Guitar Built From Parts Needs Darker Tone. Ideas?

[SabreStrike]

Hey guys, I've got a few questions for you.

I have a guitar that I'm currently working on. It's a 1980s Squier Heavy Metal Strat body made out of Basswood with three holes drilled in the top as a sort of monkey grip. The neck is a Warmoth Strat neck, 22 frets, maple with rosewood fretboard, flat clear finish. Floyd Rose, HSS-style rear rout. I only have one humbucker in the bridge, and currently it's a Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invader.

So far, the Invader has shown itself to be too bright for me. I have wondered about trying Bare Knuckle Pickups when Ola Englund used them in several of his videos on YouTube.

I want to know: What humbucker pickup has a dark, hollow tone when combined with basswood guitar bodies, great picking clarity even when running through high gain amps, and a wicked look to boot? I also like sustain a lot, too, and the ability to clean up quite well if the volume is rolled down.

Any help is greatly appreciated, my friends.

Thank you.

--SabreStrike

[OddFutureWolfGang]

Alnico Warpig

[Attica!]

Alnico Warpig

+1 Sounds like the Warpig's perfect description. I'd go for the Alnico so you can clean up better also.

[mongey]

I have limited experience with it but isnt the invader pretty damn dark already ?

I thought it was very light in the treble

maybe you should try 250k pots if your using 500

[Attica!]

I have limited experience with it but isnt the invader pretty damn dark already ?

I thought it was very light in the treble

maybe you should try 250k pots if your using 500

#
Yeah that's a really good point. The Invader is meant to be dark.

What amp/pedals are you using?

[SabreStrike]

Guitar --> Rocktron Silver Dragon Tube Distortion --> Tech21 SansAmp (either a US Steel pedal based on Mesa Rectifier amps, or a British pedal based on Marshall amps) --> Fender Princeton Chorus solid-state amplifier

The guitar already has a 250k volume pot, no tone. It doesn't roll off all the way. :|

[mongey]

Guitar --> Rocktron Silver Dragon Tube Distortion --> Tech21 SansAmp (either a US Steel pedal based on Mesa Rectifier amps, or a British pedal based on Marshall amps) --> Fender Princeton Chorus solid-state amplifier

The guitar already has a 250k volume pot, no tone. It doesn't roll off all the way. :|

not having a tone pot will make a pick up brighter straight off the bat . BKP's are greta PU's, but I dotn think your going to find one darker than an invader

what do you mean it doesnt roll off all the way ? you mean the volume pot ? if so the lug is  not bent up and grounded to the back of the pot .

[SabreStrike]

You mean one of the little prongs in the front of the pot? Yes it is. I followed the wiring instructions that I printed out from Seymour Duncan exactly.

But then again, it IS the first guitar I've ever built from parts, so it's not exactly going to be perfect right off the bat. *shrug* It's different. When I roll the knob down all the way on it, it actually rolls off some of the high frequencies, so that helps a bit...

[mongey]

You mean one of the little prongs in the front of the pot? Yes it is. I followed the wiring instructions that I printed out from Seymour Duncan exactly.

But then again, it IS the first guitar I've ever built from parts, so it's not exactly going to be perfect right off the bat. *shrug* It's different. When I roll the knob down all the way on it, it actually rolls off some of the high frequencies, so that helps a bit...

I dont think the lug is grounded properly. I did the same thing on my 1st pot change last year . if the volume pot acts weird and isnt rolling all the way to silence its not grounded  . could be a dodgey solder joint . I have lots of those.

and if its not grounded  I think it makes the PU brighter

[SabreStrike]

Possibly... It was the third time I had tried soldering, period, when I got it finished. ._.;

However, my music lesson teacher has an Epiphone Les Paul Special II that has an Invader in the bridge position as well, and is also quite bright. Two humbuckers, one volume one tone three way switch...

[DoomBuggi]

I think that adding a tone pot at the value of 250 will darken it quite a bit.  You could use a higher value capacitor as well, but soldered between the volume pot and the the tone pot. 

 Ola Englund likes Bare Knuckles Pickups, and he is really into the Aftermath, but he likes the Duncan Distortion to a greater extent.  Which brings me to this next statement;  I don't believe in certain pickups being better than other pickups.  Yeah, there are pickups that are made out of better quality material, and are done by hand, with much attention and care given.  But that doesn't mean that it is better necessarily.  I think that beauty is the heart of the beholder.  In the end, sound is sound right?   I read this on the forum, and I will quote it now, can't remember the author of it but; " If it sounds good, it is good"

 I am totally into BK pickups that I have used, but there are other pickups that I also enjoy, and think sound really good.  Us humans tend to get caught up in bias, and what other people tell us is cool.  But lets be honest, an artist can make anything work.  Yeah, it helps to have the most awesome tools, but allot of us are rather feeding some form of addiction with our geariness. I have been guilty of doing as such.  I can be honest about that. 

[ericsabbath]

alnico miracle man

[darkbluemurder]

You can simulate the non-existing tone pot by putting a 0.022uf cap in series with a resistor - 220k to 470k would be good values. Connect one end of the series to the volume pot input lug (where the wire from the pickup or switch goes to). Connect the other end to ground. This will make the tone a bit darker but we are speaking of nuances here.

But first of all I would check the wiring - if the volume pot is turned down there should be no sound coming from the amp. If it does either the ground connection is bad or the pot is defective. Do you have a digital multimeter (if not get one)? Turn the volume pot down. Measure from the center lug to any ground connection (i.e. back of the pot, ground connection at jack, you can even plug in a cable and measure at the shaft). The reading must be zero.

Cheers Stephan

[SabreStrike]

It seems that my guitar is only that bright when tuned to E standard. It's plenty dark for me when I tune down to D standard/Drop C and lower. *shrug*

What setting should the multimeter be set at for the reading?

EDIT: I have tested the ohm readings from the 2000k setting. I rolled the volume all the way down, and it's giving me a reading of 242k ohms from the pot when it's rolled all the way down. Is that supposed to be correct?

[darkbluemurder]

I have tested the ohm readings from the 2000k setting.

That is the correct setting.

I rolled the volume all the way down, and it's giving me a reading of 242k ohms from the pot when it's rolled all the way down. Is that supposed to be correct?

If you measured from the input lug to ground, it is correct. If you measured from the center lug to ground (which is the correct way to measure for this specific case) it is wrong - there should be zero ohms with the pot turned all the way down.

Cheers Stephan