By the end of the last article on electric guitar wiring, we had wired a Tele-type guitar for three-way pickup switching using both the standard blade switch, and the Gibson-style toggle switch. We’re going to stick with that toggle switch now, and see how we can have separate volume and tone controls for each pickup. This is, of course, how a Les Paul is wired.

Electric Guitar Wiring

Remember way back in 102? We created a system with one pickup, one volume control and one tone control. Well, all we need to do is create two of these, and then use our toggle switch to control which one of them is connected to the jack! In the middle position, both pickups will be active, each still connected to their own volume and tone control, and in the other two positions, only one pickup and set of controls will be active. It’s as simple as that.
Continue reading “Guitar Wiring 104”

Tele Twang in a drop-in replacement Strat size!

So you say you love the sound of a Telecaster, but you’re a Strat guy? Ever wish you could have the tonal versatility of both without having to schlep two guitars to the gig? Your wish has been granted! For you Seymour Duncan created the APST-1 Twang Banger – a direct-replacement true single-coil Strat bridge pickup that has all the twang and spank of a great Tele bridge pickup! Continue reading “The Twang Banger: Tele twang, Strat size.”

If you were to walk into Seymour’s home, one of the first things you’d see would be a platinum disc, proudly displayed on the wall in the foyer. It’s a disc that commemorates Somewhere In Time – Iron Maiden’s first platinum album–and it was given to Seymour as a gift by Michael Kenney, Maiden’s bass tech and live keyboardist.

Continue reading “Iron Maiden And Seymour”

Gus G. is a busy man these days, having just finished a tour with Ozzy Osbourne that paired him up with Zakk Wylde & Slash and then add to that his new album and world tour and you get a man that is determined to make his mark on the music scene. Plans have already been announced for a series of free clinics across the United States. Given all that has happenend, we figured it would be a good time to check up with Gus and see how things are going. Continue reading “Firewind Takes a Wall of Sound to Europe”

Summer is here! The weather is getting warmer, the women are getting hotter, and the music is getting louder. What better to do than plan your vacation… for winter? That might sound strange, but when the snow’s falling and everyone’s shut indoors, wouldn’t you rather be out cruising the Caribbean with some of metal’s biggest bands?! This December, the Mayhem Festival Cruise is just that: fifteen insanely heavy metal bands, two famed DJs, and thousands of their biggest fans. Acts like Anthrax, Lamb of God, Machine Head, and many more will be putting on shows for their shipmates. These modern day pirates of metal will rock the boat with no remorse. Metal icon and longtime Seymour Duncan user Scott Ian says that “I’m actually a little nervous about being on the boat for three days with Machine Head and Lamb of God.” And with good cause because it will be three days of nonstop brutality unleashed upon Carnival’s cruise ship Imagination. One can only imagine the mark this cruise will leave upon those brave enough to venture onboard.

Tickets are on sale now starting at $699 per person. For more details, visit MayhemCruise.com.

Picking which pickup to pick. Which will you choose?

There are many decisions involved when choosing the right pickup. Vintage or Modern? Hum cancelling or not? What kind of EQ do I want? But one of the most misunderstood is choosing between a vintage output or high output pickup (or somewhere in between). Most people think that high output pickups are only for heavy music and that lower output pickups are for everything else. Once we understand what a higher output pickup does for the sound (and our playing), we might be better equipped to make a choice.
Continue reading “High Output Pickups vs Medium Output Pickups: Is More Better?”

At the end of the last post, we had a 1-pickup circuit with a volume and tone control. This time we’re going to look at multi-pickup systems.
So far we’ve had one pickup connected to the volume control and then the volume control sends output to the jack. We’ll continue with that setup, except that when we add additional pickups, we’ll control which ones are connected to the volume control. We can also take it as read that the ground wires from all pickups will go straight to a grounding point (like the back of the volume pot) without getting involved with any switching.
Continue reading “Guitar Wiring 103”

It’s been a big year for Joe Bonamassa so far. He released Driving Towards The Daylight in May; he’s been hard at work on the third Black Country Communion album with Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian; and in January he unveiled his set of signature Seymour Duncan humbucker pickups. It seems there’s always something to do when you’re one of the most popular blues rock guitarists in the world, huh?
Continue reading “Joe Bonamassa Drives Blues-Rock Forward”

We had such a great time last year hosting Steve Miller and raising over $50,000 for Notes for Notes that we have decided to do it again. This year, we will have the Grammy award winning rock band Los Lobos with special guest Joe Bonamassa. 100% of all the proceeds will go to Notes for Notes which is a non-profit dedicated to providing kids with free access to musical instruments and instruction. The charity has served as a place where kids can go and explore their creative side with a host of musical instruments and recording equipment. We will also be hosting another silent auction which was very successful last year. Check out this list of cool guitars and merchandise from last year’s auction. Continue reading “Seymour Duncan Announces 2nd Annual Benefit Concert”

Nile’s latest album is At The Gate of Sethu [Nuclear Blast], an impressive slab of technical death metal loaded with ultra-precise riffs, eerie atmospherics and plenty of the band’s trademark lyrical focus, which finds much of its base in Ancient Egyptology and other equally epic fare. Nile founder Karl Sanders has an enviable grasp of death metal guitar technique along with a precise, cutting, clear but undeniably heavy guitar tone. Sanders is also a Seymour Duncan user, so we took the opportunity to discuss the new album, his approach to tone, and the truth about the new album’s inspiration. Sanders also provided a lot of pics of his unique guitars.

Word has it that At The Gate Of Sethu was prompted by an infamous reaction to the latest Morbid Angel album. Is this true?

Well, sort of more or less. That’s closer to a tongue in cheek anecdote – with a shred of truth lying at the core. Last year, a video made the rounds on the internet – “Hitler reacts to the new Morbid Angel album.” Well as Adolf is in the midst of his ferocious maniacal tirade about his disappointment with the new MA disc, outside in the hallway is a large crowd of staff persons – including generals, Military advisors, guards, secretaries, cleaning ladies and so forth. Well as one young lady starts to cry over the whole thing, another young woman leans over to console her – by saying – “Don’t worry, there will be a New Nile album soon” Well, obviously this was a comedy, and I laughed like everybody else; but it just so happened that ~ I was also the guy ~ who was in the midst of writing the song for that Nile album they were referring to. I took it as perhaps some sort of gentle motivational sign.
Continue reading “Nile’s Karl Sanders On Metal Tone, Technique And The Gate Of Sethu”