Vintage V58JDAB Jerry Donahue — Read our review here.
Over the course of his stellar career, the ace string bender and former Hellecaster has had several signature models, each wired to his unique specs. We’ll show you how to squeeze his sonic wizardry into your T-style guitar.
Here's something fun for all you Tele freaks: We're going to examine Jerry Donahue's unique wiring scheme to learn how it works and how to adapt it to a standard Tele.
Donahue was one of the three founding members of the Hellecasters, which also included John Jorgenson and PG columnist Will Ray. There's a reason why the great Danny Gatton called Donahue "the string-bending king of the planet." If you haven't heard Donahue's jaw-dropping bends and behind-the-nut stretches, check out some of his YouTube videos and prepare to be amazed. Using only his fingers, he could make his Tele sound like a pedal-steel guitar.
Essential background and history.
Donahue was one of the three founding members of the Hellecasters, which also included John Jorgenson and PG columnist Will Ray. There's a reason why the great Danny Gatton called Donahue "the string-bending king of the planet." If you haven't heard Donahue's jaw-dropping bends and behind-the-nut stretches, check out some of his YouTube videos and prepare to be amazed. Using only his fingers, he could make his Tele sound like a pedal-steel guitar.
A prominent figure in the late-'60s and early-'70s British folk-rock scene, Donahue played and recorded with Fotheringay and Fairport Convention, and later formed a group called the Gathering, which included his daughter Kristina Donahue and former members of Jethro Tull, Lindisfarne, Pentangle, and Steeleye Span.
Donahue is a Tele player to the bone, and during his outstanding career he's been involved in several signature guitar projects, beginning in 1991 with the Fender JD Telecaster. This was available in several versions from the Fender Custom Shop, as well as a more affordable MIJ version. A souped-up Telecaster, the JD featured a Stratocaster neck pickup located closer to the bridge than usual, a 5-way pickup selector switch, and special wiring. The model has been out of production since 1999 and is a collector's item today.
In 2004, Donahue began working with G&L on a new signature guitar called the ASAT JD-5, but this never made it into regular production. Only a few of these seem to exist—some estimate fewer than 20.
His next signature guitar, the Peavey Omniac JD, debuted in 2005. It had a Tele-like shape, custom wiring, and a 5-way pickup selector switch, but this time sported two custom Seymour Duncan pickups (more about these in a moment). The Omniac JD went out of production in 2009.
In 2010, Donahue started working on his next signature model 6-string with the John Hornby Skewes company in England, called JHS for short. One of the JHS labels is Fret-King, and Donahue's guitar is called the Fret-King JDD (which stands for Jerry Donahue/Seymour Duncan). Part of the Fret-King Artist series and still in production, the JDD was designed by Trev Wilkinson and features wiring similar to the Peavey Omniac. JHS also offers a budget version, called the Reissued V58JDAB Jerry Donahue, as part of their Vintage line.
These guitars all have a Telecaster-inspired dual-pickup layout, a 5-way switch, and standard master volume and master tone controls. The concept behind each of Donahue's models is to retain the classic Telecaster bridge tone, while adding Strat- and Tele-like dual-pickup combinations, as well as both a timeless Strat neck pickup sound and a jazzy "archtop" tone.
With this "JD mod," our goal is to incorporate Stratocaster tones into a Telecaster. This is the opposite of what we explored with the "Riptide" wiring—a mod that coaxes Telecaster tones from a Stratocaster. Loyal Mod Garage readers may also recall that we previously discussed several ways to implant Stratocaster tones into a Telecaster in "The Strat-o-Tele Crossover." But, as we'll see, the JD mod is unique and definitely worth exploring because it may be the ultimate jack-of-all trades guitar wiring.
