Consider so-called “vintage" or “'50s-style" wiring, in which the tone pot and cap are connected to the middle lug of the volume pot rather than the usual third lug. Given the sheer number of posts the topic has amassed on guitar-geek sites, you'd think it was an earth-shaking option. Yeah, it's a cool mod that I happen to dig, but really, the sonic benefit is modest: just a bit less loss of brightness when you dial down the volume.
These projects aren't like that. Each one drastically alters your guitar's available tones and the ways you access them. They can literally change the way you play.
This article assumes you're familiar with basic soldering techniques. If not, check out a few YouTube soldering tutorials. I don't have to remind you to follow all suggested safety guidelines, do I? (Okay—you're reminded.)
Sometimes the best way to add power to your low tones is to remove a bit of bass.
Mod #1: PTB Tone Control
What it is: A variation on the two-band tone circuit that Leo Fender created late in his career for G&L guitars. It employs two tone pots: One cuts highs like a conventional tone control, while the other filters out lows. PTB stands for “passive treble/bass."
The benefits: This mod is a godsend for players seeking greater control over their distortion sounds, especially with humbuckers. When playing clean, the results are relatively subtle. But when you pour on the gain, even tiny adjustments to your signal's bass content can add clarity, punch, and welcome variation to your crunch tones.
Just ask any savvy stompbox builder or low-tuned 7-string player: Sometimes the best way to add power to your low tones is to remove a bit of bass. That's because the lowest frequencies in your signal disproportionately overdrive your amp and effects. Siphoning off just a bit of bass can add clarity and focus. At extreme settings, the filtering can produce sharp, squawking tones akin to those of a '60s treble booster pedal (not a bad thing). If you've ever grappled with high-gain tones that make your amp fart out, here's your flatulence remedy.
The cost: The original G&L scheme calls for alternate pot values, but the project here uses the 500K pots found in most humbucker guitars, so all you need are wire, solder, and a few capacitors. On a three-knob guitar, you wind up with one master volume control and two master tone controls, but you sacrifice individual volume controls for each pickup.On a four-knob guitar, you still have independent volume controls, but you lose the independent tone controls.
How it sounds:Ex. 1a demonstrates the treble-cut control—nothing surprising here. Ex. 1b features the bass-cut. With a clean tone like this, it's a bit subtle, though you can hear the difference if you focus on the low notes. But Ex. 1c adds a vintage-style germanium Fuzz Face with the gain and volume maxed. With the guitar's tone control wide-open, the signal easily overpowers my vintage Fender brownface—your typical Fuzz Face fart. As I gradually trim bass via the guitar, the tone acquires greater punch and clarity. I remain on the neck pickup throughout—the only thing changing is the guitar's bass pot setting. The extreme-cut settings near the end of the clip may sound harsh in isolation, but they can be perfect in a band context. At the end of the clip I max the bass pot again to underscore how much the tone has changed. It ain't subtle.
How it works — Diagram 1a depicts Leo's original schematic:
The signal from your pickups or pickup selector gets routed to two tone pots. The 500k pot and .022 µF capacitor provide a conventional treble-cut control. Meanwhile, the 1M pot and smaller .0022 µF cap filter out lows. (Pay careful attention to the zeros and decimal points in those cap values!) The treble cut creates its effect in the usual way: by diverting signal to ground. But the bass cut doesn't go to ground at all—the low-filtering cap is inline with your signal. Its output goes to the volume pot (250k in the original). Clever!
Diagram 1b shows my adaptation for three-knob humbucker guitars, using the extant 500k pots:
For visual clarity, I've indicated ground connections with a down-facing triangle. As you probably know, all ground wires must be electronically connected to each other. (One convenient method is to solder all pickup ground wires, the output jack ground, the pickup selector ground, and the bridge's ground wire to the back of the volume pot, and then run a jumper wire to ground the treble control. In conventional wiring, all pots must be grounded, but here, it's not necessary to ground the bass pot.)
