Switch Mod Help

HNB

I worked off of a mustang mod where the three way switch becomes a pickup selecter for my jagstang. (Neck, Both, Bridge) That switch is working well. I figured I could use the same idea to split my Red Red Dually Lace Pickup in the bridge. (Up, Both, Bottom Pickup) Got it wired like the diagram below, but the dually isn't working right. Up works, middle works, but bottom cuts sound completely. I think I might have a bad switch, but thought I would check and see if there is any issue with my wiring. Thanks in advance for advice or input.

HNB

So the switch is bad, but what I get with a good switch with the wiring above is:

Up: Upper pickup and bottom. (Bottom is quieter, but does make sound.)

Middle: Both pickups even.

Down: Lower pickup and upper. (Upper is slightly quieter.)

I can't figure out how the other pickup is getting sound looking at the switch. Anyone been able to get this working?

HNB

It is done. The closest mod I found for the humbucker was one for a mustang I found by searching forums. The diagram is below and pictures too. The switch mod I did on the bridge does:

Up = Upper pickup alone.

Middle = Off

Down = Humbucker standard.

North switch is a pickup selecter switch mod.

Killswitch is added and TBX tone. I had to replace the switches with some from Stewmac. I got the new knobs there too. The new pickguard I picked up on ebay. I did the hardtail conversion as well via mad mike. Strap locks are in. Blue lace in neck and red red dually in the bridge. The tune-o-matic is rapped with electrical tape to help hold it steady.

Overall look.

Control plate.

fourdogslong

HNB said:
It is done. The closest mod I found for the humbucker was one for a mustang I found by searching forums. The diagram is below and pictures too. The switch mod I did on the bridge does:
Up = Upper pickup alone.
Middle = Off
Down = Humbucker standard.
North switch is a pickup selecter switch mod.
Killswitch is added and TBX tone. I had to replace the switches with some from Stewmac. I got the new knobs there too. The new pickguard I picked up on ebay. I did the hardtail conversion as well via mad mike. Strap locks are in. Blue lace in neck and red red dually in the bridge. The tune-o-matic is rapped with electrical tape to help hold it steady.

Nice mods, how do you like the TBX tone control?

I was thinking about getting one.

thanks

HNB

fourdogslong said:
Nice mods, how do you like the TBX tone control?
I was thinking about getting one.
thanks

The tbx is very cool. Gives you a lot more tone options. You can get really high treble that a standard tone pot doesn't do as well. I have one in my 85 strat as well. 😀

fourdogslong

HNB said:
The tbx is very cool. Gives you a lot more tone options. You can get really high treble that a standard tone pot doesn't do as well. I have one in my 85 strat as well. 😀

Seems nice, can it also sounds just like a stock tone pot or does it add its "signature" all the time?

thanks

HNB

fourdogslong said:
Seems nice, can it also sounds just like a stock tone pot or does it add its "signature" all the time?
thanks

Basically a standard tone pot from 0-10 just adds treble. At 0 it is full bass and no treble. When you turn it to ten you get full bass and full treble.

The TBX does the same sounds as that but from 0-5. At five (and there is a little catch so you can feel when the knob hits five) you have full bass and treble. As you turn it up more towards ten the bass is taken off so at ten you now have full treble and no bass.

So your sound between 0-5 on a tbx sounds like 0-10 on a normal pot. Past five you start getting more treble than a standard pot and at ten it is full blast treble. 😀

I tend to actually keep it more in the high treble range (past where a normal tone pot would go) and use my EQ on my amp if I want to add more bass end. Some of my pedals also have tone adjustments if I want more bass. I tend to like a brighter sound though with guitar. (Kind of a tone you generally get from a tele.)

With a tbx tone pot you can really hear a difference in tone because you can adjust it twice as much as with a standard pot.

Hope that helps. 😀 If you put one in (and they are VERY easy to install; basically the same install as a regular tone pot), let me know what you think.

fourdogslong

HNB said:
Basically a standard tone pot from 0-10 just adds treble. At 0 it is full bass and no treble. When you turn it to ten you get full bass and full treble.
The TBX does the same sounds as that but from 0-5. At five (and there is a little catch so you can feel when the knob hits five) you have full bass and treble. As you turn it up more towards ten the bass is taken off so at ten you now have full treble and no bass.
So your sound between 0-5 on a tbx sounds like 0-10 on a normal pot. Past five you start getting more treble than a standard pot and at ten it is full blast treble. 😀
I tend to actually keep it more in the high treble range (past where a normal tone pot would go) and use my EQ on my amp if I want to add more bass end. Some of my pedals also have tone adjustments if I want more bass. I tend to like a brighter sound though with guitar. (Kind of a tone you generally get from a tele.)
With a tbx tone pot you can really hear a difference in tone because you can adjust it twice as much as with a standard pot.
Hope that helps. 😀 If you put one in (and they are VERY easy to install; basically the same install as a regular tone pot), let me know what you think.