For starters, let's talk about the pickups used in both the Omniac and JDD. Each model sports pickups made by Donahue's buddy, Seymour Duncan. The story goes that another one of Donahue's friends wound him a Stratocaster pickup for the neck position of his stock Telecaster. Donahue really liked it—especially when he combined the new neck pickup with the Tele bridge pickup. At Donahue's request, Seymour analyzed the new pickup and discovered Donahue's friend had incorporated a resistor in the middle of the pickup's winding before finishing the other half. Based on this construction, Seymour developed two pickups that are still available. If you're planning to build your own version of a JD Telecaster, this is your ticket to get it as close as possible to his signature models. These are the Duncan APS-2JD neck and APTL-3JD bridge pickups.
The concept behind each of Donahue's models is to retain the classic Telecaster bridge tone, while adding Strat- and Tele-like dual-pickup combinations, as well as both a timeless Strat neck pickup sound and a jazzy "archtop" tone.
The sounds.
Here—excerpted from Donahue's own words—is a description of the tones delivered by the 5-way switch, starting with the Stratocaster's "neck only" setting and working toward the bridge:
- Position 1: The rich and sparkling neck position of a traditional Stratocaster, resulting in that unmistakable vintage single-coil sound that echoes the soaring, majestic blues tones of the '60s and '70s.
- Position 2: The neck pickup with a special capacitor engaged. This yields a tone ordinarily associated with an archtop jazz guitar. Add overdrive to capture that classic late-'60s "woman tone."
- Position 3: The neck and bridge pickups in a custom parallel wiring. This produces an enhanced, contemporary version of a Telecaster's traditional middle-position tone.
- Position 4: Combines both pickups with a capacitor and resistor to create a controlled degree of reversed phase. This offers a Stratocaster's popular "in-between quack tone."
- Position 5: The solo bridge pickup with the gutsy lead sound of the very best '50s Telecasters.
Shopping list.
Here's what you'll need to make your own version of the JD Telecaster:
- The two pickups mentioned above, although alternatively you can use standard Telecaster bridge and Stratocaster neck pickups. If you choose the latter option, you'll need to enlarge the neck pickup cavity to accommodate a Strat neck pickup.
- A 5-way "super switch" pickup selector. But remember: There's not much room inside a Telecaster's electronics compartment, so double-check that the model you choose will fit. We've covered the basics of this switch before ["Introducing Fender's 5-Way Super Switch," September 2011, and "Exploring Fender's 5-Way Super Switch," October 2011].
- A treble-bleed network with a 1000 pF cap and a 150k resistor in parallel. To learn more about this, check out "Deep Diving into Treble-Bleed Networks" from March 2019.
- A 0.022 µF tone cap of your choice for the tone control.
- Two 250k pots for volume and tone controls.
- Three caps with the following values: 3300 pF, 2200 pF, and 0.01µF. Again, there's not much space inside the Tele's control cavity, so choose the physically smallest film caps you can get. The caps' voltage rating doesn't play a role in this game.
- Two 6.2k metal film resistors; 0.25 watt or less is perfect.
If you're a Mod Garage regular, you'll spot familiar themes in this circuit because we've investigated these tricks before—namely, adding caps in-line with a pickup ["The Stratocaster 'Jazz Switch' Mod," November 2011] and half out-of-phase wiring ["The Bill Lawrence 5-way Telecaster Circuit," October 2015]. But here's the twist: Now everything comes together in one wiring!
Okay, let's translate Donahue's sonic description of the wiring into bare technical facts:
- Position 1: Solo neck pickup (like standard Telecaster wiring).
- Position 2: Neck pickup with additional 3300 pF cap to ground.
- Position 3: Neck + bridge pickup in parallel with additional 2200 pF cap to ground.
- Position 4: Neck + bridge pickup in parallel, half out-of-phase.
- Position 5: Solo bridge pickup (like standard Telecaster wiring).
Now we're ready to dive into the circuit. For visual clarity, we'll start with the volume pot's treble bleed-network (Image 1).
Image 2 shows the rest of the circuit with all the other components.
That's it, folks! In a future column, we'll revisit this wiring and add some mods that make it even more flexible. Meanwhile, next month we'll return to our ongoing DIY relic project, so stay tuned. Until then ... keep on modding!
Review Demo - Vintage Guitars Jerry Donahue Signature V58
Watch John Bohlinger demo the various tones unlocked by Donahue's versatile 5-way setup.