Diagram 1c is a version for four-knob guitars, such as traditional Les Pauls. The only difference: On three-knob guitars, the signal usually goes from the pickups to the pickup selector to the pots. But on four-knob guitars, the volume pots are upstream from the pickup selector to permit independent volume control per pickup.
DIY walkthrough: You don't necessarily need to perform the steps in this order—it's just one method.
Photo 1a
Since I have no idea how your guitar is currently wired, I've started with a fresh set of pots. My demo guitar is a three-knob Hamer 20th Anniversary, which has its pickup selector in the control cavity alongside the pots [Photo 1a.]
Photo 1b
In Photo 1b I've completed the ground connections as described above, though I've connected the output jack's ground to the back of the treble pot. The white wire is the pickup selector output, connected here to lug 3 of the treble pot. (Remember: When viewing pots from the back, lugs down, lug 3 is on the left, and lug 1 is on the right.) This wire usually connects to lug 3 of the volume pot, but this circuit routes the signal through the bass pot first.
Photo 1c
In Photo 1c I've added the treble-cut capacitor between lug 2 of the treble pot and ground. I used a .022 µF (also known as a 223). For more cut, try a larger value, such as .033 µF (333) or .047 µF (473). The larger the cap, the greater the cut.
Photo 1d
Photo 1d adds the bass-cut components. Since the output from the pickup selector must feed both tone pots, I've run a wire from lug 3 of the treble pot to lug 3 of the bass pot. I've added a .0015 µF (152) cap between lugs 3 and 2. Here, pot values work in the opposite direction: the smaller the cap, the greater the bass cut. If the .0015 µF sounds too extreme, try stepping up to a .0022 µF (222). I've added a wire to the bass pot's lug 2, which connects to the volume pot's lug 3. Connect the volume pot's lug 2 to the output jack, and you're done.
A reverse-log bass pot? While you can get fine results using your guitar's extant pots, the original G&L circuit calls for a 1M reverse-log pot (the “C" in C1M signifies reverse-log). With a standard audio-taper pot, the effect comes on quickly near the top of the pot's range. With a reverse-log pot, you get a gradual onset of the bass cut that may be easier to fine-tune. The problem is, it's almost impossible to find a C1M pot in a standard 24 mm format. You can get a 16 mm version from stompbox parts suppliers, but it won't work in Les Pauls requiring long pot shafts. After experimenting with various options, I've gone back to a standard 500k pot, because when I reach for that control, I usually want the lows to evaporate quickly.
Mod #2: Nashville Strat
What it is: A Stratocaster version of “Nashville wiring," a trick Telecaster mod popularized by Music City's session cats. Some Tele players add a third pickup (plus a blend knob), expanding the range of combined-pickup tones. The same wiring performs brilliantly in a Strat—without the cost and hassle of installing a third pickup.
The benefits: Access to a stunning array of combined-pickups sounds, including the outer pickups together—a gorgeous color not available from conventional Strat wiring. Not only can you choose between four cool combined sounds, but you can also vary the blend for subtler effects than those of a traditional Strat's 2 and 4 positions.
No matter what position the pickup selector is in, you always have access to the so-called “out of phase" sounds via the blend pot.
The costs: This mod requires a Tele-style 3-position pickup selector in lieu of a Strat's usual 5-position switch. You also sacrifice the sound of the middle pickup alone. The middle knob becomes a pickup blend control, while the third knob serves as a global tone control.
How it sounds: Ex. 2 showcases an assortment of combined-pickup tones not available on a conventional Strat. (The demo guitar is a “parts" Strat with three lipstick-tube pickups. While their character differs from those of traditional Strat pickups, it's a good representation of the range of available tones.) You also have access to the traditional position 1 and 5 tones.
