Looks vintage, but it ain't. After auditioning so many different tone-control schemes over the course of the Mongrel Strat Project, I wound up with more tone circuits than I have Strats, so I figured I’d victimize a bass — specifically, a 1954 Fender P-Bass reissue with a Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pound pickup, which I’ve […] 
Hi folks — I’m experimenting with a switch to the SoundCloud audio player. I’ve been eyeing it for a long time, but until now it’s been entirely Flash-based, which meant you couldn’t access SoundCloud clips from mobile devices. But they’ve just introduced HTML5 support, so I’m ready to make the plunge. The clip is an […] 
Does this guitar LOOK like it has over a hundred settings? Just a quick follow-up on the Pagey project, which first recreated the original Jimmy Page wiring scheme, and then explored an even more extreme version using Seymour Duncan Triple Shot Mounting Rings. Once I’d finished the project, I had to decide whether […] 
Just how many colors can you coax from one guitar? This post is about a guitar wiring scheme that only geeks and tweakers could love. I think you’ll dig it. In Phase 1 of this project, I recreated the original Page wiring scheme using an ’82 Paul, a pair of Duncan ’59 […] 
Hey kids! You’re never too young to mod your guitars! Now get off my lawn. As promised, here are a demo video and tech notes for the first phase of the Pagey Project, which recreates Jimmy Page’s original Les Paul wiring scheme. (The upcoming Phase Two will expand on the idea with even […] 
Double the sounds available from your axe! Man, preparing the Pagey project has been a real eye-opener! Expect some surprising results! (Hint: There’s much of interest, even for players who have zero desire to sound like Page.) I’ll be posting the first video and tech walk-through after the weekend, but in the meantime, […] 
Not for everybody: The sickest mongrel strat yet. Okay, I lied. In the previous installment of our ongoing mongrel strat series, I experimented with a version of Gibson’s oddball Vari-Tone circuit. I said it was too fussy and complex, and that I wanted to experiment with a simplified version. So naturally, I built […] 
True fact: While Jimmy Page is usually pictured with a Les Paul, he recorded many of Led Zeppelin's greatest tracks with Fender guitars. (Artist's conception.) All aboard, mateys! Join our ship of fools as we sail the fiercest seas of guitar electronics: Yes, the legendary Jimmy Page wiring scheme. There will be NO […] 
Vintage P.A.F. pickups are like snowflakes — only a lot louder and a lot more expensive. Aficionados of the P.A.F.pickup, the original humbucker, often say that vintage models are like snowflakes — no two are identical, due chiefly to the the pre-digital inconsistencies of their windings. One particularly memorable pair of snowflakes resides […] 
The latest Mongrel Strat (artist's conception). Welcome to the second installment in the Mongrel Strat Series! If I were a sensible person, I would have split this week’s experiments into several posts. But much like eating pistachios, it’s tough to know when to stop . Anyway, this project tackles three topics: 1. Several […] |
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