I've been thinking of a quot;dreamquot; guitar so to speak. I think I may be onto something here (I could always use some input ). I'm thinking of a tele style alder guitar with a Tonepros style bridge and a maple/brazilian rosewood neck. I figure this wood combination should give me the ability to put just about anything in there and it'll still sound good (I'd do mahogany/maple like on the Grosh, but I'd prefer the lighter weight and plain look).
What I think will make this better than even the H-S-S strats is that the minibucker in the neck will get a tone that even a single blended toward a humbucker can't get, and that's a really thick and warm tone (singles always tend to have a bit of sparkle, and the only way to come close to a good jazz tone is to roll back the volume and tone controls). Plus, I'm realizing 4 completely different tones is all I could ever need or want in a guitar.
Essentially, this will be a quot;super telequot; of sorts. What the breaker will be is if my switching system will work. I'm thinking of a 4-way tele style switch for this. [pos 1] bridge hb alone (for distortion), [pos 2] middle sc alone (for jangly cleans), [pos 3] bridge hb split middle sc (for quack), [pos 4] minibucker alone (for thick jazz/blues material).
I'm going back and forth on the idea of an acoustic system to go with it, maybe a Graphtech F.A.A.S. or Fishman drop in system (always liked their tone on higher end Parkers). I'm trying to start up a melodic rock band and I figure acoustic verses and distortion choruses would be a major plus if they could be done on the fly with one person.
Anybody think this'll work? I'm debating on selling a couple guitars to make this become a reality (I'm only planning on keeping the Grosh).
Here's some color layouts I was toying with:
absolutely awesome Chris!!! I love it!!! all the colors work with that design as well!!! i say go for it!!!
hmmm, i think i know how to do that switching with a 5 way 4-pole switch, but i'd have to scratch my head on doing it with a 4 way .. and are you sure that you want the split bridge HB and middle sc combo in position 3 instead of 2? .... i'd think that the following would be very easy to wire up if you'd like
1) bridge alone
2) split bridge middle (quack)
3) middle alone
4) middle neck split (different quack)
5) neck alone
any way you go, would be very versatile indeed ... if you go with the 'acoustic' option, make sure you wire the piezo bridge either to it's own output, or to one side of a stereo output .. you'll wnat to be able to send it to it's own processing, independent of the magnetic pickups .. if you can stand the aesthetics, consider the on-board graphic active EQ for the piezo too (check out a godin for the 'best in class' implementation of this)
cheers
t4d
T4D, thanks for the info. I figured I'd do a 4-way because I realized I didn't need all the options my super strat Grosh has. The only tones I really have in my head are a fat warm tone for blues and jazz, a jangle clean tone, a thick humbucker for overdriven stuff and a typical quack tone to use for blues and some funk. I get lost with all the different options on the Grosh and probably don't need more than one type of quack for all practical purposes.
I can see where wiring up a quack in position 3 might be impossible (I've looked at switches in different positions before and I'm not sure how I could get the (lugs?) to work for it). I was hoping to get those tone options in that order because I tend to use the middle single coil and humbucker tones a lot, so having them side by side would eliminate the worry of putting it in the wrong position during a song transition.
As far as acoustic tones, I don't forsee myself ever buying an acoustic amp (don't need another thing to have to carry around). I'll have to look into my options and see if I can find something like the newer Parkers have where the acoustic piezo is hooked up to the magnetic line on the output (eliminating the need for Y-cables). I'd have to think about additional electronics if I am to go this route and where I can put them so they won't get in the way of my playing and will look somewhat aesthetically pleasing (I'm thinking the minimum would be a 3 way on/off/blend mini switch and a separate acoustic volume control).
Glad you dig the looks Hoss, if I'm going to follow through on this, I'm pretty sure I'm going to narrow down my choices to the orange w/ pearl and aged white w/ tortoise. I dig the looks of a regular 'ole tele. A pickup selection switch, one volume and one tone, very basic (of course my acoustic ideas will ruin that ).
