Hello and welcome back to “Mod Garage.” This month’s mod is one of my favorites; I have it in all the guitars I use on stage. I call it the “Direct-Through” mod, but I´ve also seen it as the “Solo Switch” or “Treble Boost” mod. It all means the same: connecting the pickup directly to the output jack! This isn’t a new one. Fender did this way back in the early ‘50s on the Esquire—a Telecaster with only a bridge pickup. The 3-way pickup selector switch on this guitar offered a direct-through routing of the pickup at position 1. This adaption of the Esquire switching option can be used on your Stratocasters and with any pickup combination.
There are several ways to wire this one up on a Strat. I’ll show you the way I think is best, as well as being the easiest and fastest. The 5-way pickup selector switch will stay mostly untouched, so you don’t have to worry about its position while playing—simply choose the pickup or combination of your choice and engage the Direct-Through mod to route it directly to the output jack. You’ll need a small 2PDT toggle switch or any push/pull or push/ push pot with a 2PDT switch.
So what’s the benefit of this mod, you ask?
There are several. For one, it will enhance your tonal palette. The pots of the volume and tone controls add a good portion of load to the system, especially the typical 3x250k pot configuration of a standard Strat. 500k or 1M pots add less load, but the higher the resistance, the less useful the taper in a pure passive system like our Stratocaster—so this load will result in less high end, less volume, and therefore a different tone. If you want to get an impression if this mod is for you, simply solder the two leads of the Strat pickup of your choice directly to the output jack and play. What you hear now is the “real” tone of the pickup. Compared to the standard configuration, it’s noticeably different.
Second, it offers a more trebly tone. Hard to imagine, but some players really want more treble out of a Strat! This mod will do the trick. An example of this tone is the famous “James Bond Theme.” Use the bridge pickup of your Strat, engage the direct-through option, and play as near as possible to the bridge. This is also a suitable option for surf music and similar playing styles—hence the reason this mod is sometimes called the “Treble Boost” mod. It can also provide for a solo boost. With the Direct-Through mod, the tone is noticeably louder, so this can be the little extra volume kick you need, to drive your amp into saturation for a solo. It works perfectly together with overdrive stompboxes as well. If you need two completely different volumes out of your Strat, you can use your volume pot to dial in the “normal” volume level you need. With the direct-through switch engaged, the volume pot is bypassed, and your guitar is running full-throttle for a fat and loud solo. This is the reason why this mod is sometimes described as a “Solo Switch” mod.
 Wiring diagram courtesy of Seymour Duncan Pickups and used by permission. Seymour Duncan and the stylized S are registered trademarks of Seymour Duncan Pickups, with which Premier Guitar magazine is not affiliated. |
Let’s Get Started
As always, in case you haven’t done this yet, printing out the standard Stratocaster wiring and placing it on your workbench is always a good start. This way it´s much easier for you to see and understand the differences compared to the modded schematics. You can download the standard wiring scheme directly from the Seymour Duncan webpage. Next, you need a 2PDT switching device. You can drill a hole in the pickguard and install a small toggle switch, or use a push/pull or push/push pot with a 2PDT switch. Personally, I like the additional toggle switch installed on the right side of the 5-way pickup selector switch. Have a look at the diagram below: we are breaking the signal right after the 5-way switch, so this mod is also an excellent way to examine how different 5-way switches can influence overall tone, if you’re interested. First, we have to cut the jumper wire between the two stages of the 5-way switch—that’s very important! Afterwards, connect the switch as shown in the diagram. Don’t forget the little jumper wire on the bottom of the switch!
Alright, that’s it! I hope you’ll have fun experimenting with this mod to discover some new sonic territory. Stay tuned for more Strat mods coming next month. Until then... keep on modding!
Dirk Wacker
Dirk Wacker lives in Germany and has been addicted to all kinds of guitars since the age of five. He is fascinated by anything that has something to do with old Fender guitars and amps. He hates short scales and Telecaster neck pickups, but loves twang. In his spare time he plays country, rockabilly, surf and Nashville styles in two bands, works as a studio musician for a local studio and writes for several guitar mags. He is also a hardcore DIY guy for guitars, amps and stompboxes and runs an extensive webpage singlecoil.com about these things.
Guitarists are used to coveting cranky, old gear, but if you’re not a rack user, the H3000 might not be for you! If you ever see one of these in a studio, be sure to take some time to check it out, and maybe give the plugin a try.When it debuted in 1987, the H3000 was marketed as an “intelligent pitch-changer” that could generate stereo harmonies in a user-specified key. This was heady stuff in the ’80s! But while diatonic harmonizing grabbed the headlines, subtler uses of this pitch-shifter cemented its legacy. Patch 231 MICROPITCHSHIFT, for example, is a big reason the H3000 persists in racks everywhere. It’s essentially a pair of very short, single-repeat delays: The left side is pitched slightly up while the right side is pitched slightly down (default is ±9 cents). The resulting tripling/thickening effect has long been a mix-engineer staple for pop vocals, and it’s also my first call when I want a stereo chorus for guitar.
The second-gen H3000S, introduced the following year, cemented the device’s guitar bona fides. Early-adopter Steve Vai was such a proponent of the first edition that Eventide asked him to contribute 48 signature sounds for the new model (patches 700-747). Still-later revisions like the H3000B and H3000D/SE added even more functionality, but these days it’s not too important which model you have. Comprehensive EPROM chips containing every patch from all generations of H3000 (plus the later H3500) are readily available for a modest cost, and are a fairly straightforward install.