[Updated 7/27/21]
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Creamsicle
With features like volume and gain controls, sparkle switch, and waveform shape control, these pedals are designed to be a must-have for any guitarist.
The Creamsicle has that low-gain English rock tone you've been looking for. It’ll remind you of that JCM45 that you deeply regret selling during the hair metal years, but it’s a lot lighter and can get that tone at a much lower volume. Gain and Volume controls, along with tone control, sparkle switch, and a three-position pre-amp gain switch. Go from 'creamy' to 'crunchy' with a twist of the dial and the flick of a switch. Try it with your favorite fuzz for even more - just like you did with that half-stack back in 1966.
Terrain
The Terrain is a tremolo with a difference: Its circuitry is designed to be as open and HiFi as possible. It features optical coupling to keep Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO) noise out of the audio path. In addition to Speed and Depth controls it also features a waveform shape control to fine-tune that throb. It includes a gain control to make up for any perceived volume loss at high Depth settings. But most importantly, it features high input impedance, low distortion, full bandwidth, low noise, and high fidelity circuitry that stays crystal clear. You’re going to love it.
The Creamsicle features:
- Classic 1960’s English rock tone.
- Volume and Gain controls.
- Two-pole tone control.
- Sparkle switch.
- Three way preamp gain switch.
- Full bypass (of course).
- 9VDC, 31mA.
- MAP price: $145
The Terrain features:
- Optical tremolo for perfect LFO / audio isolation.
- High input impedance, full bandwidth, low noise, crystal clear signal path.
- Speed, Depth, and Waveform controls.
- Makeup Gain control.
- Full bypass (naturally).
- 9VDC, 32mA.
- MAP price: $145
Mayfly Creamsicle Overdrive and Terrain Tremolo - YouTube
Baroni Recording Amps: Faithful tone to iconic amps in rock history. High-Voltage Class A tube preamp and analog simulation for direct FOH or DAW use. VARICAB circuit for realistic cab simulations. Perfect for pedal demos and connecting pedalboard to DAW.
Baroni (A Foxgear Brand) Is proud to introduce its first range of Recording Amps with a range of five products designed to replicate five of the most iconic amps in rock history, including Fender, Marshall, Hiwatt, Orange and Vox. Each Baroni Recording amp is made of a High-Voltage Class A tube preamp and a renewed analog simulation that mimics all the chain after the preamp such as the power section, the speaker, the microphone, and preparing the signal in a 100% analog way to go direct to FOH console, or into the Audio Interface of your DAW. Thanks to the VARICAB circuit, introduced last year into Foxgear’s Miniamp series, and recently updated, and thanks to two separate control of Gain (Body) and Volume on the preamp section, you can truly mimic the behavior of the real amplifier, including the grit or bottom-end/punch usually added by the power tubes before to go to the XLR balanced out with a faithful recreation of your favorite sound with a big advantage: Eating Pedals perfectly.
Each Recording Amp also boasts a series fx loop, and a traditional TS Jack out to use as a standard preamp going into the return section of an amp, or into a power amplifier.No dozens of options, just pure tone straight to the point to not compromise the easy to use with pedals. Some YouTubers have already ordered their one to be used as their main interface to do pedal demos.
Baroni Preamps/D.I. Recording Amps Highlights include:
- Faithful tone to the original Amplifier
- 100% Analog signal path and Cab Simulation- Infinite and real-time changing cab simulations with VARICAB
- The definitive device to connect your pedalboard to your DAW without compromises.
For more information, please visit foxgeardistribution.com.
The author’s well-loved Freeze pedals. The original raw-metal chassis seen here has been replaced with a white finish on later editions.
How this simple sustain stomp helped me bring one of my favorite David Lynch scenes to life and took me across oceans.
