Still being some what new to Ernie Ball guitars I just wanted to know if any of you guys have any favorite mods you do to your balls? As being a long time Fender fan and having a lot of friends that play fenders it seems like some one is always changing something to try to reach tonal perfection and versatility. As I play my 97 Silhouette Special I seem I can't really find anything to change. The only thing I chanced where the saddles to a block style so I do not chew up my hand when I palm mute. I got it used so the bridge pick up was changed by the 1st owner so I might try to put it back to stock or a Tone Zone to fit my style a little better. But besides that I think I have found perfection in a guitar manufacture!
- Thread starter NoUse121
- Start date
agt
Well-known member
Yup, Balls are about as close to perfect as you are going to get.
The nice thing about the pickguard models is that you can purchase a second pickguard and a molex connector and experiment with different pickups. This doesn't apply in your case, but you can save the original wired-up pickguard in case you ever want to revert to stock. Or you could purchase a stock pickguard (loaded with the pickups and wiring) and keep your existing one intact.
The nice thing about the pickguard models is that you can purchase a second pickguard and a molex connector and experiment with different pickups. This doesn't apply in your case, but you can save the original wired-up pickguard in case you ever want to revert to stock. Or you could purchase a stock pickguard (loaded with the pickups and wiring) and keep your existing one intact.
marantz1300
Well-known member
My 89 Silo is all stock,except I blocked off the trem.My ash Silo has been fitted with Tele pickups and bridge.
whitestrat
Well-known member
For almost ALL my balls, I go thru a pickup phase for each one. I've determined (personally) that every guitar has it's own voice, and that you need to find the right set of pups that brings out the best in each guitar.
My Candy red SS is about to hit perfection for me. Acoustically, its bright, and highly resonant. (when you strum a chord, you literally feel the vibrations in the guitar STRAP when you stand up!). So, I need something that shows it's clarity, ring, and articluation. So I put in Fender CS69 pups in the neck and middle. A PAF Joe just went into the bridge (tried putting a Steve's Special in there. It sounded stupid.) Next would be to try an Air Classic in there, and see if it works.
All my guitars go through this phase. Only 2 have sounded fantastic stock so far. One maple 20th, and one JP6 (ok, not 100% stock because I put a Steve's Special in there in place of the D Sonic, but the previous pup was modelled after the Steve's Special anyways.)
One thing to note, most high output humbuckers for me need a 500k pot to really shine. The SS uses a 250k, so the Steve's Special was very dark. But the PAF Jow, which is quite bright, suited the 250k well. I'm hopeing the air classic will be nicer. Just something to note, when you want to dump in a Tonezone, which is also ridiculously hot.
One thing to note, most high output humbuckers for me need a 500k pot to really shine. The SS uses a 250k, so the Steve's Special was very dark. But the PAF Jow, which is quite bright, suited the 250k well. I'm hopeing the air classic will be nicer. Just something to note, when you want to dump in a Tonezone, which is also ridiculously hot.
Thanks for the input and looking out. As being a high output pickup freak I am well aware that you would need a 500k pot in most cases. The good thing is that the 1st owner already had some put in when he put the Dimarzio Evolution in. I just find that pickup to be way too thin for my needs. It works great for soloing and picking up harmonic. But I need something to have that chunk with I strum a cord since for the most part I am a rhythm guitarist.
W
wolf5150
I think I might win the game here !
The mods done to my SS are..
Changed to block saddles
Refretted with 6105 stainless steel fret wire
Plek Pro set up
Nut changed to bone and recut during Plek
Dunlop strap locks
Dimarzio fast track 1 in neck
Dimarzio Cruiser middle
Dimarzio custom shop Andy Timmonds humbucker Bridge
Stripped out the silent system and converted to passive with....
Allessandro volume and tone pots
Bumble bee tone cap
Lemon drop volume cap
The results.... my favourite guitar for live use and I own a PRS , Anderson and a Suhr !
The mods done to my SS are..
Changed to block saddles
Refretted with 6105 stainless steel fret wire
Plek Pro set up
Nut changed to bone and recut during Plek
Dunlop strap locks
Dimarzio fast track 1 in neck
Dimarzio Cruiser middle
Dimarzio custom shop Andy Timmonds humbucker Bridge
Stripped out the silent system and converted to passive with....
Allessandro volume and tone pots
Bumble bee tone cap
Lemon drop volume cap
The results.... my favourite guitar for live use and I own a PRS , Anderson and a Suhr !
whitestrat
Well-known member
You want that huge wall of sound? I've stumbled (ok ok... recommended by a friend) across a pup maker with a killer HOT output bridge pip. Check out http://www.stanhinesleypickups.com/. Try the Viper.
But if you're using a 500k pot, how do your single coils sound?
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whitestrat
Well-known member
Whoa! So do you have to redo your plek when you tweak your neck for climate changes and a refret?
W
wolf5150
No dude, I had the nut changed during the Refret as I prefer the tone of a bone nut on open strings.
Part of the new Plek Pro is that the nut is cut and it does a fantastic job.
Part of the new Plek Pro is that the nut is cut and it does a fantastic job.
TNT
Well-known member
Musicman guitars are perfect!! However, half the fun is modifying and supin' up your gear!!
Just like our cars - customizing this, changing that, doin' this, etc. . . that's the enjoyment of it all.
Oh, and changing in and out pickups is like tires & wheels on your "ride"!!
And, you couldn't have picked a better guitar to do it on. The Axis sounds awesome with just about any pickup.
Just like our cars - customizing this, changing that, doin' this, etc. . . that's the enjoyment of it all.
Oh, and changing in and out pickups is like tires & wheels on your "ride"!!
And, you couldn't have picked a better guitar to do it on. The Axis sounds awesome with just about any pickup.
D.K.
Well-known member
Well, all mine are stock, except for the trem 20-th. It has a push-pull tone pot and Humbucker From Hell/ Steve's Special installed. And yes, the saddles on the 20-th's have been changed to graphtech block saddles (for the same reason as Yours - not to rip off the palm when playing)
From having guitars with single coils and 250k pots in it I would say the 500k pot would open them up a lot more. at times when I have the volume control up all the way they can sound kind of harsh and brittle but you turn the volume to about 7 or 8 and they sing. But I would say about 90% of the time I am rocking the bridge pick up so i do not mind having the 500K pots in it.
Tim O'Sullivan
Well-known member
In all my Music Man guitars I like to fit Stewmac 149 fretwire, a Plek setup and Graphtec saddles. Just little tweaks that make them perfect for me!
