching combiniations (not to mention the thing becoming a switch monster). I also realized that I would mostly want combinations of two single coils at a time. I settled on Wolf's Funky Five switching design without the phase switching option www.1728.com/guitar5.htm and this allows for series/parallel switching of different combinations of two single coils at a time providing much more tonal options than the original 3-way switch design could ever manage.
Some photos of the wiring:
Switch Detail
But what does it sound like?
First, let me just say I finally "discovered" the tone control with this new modification because having the original humbuckers I would always leave the tone full up so that when using them both I could avoid a very flat sound and get as much definition and dynamics as possible, and they were fat but still quite dull. The new mod gets me tones that are definately fat enough for my taste (not quite the true humbucker "punch" but close enough), to a leaner more single coil definition, to a shimmering strat or tele tone with plenty of sparkle commonly described as "glassy overtones," especially when the pickups are switched to parallel arrangements. If your ears have spent too much time in the land of humbuckers you might think the brightest settings are unuseable (for rock or blues). Not so because you can still attenuate the tone control and "dial in" what is a pleasing sound.
But what does it REALLY sound like?
By far, one of the most frustrating experiences for me throughout researching info on the Internet was the absolute PAUCITY of sound clips available that would have given me some idea what to expect from these pickups. So, below (scroll down to the last post) is a rough sound clip recorded not with an actual amp but using Amplitube. Because the plugin is designed to work just like a real amp (of course not perfectly), the pickups you have on your guitar make a difference in the response you get. I recorded each clip without making any adjustments to the amplifier settings so that you could hear what differences only the guitar switching makes. The volume and tone controls on the guitar are full up on each clip. Obviously this is not an exhaustive array of the tones available, but it gives you some idea of the range of humbucking sounds possible (Remember, in this switching design there are always two coils on at the same time).
Let me know if you'd like me to modify the audio clips in any way.