In addition to pitch-shifting, there are excellent modulation effects and reverbs (like patch 211 CANYON), plus presets inspired by other classic Eventide boxes, like the patch 513 INSTANT PHASER. A comprehensive accounting of the H3000’s capabilities would be tedious, but suffice to say that even the stock presets get deliciously far afield. There are pitch-shifting reverbs that sound like fever-dream ancestors of Strymon’s “shimmer” effect. There are backwards-guitar simulators, multiple extraterrestrial voices, peculiar foreshadows of the EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid and Rainbow Machine (check out patch 208 BIZARRMONIZER), and even button-triggered Foley effects that require no input signal (including a siren, helicopter, tank, submarine, ocean waves, thunder, and wind). If you’re ever without your deck of Oblique Strategies cards, the H3000’s singular knob makes a pretty good substitute. (Spin the big wheel and find out what you’ve won!)
“If you’re ever without your deck of Oblique Strategies cards, the H3000’s singular knob makes a pretty good substitute.”
But there’s another, more pedestrian reason I tend to reach for the H3000 and its rackmount relatives in the studio: I like to do certain types of processing after the mic. It’s easy to overlook, but guitar speakers are signal processors in their own right. They roll off high and low end, they distort when pushed, and the cabinets in which they’re mounted introduce resonances. While this type of de facto processing often flatters the guitar itself, it isn’t always advantageous for effects.
Effects loops allow time-based effects to be placed after preamp distortion, but I like to go one further. By miking the amp first and then sending signal to effects in parallel, I can get full bandwidth from the airy reverbs and radical pitched-up effects the H3000 can offer—and I can get it in stereo, printed to its own track, allowing the wet/dry balance to be revisited later, if needed. If a sound needs to be reproduced live, that’s a problem for later. (Something evocative enough can usually be extracted from a pedal-form descendant like the Eventide H90.)
Like most vintage gear, the H3000 has some endearing quirks. Even as it knowingly preserves glitches from earlier Eventide harmonizers (patch 217 DUAL H910s), it betrays its age with a few idiosyncrasies of its own. Extreme pitch-shifting exhibits a lot of aliasing (think: bit-crusher sounds), and the analog Murata filter modules impart a hint of warmth that many plug-in versions don’t quite capture. (They also have a habit of leaking black goo all over the motherboard!) It’s all part of the charm of the unit, beloved by its adherents. (Well, maybe not the leaking goo!)
In 2025, many guitarists won’t be eager to care for what is essentially an expensive, cranky, decades-old computer. Even the excitement of occasional tantalum capacitor explosions is unlikely to win them over! Fortunately, some great software emulations exist—Eventide’s own plugin even models the behavior of the Murata filters. But hardware offers the full hands-on experience, so next time you spot an old H3000 in a rack somewhere—and you’ve got the time—fire it up, wait for the distinctive “click” of its relays, spin the knob, and start digging.
PRS Guitars today released the updated MT 15 and the new Archon Classic amplifiers, along with a larger Archon speaker cabinet. The 15-watt, two-channel Mark Tremonti signature amp MT 15 now features a lead channel overdrive control. An addition to the Archon series, not a replacement, the 50-watt Classic offers a fresh voice by producing retro rock “classic” tones reminiscent of sound permeating the radio four and five decades ago. Now twice the size of the first Archon cabinet, the Archon 4x12 boasts four Celestion V-Type speakers.
MT 15 Amplifier Head
Balancing aggression and articulation, this 15-watt amp supplies both heavy rhythms and clear lead tones. The MT 15 revision builds off the design of the MT 100, bringing the voice of the 100’s overdrive channel into its smaller-format sibling. Updating the model, the lead channel also features a push/pull overdrive control that removes two gain stages to produce vintage, crunchier “mid gain” tones. The clean channel still features a push/pull boost control that adds a touch of overdrive crunch. A half-power switch takes the MT to 7 watts.
“Seven years ago, we released my signature MT 15 amplifier, a compact powerhouse that quickly became a go-to for players seeking both pristine cleans and crushing high-gain tones. In 2023, we took things even further with the MT 100, delivering a full-scale amplifier that carried my signature sound to the next level. That inspired us to find a way to fit the 100's third channel into the 15's lunchbox size,” said Mark Tremonti.
“Today, I’m beyond excited to introduce the next evolution of the MT15, now featuring a push/pull overdrive control on the Lead channel and a half-power switch, giving players even more tonal flexibility to shape their sound with a compact amp. Can’t wait for you all to plug in and experience it!”
Archon Classic Amplifier Head
With a refined gain structure from the original Archon, the Archon Classic’s lead channel offers a wider range of tones colored with gain, especially in the midrange. The clean channel goes from pristine all the way to the edge of breakup. This additional Archon version was developed to be a go-to tool for playing classic rock or pushing the envelope into modern territory. The Archon Classic still features the original’s bright switch, presence and depth controls. PRS continues to stock the Archon in retailers worldwide.
“The Archon Classic is not a re-issue of the original Archon, but a newly voiced circuit with the lead channel excelling in '70s and '80s rock tones and a hotter clean channel able to go into breakup. This is the answer for those wanting an Archon with a hotrod vintage lead channel gain structure without changing preamp tube types, and a juiced- up clean channel without having to use a boost pedal, all wrapped up in a retro-inspired cabinet design,” said PRS Amp Designer Doug Sewell.
Archon 4x12 Cabinet
As in the Archon 1x12 and 2x12, the mega-sized PRS Archon 4x12 speaker cabinet features Celestion V-Type speakers and a closed-back design, delivering power, punch, and tight low end. Also like its smaller brethren, the 4x12 is wrapped in durable black vinyl and adorned with a British-style black knitted-weave grill cloth. The Archon 4x12 is only the second four-speaker cabinet in the PRS lineup, next to the HDRX 4x12.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40 th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year. For all of the latest news, click www.prsguitars.com/40 and follow @prsguitars on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, X, and YouTube.