Playing guitars wired this way changed how I view combined-pickup sounds. Whatever position the pickup selector is in, you always have access to the so-called “out of phase" sounds via the blend pot. The blend control becomes something like a camera's aperture setting: In minimum position, sounds are direct and crisp. As you advance the knob, tones become softer, prettier, and more diffuse. I find this to be a more musical and intuitive approach to tone sculpting.
Diagram 2
How it works: The neck and bridge pickup are wired as on a traditional Tele, with the pickup selector's middle setting combining the two pickups. Meanwhile, the middle pickup is routed directly to the output jack, bypassing the tone and volume controls (Diagram 2).
That may seem counterintuitive: Wouldn't you want the tone control to affect both pickups in combined-pickup settings? But it just seems to sound better this way. Rolling back the treble on combined-pickup tones tends to rob them of their cool phase-cancelled character. This way, tones still get darker/warmer when you dial back the treble, yet retain a nice airiness. Try it and see!
DIY walkthrough: In Photo 2a I've replaced the Strat's 5-way pickup selector with a Tele-style 3-way. I've threaded a wire through the two leftmost lugs of the selector's spring side and the two rightmost lugs on the opposite side. Additionally, I've connected the bridge and neck pickups as shown in Diagram 2.
Photo 2b
In Photo 2b I've added all the ground connections. The three pickup ground wires, output ground, and bridge ground are all soldered to the rear of the volume pot, with additional wires grounding the blend and tone pots. (All pots must be grounded in this circuit. It doesn't matter where they connect physically, so long as they connect electronically.)
Photo 2c
You must connect both the volume and blend control outputs to the output jack. In Photo 2c I've removed the jack plate to install a second wire that will connect to lug 2 of the blend pot. (Alternately, you could add a Y-joint inside the main control cavity, reinforcing the connection with heat-shrink tubing.)
Photo 2d
Photo 2d shows the volume pot connections. One output jack wire connects to lug 2, while the pickup selector output (the rightmost lug on the non-spring side, as viewed in this orientation) connects to lug 3. Lug 1 is bent and soldered to the side of the pot for a ground connection, per usual.
Photo 2e
The blend control wiring appears in Photo 2e. The hot wire from the middle pickup connects to lug 3, bypassing the tone and volume controls. The second output jack wire connects to lug 2.
Photo 2f
Photo 2f shows the tone pot wiring. Lug 3 connects to the volume pot's lug 3. Solder one end of the tone-cut capacitor to lug 2, and the other to the back of the pot, grounding it. I've used a .022 µF (223), a standard value, though you can step up to .033 µF (333) or .047 µF (473) for a stronger effect—the larger the cap, the greater the treble cut. If you like the sound of your current tone cap, just reuse it here. And that's it!
Bonus bridge pickup tip: Like many Strat users, I have a love/hate relationship with the traditional bridge pickup. It works great when you want a clear, piercing sound, but tends to be short on mass. Some players remedy this by installing humbuckers or other higher-output pickups in the bridge position. But instead of trying to coax Gibson tones from a Strat bridge pickup, I prefer a Tele-style bridge pickup sized for Strats, such as the excellent Seymour Duncan Twang Banger. With its Tele-style metallic base plate, it provides tough, edgy tones with more mass than traditional Strat pickups—without relinquishing that fine Fender sizzle.
Capacitor Cheat Sheet
Are you confused by capacitor nomenclature? Join the club!
To gain a thorough understanding of how caps work and how they're labeled, Google “capacitor values." In the meantime, here's a handy cheat sheet showing the most common cap values for guitar applications.
The first number in each pair is the value in farads, the unit used to measure capacitance. The “µF" signifies microfarad—a millionth of a farad. People often substitute “uF" for “µF" to avoid the hassle of using a Greek letter. It's also sometimes written as “MFD."
The second number in each pair is the shorthand way of indicating these values, and that's usually the number you find on the caps themselves.
