My second warmoth? I hope...

[Bruno]

This is only an idea at the moment.
Neck: one piece bird's eye (AAA), clear gloss, 6100, 1-11/16", '59
Body: Mahogany + quilt maple (2 color sunburst).
Hardware: gotoh sd91hap tuners, wilkinson vsvg tremolo.
pu: S/S/S, Seymour Duncan SSL-4T (rw/rp in middle)
1V, 1 T and  3 mini toggle switch on/off/on

What do you think?

 

[Cagey]

Sounds good to me. I can't speak to a '59 contour, but that's just a matter of preference of feel rather than anything else, so it doesn't count in a design critique.

If you're looking at 6100 frets, be sure to buy the stainless ones. Trust me on this: they are the whip. You won't be sorry, and they're only $20 more. The improvement in feel is dramatic, and there's little or no difference in sound, plus they last almost forever. That's a "must have" option, in my opinion.

As for the three toggles vs. a flip switch - do it. I'm doing it on my current Strat. It makes much more sense. But, don't do the on/off/on thing. That's too hard to live with. Just go with on/off. Three of those will give you 8 choices if you count "all off", 7 otherwise, which is more than the flip switch will do. It's also a lot easier to wire, and if properly done will be quieter.

As for the one volume, one tone - that's another no-brainer. Just do it. Again with the simplified wiring as well as simplified operation. You could probably almost do without the one tone control as well, but you never know. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

[Bruno]

With Duncan SSL-4T  I need a on/off/on :
on==> Full pickup
off==> off
on==> Tapped pickup (ssl-4 T)


*__^

 

[bigguspickus]

2-color sunburst over a quilt maple top + a BE maple neck should look pretty cool... and make a few people "Jump" :toothy10:

If you go with a top rout, I'd look into the straight single coil routs & see if they work with SD's Quarter Pounders.

 

[Cagey]

I think tapped coils are a marketing gimmick. Your volume control is your friend. Just buy a decent hot pickup, and turn it down when you don't want to go full-tilt boogie. You start messing with trying to find the center position on a miniature 3 way toggle when you're in the middle of trying to actually play something, and all it'll do is teach you new cuss words. There often just isn't time.

Look at the guys who play live in front of people, and the ones who play in their bedrooms where nobody's watching or listening, and you'll notice one thing right away: the guys who play live have very simple instruments. There won't be tons of switches and knobs making their lives difficult or unpredictable.

 

[bigguspickus]

Look at the guys who play live in front of people, and the ones who play in their bedrooms where nobody's watching or listening, and you'll notice one thing right away: the guys who play live have very simple instruments. There won't be tons of switches and knobs making their lives difficult or unpredictable.

...Brian May?

I think those are switches on the guitar he's holding.

 

[Cagey]

Don't be silly. Those are hangers for his paperclips. You gotta keep 'em somewhere! Put 'em in your pocket, and you'll waste all kinds of time trying to fish one out while doing a solo.

Besides, he's not a good example. He's not only a great guitar player, he's got a doctorate in astrophysics. They don't just hand those out like Nobel Prizes.

 

[Bruno]

I think tapped coils are a marketing gimmick. Your volume control is your friend. Just buy a decent hot pickup, and turn it down when you don't want to go full-tilt boogie. You start messing with trying to find the center position on a miniature 3 way toggle when you're in the middle of trying to actually play something, and all it'll do is teach you new cuss words. There often just isn't time.

Look at the guys who play live in front of people, and the ones who play in their bedrooms where nobody's watching or listening, and you'll notice one thing right away: the guys who play live have very simple instruments. There won't be tons of switches and knobs making their lives difficult or unpredictable.

