Body
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VW body from Warmoth (based on the Van Halen
signature model formerly manufactured by Ernie Ball Music Man, currently
manufactured as the Axis; hence my play on the name).
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Quilted Maple top (flat, not carved)
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Cream Binding
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Transparent red top, black back
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Routing
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Two humbuckers (mounting to body)
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Recessed Floyd Rose
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Neck
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Birdseye maple from Warmoth
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Custom headstock
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Lacquered neck
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Headstock with matching finish
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Other Hardware
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Floyd Rose
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EVH D-Tuna (a sliding device attached to the
trem which drops the low E string to D)
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Schaller mini locking tuners
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Pearloid tuner buttons (mini)
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Electronics
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Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbuckers (custom
zebra layout)
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3 4P6T switches (4 pole, 6 position)
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Concentric Pots
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Features
This guitar gives you virtually every
possible combination of pickups. How? Read on.
There are separate volume and tone controls
for each pickup (the two knobs on the bottom row). They are placed
in concentric knobs to conserve space.
The three knobs on the top row are rotary
switches for the selection of different combinations of pickups and
wiring configurations.
The first one controls the neck pickup.
The combinations are:
1. Humbucker - Series - In Phase
2. Single Coil - In Phase (neck-most coil)
3. Humbucker - Parallel - In Phase
4. Humbucker - Series - Out of Phase
5. Single Coil - Out of Phase (neck-most
coil)
6. Humbucker - Parallel - Out of Phase
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The second rotary switch controls the bridge
pickup. The combinations are again:
1. Humbucker - Series - In Phase
2. Single Coil - In Phase (bridge-most
coil)
3. Humbucker - Parallel - In Phase
4. Humbucker - Series - Out of Phase
5. Single Coil - Out of Phase (bridge-most
coil)
6. Humbucker - Parallel - Out of Phase
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Since the outermost coils are present when
the pickups are tapped, when when they are combined, they will be hum canceling.
The last switch selects or combines the
two pickups.
1. Neck only
2. Neck/Bridge in parallel
3. Bridge only
4. Neck/Bridge in series
5. Neck/Bridge in parallel (out of phase)
6. Neck/Bridge in series (out of phase)
(The first three selections are the standard
on 3-position switches.)
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This gives you 82 combinations. How?
Well, each pickup has 6 possible outputs. If they were combined in
each of these forms, that would be 6 x 6 = 36 combinations. Of course,
you can combine them four different ways, so that is 36 x 4 = 144 combinations.
However, if you combine two pickups that are "out of phase," you have actually
put them back into phase with one another, and you have to consider that
it doesn't matter which of the two pickups is out of phase, so that you
halve that to 144 / 2 = 72 combinations.
Now you can add to that subtotal the sounds
from each pickup selected singly. That should be 6 each, but the
out of phase single coil sounds exactly the same by itself as when it was
in phase (there isn't anything for the signal to be "out of phase" with).
So the total is:
(((6 x 6 x 4) - 6) / 2) + ((6 - 1) + (6
- 1)) = 82 combinations.
On top of this you could add still other
options. The even more surprising thing about this is that each new
option further multiplies the possible combinations. For example,
if you added a piezo pickup that could be selected in parallel only, this
brings the number of combinations to 165 (82 with piezo, 82 without, plus
the piezo by itself).
Anyone attempting to perform a variation
of this mod on a guitar with three pickups is encouraged to seek psychiatric
assistance! |
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