The values appear in ascending order. The ones highlighted in green are typical values for conventional treble-cut tone controls. The ones in red are good starting values for the bass-cut controls in these projects. If a particular value doesn't work for you, just step up or down in value till you hear what you like.
- .0001 µF (101)
- .00015 µF (151)
- .00022 µF (221)
- .00033 µF (331)
- .00047 µF (471)
- .00068 µF (681)
- .001 µF (102)
- .0015 µF (152)
- .0022 µF (222)
- .0033 µF (332)
- .0047 µF (472)
- .0068 µF (682)
- .01 µF (103)
- .015 µF (153)
- .022 µF (223)
- .033 µF (333)
- .047 µF (473)
- .068 µF (683)
- .1 µF (104)
Capacitor hacks. If you find yourself lacking the perfect cap value, remember that you can wire together two caps in parallel, as shown in Photo 1e.
Mod #3: Varitone Variation
What it is: The original Varitone, which appeared in such vintage Gibsons as the ES-345 and ES-355, is a controversial circuit. In lieu of standard treble-cut caps and pots, it employs a rotary switch, with each position routed through a different-sized capacitor. It also calls for an inductor, which creates a series of notch filters. (In other words, the circuit doesn't remove all signal above a certain frequency, but only a certain amount above and below that frequency.)
While the Varitone has its fans, it was never very popular. Detractors argue that it sucks tone, and its settings are too thin and “quacky" for many players. But even if you don't dig the original Varitone sounds, you can use its general concept to great effect. (For example, if you omit the inductor, you lose a bit of the peaky resonance that alienates some players.)
You might want to deploy your pots for something other than the traditional uses—controlling onboard effects, for example.
The benefits: Multiple capacitor schemes can provide instant access to a wide range of favorite settings, plus others not available from a conventional tone control. Instead of fiddling with a pot, you can leap to the desired tone with the flick of a switch.
The cost: When you replace a tone pot with a tone switch, you lose access to settings that “fall between the cracks" of the switch positions. You also need various switches and caps, depending on how you configure the mod.
How it sounds: I wired up a multi-cap, two-switch tone circuit in a “parts" Jazzmaster with P-90s and flatwound strings. Ex. 3a demonstrates my three treble-switch settings. You hear my three bass-cut settings in Ex. 3b. As with the PTB mod, the variations can be subtle with clean tones. But when I add a custom germanium booster in Ex. 3c, everything gets much more dramatic. The entire clip is performed on the bridge pickup—the only things changing are the tone switch settings.
Multi-capacitor switches let you choose your own set of cutoff frequencies, but once a capacitor is engaged, it's engaged all the way. So instead of cutting varying amounts of signal at a fixed frequency, you cut fixed amounts of signal at varying frequencies.
Diagram 3a
Diagram 3a shows the basic idea. The center lug of the rotary switch connects to lug 3 of your volume pot, like a conventional tone control. You weave capacitors of escalating value through the lugs lining the pot's perimeter, so that when you move the switch, a new cap is engaged. The other terminals of the caps go to ground—usually by bundling them together, wrapping them in heat-shrink tubing, and soldering the assembly to a ground point. (Most rotary switches let you specify the number of active positions via a notched washer on the pot's shaft.)
Photo 3a
This is a cool mod, but there's one good reason not to bother: Someone beat us to it. This is precisely how Stellartone's ToneStyler replacement tone pots work. They're fine products, and if you can afford the cost (models start at $75 street), I recommend them. Photo 3a shows my homemade part alongside a ToneStyler—which would you rather put in your guitar? (Plus, I hate the stiff, clunky feel of the commonly available rotary switches.)
Instead, let's look at an approach that uses mini-switches rather than a big rotary switch. These limit you to three settings per switch, as opposed to as many as a dozen from a rotary switch. But there are at least two good reasons to go this route: It's easy to install mini-switches on almost any guitar, while adding pots can be problematic. And there are times when you might want to deploy your pots for something other than the traditional uses—controlling onboard effects, for example. (Which, by the way, is the subject of an upcoming Premier Guitar article.)
