My first Xaviere: XV-610

[BIGD]

My new XV-610 arrived yesterday...(it's a 72 thinline clone for all intents and purposes). Post edited as there is a major defect in the guitar that was initially undetectable that leads to it's usefullness being comprimised. Awaiting response from Guitarfetish.

[Brian Krashpad]

Pics or does not exist.

 

Thems the rules.

[BIGD]

 

Pics or does not exist. Thems the rules.

 

 

Will have tonight or tomorrow.

[Preacher]

 

Pics or does not exist. Thems the rules.

 

 

QFT, BK.

 

that said, an ever-so-slightly-tentative HNGD! And thaks for the writeup, very detailed!

[McCain]

It might just need a capacitor change. Those 180's are also easy to turn into a single coil by removing a row of the pole pieces.

[BIGD]

 

It might just need a capacitor change. Those 180's are also easy to turn into a single coil by removing a row of the pole pieces.

 

 

Really? I did a similar move on the neck pickup on my 72 thinline..it helped a little but still was too muddy.

[McCain]

Really? I did a similar move on the neck pickup on my 72 thinline..it helped a little but still was too muddy.

 

The cap. or removing the pole pieces?

 

My XV-650 w/180's came with a .047 that I replaced with a .020 from stewmac http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Components:_Caps_(capacitors)/Capacitors.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=11861

 

I figured there must be a reason stewmac only offers .020 and .050 instead of .047/.022's The .020 took the mud away.

 

Removing a row of pole pieces REALLY changes the vibe though. and just might be the sound your looking for. Or remove 3 from each row and turn them into sort of a Z-coil.

 

Strips cut from a self-stick acoustic sound-hole pick-guard can cover the holes.

[honeyiscool]

Nice. You will recall I was looking for jangle as well. I think a coil split switch is necessary for this guitar. I would just do a master split (one switch splits both) and be done with it like that.

[BIGD]

The cap. or removing the pole pieces? My XV-650 w/180's came with a .047 that I replaced with a .020 from stewmac http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Components:_Caps_(capacitors)/Capacitors.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=11861 I figured there must be a reason stewmac only offers .020 and .050 instead of .047/.022's The .020 took the mud away. Removing a row of pole pieces REALLY changes the vibe though. and just might be the sound your looking for. Or remove 3 from each row and turn them into sort of a Z-coil. Strips cut from a self-stick acoustic sound-hole pick-guard can cover the holes.

I did the pole pieces in my thinline. The cap change affects both pickups, correct? The bridge pickup is bright enough as it is, I'm actually going for something smoother. I like jangle in the neck/middle positions, not the lead.

[BIGD]

 

Nice. You will recall I was looking for jangle as well. I think a coil split switch is necessary for this guitar. I would just do a master split (one switch splits both) and be done with it like that.

 

 

I'm just wondering if you do that and the pickups end up not souding good split..you sorta wasted your time. I'll swap out the neck pickup with something I know glistens and be done with it.

[honeyiscool]

It's really like 2 minutes, and you can use the push-pull for any future upgrade pickups.

 

I would wire these with Lace Dually, probably, both Hot Golds, and with a 5-way switch. The bridge would be wired like a humbucker with an auto-split, then the two coils on the neck pickup would be wired individually as though they were two side-by-side pickups, which they are. The neck coils in parallel would jangle for miles.

 

Could also do this with P-rails.

[BIGD]

It's really like 2 minutes, and you can use the push-pull for any future upgrade pickups. I would wire these with Lace Dually, probably, both Hot Golds, and with a 5-way switch. The bridge would be wired like a humbucker with an auto-split, then the two coils on the neck pickup would be wired individually as though they were two side-by-side pickups, which they are. The neck coils in parallel would jangle for miles. Could also do this with P-rails.

 

What language are you talking? I'm not past "wire to pot, wire to switch, tie off other 2" at this point. Maybe someday.

[honeyiscool]

The "other two" form the coil split wires. If at any point they go to ground, it splits the humbucker. There are many ways to achieve that. You can achieve it with a two-way switch like a push-pull pot (easiest way):

 

You can see that you still have the other side of the switch available, so you can use the same switch to split both humbuckers at once.

 

If you take the coil split wires and wire it to an unused volume pot, then it's called a spin-a-split. That way, you go from 0 (fully split) to 10 (fully humbucker) with a knob.

 

 

The coolest way to accomplish a split is an auto-split. It's where, on a standard five-way or three-way switch, you design a certain position of the five-way to automatically hook up the a coil split wire to ground:

 

 

Basically what this does is when you're in the bridge position, you have a full humbucker. When you're in the bridge + mid position, you have a split humbucker + the middle pickup, and this is done automatically. It allows you to keep the hum cancellation going as well.