As for pickups for this monster, I've always liked how the WCR Darkburst works with the WCR SR single coil, so that's how I'm going to get a really good quack. As far as minihumbuckers, I don't know much, but I do know I REALLY dig the tone of the SM-1 vintage minibucker (even more than the Seymourized mini).
makes sense .. i bet one of the wiring wizards could get you where you want to be with a 4 switch ...
i like the way the godin has the quot;4 little slitsquot; for the piezo control ... treb-mid-bass-vol ... putting it on the upper bout like they do would be doable ... of course, it'd have to work for you .. i know i wish my brian moore was configured that way ...
for routing the piezo signal, you know what you need best, so go for it .. i'm just pitchin' in my 2 cents that piezo signal through a guitar amp (to me) sounds like a$$ ... yeah, it wouldnt be hard to have either a 3 way mini toggle (piezo - both - magnetic) control a single output, or a blender that gives you a range from 'piezo only' at one end to 'both' at a center position to 'magnetic only' at the other end ...
no matter what you end up with, i'm sure it'll be killer .. dialed in for your specific needs
a real looker too
good luck
t4d
btw - any particular reason you chose TOM tailpiece vs. String-Thru?
Originally Posted by tone4daysmakes sense .. i bet one of the wiring wizards could get you where you want to be with a 4 switch ...
i like the way the godin has the quot;4 little slitsquot; for the piezo control ... treb-mid-bass-vol ... putting it on the upper bout like they do would be doable ... of course, it'd have to work for you .. i know i wish my brian moore was configured that way ...
for routing the piezo signal, you know what you need best, so go for it .. i'm just pitchin' in my 2 cents that piezo signal through a guitar amp (to me) sounds like a$$ ... yeah, it wouldnt be hard to have either a 3 way mini toggle (piezo - both - magnetic) control a single output, or a blender that gives you a range from 'piezo only' at one end to 'both' at a center position to 'magnetic only' at the other end ...
no matter what you end up with, i'm sure it'll be killer .. dialed in for your specific needs
a real looker too
good luck
t4d
btw - any particular reason you chose TOM vs. String-Thru?Thanks T4D The EQ slits on the top are a killer idea, I never even picked up on that when I was looking on the website
I'll be honest, I haven't heard incredible results from running a piezo through an electric amp either. I think the best route I tried was blending a piezo signal with something like a neck humbucker magnetic signal to warm it up. Piezo's seem to be way too thin by themselves for any useable application. If I can find a good acoustic amp that would be pretty lightweight and not a lot of money, maybe a two amp setup wouldn't be out of the question.
As far as the tune-o-matic route, I just know that I've gotten great sustain from it. I don't have a lot of experience with string thru designs. If you think they offer better tone and sustain, I'll definitely have to see if someone like USACG offers it on their guitars. I realize I don't use the trems on my super strats as much as I should, so a hardtail route is looking the best right now. I certainly love the looks of a string-thru, so if there are tonal benefits, I may have to redesign this thing .
I may have to scratch the acoustic idea because of all the work involved, but the looks and the tonal possibilities of doing this tele setup are pushing me to give it a shot!
yeah, i know i HAD to have the piezo option on a solid body once i played one ... if you get a chance, go play one of those godins to get a feel for them ... but i also knew i was committing to a separate amplification system in order to make it sound good ... it doesnt have to be that much of a hassle ... the yamaha ag stomp or magic stomp ag sound amazing as a way of warming up the tone of the piezo ... if you arent using your amp's effects return, you might be able to send the output to your power amp section ... if not, it is a killer DI box to go to the PA with ... i went with a carvin AG-100D for mine, but i also use it for my guitar-synth output too ... inexpensive, lightweight, reliable, nice sounding
i am not a trem player ... died in the wool hardtail guy ... i like string-through alot ... but it is certainly not the only road to righteous tone ... it is one less thing to break though
good luck
t4d
It's a Telecaster so it already sucks!
quot;As far as the tune-o-matic route, I just know that I've gotten great sustain from it. I don't have a lot of experience with string thru designs. If you think they offer better tone and sustain, I'll definitely have to see if someone like USACG offers it on their guitars.quot;
Yep, USA does. They even say on their site that the ferrule holes on the back are set up for 5/16quot; ferrule inserts.
Go string through on the bridge. You will always get better sustain out of that type of bridge. As for the design, I like #1 or #2; simple, classic styling.