Diagram 3b
There are many types of mini-switches, but this project calls for the on/on/on DPDT variety, which have two rows of solder lugs and three switch positions. Diagram 3b shows how they work—and how to configure them as treble-cut and bass-cut controls.
A 3-position treble-cut switch. For a treble-cut switch, connect the input to the left-center lug, and a ground wire to the right-center one, as shown in Photo 3b.
Photo 3c
With the switch in the down position, the signal gets routed through whatever you connect to the top two lugs. In Photo 3c I've threaded the first of two treble-cut caps—a .022 µF (223)—through the top lugs.
Photo 3d adds a second tone cap—a .0033 µF (332)—between the lower-left lug and the upper-right one. This is engaged when the switch is in the middle position. There's nothing between the two lower lugs—when the switch is in the up position, no tone cap is active, and your tone is wide-open.
My cap values are customized for the way I tend to use treble-cut controls: either to take off a bit of edge, or to get very dark. Configured this way, I get an open sound when the switch is down. In the middle position, there's a slight treble cut from the relatively small .0033 µF cap. And in the up position, I get a much darker tone via the larger .022 µF cap. You can vary these values to taste—just remember that larger caps cut more treble.
Photo 3e
A 3-position bass-cut switch. The wiring is similar for a bass-cut switch, but with one key difference: While the treble-cut routes signal to ground, a bass-cut must be inserted within the signal flow, just as in the PTB project above. The signal comes in via the left-middle lug, and exits via the right-middle one, as shown in Photo 3e. Also, I've added a jumper wire between the two lower lugs, so when the switch is in the up position, signal is routed through the switch without encountering a capacitor. (To reverse the orientation, just flip the switch 180 degrees.)
Photo 3f
In Photo 3f, I've added two capacitors, as in the treble-cut circuit. I used a .0033 µF (332) for a slight bass cut in the middle position, and a .0015 µF (152) for a more extreme cut. Choose your own cap values, bearing in mind that the smaller the cap value, the greater the bass cut.
Diagram 3c
Finally, Diagram 3c shows my two-switch/six-setting tone control as heard in Ex. 3c. With the values I used, the result is similar to the PTB mod above, but with two added advantages: I can toggle quickly to the exact tone I desire. And by drilling two small holes in my pickguard to accommodate the mini-switches, I freed up my former tone pot for another task: controlling an onboard booster.
Mods à la mode. I urge adventurous solder jockeys to try all three mods. They're easily reversible (except for pickguard drill holes), and even if you don't dig the results, I'd be surprised if the process didn't suggest alternate ideas more to your taste. You'll learn volumes about guitar electronics as you uncover your ultimate mod.
[Updated 11/30/21]
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Day by Day, Night After Night—His Final Years, 1983-1990
In Craig Hopkins' new book, Stevie Ray Vaughan: Day by Day, Night After Night - His Final Years, 1983-1990 [Backbeat Books], you can see a virtual day-by-day account of highlights from the last seven years of SRV's life. Hopkins conducted several hundred interviews with many of Vaughan's closest friends and family in an effort to create the definitive work on Vaughan's legacy. Here, we present Hopkins' information on Vaughan's gear.
He says, "The first two secrets to Stevie’s tone are his soul and his hands, so you are defeated before you even begin in your quest for his tone. For those who are interested, the following is the best I can do for you in answering gear questions."
Acquired by Stevie in 1974 from Ray Hennig's Heart of Texas Music, Austin, Texas. Price: $0; value now estimated at $1,000,000.
Age: Number One was disassembled by Fender Custom Shop employees in 2003, and they stated that the neck is from December '62 and the body is a '63. So Number One can rightly be called a '63 Strat. Pickups are 1959, which is why Stevie referred to it as a '59.
Neck size: Nut width is the typical 1-5/8" and the neck profile is "D."
