Korinablaster: HSH Black Korina Tele

[rgand]

Those Schroeder bridges are nice. I've been eyeing them for a while. I just haven't ordered one but maybe after my next build....  :icon_biggrin:

And, yes to the Callaham saddles. Outstanding workmanship on those.

 

[Cactus Jack]

I've never had any good luck trying to make single coils sound good in combination with humbuckers. Sounds like fun in theory, but just doesn't seem to work out as a practical sound.

If you haven’t tried Thornbuckers, put them on your list soon. Their split tone is the reason I love them so much. I have a pair in a G&L ASAT Deluxe, it’s a magical guitar, and the split tones in the guitar are some of the best single coil tones I’ve ever had. No joke, I like them better than the Fralins in my Strat, Bare Kuckles in my Tele, and just about all my other guitars, they are that good.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Those Schroeder bridges are nice. I've been eyeing them for a while. I just haven't ordered one but maybe after my next build....  :icon_biggrin:

And, yes to the Callaham saddles. Outstanding workmanship on those.

The bridge arrives Monday. I’ll post some pics and share my first impressions. A Tele purist would hate it, but I think it looks pretty classy.

 

[stratamania]

Good to hear and see the progress.

If you are continuing with the Brent Mason wiring the schematic does not look correct to me.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Good to hear and see the progress.

If you are continuing with the Brent Mason wiring the schematic does not look correct to me.

What do you see in the wiring. Just thinking, couldn’t I simply wire up a standard Tele harness and simply daisy chain in a third volume?

Let’s chat wiring options for a sec, and let’s exclude the Triple Shots for a moment.

By far the most common HSH wiring I see is a simple 5 way auto switch. This gives you classic humbucker tones and the 2 & 4 Strat position.

What I don’t like about this setup is the lack of bridge and neck options. This is easily solved via a blender pot, which I have on a Strat and Love.

In my mind, never tried in practice, the Brent Mason approach of a 3 way switch and a middle blend pot seems more intuitive, but I could be wrong. I love Strat quack and the ability to dial I. The exact level seems like a win.

What do you guys think? Does a 5 way auto split switch with blender pot make more sense than a 3 way with middle control? I’m open to either and ultimately both give you the same base 7 tones so the simplest path forward is the one I’ll probably take.

If I go with a 5 way I’ll probably use an Ibanez or PRS switch as they seem to provide some usable base tones without the need for additional splitting. I installed an RG switch in a HH guitar and really like the combos, but it did require a magnet flip to get hum canceling in all positions.

Thanks for the help. Let’s dial in the base wiring, then I’ll re-examine if Triple Shots or additional wiring is needed/wanted. This being my first HSH project please share your wisdom and knowledge, and when needed, step in and save me from myself .

 

[Cactus Jack]

Here's a simple scheme that would provide some usable tones:

Lindy Fralin offers a push pull blender pot:

Use that pot with the following diagram you'd get a nice LP, Strat, Tele monstrosity.

 

[zebra]

We didn't want a run of the mill Tele bridge. After scouring the web for something unique I ran into Schroeder Guitar Hardware. Never heard of these guys before, but they sure make a pretty bridge. I picked this one up:

This bridge is beautiful.  Great choice!  :icon_thumright:

 

[stratamania]

Good to hear and see the progress.

If you are continuing with the Brent Mason wiring the schematic does not look correct to me.

What do you see in the wiring. Just thinking, couldn’t I simply wire up a standard Tele harness and simply daisy chain in a third volume?

One volume pot is shorting out into the other I believe.

Yes without the push-pull it is just the volume pot output for the middle pickup needs to be wired directly to the other volume pot. So it is quite similar.

Do a search for "terry downs mason wiring" and you would find a diagram of the wiring. Omit the push-pull part if you do not need it.

Let’s chat wiring options for a sec, and let’s exclude the Triple Shots for a moment.

By far the most common HSH wiring I see is a simple 5 way auto switch. This gives you classic humbucker tones and the 2 & 4 Strat position.

What I don’t like about this setup is the lack of bridge and neck options. This is easily solved via a blender pot, which I have on a Strat and Love.

Its also easily solved with a 5-Way Superswitch. (When people started doing blend pots and extra switches these were not available) It is a 4P5T switch which means you could easily do auto splits in 2 and 4 and for the middle position have neck and bridge and forego the middle pickup on its own.

Let’s chat wiring options for a sec, and let’s exclude the Triple Shots for a moment.

In my mind, never tried in practice, the Brent Mason approach of a 3 way switch and a middle blend pot seems more intuitive, but I could be wrong. I love Strat quack and the ability to dial I. The exact level seems like a win.

What do you guys think? Does a 5 way auto split switch with blender pot make more sense than a 3 way with middle control? I’m open to either and ultimately both give you the same base 7 tones so the simplest path forward is the one I’ll probably take.

If I go with a 5 way I’ll probably use an Ibanez or PRS switch as they seem to provide some usable base tones without the need for additional splitting. I installed an RG switch in a HH guitar and really like the combos, but it did require a magnet flip to get hum canceling in all positions.