Probably you say the truth.
But .. just one question: Mark Knopfler playing only in his room or with Dire Straits?  :laughing8:
Because the system in object (tapped pickup and 3 toggle switch on/off/on) is taken from legendary Scheter strat S8001 that mark play in Alchemy (live cd, dvd, vhs....)
Do you know Tunnel of love ? Telegraph road ?  :icon_thumright:

Seriously: it's true that simplicity pays, but you must also consider what kind you play and how you play.
Never generalize.
NEVER

For me 3 mini toggle switch are absolutely no problem.
I play guitar since 1983.
You believe me, I don't choose the first thing that I see
:glasses9:

 

[Cagey]

I'm familiar with the Strat (or Strat-style guitar) Mark Knopfler played with the three toggles - that red unit? - that's where I got the idea. I thought it was ingenious. I've always been surprised that nobody else does it. To me, it makes perfect sense. I don't know if he uses three-position switches, though. To me, that would be far too complicated.

Or, perhaps "complicated" is the wrong word. Certainly the switch positions and what they do could be easily mastered. What I mean is, it would take too much time to exert the fine control needed to switch things around in mid-song. Often, changing pickups also means changing volume and/or tone settings as well. If you're trying to cram finding a mid-position of a miniature switch along with adjusting the volume and tone in the span of a quarter note, you're liable to be in trouble.

But, it depends on the tune. Some quarter notes are longer than others <grin>

 

[Bruno]

The sunburst schecter strat have 3 mini toggle switch on/off/on (with schecter monstertone tapped pu)
The Candy Apple Red schecter strat had 3 Seymour duncan SSL-1 (vintage alnico 5) during *alchemy epoc*: now have 3 duncan aps pro 1 (vintage alnico pro 2)

 

[bigguspickus]

Don't listen to Cagey, he specialized in talking out his arse.

 

[Bruno]

I'm sorry but I don't understand English too well, never mind the slang ... :icon_scratch:
  :glasses9:

 

[bigguspickus]

Ha, it just means he's quick to generalize and make arbitrary statements regardless of facts. Then he'll fight anyone with evidence disproving what he just made up.

It's probably best not to pick on people like that because they can't help it, but it's hard to ignore sometimes.

 

[Cagey]

I think I'm going to like that setup. It makes a lot of sense, and seems like it would be easier to deal with on the fly, while giving you more predictable control. I'd wire it up today if I could get into the basement where all the toys are, but my knee has been killing me for the last week or so and I can't do stairs. Hell, I'm lucky I can use the bathroom <grin>

 

[Cagey]

Ha, it just means he's quick to generalize and make arbitrary statements regardless of facts. Then he'll fight anyone with evidence disproving what he just made up.

It's probably best not to pick on people like that because they can't help it, but it's hard to ignore sometimes.

I do not "make things up" and I do not fight with anyone who has facts and evidence. I have found that it is best not to bring a knife to a gunfight.

Opinions, of course, are another matter <grin>

 

[JimBeed]

Hmmm ok here it goes.....
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSlGeEFCb_w[/youtube]
Perfect time  :laughing7:
Far as switches go, while i practice we cant be beaten by rose tattoo i set the neck pick up and bridge to the right tone, and theres a five second gap where i can flip it from bridge to both, and it works really well for the song.
Far as three way switch goes, i find if i just flick the switch it goes middle not the next one.

 

[Bruno]

Leaving aside the question switches (for me no problem  :guitaristgif, my doubts concerns the wood.
THE WOOD
One of my guitar is mahogany/maple flame top(16mm :headbang1 + bird's eye neck/ebony(gabon)
I remember.... I went *crazy* to find the best pu for this guitar: too brite, too brown, to clean....whatever I choose, there was always a * too *.
EMG SA was my **only** solution.

Now I think (I do not want to repeat that experience :icon_scratch:.....I have 2 guitars with EMG  :laughing3: :laughing3: :laughing3 :
rock blues sounds, mahogany+bird's are the best choise?
Honestly....  :icon_scratch:

(ok very nice but, I play guitar i don't want only watch my guitar  :icon_jokercolor

A good (and old) Italian luthier told me:

Bruno you can try and try all that you want, but in the end, the best woods for a strat guitar - although rear rout as you like - are always the same: swamp ash or alder for the body (preferably light) and hard rock maple (best q-sawn). You can try a full rosewood neck, it would be interesting: more mid/bass and great resonance