Help: Changing Pickups on my Silo

[shern_w]

Hi,

I have a EBMM Silo Spec in SSS config with the Silent Circuit, thinking of swapping out the stock bridge
(2-wire) for a Dimarzio Air Norton S (4 wire)

Can I safely just remove the stock bridge wires soldered on the pickup selector and Solder the Norton's Wire in its place, without affecting the silent circuit?

Also noticed that the bridge pickup cavity is big enough to fit a humbucker. Could I install a humbucker without having to route it anymore?


Cheers

 

[azazael]

Silo's have swimming pool routing you can do anything you want.
You will need to get a new pickguard though if you wat to go that road.

Silent circuit, no idea.
Although I have a feeling someone said you need all pickups for it to function.

 

[John C]

Silo's have swimming pool routing you can do anything you want.
You will need to get a new pickguard though if you wat to go that road.

Silent circuit, no idea.
Although I have a feeling someone said you need all pickups for it to function.

Actually the OP has a Silo Special; they have an HSS routing under the hood instead of the swimming pool route in the regular Silo.

The Air Norton S is a single-coil sized rail-type humbucker so the OP won't have any problems fitting it; he won't need a new pickguard or have to worry about the routing.

Regarding the wiring I'm not sure if the SSS Silo Specials have a regular 5-way or if they have a megaswitch so you can have the Air Norton S auto-split in postion 2. Also I'm not sure about how to properly hook up the Silent Circuit. There are others here who have swapped pickups with the Silent Circuit (and even installed the Silent Circuit on guitars that didn't have them originally) so hopefully they will chime in.

 

[custom53]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...RRENCY=0&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_fvi=1&_rdc=1

 

[beej]

Bingo- that's definitely a better bet. Buy the whole pre-assembled p/g.

If you want to just swap the bridge, the Silent Circuit won't be a big issue. It's only connected to the p'ups via the ground wire. But what's worth thinking through is whether you'd want to split the bridge HB in positions 2 or 3. (The switching is different in position 3 for the SSS and HSS Silo Specs.)

If not, easy to wire. If so, I'd email EBMM and get a copy of the HSS Silo Spec schematic. You could just wire it up exactly like that.

 

[azazael]

I find the PAF Pro in the Silo to be lacking. Anyone else think so?

 

[shern_w]

Thanks for the input guys!

I am finding it most ironic however that after getting the air norton S and ordering the prewired pg

That I am suddenly in love with the stock pickups after playing it again today

Anyway will wait for the PG to come before deciding.

Cheers

 

[RocketRalf]

The stock humbucker (a Virtual PAF, not a PAF pro) is great for most things. For heavy stuff you might need a boost and/or an EQ. If I ever build an alternate pickguard for my Silo, I'd try a more powerful bridge humbucker, probably a Norton.

 

[beej]

Hah! Well that's human nature ... the minute you order something you want something else

 

[dwells]

I put an sh11 in the bridge and a cruiser in the neck easy just wire it according to your diagrams besides silent circuit only really works on the sigle coils but it will still work no worries

 

[metal_terrorist]

The stock humbucker (a Virtual PAF, not a PAF pro) is great for most things. For heavy stuff you might need a boost and/or an EQ. If I ever build an alternate pickguard for my Silo, I'd try a more powerful bridge humbucker, probably a Norton.

My Silo came with the PAF Pro ( as per the original manual ) and I didn't like it for thrash/death metal so much but in hindsight it was a very nice pickup.

As for more power, I used EMGs for over a decade. Great for metal ( low feedback, very consistent ) but very dull to me. I switched to passives a couple years ago and the Dimarzio EVO is a great high-output p'up.

I have the Gibson Tony Iommi HB in the bridge now and it's very close to the EMG in terms of output but it's way more lively, dynamic and harmonically rich. Sounds great coil-tapped too. Only thing I can imagine being hotter, yet passive, is certain Bareknuckle p'ups.

 

[RocketRalf]

True the Silo came with PAF pros once, but it now comes with the Virtual. The SSpec always came with the Virtual PAF.

 

[John C]

True the Silo came with PAF pros once, but it now comes with the Virtual. The SSpec always came with the Virtual PAF.

I believe the earliest Silo Specials did have the PAF Pro (these would be the ones with the Wilkinson bridge and the Grover tuners); seems like the Virtual PAFs didn't come out until later in the 1990s.