Neck adjustment: .012" relief at the 7th and 9th frets, leveling out for the remainder of the fingerboard.
Fret wire: .11" wide by .047" tall. Original height likely .055". No particular brand or size of fretwire the tallest bead and smallest tang that would fit in the fingerboard without damaging it. They were not bass frets. In the early to mid-80's the fret wire was Dunlop 6100.
Fingerboard: Veneer rosewood (most other rosewood fingerboard Strats of Stevie's had slab-boards). Radius is flatter than the standard vintage 7.25" radius due to at least two refrets, creating a 9" or 10" radius in the upper register.
String height: High action for clear, ringing tone. At the 12th fret: 5/64" on the treble E, 7/64" on the bass E. Each string with three full winds on the tuning machines for best angle at the nut.
String gauge: GHS Nickel Rockers .013, .015, .019 (plain), .028, .038 and .058. Stevie would use .011 Es when his fingers were sore. Always tuned down a half-step.
Saddles: vintage replacement saddles, not matched, modified to minimize the severity of the angle of the string break over the contact point to reduce string breakage. The strings were also run through a small piece of plastic tubing from inside the tremolo block hole beyond the saddle contact point, also to reduce string breakage. The block/bridge top plate is also ground to eliminate the sharp edge where the string contacts the metal.
Nut: Fender-style, but made of bone. (Brass nut on Scotch and Red for studio work)
Tremolo: stainless steel Fender tremolo bar (cotton at the bottom of the block hole to ease removal of broken bars). Graphite and grease lubricant on all moving parts and contact points. The lefty bar is non-original to the guitar. Stevie used all five springs on the tremolo. In photos from 1983-85 one can see a much heavier gauge tremolo bar on Number One. These were made by Stevie's roadie's father. Some were straight (as in the photos from the In Session recording with Albert King) and some were bent (as used at the El Mocambo in 1983). Approximately ten of these custom bars were made either to reduce the number of broken tremolo arms (Stevie still broke them), or merely because the threads in the left-hand trem block were stripped and retapped, requiring the larger gauge.
Pickup height: on the treble side - very high. Laying a metal rule on the frets, the bridge pickup touched the rule, the middle pickup almost touched it, and the neck pickup was 1/16" from the rule. On the bass side, bridge 1/32", middle 1/16", and 1/32" neck.
Tuners: started with original but were replaced at least twice.
Misc.: The gold-plated hardware was not added until late '85 or early '86. Five-way pickup switch is non-original.
Pots: stock Fender 250k. In the last tone position, a push-pull pot to cut down on hum, a dummy coil to prevent buzz, and different value capacitors to preserve the original tone.
Prior to July 1990, the original neck from Number One was retired because it couldn't take another refret job. The original '62 neck from "Red" was put on Number One (Red's neck was changed to a non-Fender left-handed neck in 1986). It was the "Red" neck that was broken into pieces by a falling sound baffle after a show in New Jersey. After that, Number One had a new Fender neck until after Stevie died, when the original Number One neck was reinstalled on it.
Acquired on April 29, 1984, a gift from Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), crafted by James Hamilton. Two-piece maple body, neck through the body design. Originally with EMG preamped pickups, René installed vintage Fender pickups. Fingerboard is ebony with inlaid mother-of-pearl. The original active pickups were replaced (after they were damaged in the filming of the “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” video) with passive pickups. It is said that Stevie didn’t want to get Number One wet during the filming and didn’t like the pickups on Main, so it was used in the video. It is also said that the guitar was coated in beeswax to protect it from the water used in the video. Jim Hamilton made a few genuine copies of the guitar, but there are many imitations made overseas.
