Post by ozboomer on Jan 4, 2011 23:56:04 GMT -5
This development within the SimpleMod stream of designs is a fairly simple arrangement based, in part, on the well-known "Strat Lover's Strat" design.
Here, we simply allow the Bridge pickup to be switched into the circuit either in its normal (parallel) mode or in a series mode with the other pickups. We also have a separate Bridge Tone Control that operates on the Bridge pickup alone at any time, as well as an overall Master Tone Control.
Background
Like always, this mod is about experimentation and increasing understanding of what makes a significant difference to the sound of a Strat-style guitar.
Similar to what I did with SimpleMod-e, I started this project using a pre-loaded pickguard that has a standard Strat-style configuration of electronics; although, it does use 250k pots (giving a darker sound) and has a single 33nf tone cap.
Here are a couple of pictures of the as-supplied pre-loaded pickguard (click any image for a LARGER version):-
...and its associated schematic:-
The modifications made to the wiring are:-
Schematic:
Wiring Diagram:
Pickup Combinations: Edit: 6-Jan-2010
...where + = combined in parallel and * = combined in series
Sample Sounds
SimpleMod-f-F1.mp3 - Some simple chords, etc showing only the "new" sounds available when the 5-way is in positions 1-5. Again, see below about some observations...
Note: The filename will become a link when I have uploaded an MP3 file of sample sounds - I haven't prepared it yet(!)
Discussion
I started-off being somewhat disappointed with this project as the pre-loaded pickguard had a "cheap'n'nasty" feel to it. Instead of the tortoiseshell pickguard being a single- (or multi-) layered pickguard made from (almost) translucent plastic, the pickguard was actually a single-layer of black plastic that had an ink-jet or laser printed image of a brown tortoiseshell pattern stuck onto it, with a micro-thin clear top applied. This meant the brown tortoiseshell looks almost black against the dark blue guitar, which is NOT the effect I was looking for (see the photo below).
Also, the pickguard was not cut-out very well, with extremely sharp corners and edges all over it; and the cut-out for the neck was too small and had to be manually opened-up some -- the pickguard was physically dangerous(!), which I hadn't experienced before (certainly from this supplier, anyway).
...and the maker had installed 250k pots when I asked for 500k pots, so that was a bit of a bind.. but one that I was prepared to work with, as I didn't want the weeks of delay to arrange a replacement loaded pickguard as I wanted to get on with building the project.
To top it all off, once I started re-wiring, I found the wires had all been cut to fairly tight tolerances, so the idea I had of moving wires ended-up being more like "replacing wires", which was Ok for the pots, etc... but caused some minor problems with the pickup leads being a bit short.
Anyway, I thought I'd try something a little different with the construction for this project... and I actually wrote-up something of a "check list", so I could keep track of how the re-wiring was progressing, as well as ensuring everything was done; viz:-
It worked pretty well, as the whole re-wiring took me about 1.5 hours from go to Whoa! So, as a concept, for simple modifications, it's probably worth the bit of extra work at design time to think of how you'll actually make the wiring changes... and consider the pre-wired pickguard and/or a creating a "changes check list".
One thing I would note, though... It would be worthwhile to ensure you use a SPDT switch that has holes in the terminals; trying to solder multiple wires to a simple "spade"-type lug on a switch is a major pain(!)
As far as the actual sounds of the design are concerned, I'm sort-of confused. When I first played the guitar, things were sounding like I'd hoped, with the series and parallel sounds coming through... but as time has gone on, the sounds seem to have changed somehow, so maybe there's some problem with wires being "stressed" under the pickguard... but anyway, I have most of the sounds happening, so I can still make some meaningful assessment of the design.
In short, I'm getting the same impression as I generally get - for me, the series sounds are too loud (given I have no blender and no special tone controls that cut the output levels significantly). The 250k pots are definitely making things too dark/dull, although the 12nF caps seem to give the "normal" maximum level of "dark" I like.
Overall, it's an Ok concept to have the Bridge pickup added in series with the others... but it's not something I particularly like. More than anything, this mod confirms that it's definitely more useful to use some sort of blender to control how much of a series connection is brought into the sound; a simple "all on/off" switch is often too drastic.
The one place where a series "all on/off" connection is probably Ok is when there is some significant "level-altering" tone control in use (like in the SimpleMod-d design, where a G&L tone control is used) OR when a genuine "out-of-phase" sound is used... but I'm probably done with fiddling about with series sounds (for now).
An interesting (although, ultimately annoying) side-effect with this design is that when the "series" switch is ON, only position 3 (which gives a (B*M) pickup combination) is noise-cancelling. Unfortunate.
