Double post, never mind.

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You dig?

+1 on both counts. I am considering swapping some pups out of my '98 AD Fat Strat Locking and if I do I will pull the pickguard off as an entire assembly and replace the whole thing to minimize disturbing factory soldered connections. I will also go with the DiMarzio Area pups as I have them on another Strat and love them to pieces. Perhaps in a different combination though, just for fun.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Speaking of which, I have a question for you Martian. If I were to go ahead with the above mentioned pup swap I'll want to install a micro-toggle switch so I can split or combine the coils in the trembucker. I had a guitar years ago with this feature from the factory but I never had the presence of mind to note what kind of switch was in it at the time. The guitar was an '89 Tele Plus Deluxe with a red dually Lace Sensor at the bridge. The switch basically mimicked the Tele pup selector switch in terms of function. Logic tells me I would install this switch between the trembucker and the pots and that there would (obviously) be 4 connection points on the switch for input and two for output but what I don't know is the proper way to officially describe the switch so I know what to look for. Do you have the correct terminology for such an animal? Feel free to correct me if my wiring sense is off base.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

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I don't feel like I'm being ganged up on. I'm not sensitive like that. We're having a discussion, and I'm happy about that. I think some good points have been raised for sure. Things I did not think of. Nothing to do with me not being happy with the advice I'm receiving.

True. I don't have ANY experience with after market electronics and pickups, as I have always kept each of my guitars with the OEM parts. But I do know what I like as far as tone goes. I would never upgrade any of my possessions, be it guitars or anything without doing lots of reading and info gathering to make sure I knew what I was getting into. I was looking for suggestions to cut down my research list, that's all.

I'm not going to try and justify my desire for an EverTune bridge, as I don't expect they're for everybody, nor do I want it because I think the OEM bridge isn't good enough. I'm after it for a specific reason that suits me, that's all.

I'm not intending on being defensive, I just know what I'm after and am looking for the best way to get there. Maybe it's not altering my '99, but I'm not sure how I can maintain the build quality of what I have, and still get the customizations I'm after. I'm hearing everybody loud and clear to keep it untouched.... Can I get some suggestions for a better path then?[/quote]



You mention above that you know what tone you are after.
Given that you must have heard that tone before, where did you hear it? Song? Artist?

What guitar made that tone? Work from that point.

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-T

"You can't spend what you ain't got, you can't lose what you ain't never had" ~ McKinley Morganfield

You may be able to get a American body and neck off of Ebay or Craigs list to save some money over Warmoth.

Mighty Mike makes good licensed necks. They were the first Japanese company licensed by Fender to make necks. I have used them in the past and as long as you don't get the least expensive one you'll do good. The nut needs replacing and some fret work may be needed.

DiMarzio was the first person to make aftermarket pickups. He worked for Fender for years before starting his business. Same with Duncan. Either company makes fine products and the technical staff can suggest product based on your idea of tone for your guitar.

I would get the body and neck prior to getting pickups. That way you know the woods your going to have to work with.

The "Save your guitar" is because we have all heard of the "Gee, I wish I would not have done that, or sold that, or whatever so many times it's pathetic. People always regret doing something irreversible to a guitar they have had for a long time. Don't be that person, 2 or 22 years from now. That's all for now.

Here is a pic of what I put together that plays better than any store bought brand. It can be done to perfection.

Well, there are two types: There's the double pole, double throw (DPDT) switch and then there's the double pole, triple throw (DPTT), center on switch.

With the DPDT, you can wire it for any one or two of the following three options: Series; parallel; shut off one coil. With the DPTT, all three options will work. The wiring is literally the same.

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You dig?

This is not true. He never worked for Fender.

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You dig?

Thank you for the switch info. Appreciate that.

When you refer to series/parallel I'm assuming you mean with respect to the relationship with the middle pup (when the main switch is in position 2) and not the relationship of the two coils of the trembucker itself. If my assumption is correct then I also wonder what your opinion might be as to the question of which one of the two coils to choose to be grouped with the middle in series vs. parallel. Bearing in mind the reason I wish to add this option is to improve quack in position 2. My experience with HSS guitars is that a trembucker and a middle single coil have less traditional Strat quack than two singles. I already know that running in series will be slightly hotter and warmer and that parallel will be slightly brighter and not quite as hot but with better quack. The question is which one to choose to be paired with the mid in parallel to optimise quack. Personally, I'm guessing the coil closest to the bridge would likely work best but I'm a little out of my element with this kind of wiring so I'm not sure. I'm also unsure which of the two coils is naturally in the correct orientation to run parallel with the mid and if I might have to either install the pup upside down (or get a lefty if available or applicable) or if normal orientation will work ... or if it's not a natural if I can simply reverse the polarity of the wires to achive the correct orientation.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Ok. I've done a fair bit of thinking and research today. After discussing with my wife, she too thinks I should just get a new guitar. I'm a stickler for having my guitars in tune, and very good ears for pitch, which is why the Evertune interests me. Perhaps, I've just never had a good enough setup,which is weird as I've had reputable techs do the work.

Now, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been eyeing up this badboy. http://alturl.com/kqznd

Oh, just in case I'm worrying anyone. I won't be installing the evertune on the new guitar.

So that's where the money will go. I still will have an ugly dark blue strat that sits in the corner though. Anyone interested?

You're welcome.

In the above context, I was referring to the relationship of the two coils of the trembucker. However, either can facilitate your purposes.

To answer your other questions:
The slug coil is always the more powerful of the two. However, the screw coil is always facing the extremes. Meaning, closest to the neck or closest to the bridge (respectively) and therefore, you'll get a touch more frequency response.

The "quack" will be more intense using only one coil of either of the outer HBs, wired in parallel.

Premising the middle pickup isn't HB on its own, this single coil would have to be RW/RP to the chosen single coil of both HBs. It is not enough to reverse leads with the HB, the two pickups' polarity would have to be opposite as well. Otherwise, the two coils would simply be out of phase with each other.

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You dig?

Right sorry he worked for the Guitar Lab to begin with.

To further our conversation about what I should do with with my current strat... Does anyone see an issue with buying an ebay mexican/american body, and then loading it with the pickups I'd like to experiment with, and using the neck from my strat? This allows me to keep the original amercan body, untouched and would only require fastening the neck back on it to return it to its original form if/when needed.

Thoughts?

I think that would be a great idea for tinkering around - of course you should also check to see if you could get a body from Warmoth or somewhere like that for less than the ebay body. If you're still thinking about that Evertune bridge it might even be better to turn up an unfinished body - it seems to me it might be easier to do all the necessary routing before applying any finish to it - there would be no finish to damage during the routing that would have to be either stripped or at least touched up later.

If you don't care about "resale" value and just want to make it your favorite guitar then I'd suggest Seymour Duncan pickups TB-4 is my fave at the Bridge position. If you're more into the "I have a such-such year Strat and it's all original" BS then don't upgrade it. I'm firmly in favor of personalizing all your guitars to reflect your individual tone and mojo. It's just my opinion but nothing "off the rack" is individual or unique.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Clearly I am going to have to ponder this more before I make a decision.

Thank you (as always) for your input.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.