A gift from Charley Wirz of Charley’s Guitar Shop, Dallas, in 1984. A hula girl sticker was applied to the back of the guitar and can be seen in photos when Stevie plays behind his head. This guitar was originally called “Ol’ White,” and later called “Ol’ Pearl” after the addition of the hula girl, a reference to the paint color and the hula girl. Alder body, ebony fingerboard, maple neck and Danelectro “lipstick” pickups. Hardtail (non-tremolo), single tone and volume controls. White “trick” or “flip-flop” automotive paint, which gives an irrdescent blue tint, depending on the light and angle of view. Seen on the cover of Couldn’t Stand the Weather. In 2003, Charley’s and René Martinez made 23 numbered limited edition replicas of this guitar, selling for $2500. Owners of these replicas have included Carlos Santana, John Mayer and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. In 2005, ten more replicas were made by René and the former owner of Charley’s without the Charley’s logo.
A 1965 Fender Stratocaster Stevie found in a pawn shop in the early ’80s but didn’t have the $350 for. His wife Lenny and other friends bought the guitar for him. Original sunburst finish removed and brown stain applied. A butterfly tortoise-shell inlay in body, believed to be a 1910-era mandolin pickguard. It had a rosewood fretboard, later switched to maple neck that Billy Gibbons gave Stevie. It is reported that Stevie did the switch himself and used non-stock screws, screwing one through the fretboard. Used to record “Lenny” and “Riviera Paradise.” Lenny sold at the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar auction on June 24, 2004, to the Guitar Center for $623,500. In December 2007, the Fender Custom Shop produced 235 replicas of Lenny, with an original price of $17,000 each.
Acquired in about 1984 from Charley’s Guitar Shop, Dallas. Red was a stock 1962 until the left-handed neck was installed in 1986 and a new Fender neck installed in July 1990. The black color showing where the red has worn away is because the guitar was originally sunburst, then repainted red, probably at the factory for a special order.
Stolen from Stevie in 1987 and never recovered. Previous owner was Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge, who sold it to Charley’s Guitar Shop, Dallas, who painted it yellow and gave it to Stevie. The cavity had been hugely routed for four humbuckers. Charley gave it to Stevie in early 1981 with a single-coil DiMarzio neck pickup.
1961 Strat acquired in the fall of 1985 in either Baltimore or the Boatyard in Norfolk, it was to be a prize at a Stevie show, but Stevie bought it and they gave away some other guitar. Butterscotch-colored stock 1961 Stratocaster. Non-original pickguard made by René Martinez.
Acquired as a gift from roadie Byron Barr, the 1928 (or 1929) National Steel guitar seen on the cover of In Step. Rumors that it may have belonged to Blind Boy Fuller are unsubstantiated. Serial number said to be 0034. Acquired from Charley’s in 1981.
The 1951 Fender Broadcaster was a hand-me-down from Jimmie to Stevie in the late 1960’s. Presumably it was Jimmie who carved “Jimbo” on the back of the guitar. He also had a porcelain door knob on the guitar for a while. Stevie took it to shop class at school and sanded all the finish off. It is apparently this guitar that can be heard on the earliest known recording of Stevie, playing at the End of Cole Avenue club in Dallas in 1969. Stevie traded it for an Epiphone Riviera, and it changed hands again and is now owned by a private collector in California.
It’s a stretch to call the Diplomat one of Stevie’s guitars, but he definitely played it at least once. He purchased this guitar in New Zealand in late 1986 for his girlfriend Janna to learn to play on. The only markings visible without taking it apart are “Diplomat” in abalone on the headstock, and “Made in Japan” on the neck plate.
The Diplomat guitars were apparently made in Japan by the Aria company, which exported guitars under the names Diplomat, Diamond, Arbor and Conrad, among others. One fan says that he took the Diplomat badge off his guitar to find Ibanez underneath. I’m told The Cure’s early sound is from Diplomat single coil pickups installed in a Fender Jazzmaster guitar.