There’s a scene in David Lynch’sMulholland Drivewhere Naomi Watts and Laura Harring’s characters find themselves in a darkened, mostly empty theater. Against a backdrop of spooky, synthy chords, they breathlessly watch the night’s oddball emcee deliver an intense, cryptic soliloquy on recorded sound. A trumpet player slowly walks onto the stage, the two characters clutching each other. They—and you—get fully drawn into his muted, jazzy lines. Suddenly, he pulls his instrument away from the mic, throwing his hands in the air. But the solo continues. The narrator looks to the audience: “It’s all recorded.”
Like the best Lynch moments, it’s a thoroughly dramatic moment that needs to be experienced with all applicable senses. Words alone won’t do. This scene is meant to stick with you.
I had that scene in mind as I first plugged into an Electro-Harmonix Freeze. I wanted to play a note and have it keep going … and going … until the audience would see that those notes were just lingering in the air, my strings no longer vibrating, unsure what the effect is. The Freeze could do just that.
“This wasn’t some new iteration of some other effect—a crazy fuzz or a weird flanger. This was a new category.”
If you’ve never played one, the Freeze elegantly holds whatever you give it—a note, a chord, a pick scrape, or whatever else. For such an obvious effect to come out when it did felt so refreshingly groundbreaking. It represented new possibilities. This wasn’t some new iteration of some other effect—a crazy fuzz or a weird flanger. This was a new category.
There had already been ways to fake drones and sustained notes with loopers and delay pedals, but those inevitably had their quirks that ruined the illusion. David Cockerell, the designer of the Freeze, explains that loopers capture short bits of sound, apply an amplitude envelope, and play it back repeatedly. This can work to make sustained notes if the passage includes a whole number of cycles of the sound's fundamental pitch, but in most cases, you’ll hear a click when it repeats.
Back in the ’70s, the EHX team had worked on the idea for a sustain pedal. “At that time, the best I could do was intelligent-splice-single-cycle-looping,” recalls Cockerell. “This looked for a waveform match in the same way that guitar tuning meters do, and then endlessly played one cycle. It worked reasonably well for saxophone or other instruments with strictly harmonic overtones, but it was hopeless for guitar.”
”The pedal only requires one knob for volume, one toggle for latching or fast/slow swell modes, and a footswitch.”
Fast-forward to the early ’00s when DSP chips became available that could reproduce more complex sounds and overtones. While he was working on the EHX Hog with John Pisani, the company’s current-day chief engineer, the idea for a sustain pedal reared its head once again. Cockerell used an algorithm with a special provision that avoids freezing on a pluck transient, thus eliminating the risk of that pesky click. And the Freeze was born.
Released in 2010, the Freeze has a simple beauty. The pedal only requires one knob for volume, one toggle for latching or fast/slow swell modes, and a footswitch. Within, there’s such a wide range of subtlety: How you hit the pedal after your attack greatly affects the response. With the level setting, you can create subtle drones, much like an electronic shruti box, meant to subtly fill space. Or you can set it more obviously as you change chords, freeing up your hands. At higher volume settings in fast momentary mode, you can create glitchy stutter effects. And the way it interacts with other pedals opens up entirely new worlds.
I threw myself into the pedal not long after it hit the market, learning its nuances and eventually buying a second one to create a stereo effect. With my retuned 12-string Strat, I blasted my amps with drones, blowing a few speakers with abandon. Soon, the Freeze changed my approach to the guitar, and I released a series of solo drone and noise albums that took me across the U.S. and Europe. When I recognized Bill Frisell using one during a solo set, I’d bonded with the pedal so much that it was like a friend was sitting in with my favorite guitar player.
“I blasted my amps with drones, blowing a few speakers with abandon.”
There are plenty of pedals that have followed, adding more functionality. EHX’s Pico Deep Freeze, most obviously, but also the Gamechanger Plus, TC Electronic Infinite Sample, and the Chase Bliss Onward—enough that guitar sustain pedals have become their own class of effect. As fabulous as those pedals are, I still cherish the simplicity of the Freeze, a rare thing that leaves all the creative decisions on our side of the pedalboard.
PG's host straps on a prototype Tele to unleash the Knife Drop's horror and heft only to dismantle Jack White's Triplecaster in one accidental Bigsby bomb.