Nice thanks for the detailed explanation, right now I'm still "shoping" for some mods I'd like to do on my jagstang, I think I'll keep the original pickups, imo they sound pretty good with the right amp, I didn't like the JB quite as much when I put one in it, maybe it was because of the 250k pot, who knows, but I thought it sounded compressed and too hot for my taste.

I'll most likely do some wiring mods to get 1 switch for pickup selection and the other to have full control, tone bypass and tone/volume bypass, I also consider putting a push/pull pot for out of phase, I'd be cutious to try parallel/serie for the humbucker as well... anyway, those are just a couple of ideas, I still have to see what's possible and what's not.

I'll let you know if I get a TBX.

fourdogslong

Oh and I forgot to ask, does the original pot cover fits on the TBX?

I changed the pots on an ibanez a couple years ago and the original pot covers didn't fit anymore after that... it sucked.

HNB

fourdogslong said:
Oh and I forgot to ask, does the original pot cover fits on the TBX?
I changed the pots on an ibanez a couple years ago and the original pot covers didn't fit anymore after that... it sucked.

I think the TBX pot ended up being ok for knob size, but I put on the tele style ones that adjust with an allen wrench. I like the metal feel more than the plastic ones that come stock, but I know some people are in to a more stock setup. I didn't mind the original pickups in there, but I was going for a Jonny Greenwood setup and my bridge pickup was coming unwrapped so I figured might as well change those out. It is all about the sound you want, so if you like it, I would stick with it. 😀

fourdogslong

HNB said:
I think the TBX pot ended up being ok for knob size, but I put on the tele style ones that adjust with an allen wrench. I like the metal feel more than the plastic ones that come stock, but I know some people are in to a more stock setup. I didn't mind the original pickups in there, but I was going for a Jonny Greenwood setup and my bridge pickup was coming unwrapped so I figured might as well change those out. It is all about the sound you want, so if you like it, I would stick with it. 😀

Well with the stock pots I liked the stock pickup better than the SH-4 JB, everybody else around here seems to think that the stock one is total crap but I have to disagree.

Anyway, I didn't realized you put a Red Red Dually Lace Pickup in there, I didn't hear much about them, all I know is that it's supposed to sound more like a single coil but with the balls of a humbucker... do you have any before/after clips of your jagstang?

How different does it sound now, what didn't you like about the stock pickups? I'm also curious about the neck pickup.

Like I said I only compared it to one aftermarket pickup, if I find a sound I like even more than the stock pickup I'll swap it out.

Thanks for all the help, really appreciated.

HNB

fourdogslong said:
Well with the stock pots I liked the stock pickup better than the SH-4 JB, everybody else around here seems to think that the stock one is total crap but I have to disagree.
Anyway, I didn't realized you put a Red Red Dually Lace Pickup in there, I didn't hear much about them, all I know is that it's supposed to sound more like a single coil but with the balls of a humbucker... do you have any before/after clips of your jagstang?
How different does it sound now, what didn't you like about the stock pickups? I'm also curious about the neck pickup.
Like I said I only compared it to one aftermarket pickup, if I find a sound I like even more than the stock pickup I'll swap it out.
Thanks for all the help, really appreciated.

It is true that most people think the Jagstang stock hardwear isn't too great. Some people like the neck and just swap out the bridge. The image below is a good guide with pickup comparison.

It has sort of well known pickups on the outer sides and the left are the lace single coils and the right are their humbuckers.

In my opinion the red red dually sounds like it has more punch. It is one of their lowest frequency pickups. The blue is more warm. It is supposed to have a classic 50's humbucker sound as a single coil. Each lace color pickup has a description here: http://www.lacemusic.com/electric_pickups/lace_sensor/lace_sensor_specs.php

I don't have a sound sample at the moment and don't have very good recording equipment. Maybe I can bring it to work to get a sound sample. Have to see. The cool thing about the lace pickups is you can put them very close to the strings. They don't have the same magnet setup, so it doesn't cause your strings to slow down like more standard pickups do.

I didn't have a problem with the stock pickups other than the bridge was coming unwrapped. I thought it would be fun to try out some lace ones since lots of musicians I like use them. I re-did the switches because I didn't feel the in phase and out of phase sound really was much different.

Hope that helps. 😀