Another project completed!

[sam]

Another project completed and so far I like the sound of this one.

Took an Arbor tele knock off, with single coil bridge pup, mini humbucker neck pup and top loader bridge purchased a few years back.



First mods were to add a Wilkinson top loader brass saddle bridge and put in a G&L Alnico bridge pup. This was OK but just not there for me. So I went into the drawer o' stuff and pulled out Z coil bridge pup and a large MFD (cuz I saw one years ago that our own Will Ray had with a set up like this thanks to Mac). After a little (excellent) routing here and there for the pups this what my local guitar guru did for me.









Should I route the neck pup opening and add the guard or leave it black with small black screws to fill the holes?



Have played some tonight and it has all the spank and snarl you expect from a Z coil and the ASAT neck sound is sweet as usual, but the blend of the two can be a little jazzy to a richer rock tone depending on amp channel, tone knob adjustment and attack.

Next possible mods are to add a Saddle Lock bridge since it's a top loader and routing space is available, or add a bridge plate with Z cut out, I know a guy where to get one.... To make this a true completed project I should do one of the two. #1 because I love the Saddle Lock and #2 the Z coil needs a bit more stability.

As it is right now, very happy with the results.

[Elwood]

I think a bridge with a z-coil cutout would be real neat.
How about a one-ply black guard , then there's no extra holes.

Do the pickups balance well output-wise?

Cool guitar Sam !

[sam]

Thanks Elwood,

Love the black guard suggestion, definitely the way to go. Spent some time with her today and yes, the pups balance very well tone wise.

The bridge with cut out on hold right now, got money flying out on other stuff now. You will see some of it in another project that is about 2-3 weeks out. ASAT with a mod I've always wanted to see / hear.

[repoman]

Looks good. Gotta say I like the sans pickguard look.
Go for the bridge plate cutout when you get a chance. Or just siphon some money from the kids college fund and do it now!

Jeff

[darwinohm]

Very nice project Sam. That would be a sweet guitar without a pickguard. Too bad it had pickguard holes. -- Darwin

[sam]

Thanks repoman,

College fund / guitar fund hmm...

Here is a picture of where my inspiration came from, stolen from Will Ray as many great guitar ideas do.

Mine still has the cover on the MFD, no hipshot bender and I flipped the control plate just for yucks. This shows the bridge with Z coil cutout.

[helle-man]

That Tele ashtray plate was made by Mac Whiteside in Austin.

BTW, the neck PU is really just an ASAT Special MFD with the corners rounded.

For some reason G&L wasn't interested in our design, but it's a killer guitar sound. You have 2 different pickups that bring out the best in a Tele style guitar.

Will

[sam]

Thanks Will!

Your ASAT Z Special Classic should be a Custom run at least IMHO, these pups match great together.

[Fumble fingers]

looks sweet Sam !! .... yours looks good too Will

[fianoman]

Neat project Sam! I like the sans pickguard look so the black pickguard sounds like a good option. That WR ASAT classic looks pretty, pretty good. I'm surprised G&L isn't interested Will. Who's the gnome peeking out of the f-hole? Does he work the controls?

Great, I think I am coming down with GMS. My Trib Special might be a good candidate for a WR bridge pup modification. Don't you know this stuff is contagious Sam?

[sam]

That's Roy Buchanan peeking out.

Yes, very contagious and thanks for the kudos, wait till ya see next project.....

[helle-man]

Correct, Sam. That is indeed my hero Roy Buchanan peeking out of the F hole.

[NickHorne]

Will's Z-coil, in that Mac Whiteside plate, looks further from the saddles than a regular tele back pup.
I am wondering whether that is the result of routing practicalities in the Classic body, or some deliberate sound-based idea, to thicken-up the back pup sound a bit (that sounds attractive).

[patricks]

I vote for just filling the screw holes and adding the bridge plate with z-cutout when you have a chance
It looks fantastic, BTW!

[GentlemanJim]

I think you done good, and my vote is the z plate but a black on white guard to compliment the binding and white pup covers. Then again all black will look cool..................... just saying.

[NickHorne]

I'm still intrigued to know about Will's saddle / pole distance in that bridge of Mac's. It definitely looks further than a regular Classic / Tele. Deliberate? (Experi)mental?
I know and love both pups, and would bet they do work great together! Cool guitars, both

[sam]

Thanks for the follow up and kind remarks. I have not decided whether to guard or not, all yer suggestions are worthy. My youngest daughter says go with a pink Hello Kitty pickguard!

A note was sent to Mac about a Z bridge, waiting on reply. Nick, I do not know the specs so unfortunately can give no answer on pup distance. Will post pics if / when updates are made.

[burnt999]

Ok Kids !
Back from the Galaxy !

When I made the plate, I moved it up to smooth out the "harshness" , or to warm it up just a bit. That 8.75 ish p-up is just kinda hot in the wrong place for me...WR agreed. It`s moved .375 (3/8) and worked quite well with the ASAT ( I just removed the cover and mounted it to a plate so I could screw it down).Does`nt look like anybody elses p-up neither ! The plate/saddles put some serious magic in the tone also. I think Tele style guitars MUST have 3 saddles to be right. Don`t care what you say, they can and do intonate and sound better in the mid-range. ( I run them on my trem also with an aluminum E/A saddle ).Will would give me grief if they did`nt. The saddle lock is good but the saddles don`t have the mass that an old school saddles have and the down pressure they promote is important as well....experiment with different metal types and see yer world change ! ( Jerry Donahue and I discussed this...he`s using a steel E/A, a brass D/G, and a bronze B/E to round out his tone thanks to the guys at Glendale and Trev Wilkinson, his guitar buider). The switch is a 4-way which outa be standard euipment on all Tele type guitars....right ? Hello ?!! I always put somebody in those F windows ! Roy B., our old pal, Bill Herzog.. RIP,the Hellecaster Chic from the poster, the "Dude" from the Mindbender pedal is in the Studio Pro 6, some others...hey, havin` fun !

I have some of these Z plates stamped but not finished (chromed) and also ones that fit up next to a trem like Leo did years ago....I think I have some that are slanted too...the lower strings line up where they would normally be on the G/B/E on an ASAT Classic...think " Ezquire "

Three other things: An S500 in the front works well with a standard Z coil also.
Using Alnico for the poles gives you a very vintage sound out of your Z`s and ASAT`s
Putting a pair of ASAT`s in a hard-tail Legacy gives you a great, new sound

Sorry for the late reply guys,
Mac

[Elwood]

Good ta see ya Mac,
and thanks for the skinny on WR's set-up!!!

[sam]

ya wake up and see a post from our own burnt999 "Mac", don't get much better. Ditto on Elwood's post, great information.

"Back from the Galaxy" sounds like a perfect song / album title, can't wait to hear it on release.

[yowhatsshakin]

+1 on Elwood's post. Good to hear from you Mac!

- Jos

[CSVeteran]

Keep up the good work, Sam.

[themikeaustin]

Aside from being noise-cancelling, do the z-coil pickups sound *that* much different from a standard ASAT classic bridge pickup? They're both MFD after all...