Thanks for the advice guys! Looks like a string thru design would do wonders for tone.
I've played Les Pauls, I have Strats, I NEED a quot;Super Telequot;
What I think will make this better than even the H-S-S strats is that the minibucker in the neck will get a tone that even a single blended toward a humbucker can't get, and that's a really thick and warm tone (singles always tend to have a bit of sparkle, and the only way to come close to a good jazz tone is to roll back the volume and tone controls). Plus, I'm realizing 4 completely different tones is all I could ever need or want in a guitar.
Essentially, this will be a quot;super telequot; of sorts. What the breaker will be is if my switching system will work. I'm thinking of a 4-way tele style switch for this. [pos 1] bridge hb alone (for distortion), [pos 2] middle sc alone (for jangly cleans), [pos 3] bridge hb split middle sc (for quack), [pos 4] minibucker alone (for thick jazz/blues material).
I'm going back and forth on the idea of an acoustic system to go with it, maybe a Graphtech F.A.A.S. or Fishman drop in system (always liked their tone on higher end Parkers). I'm trying to start up a melodic rock band and I figure acoustic verses and distortion choruses would be a major plus if they could be done on the fly with one person.
Anybody think this'll work? I'm debating on selling a couple guitars to make this become a reality (I'm only planning on keeping the Grosh).
Here's some color layouts I was toying with:
absolutely awesome Chris!!! I love it!!! all the colors work with that design as well!!! i say go for it!!!
hmmm, i think i know how to do that switching with a 5 way 4-pole switch, but i'd have to scratch my head on doing it with a 4 way .. and are you sure that you want the split bridge HB and middle sc combo in position 3 instead of 2? .... i'd think that the following would be very easy to wire up if you'd like
1) bridge alone
2) split bridge middle (quack)
3) middle alone
4) middle neck split (different quack)
5) neck alone
any way you go, would be very versatile indeed ... if you go with the 'acoustic' option, make sure you wire the piezo bridge either to it's own output, or to one side of a stereo output .. you'll wnat to be able to send it to it's own processing, independent of the magnetic pickups .. if you can stand the aesthetics, consider the on-board graphic active EQ for the piezo too (check out a godin for the 'best in class' implementation of this)
cheers
t4d
T4D, thanks for the info. I figured I'd do a 4-way because I realized I didn't need all the options my super strat Grosh has. The only tones I really have in my head are a fat warm tone for blues and jazz, a jangle clean tone, a thick humbucker for overdriven stuff and a typical quack tone to use for blues and some funk. I get lost with all the different options on the Grosh and probably don't need more than one type of quack for all practical purposes.
I can see where wiring up a quack in position 3 might be impossible (I've looked at switches in different positions before and I'm not sure how I could get the (lugs?) to work for it). I was hoping to get those tone options in that order because I tend to use the middle single coil and humbucker tones a lot, so having them side by side would eliminate the worry of putting it in the wrong position during a song transition.
As far as acoustic tones, I don't forsee myself ever buying an acoustic amp (don't need another thing to have to carry around). I'll have to look into my options and see if I can find something like the newer Parkers have where the acoustic piezo is hooked up to the magnetic line on the output (eliminating the need for Y-cables). I'd have to think about additional electronics if I am to go this route and where I can put them so they won't get in the way of my playing and will look somewhat aesthetically pleasing (I'm thinking the minimum would be a 3 way on/off/blend mini switch and a separate acoustic volume control).
Glad you dig the looks Hoss, if I'm going to follow through on this, I'm pretty sure I'm going to narrow down my choices to the orange w/ pearl and aged white w/ tortoise. I dig the looks of a regular 'ole tele. A pickup selection switch, one volume and one tone, very basic (of course my acoustic ideas will ruin that ).
As for pickups for this monster, I've always liked how the WCR Darkburst works with the WCR SR single coil, so that's how I'm going to get a really good quack. As far as minihumbuckers, I don't know much, but I do know I REALLY dig the tone of the SM-1 vintage minibucker (even more than the Seymourized mini).
makes sense .. i bet one of the wiring wizards could get you where you want to be with a 4 switch ...
i like the way the godin has the quot;4 little slitsquot; for the piezo control ... treb-mid-bass-vol ... putting it on the upper bout like they do would be doable ... of course, it'd have to work for you .. i know i wish my brian moore was configured that way ...
for routing the piezo signal, you know what you need best, so go for it .. i'm just pitchin' in my 2 cents that piezo signal through a guitar amp (to me) sounds like a$$ ... yeah, it wouldnt be hard to have either a 3 way mini toggle (piezo - both - magnetic) control a single output, or a blender that gives you a range from 'piezo only' at one end to 'both' at a center position to 'magnetic only' at the other end ...
no matter what you end up with, i'm sure it'll be killer .. dialed in for your specific needs
a real looker too
good luck
t4d
btw - any particular reason you chose TOM tailpiece vs. String-Thru?
Originally Posted by tone4daysmakes sense .. i bet one of the wiring wizards could get you where you want to be with a 4 switch ...
i like the way the godin has the quot;4 little slitsquot; for the piezo control ... treb-mid-bass-vol ... putting it on the upper bout like they do would be doable ... of course, it'd have to work for you .. i know i wish my brian moore was configured that way ...
for routing the piezo signal, you know what you need best, so go for it .. i'm just pitchin' in my 2 cents that piezo signal through a guitar amp (to me) sounds like a$$ ... yeah, it wouldnt be hard to have either a 3 way mini toggle (piezo - both - magnetic) control a single output, or a blender that gives you a range from 'piezo only' at one end to 'both' at a center position to 'magnetic only' at the other end ...
no matter what you end up with, i'm sure it'll be killer .. dialed in for your specific needs
a real looker too
good luck
t4d
btw - any particular reason you chose TOM vs. String-Thru?Thanks T4D The EQ slits on the top are a killer idea, I never even picked up on that when I was looking on the website
I'll be honest, I haven't heard incredible results from running a piezo through an electric amp either. I think the best route I tried was blending a piezo signal with something like a neck humbucker magnetic signal to warm it up. Piezo's seem to be way too thin by themselves for any useable application. If I can find a good acoustic amp that would be pretty lightweight and not a lot of money, maybe a two amp setup wouldn't be out of the question.
As far as the tune-o-matic route, I just know that I've gotten great sustain from it. I don't have a lot of experience with string thru designs. If you think they offer better tone and sustain, I'll definitely have to see if someone like USACG offers it on their guitars. I realize I don't use the trems on my super strats as much as I should, so a hardtail route is looking the best right now. I certainly love the looks of a string-thru, so if there are tonal benefits, I may have to redesign this thing .
I may have to scratch the acoustic idea because of all the work involved, but the looks and the tonal possibilities of doing this tele setup are pushing me to give it a shot!
yeah, i know i HAD to have the piezo option on a solid body once i played one ... if you get a chance, go play one of those godins to get a feel for them ... but i also knew i was committing to a separate amplification system in order to make it sound good ... it doesnt have to be that much of a hassle ... the yamaha ag stomp or magic stomp ag sound amazing as a way of warming up the tone of the piezo ... if you arent using your amp's effects return, you might be able to send the output to your power amp section ... if not, it is a killer DI box to go to the PA with ... i went with a carvin AG-100D for mine, but i also use it for my guitar-synth output too ... inexpensive, lightweight, reliable, nice sounding
i am not a trem player ... died in the wool hardtail guy ... i like string-through alot ... but it is certainly not the only road to righteous tone ... it is one less thing to break though
good luck
t4d
It's a Telecaster so it already sucks!
quot;As far as the tune-o-matic route, I just know that I've gotten great sustain from it. I don't have a lot of experience with string thru designs. If you think they offer better tone and sustain, I'll definitely have to see if someone like USACG offers it on their guitars.quot;
Yep, USA does. They even say on their site that the ferrule holes on the back are set up for 5/16quot; ferrule inserts.
Go string through on the bridge. You will always get better sustain out of that type of bridge. As for the design, I like #1 or #2; simple, classic styling.
Thanks for the advice guys! Looks like a string thru design would do wonders for tone.
I've played Les Pauls, I have Strats, I NEED a quot;Super Telequot;
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