Question Hello, I’m trying to rewire the guitar I bought when I was 14, a 1987 Ibanez 540P Superstrat. The guitar now has a HSS setup with 1 500k volume knob, 1 500k tone knob, and 3 DPDT on/on/on 3-way microswitches. I bought a Seymour Duncan Invader for the bridge and Hot Rails for the […]
This article will show you how to perform a coil-splitting modification on a Seymour Duncan Custom 5. The Custom 5 is described as similar to the 59 model, but with twice the output gain. The high output gain makes this humbucker perfectly suited for the coil-splitting modification. This post will walk you through this modification, […]
Question Hi, Can you help clarify an issue for me regarding the start and finish wires of a 4-wire humbucker and what wire should be connected to which for a normal series output? Using the multimeter and iron bar method I can identify the start and finish wires for each coil of the humbucker I […]
Question Hi, I have all my Strat switches wired without any jumpers. I always only have master volume and master tone. I get all the sounds I’m supposed to, but I’m wondering if wiring it this way compromises the tone at all. Thanks, Eric Answer Hello Eric, thank you for the great question! I’m afraid […]
Question Hi Humbucker Soup, I’ve put a humbucker on my flat-top acoustic guitar but it has no significant amount of metal to ground to. Is there a clever way around this? Thanks! Answer Hello Paul, Thanks for the great question. The primary ground point on your guitar is the sleeve lug on the output jack. […]
Modifying your guitar to get a personalized sound can be a lot of fun, and there are countless modifications you can make to do just that. One of the simpler ones that can have a big effect on your guitar is the bass roll-off, which turns your standard tone control (which usually removes high frequencies […]
This guide will illustrate how to install all models of Stephens Design pickups in your guitar. We’ll cover everything from single-coils to humbuckers, and we’ll provide you with plenty of illustrations and diagrams to follow. Dave Stephens created Stephens Design pickups after many years of working with other artists and playing the blues. His work […]
In this article, we’ll cover how to coil-split a DiMarzio Chopper Telecaster bridge pickup. Many players switch out their stock Telecaster pickup for a mini-humbucker to cut down on the noise that a single-coil pickup produces. There are many suitable brands of mini-humbuckers available, but the DiMarzio Chopper is designed specifically for the Fender Telecaster, […]
Question Hi Ed, I’m just in the process of building my take on an Albert Collins Telecaster using a Fender Twin Head humbucker at the neck and a Warman Alnico 2/5 medium output bridge pickup. I intend sticking to a 3 way blade switch, 500k volume pot and a 250k tone pot with 0.33uf cap. […]
Monty’s Pickup Installation Guide In this article, we are going to explain how to install different types of Monty’s pickups. “Monty’s” is a group of luthiers and musicians based in London, who have created a full line of guitar pickups, as well as a twin JFET Boost pedal. They have been in business for more […]
Greasebucket Tone Circuit For many people, the tone control on their guitar is something they seldom use, because it often makes the guitar sound too warm, especially when playing older, vintage guitars. While adjusting the value of the capacitor can help reduce how muddy the tone gets, and a treble bleed modification helps roll off […]
READER QUESTION: How would I wire a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickup in the bridge position, with two single-coils in the neck & middle (hss) using a super switch (5-way)? Thanks! Shane