Thanks for the help. Let’s dial in the base wiring, then I’ll re-examine if Triple Shots or additional wiring is needed/wanted. This being my first HSH project please share your wisdom and knowledge, and when needed, step in and save me from myself .

See above about the super switch option it will be able to easily provide on its own :

• Bridge
• Bridge Split and Middle
• Bridge and Neck
• Neck Split and Middle
• Neck

Those are probably the most useable combinations. Or are you after others?

 

[rgand]

Those Schroeder bridges are nice. I've been eyeing them for a while. I just haven't ordered one but maybe after my next build....  :icon_biggrin:

And, yes to the Callaham saddles. Outstanding workmanship on those.

The bridge arrives Monday. I’ll post some pics and share my first impressions. A Tele purist would hate it, but I think it looks pretty classy.

Looking forward to the photo(s).

 

[Rick]

Others ... freeway switches has a plethora of remarkably complex yet simple options.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Others ... freeway switches has a plethora of remarkably complex yet simple options.

I just looked at those. They seem really awesome, but based on the schematics it appears only the Gibson style toggle works with HSH. I might throw a 5 way blade in Strat...looks pretty nice.

 

[Cactus Jack]

For those that are interested, below are the Terry Downs diagrams. Also, below is a Super Switch option similar to Strat's suggestion, but with the addition of coil splits.

 

[Cactus Jack]

We didn't want a run of the mill Tele bridge. After scouring the web for something unique I ran into Schroeder Guitar Hardware. Never heard of these guys before, but they sure make a pretty bridge. I picked this one up:

This bridge is beautiful.  Great choice!  :icon_thumright:

Guys...pretty sure this bridge won't work. The body was originally routed for a Tele bridge pickup. When converted to a humbucker I think the bottom edge of the Tele will stick out. Maybe a humbucker ring will cover it, but I'm not feeling good about it. 

 

[Cagey]

Humbucker mounting ring will almost cover it, but not quite. I've gone three different ways with it.
1. Use a tele bridge designed for humbuckers, or
2. Get a custom ring made, or 
3. Live with it. It's barely noticeable unless you're looking for it.

Note that you only have to worry about it, if you want to worry at all, if the body was originally routed for a bridge Tele pickup, then rec-cut later.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Humbucker mounting ring will almost cover it, but not quite. I've gone three different ways with it.
1. Use a tele bridge designed for humbuckers, or
2. Get a custom ring made, or 
3. Live with it. It's barely noticeable unless you're looking for it.

Note that you only have to worry about it, if you want to worry at all, if the body was originally routed for a bridge Tele pickup, then rec-cut later.

This was a showcase Tele body. I selected the HSH option so unless they photo shop the routes it will be off. Darn...learning a lot via trial and error .

Does anyone know of a unique 4 bolt string through Tele humbucker bridge I can check out?

 

[Isanguard]

Awesome build man. I’m hoping at least one of my girls is into guitar. Have a few years before any of that though. Relic’d one of mine in the meantime so they can mess with it a bit...still makes me cringe though haha.

 

[Cagey]

This isn't a good pic but if you look close you can see the little anomaly beneath the bridge pickup...

Here's one I had recut, but Doug made me a special humbucker mounting ring to go with the special knob and bridge...

In this case, the little anomaly ends up hidden.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Amazing instruments. Wow. Doug, we need to talk!

One thought I had was tracking down a Fender Wide Range humbucker conversion ring. Seeing how close it is the slightly larger ring might workout just fine.

 

[stratamania]

Or as you would end up buying more stuff in any case, you could get a humbucker Tele bridge for this body and another Tele body for the bridge. That way the aesthetics are solved and you can fit twice as many wiring options into two guitars.

On the wiring, you have three copies of the Terry Downs Nashville wiring in the post, not sure if that was intended.

If you like the idea of the super-switch it can, of course, be combined with push-pull pots and the like for more versatility. The diagram you have above is for a megaswitch which does a similar thing but is not quite the same.

A good starting point is what are the combinations you would like to get and then look at if there is a solution to do it.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Hardware is starting to roll in:

You guys know I'm not easily pleased and at times have unreasonable expectations. I got to say, both the bridge and neck plate exceeded my expectations by miles.

Wow, both pieces are incredibly nice. The neck plate is a nice hunk of steel. For $6 it's a phenomenal deal. The seller offers blank plates, different engravings, this is my go to shop for neck plates moving forward.

The bridge is a piece of art. It was excellently packed, came wrapped in tissue paper, the presentation was very Apple like. The bridge is flawless. One thing I really like about it is the company's logo is hidden under the saddles...I hate when companies blast their logos on everything. One thing I didn't realize is due to the arched back the saddles require longer screws. As such the Callaham saddles wont fit as the screws are not interchangeable. This will be resolved with a quick trip to the hardware store. I actually really like the brass saddles, pretty sure they're Wilkenson, but they look sharp. Overall, I'm pretty darn happy.