Some Photos
The control section viewed from behind the pickguard before the mods are made:-
...and the same area after the re-wiring has been done:-
A view from the rear of the guitar, showing where the "long lead" caps come through into the cavity:-
The guitar with the modified pickguard installed. Notice how dark the tortoiseshell pickguard looks:-
It would be best to post any further thoughts, comments, etc about this release of "SimpleMod" in the SimpleMod + ToneMod = ... thread.
Even though all of this is done with my personal tastes in mind, I hope this proves useful...
John
Addendum Edit: 6-Jan-2010
As detailed below in this thread, a significant error was identified in the original design which led to errors in the operation of the circuit; specifically, any of the Bridge and Middle pickup combinations in series mode would not work as intended.
Consequently, I've updated the "Pickup Combinations" table above to match the circuit shown...
...and now let me present the revised, "correct" design:-
...and the pickup combinations for THIS design are as intended (I think):-
Pickup Combinations:
...where + = combined in parallel and * = combined in series
Note that I'm not too sure about the combination flagged with a 1. Is what I've described correct? Will the "B" sound over-ride the "(B*M)" sound? (see below for some (dubious) observations...)
John
Here, we simply allow the Bridge pickup to be switched into the circuit either in its normal (parallel) mode or in a series mode with the other pickups. We also have a separate Bridge Tone Control that operates on the Bridge pickup alone at any time, as well as an overall Master Tone Control.
Background
Like always, this mod is about experimentation and increasing understanding of what makes a significant difference to the sound of a Strat-style guitar.
Similar to what I did with SimpleMod-e, I started this project using a pre-loaded pickguard that has a standard Strat-style configuration of electronics; although, it does use 250k pots (giving a darker sound) and has a single 33nf tone cap.
Here are a couple of pictures of the as-supplied pre-loaded pickguard (click any image for a LARGER version):-
...and its associated schematic:-
The modifications made to the wiring are:-
- The Neck tone pot is re-wired to become a Master Tone control for the entire guitar; its tone capacitor is also changed to a 12nF value
- The Middle Tone pot is re-wired to become a Bridge pickup tone control with its own 12nF capacitor
- A SPDT toggle switch is added, which will select either the normal (parallel) means of combining the Bridge pickup with the other pickups OR the Bridge pickup can be placed in series with whatever combination of pickups is selected by the 5-way switch
- Instead of wiring the tone capacitors directly to the pots, long wires are used so the capacitors can be stored in the rear cavity. This will mean changes to the tone caps can be done without having to take-down the entire guitar (which wastes strings, time, etc)
- A "treble bleed" circuit is added to the Volume pot, to help maintain higher frequency levels at lower volumes. NOTE that I've used a different resistor value here (150k instead of my "normal" 220k value) following JohnH's recent investigations, as explained in his A better treble bleed circuit posting.
Schematic:
Wiring Diagram:
Pickup Combinations: Edit: 6-Jan-2010
5-Way | Normal | Series Bridge |
1. | B | B |
2. | B+M | B |
3. | M | (B*M) |
4. | M+N | B*(M+N) |
5. | N | B*N |
...where + = combined in parallel and * = combined in series
Sample Sounds
SimpleMod-f-F1.mp3 - Some simple chords, etc showing only the "new" sounds available when the 5-way is in positions 1-5. Again, see below about some observations...
Note: The filename will become a link when I have uploaded an MP3 file of sample sounds - I haven't prepared it yet(!)
Discussion
I started-off being somewhat disappointed with this project as the pre-loaded pickguard had a "cheap'n'nasty" feel to it. Instead of the tortoiseshell pickguard being a single- (or multi-) layered pickguard made from (almost) translucent plastic, the pickguard was actually a single-layer of black plastic that had an ink-jet or laser printed image of a brown tortoiseshell pattern stuck onto it, with a micro-thin clear top applied. This meant the brown tortoiseshell looks almost black against the dark blue guitar, which is NOT the effect I was looking for (see the photo below).
Also, the pickguard was not cut-out very well, with extremely sharp corners and edges all over it; and the cut-out for the neck was too small and had to be manually opened-up some -- the pickguard was physically dangerous(!), which I hadn't experienced before (certainly from this supplier, anyway).
...and the maker had installed 250k pots when I asked for 500k pots, so that was a bit of a bind.. but one that I was prepared to work with, as I didn't want the weeks of delay to arrange a replacement loaded pickguard as I wanted to get on with building the project.
To top it all off, once I started re-wiring, I found the wires had all been cut to fairly tight tolerances, so the idea I had of moving wires ended-up being more like "replacing wires", which was Ok for the pots, etc... but caused some minor problems with the pickup leads being a bit short.
Anyway, I thought I'd try something a little different with the construction for this project... and I actually wrote-up something of a "check list", so I could keep track of how the re-wiring was progressing, as well as ensuring everything was done; viz:-
Some Notes
----------
SW = Parallel / Series Switch; a = TOP, b= MIDDLE, c = BOTTOM
5-Way = 5-way switch
Preparations
------------
[ ] * Fly lead for SW -> 5-Way (org)
[ ] * Fly lead for Vol pot -> SW (blk)
The Sequence
------------
PART A:
[ ] - disconnect nck, mid & brg grounds from Vol pot
[ ] - connect nck+mid grounds to SW:b
[ ] - connect blk fly lead to Vol pot shell ground
[ ] - connect Vol pot blk fly lead + brg ground to SW:c
PART B:
[ ] - disconnect brg hot from 5-Way brg terminal
[ ] - connect brg hot + org fly lead to SW:a
[ ] - disconnect mid tone pot lead from 5-Way alt mid terminal
[ ] - connect SW:a org fly lead + mid tone pot lead to 5-Way brg terminal
PART C:
[ ] - disconnect nck tone pot lead from 5-Way alt nck terminal
[ ] - connect nck tone pot lead to 5-Way common
PART D:
[ ] - disconnect lead between tone pots' non-CW terminals
[ ] - re-wire nck (now Master) tone cap - 22nF - with long leads*
[ ] - re-wire mid (now Bridge) tone cap - 22nF - with long leads*
[ ] - wire-in Treble Bleed on Vol pot
* Use long leads on capacitors as the actual components
will be placed in the rear cavity for easier changes
It worked pretty well, as the whole re-wiring took me about 1.5 hours from go to Whoa! So, as a concept, for simple modifications, it's probably worth the bit of extra work at design time to think of how you'll actually make the wiring changes... and consider the pre-wired pickguard and/or a creating a "changes check list".
One thing I would note, though... It would be worthwhile to ensure you use a SPDT switch that has holes in the terminals; trying to solder multiple wires to a simple "spade"-type lug on a switch is a major pain(!)
As far as the actual sounds of the design are concerned, I'm sort-of confused. When I first played the guitar, things were sounding like I'd hoped, with the series and parallel sounds coming through... but as time has gone on, the sounds seem to have changed somehow, so maybe there's some problem with wires being "stressed" under the pickguard... but anyway, I have most of the sounds happening, so I can still make some meaningful assessment of the design.
In short, I'm getting the same impression as I generally get - for me, the series sounds are too loud (given I have no blender and no special tone controls that cut the output levels significantly). The 250k pots are definitely making things too dark/dull, although the 12nF caps seem to give the "normal" maximum level of "dark" I like.
Overall, it's an Ok concept to have the Bridge pickup added in series with the others... but it's not something I particularly like. More than anything, this mod confirms that it's definitely more useful to use some sort of blender to control how much of a series connection is brought into the sound; a simple "all on/off" switch is often too drastic.
The one place where a series "all on/off" connection is probably Ok is when there is some significant "level-altering" tone control in use (like in the SimpleMod-d design, where a G&L tone control is used) OR when a genuine "out-of-phase" sound is used... but I'm probably done with fiddling about with series sounds (for now).
An interesting (although, ultimately annoying) side-effect with this design is that when the "series" switch is ON, only position 3 (which gives a (B*M) pickup combination) is noise-cancelling. Unfortunate.
Some Photos
The control section viewed from behind the pickguard before the mods are made:-
...and the same area after the re-wiring has been done:-
A view from the rear of the guitar, showing where the "long lead" caps come through into the cavity:-
The guitar with the modified pickguard installed. Notice how dark the tortoiseshell pickguard looks:-
It would be best to post any further thoughts, comments, etc about this release of "SimpleMod" in the SimpleMod + ToneMod = ... thread.
Even though all of this is done with my personal tastes in mind, I hope this proves useful...
John
Addendum Edit: 6-Jan-2010
As detailed below in this thread, a significant error was identified in the original design which led to errors in the operation of the circuit; specifically, any of the Bridge and Middle pickup combinations in series mode would not work as intended.
Consequently, I've updated the "Pickup Combinations" table above to match the circuit shown...
...and now let me present the revised, "correct" design:-
...and the pickup combinations for THIS design are as intended (I think):-
Pickup Combinations:
5-Way | Normal | Series Bridge |
1. | B | B |
2. | B+M | (B+(B*M))1 |
3. | M | (B*M) |
4. | M+N | B*(M+N) |
5. | N | B*N |
...where + = combined in parallel and * = combined in series
Note that I'm not too sure about the combination flagged with a 1. Is what I've described correct? Will the "B" sound over-ride the "(B*M)" sound? (see below for some (dubious) observations...)
John