Hey guys I recieved my first EBMM Silo Special the other day after a long 4month wait and im absolutley in love with it. I now understand all the praise that gets thrown at these guitars. Anways... I was thinking about changing the neck pickup to a 'DiMarzio - D Activator neck' and im just wondering if its possible to put one in? And how will it affect the silent circut? I would of got the standard Silo but its not avaliable in a left handed version. Let me know what you all think. Cheers
- Thread starter fados_09
- Start date
Axilla
Well-known member
Hi and welcome to this fine place !
So you bought a Silhouette Special HSS and want to exchange the NECK pickup in favor of a DiMarzio D-Activator, do I get this right ?!
To my knowledge, the D-Activator is only available as a full size humbucker and not as a humcancelling singlecoil sized pickup. If you got the Silhouette Special (and not the 24 fret Silhouette), then this could be a problem as this guitar is only routed to fit a singlecoil sized pickup in the neck position. Some routing/woodwork would have to be done in this case (ouch!). Plus you will need work to be done on your pickguard or build your own as I don't think the wider singlecoil cavity will be easy to change for fitting a full size humbucker in.
Me personally I would suggest to have a look around among the premium manufacturers (DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, Kinman, ...) for maybe a different humcancelling singlecoil sized pickup as there's a wide range of excellent PUs available without the need to do so much of a mistreatin'
to your Silo Special...
Just my humble 2 cents...
Maybe have a look at my 2 Silo Specials in the link provided in my signature. They are both heavily modded, but have never been rerouted or stuff like that. I decided for both that Kinmans would fit my taste best (for the hmcancelling singlecoil sized PUs), but you can always fit any kind of different small humbucker of your likes. I cannot really tell facts about how the silent circuitry will impact on the sound of an aftermarket neck mini-humbucker, but I'd guess there will not be a significant difference in sound. However, featuring the completely noiseless Kinman PUs, my Silo Specs do not have the silent circuit anymore.
Take a look around and enjoy this forum !
All the best
Axel
P.S.:
Ooops, by the way I just noticed it was you, too, who posted the pics above - yeah, Silhouette Special, singlecoil neck PU & cavity, and let me just say: A BEAUTY SHE IS !
Nevertheless, there is always room for a much more beautiful pickguard than black ;-)
So you bought a Silhouette Special HSS and want to exchange the NECK pickup in favor of a DiMarzio D-Activator, do I get this right ?!
To my knowledge, the D-Activator is only available as a full size humbucker and not as a humcancelling singlecoil sized pickup. If you got the Silhouette Special (and not the 24 fret Silhouette), then this could be a problem as this guitar is only routed to fit a singlecoil sized pickup in the neck position. Some routing/woodwork would have to be done in this case (ouch!). Plus you will need work to be done on your pickguard or build your own as I don't think the wider singlecoil cavity will be easy to change for fitting a full size humbucker in.
Me personally I would suggest to have a look around among the premium manufacturers (DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, Kinman, ...) for maybe a different humcancelling singlecoil sized pickup as there's a wide range of excellent PUs available without the need to do so much of a mistreatin'
to your Silo Special...Just my humble 2 cents...
Maybe have a look at my 2 Silo Specials in the link provided in my signature. They are both heavily modded, but have never been rerouted or stuff like that. I decided for both that Kinmans would fit my taste best (for the hmcancelling singlecoil sized PUs), but you can always fit any kind of different small humbucker of your likes. I cannot really tell facts about how the silent circuitry will impact on the sound of an aftermarket neck mini-humbucker, but I'd guess there will not be a significant difference in sound. However, featuring the completely noiseless Kinman PUs, my Silo Specs do not have the silent circuit anymore.
Take a look around and enjoy this forum !
All the best
Axel
P.S.:
Ooops, by the way I just noticed it was you, too, who posted the pics above - yeah, Silhouette Special, singlecoil neck PU & cavity, and let me just say: A BEAUTY SHE IS !
Nevertheless, there is always room for a much more beautiful pickguard than black ;-)
Last edited:
Hey thanks so much for your help man, I didnt notice there were single coil sized humbuckers on the website. Ill defently put one of them in so that my guitar dosnt get chopped into. Also... just wondering what sort of pickups are in it now? On the website it says 'DiMarzio custom wound' what exact pickups are they talking about?
Axilla
Well-known member
It is indeed DiMarzio custom wound pickups in your Silhouette Special. They are as far as I know custom designed to perfectly fit the tonal style of your guitar and are not available as standard DiMarzio aftermarket pickups - that's why they are not named like "DPXXX" / "Whatevernameyouchoose". If I'm not completely derailed, the bridge humbucker should be a "Virtual PAF" if your guitar is a little younger, or could be a "PAF Pro" if it's a little older...
Whatever tone you want your neck PU to produce - you should be able to find something matching at DiMarzio I think.
Happy customizing and goooooood decision not to mess with the wood !
P.S.: The PUs in your Silhouette Special are of a moderate nature when it comes to output, so I'd highly recommend to choose a rather "not-so-hot" mini-humbucker for the neck position. CRUISER NECK DP186 should be a great choice here - others might get a little too hot compared to the wonderful stock pickups.
Whatever tone you want your neck PU to produce - you should be able to find something matching at DiMarzio I think.
Happy customizing and goooooood decision not to mess with the wood !
P.S.: The PUs in your Silhouette Special are of a moderate nature when it comes to output, so I'd highly recommend to choose a rather "not-so-hot" mini-humbucker for the neck position. CRUISER NECK DP186 should be a great choice here - others might get a little too hot compared to the wonderful stock pickups.
Last edited:
