H-P90-S has it been done?

[Simon Barden]

Enough string movement there to get a decent output from the pickup without using more winds on the coil. In practice it works quite well.

[Andy123]

Without really thinking it through I thought 3 x vol and 3 x tone would be a good way to go.

In hindsight I think I'd prefer 1 x vol and 3 x tone. Considering I've never laid a finger on a soldering iron before, the less connections required, the better. Also, I don't (yet) have a router and have never used one before, so not having to re-shape/expand the control cavity would be sensible.

My question now though is: how would one go about coil tapping the bridge humbucker if using 1 x vol, 3 x tone, plus a 5 way blade selector switch?

[Dedman]

I'd put the split on the volume pot ( push pull switch)

[Andy123]

I'd put the split on the volume pot ( push pull switch)

That was my first thought. However, knowing nothing about wiring up a guitar, I assumed that with all three pick ups sharing that volume pot, making it a push-pull coil tap for one pick up might cause issues for the others. Was I off the mark?

[WeirdBits]

No issue using it to split the bridge.

[wazkelly]

Need to ask yourself how often do you use a tone control compared to volume control.

On a hot rodded strat copy I had in early 80's I dropped in 3 Bill Lawrence blade PUP's that each had 3 way mini switches and separate volume controls but no tone controls. To be fair it probably had 2 x too many volume controls plus I never was one to tweak away with tone knobs either. If the PUP's are decent quality their unadulterated signal should be good enough.

The HB/P90/S combo will provide plenty of significant tonal differences and if you are not used to soldering and/or doing complex wiring jobs maybe Master Tone & Master Volume with a push/pull coil split for bridge PUP would be the easiest way to go. Definitely what I would do to begin with.

Cheers, Waz

[Andy123]

Ok, I've pulled the trigger and got something in the works. No build diary as I've outsourced the build.

For those curious about the design:

• I've ordered a custom GS-2Z.
• Bone nut
• Gold hardware, Grover tuners

Plan was to keep it simple and hit it with a walnut stain all over.

Requested a larger control cavity route, no neck binding and a bolt on neck.

The request for no neck binding was merely a consideration for future fret work. I hear it's a pain to re-fret or even file fret ends if there's neck binding, and chances were pretty good there would be fret issues at some point if not straight off the bat.

The bolt on neck was because I figured it would be easier wrangle if there were issues.

Pickups are:
Irongear "Rolling Mill" in the bridge


Irongear "Alchemist 90" in the middle


Tonerider TRT2N-GD Hot Classics in the neck


I figured bright pickups in a mahogany body should balance out the sound nicely. "Plan A" originally included a proper soap bar P90, but they're a fair bit wider than the other pickups, and it was just ridiculous from an aesthetic point of view. Speaking of aesthetics, all gold pickup covers to go with the gold hardware and contrast against the dark brown/walnut finish.

I wanted to make sure the pickups are separated as much as possible. To that end I've asked for a longer scale length and fewer frets which should maximise space between neck and bridge.

Tonal versatility/separation is the main point of this guitar, so I'll utilise a tone pot for each pickup, and one volume pot to rule them all. A five way switch should hopefully help get:

1. meaty chunk out of the bridge position
2. some fairly playful overdriven sounds between the HB and P90
3. something in the ball park of the middle position of a dual P90 guitar in the middle
4. with volume and both tone pots backed way off, a nice vintage jazzy tone between the P90 and the neck
5. somewhere between a strat and tele neck pickup in postion 5

So, the kit has turned up. They've given me a quilted maple veneer instead of Zebra Wood, and the neck is bound. As usual Adam was a total champ about it and offered me a substantial discount.


I've taken it to a local luthier who had advertised he was still open for business so long as social distancing was observed.

On his advice I'll be getting a bit of a burst around the edges due to the veneer not quite meeting the binding all the way around. He suggested an acrylic finish which I've blindly agreed to. Neither of us are fans of Nitro and he was sheepishly backing away from using poly for some reason. He went from poker faced and business like to having his spirits visibly lifted when I asked for a satin finish. I take it that's quicker/cheaper/easier than a gloss?

He's pointed out some frets aren't seated properly and most need filing (sliding my hand across the bottom of the neck was like reading braille). He's confident the binding won't present too much of an issue.

We'll be throwing in a coil split switch on the humbucker just because we can.

I have high hopes for this guitar. It's a decent slab of mahogany with some decent pickups being put together by someone who knows what they're doing.

Fingers crossed.

[Simon Barden]

If it were me, I'd be using a Strat neck pickup rather than a Tele one, as they do sound that bit nicer. A hotter neck tele pickup can sound reasonable (vintage ones can sound a bit weak and dull to me), but of my three Teles, the one with a Strat pickup in the neck position has the best neck pickup tone. The other two are fine, just not quite as good.

[Andy123]

I must confess it was initially an aesthetic choice to get a single coil which also had a gold cover. Then I heard the demos on the Tonerider site, and that sealed the deal. Here's one:


There's a couple more on the "video" tab on this page. They're only a bout a minute or two long and switch between neck and bridge but you get the idea.
https://tonerider.com/product/hot-classics/

[Simon Barden]

You can of course buy gold pickup covers for Strat pickups.

Not a bad sounding demo (though you do need the right amp and/or pedals to get that sound) and like I said, my two IronGear Steel Foundry Overwound Tele neck pickups sound very good (they probably sound very close to that demo sound) but the Tele with the Strat pickup in the neck does have that something little extra (OK, it is a Bare Knuckle Irish Tour pickup, so a lot more expensive, but it does sound really nice).