👕 Get New Ernie Ball Merch Now!
  • Ernie Ball
  • Music Man
  • Sterling by Music Man
Bongo 2026 Collection

Help! Steve Morse Guitar question

F

Fender74

Active member
Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
25
Hi every one I just bought a used Steve Morse Blue Burst 4 pick up Guitar. My question is the orginal owner put .009 strings on the guitar the single coil pick ups sound very thin to me I'm not sure if its the thiner strings or the pick up heigts or maybe thats just how they are I guess I'm comparing the pick ups the the singles on my G&L strat that has kind of hot pick ups . I was thinking about maybe making it into a YTD configuration with the 5 way switch and new pick guard if I could get one in black in the ytd confiuration. any help would be appreciated
 
First, welcome to the forum!

Actually, Steve himself is using 9s on his #1 guitar right now - so it's not the string gauge.

Could be the pickup height, but Steve's are pretty low...

Most likely, it's your expectations - these aren't "hot" single coils - they're for CLEAN chimey tone.

Flip that "add bridge humbucker" switch to get some screaming tone for your lead - then hit that same switch to get back to clean rhythm tone.

Kevin
 
kestrou said:
First, welcome to the forum!

Actually, Steve himself is using 9s on his #1 guitar right now - so it's not the string gauge.

Could be the pickup height, but Steve's are pretty low...

Most likely, it's your expectations - these aren't "hot" single coils - they're for CLEAN chimey tone.

Flip that "add bridge humbucker" switch to get some screaming tone for your lead - then hit that same switch to get back to clean rhythm tone.

Kevin
Click to expand...
Thanks for your imput I think your right about my expectations its going to take a while for me to get used to this guitar its real comfortable especially the neck like the humbuckers and the rear single coil alone and with the buckers . Any one converted theres to a YTD configuration to you no of
 
Fender74 said:
Thanks for your imput I think your right about my expectations its going to take a while for me to get used to this guitar its real comfortable especially the neck like the humbuckers and the rear single coil alone and with the buckers . Any one converted theres to a YTD configuration to you no of
Click to expand...

Since you're asking...

I've converted a Y2D to a Y2D-Proto - which is really my favorite configuration.

Before I get into that, though - here's some stuff you need to know/consider...

The "standard" Morse is a front-load - so everything connects to the pickguard and the three-way toggle has only about an 1/8" pickguard material to go through so it has a "short arm". The pickguard is also slightly larger to accommodate the switch for pickup #3 (the angled single coil).

The Y2D is a rear-load - so all the controls are installed through the back - and go through wood and then an 1/8" of (usually) clear pickguard material - thus that five way switch has a "long arm".

Before you swap out all the controls, though - spend some time to get comfortable with the standard Morse - I find the "add bridge humbucker (pickup #1)" to be awesomely handy and it's my favorite feature of the guitar. So much so that, again, I've already swapped one Y2D over to that configuration (added the toggle and changed the switch from 5-way to 3-way) and I'm working on another.

If you decide that you *do* want to go from "standard" to Y2D, then here's the checklist:
1) Get a custom pickguard from Chandler Music (also called Pickguard Heaven) - will need to be a "standard" pickguard, but customized to remove the two extra toggles and angled single coil.
2) Get a five-way switch from EBMM
3) Put that single coil "pickup #3" and the two extra toggles away in a drawer - you might decide you want them back someday? :)
4) You'll have a little hassle getting that five-way switch to mount correctly - will likely need a spacer to set it a little deeper than just 1/8"
5) PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you the wiring diagrams for both models.
6) Spend an afternoon burning your fingers with a soldering iron - not tough, just take your time - apply salve as needed. :)

That's how you'd do it, but instead of all that hassle - how about just getting a Y2D? The neck and body are identical between the models and then it would have the wiring (you think) you like!

Hope that helps - welcome to the SMOC! :D

Kevin
 
All good advice.

Fwiw, I've re-wired up my main Morse a dozen times (I have a few different pickguards for it now). In terms of getting close to a Y2D spec, you can do pretty much that but you have to decide what to do with the neck single.

I currently have the 3-way toggle wired up as a "single coil selector", so when you have a single coil selected on the 5-way (positions 2 & 3), the 3-way toggle allows you to further select the bridge single, neck single, or both. If you flip that toggle in bridge single mode, then you have the Y2D switching config right there.

I made the "add bridge" toggle a series/parallel switch for the bridge (but it could just as easily be a coil split). Hey, it's there so why not use it.

On the long switch- easier to clip the end of the lever off with some tin snips, rather than mount it lower. Presto!

As Kevin says, I would certainly live with the guitar for a long while before I made any changes.

(Damn, does this guitar ever need the gamechanger switching.)
 
I think I'll leave the wiring alone I want to put .10s back on it the customer service guy told me that I need to file the E A And D in the nut to fit a standard set of 10s any one done this or do you use the Morse set wit the 10S set on ebg and the 9 set on the dge.
 
Fender74 said:
I think I'll leave the wiring alone I want to put .10s back on it the customer service guy told me that I need to file the E A And D in the nut to fit a standard set of 10s any one done this or do you use the Morse set wit the 10S set on ebg and the 9 set on the dge.
Click to expand...

I don't know what customer service guy you're referring too - but I'm not believing a nut filing would be required to change between a standard set of 9s or 10s on either the high or low side...

If it is, somebody slap me and straighten me out! :)

Kevin
 
thanks for the replys is it possible that because mine is a 2011 and has a compensating nut that maybe thats why I might have to file it I see some of your Morse guitars are older I don't know when they started with the compensating nut
 
Fender74 said:
thanks for the replys is it possible that because mine is a 2011 and has a compensating nut that maybe thats why I might have to file it I see some of your Morse guitars are older I don't know when they started with the compensating nut
Click to expand...

Whether the nut is compensated or not has nothing to do with it. The nut slots just have to be wide enough for the strings.

Compensated nuts first appeared on most models with the 2005 Buttercream Limited Edition. IIRC, I think they went on all regular production guitars starting 2006, just before the SUB instruments were discontinued (some do have 'em but most don't).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Neck Rest
Back
Top