Convert Silhouette Special

[youngy57]

I love that colour! It's a classic.

It's not too difficult to swap in the Areas ... Kev has actually done it so he'll be the best resource.

That said, since the Areas are hum-cancelling, the trick is what to do with the Silent Circuit when you're splitting the humbucker. Personally, I don't love splitting it- I prefer the traditional Superstrat-style switching (B, B&M, M, M&N, N) where the humbucker doesn't split. Like what the Cutlass and Luke HSS have. (I like the sound of a full humbucker plus middle, and I use the middle pickup on its own a lot.)

If you go that route, then you don't need the Silent Circuit or battery at all, and the wiring is much simpler. If you want to stick with the stock switching scheme, then you'll need to have the Silent Circuit active in positions 2, 3, and 5. We can definitely help.

Hi beej - thanks for the prompt reply. I like the sound of the Superstrat-style wiring & it's what I'm used to - particularly attractive if it does away the need for a battery!! I'll still have to wire in the new jack socket & replace the battery-box (in case I do need a battery at some stage) - but then I'll be ready to Superstrat it. I'll be needing some direction re wiring though - keeping in mind its upside-down! Thanks for your help.

 

[DrKev]

What beej said is definitely the simplest. If you forgo splitting the humbucker and you don't need the silent circuit. I also prefer that because there is no volume drop from half a humbucker in parallel with the singles. I wired mine for full HB + neck in position 3 rather than middle and I love it. See the thread linked below for a video (from when I was a much younger man) with sound samples.

If you decide you do want to split the humbucker, we can easily help you out. Feel free to DM me.
For reference the silent circuit is pretty easy and connects like this...

Red: +9V power
Black: ground
Blue: connect to ground of neck or bridge single coil
Violet: connect to ground of middle pickup
Yellow: wired to ground to defeat the silent circuit.

Silhouette Special re-wired! (video inside)

After more than a year of idle threats, I finally re-wired my Silhouette Special and even made a little vid to show off the new tones. The changes are in posns 2 and 3, which now have the full humbucker in parallel with the middle and neck single coils (with silent circuit), rather than just one...

forums.ernieball.com

Note that the switch used by MM changed in 2011 and the wiring diagram is a little different. I have both versions if you need them.

K.