In the early 1980s, Stevie used a Marshall 4140 2x12 Club and Country 100-watt combo amp for clean tone and his two Vibroverbs for distortion. The Marshall’s factory test date was February 18, 1980. Photos from 1981 show two Celestion G12-80 speakers. It had brown “elephant” cabinet vinyl and tan basketweave grill cloth. In a 1983 interview, Stevie mistakenly suggested that this was a 200-watt amp that did not perform properly, peaking at 80-watts. It would not produce 200 watts because it was a 100-watt amp. In 1983 Stevie was preparing to go on tour with David Bowie but at the last minute dropped out. Before he did, however, Bowie’s crew took the Marshall amp and painted the vinyl black and the grill cloth grey, presumably to approximate the look of other amps that would be on stage. Stevie’s road manager, Cutter Brandenburg, recalls that after the paint job, the Marshall letters would not stay on and they would catch in the guitar strings when Stevie leaned Number One against it for feedback. Some of the letters broke off, so photos show the amp with “Marshall,” “Marsha” and “Marsh” before the remainder of the name was finally removed completely. All three of Stevie’s roadies/techs from this era recall this amp. Once Stevie started making some money, he upgraded to larger Marshall and Dumble amps and traded this one in sometime after the spring of 1983, possibly as late as 1984. It was then owned by another Texas guitar player for many years. It was then sold and pawned. In May 2003, the author purchased the amp. It still has the Bowie paint job and the Celestion speakers, though the broken knobs and logo have been replaced.
1985: two blackface Fender Super Reverbs (4x10 EV’s), a 150-watt Dumble Steel String Singer (4x12 with four 100-watt EV’s, and 6550 tubes), another Dumble 150-watt 4x12. The 4x12 cabinets were non-angled homemade cabs. Sometimes a 200-watt Marshall Plexi-Major was substitued for the second Dumble head. Stevie had two Fender Vibroverbs ca. 1963-64, (1x15) one often used to power a Fender Vibratone. The Vibroverbs and Supers had 3/4” plywood baffle boards to accommodate the weight of the speakers. The EVM’s larger magnets required repositioning some of the transformers in the chassis. In the later years, the Vibroverbs had Super Reverb-style transformers. The first channel from the phase inverter tube was disconnected and the tremolo disabled (by disconnecting the wires from the intensity control - don’t try this at home unless you want to turn yourself into a light bulb). In the summer of 1990, Stevie also took a couple of 4x10 Fender reissue Bassmans on the road, but the speakers were replaced.
The two Vibroverbs are often referred to as “sequentially numbered” 5 and 6, but the serial numbers were in fact 36 digits apart. 5 and 6 are references to the Dumble amps, which were numbers 005 and 006.
Tubes were typically Philips 6L6’s and 12AX7’s and GE 6550’s. Mesa Boogie STR415’s and STR387’s were also used when they could be found.
Volume settings on stage usually started at 7 or 7.5 but would end up at 10 for “Voodoo Chile.” Roadie Cutter Brandenburg recalls that Stevie would often run his hand down the bottom of the knobs, turning them all up as far as they would go.
Ibanez Tube Screamer: Stevie upgraded as new versions came out - TS-808, TS-9, TS-10 Classic. A fan reports that the chip in Stevie’s pedals was probably the RC4558 chip for clean boost.
Wah-wah: Vox wahs from the ’60s. Occasionally connected two together.
The usual setup in the later years was Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-10, Vox wah, vintage Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face, and Tycobrache Octavia. For a brief time he used a Univibe. Roger Mayer Octavias were used prior to the Tycobraches. Cesar Diaz installed matching germanium transistors in the Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face body to increase transistor life.
Microphones in the studio for In Step were Shure SM57’s and Sennheiser 142’s. Occasional use in the studio of a Roland Dimension D for extra chorusing effect.
Loop Selector - Stevie had several MXR loop selectors in the early ’80s, one of which is in the author’s collection.
The splitter box which later replaced the loop selectors was one input and six outputs to the amps. No preamp, but resistors to cut down the noise. With the Vibratone he used a Variac AC power regulator.