 

Anyway, at the end of a day, humbuckers are just two side by side single coils. That means you can hook them up like individual pickups to a pickup switch, especially something like Dream 180, SD P-Rails, or Lace Dually that actually ARE two side-by-side pickups. So if you have two Dream 180s, you can think of it as an HSS pickup configuration and hook it up like such. There's nothing preventing you from doing that. Or you can think of it as SSSS, or SSH, or SHS if you're crazy.

[McCain]

 

I did the pole pieces in my thinline. The cap change affects both pickups, correct? The bridge pickup is bright enough as it is, I'm actually going for something smoother. I like jangle in the neck/middle positions, not the lead.

 

 

The thinline..is that a bucker neck and single bridge?

 

Yes the cap. affects both pu's.

 

But I have one of these JT90's http://store.guitarfetish.com/XV-JT90-Offset-Hybrid-GFS-Pickups-Vintage-Sunburst-Alder-Body_p_1113.html

 

and it came with a .047, for the neck single I guess. Didn't care for either pup til I replaced the cap., again with a StewMac .020's Both the neck and bridge sounded great:thu: without any ice pick sound from the bridge that I thought I'd get.

 

I find the 180's very blues sounding.

 

Removing the pieces from the bridge 180 I wouldn't exactly call jangle but maybe you would. Removing the pole pieces from the bridge side of the bridge pu will sound less bright.

[BIGD]

 

The thinline..is that a bucker neck and single bridge? Yes the cap. affects both pu's. But I have one of these JT90's http://store.guitarfetish.com/XV-JT90-Offset-Hybrid-GFS-Pickups-Vintage-Sunburst-Alder-Body_p_1113.html and it came with a .047, for the neck single I guess. Didn't care for either pup til I replaced the cap., again with a StewMac .020's Both the neck and bridge sounded great:thu: without any ice pick sound from the bridge that I thought I'd get. I find the 180's very blues sounding. Removing the pieces from the bridge 180 I wouldn't exactly call jangle but maybe you would. Removing the pole pieces from the bridge side of the bridge pu will sound less bright.

 

 

The 72 thinline reissue is the one with 2 "wide range" humbuckers. The neck pickup stock is mud-city. A lot of people upgrade the volume pot to 500K, which helps open things up, but the neck pickup still sucks. I put a real humbucker in the bridge and a surf 90 in the neck (had to buy a custom pickguard to do this) and this guitars tone is great now. The Fender reissue pickups are really just crappy normal sized humbuckers with big hardware above and below them to make them look like the originals..I didn't believe it either when it was first mentioned here years ago, then I popped the cap off one, and wah lah, just a plain old pickup.

[McCain]

The 72 thinline reissue is the one with 2 "wide range" humbuckers. The neck pickup stock is mud-city. A lot of people upgrade the volume pot to 500K, which helps open things up, but the neck pickup still sucks. I put a real humbucker in the bridge and a surf 90 in the neck (had to buy a custom pickguard to do this) and this guitars tone is great now. The Fender reissue pickups are really just crappy normal sized humbuckers with big hardware above and below them to make them look like the originals..I didn't believe it either when it was first mentioned here years ago, then I popped the cap off one, and wah lah, just a plain old pickup.

 

Check the cap. and make sure it's not a .033 or .047 With a HB bridge and 90 in the neck you probably want a .022 Although if it sounds good..it sounds good.

 

Played the 180's and the bridge is diffidently sounds brighter than the neck. GF site doesn't say if ones wound hotter than the other..or you might could try switching them around although the pole-piece spread is 2"neck 2 1/8" bridge.

 

I removed pole-pieces from both 180 pu's when I first got the guitar. sounded muddy, but replaced them after the cap. change from the .047 to the .020.

 

When I get around to getting some self-stick pick-guard material I think I'll be removing them again. I remember that I removed the ones closest to the bridge on the bridge pu because it was way to bright when removing them from the neck side.

 

Or I might just remove them right now. I think i'll do that.

[McCain]

Removed the bridge side pieces from the bridge pu_I had forgotten how much better they sounded without the pole-pieces removed. It's a nice clear sound that's for sure. Does sound brighter though,,although i might just be equating clearer as brighter..

 

I think the neck pick-up's have to go again now.

[McCain]

The 72 thinline reissue is the one with 2 "wide range" humbuckers. The neck pickup stock is mud-city. A lot of people upgrade the volume pot to 500K, which helps open things up, but the neck pickup still sucks. I put a real humbucker in the bridge and a surf 90 in the neck (had to buy a custom pickguard to do this) and this guitars tone is great now. The Fender reissue pickups are really just crappy normal sized humbuckers with big hardware above and below them to make them look like the originals..I didn't believe it either when it was first mentioned here years ago, then I popped the cap off one, and wah lah, just a plain old pickup.

 

Just wanted to say that for $800 you'd think Fender would put the correct 500k pots and .022 caps to go with the humbuckers.

 

I think you got a better deal with the 610.

 

Oh, HNGD