Installing Seth Lover in Tribute Bluesboy

[mikewashmo]

I installed a Seth Lover in my Tribute Bluesboy and it sounds great in the neck position. The stock MFD bridge pickup sounds great, but the middle position loses output and sounds really thin. I read some old posts and it seems like the USA Bluesboys had a different pickup polarity than the regular ASAT MFD bridge pickups. The Tribute has the regular pickup and it seems you need to reverse the polarity of that regular pickup to match the USA BB bridge pickup. Rather than revive old threads, I thought I would post a new one to make sure I fix it right and only have to take the bridge off one time.

So, with that long (sorry) intro, my question is to verify how that polarity switch is done. What I understood from some of the other posts, is that you would just desolder the little wire that runs from the cover plate to next to the red wire and re-solder it to just next to the yellow wire. This would make it match the USA and should sound killer in that middle position.

Here is a link to a picture of this to help clarify. The pic is the back of what a USA BB bridge pickup should look like and I drew a line with blue sharpie to illustrate the wire that I understand needs to be moved.
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/ma ... emId=12731


So I want to verify that I have this right, or if not, let me know what I need to do to make it right so I can have the middle position back.

Thanks,
Mike

[mikewashmo]

Sorry that the picture in the link is huge, but I'm not that great at posting pics. Hopefully someone will be able to help me despite my incompetence.

Thanks!!

[Craig]

I installed a Seth Lover in my Tribute Bluesboy and it sounds great in the neck position. The stock MFD bridge pickup sounds great, but the middle position loses output and sounds really thin. I read some old posts and it seems like the USA Bluesboys had a different pickup polarity than the regular ASAT MFD bridge pickups. The Tribute has the regular pickup and it seems you need to reverse the polarity of that regular pickup to match the USA BB bridge pickup. Rather than revive old threads, I thought I would post a new one to make sure I fix it right and only have to take the bridge off one time.

So, with that long (sorry) intro, my question is to verify how that polarity switch is done. What I understood from some of the other posts, is that you would just desolder the little wire that runs from the cover plate to next to the red wire and re-solder it to just next to the yellow wire. This would make it match the USA and should sound killer in that middle position. http://guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/posting.p ... =post&f=13#
Here is a link to a picture of this to help clarify. The pic is the back of what a USA BB bridge pickup should look like and I drew a line with blue sharpie to illustrate the wire that I understand needs to be moved.
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/GALLERY2/ma ... emId=12731


So I want to verify that I have this right, or if not, let me know what I need to do to make it right so I can have the middle position back.

Thanks,
Mike

First you want to verify the ground plate wiring for the bridge pickup.

If it look's like this, then it has been modified to work with the Seth Lover humbucker:



If the ground connection is soldered to the red wire side, you will need to change it as shown.

BTW, did you use a potted SL humbucker? That's what G&L uses on the USA model.

Hope this helps.

[mikewashmo]

Not a potted version, just the standard SH-55 neck. It sounds great in there, just hoping to get back that really good middle position sound as the Seth and the MFD really sound great together.

Thanks,
Mike

[Craig]

Not a potted version, just the standard SH-55 neck. It sounds great in there, just hoping to get back that really good middle position sound as the Seth and the MFD really sound great together.

Thanks,
Mike

My favorite combination, as well! Once you get the bridge and neck pickups matched, it should sound great.

[mikewashmo]

Made that wire switch tonight and the middle position is now good to go! I have ane Elek-trix tele 3-way control kit in it, too so I also had to switch the yellow and red wire there, but it is solder free so nothing to it. Those kits are pretty cool as you can change from vintage to modern wiring and change capacitor values by just flipping some internal dip switches. It also changes to use a 500k vol pot when on the neck position for the humbucker and 250k when in middle and bridge. Pretty cool kits for a decent price. I have the cap set at 047 now to match what the us BB is, but will try some other values one of these days. It's now my poor mans BB and sounds great.

Thanks for your help!

[Craig]

Made that wire switch tonight and the middle position is now good to go! I have ane Elek-trix tele 3-way control kit in it, too so I also had to switch the yellow and red wire there, but it is solder free so nothing to it. Those kits are pretty cool as you can change from vintage to modern wiring and change capacitor values by just flipping some internal dip switches. It also changes to use a 500k vol pot when on the neck position for the humbucker and 250k when in middle and bridge. Pretty cool kits for a decent price. I have the cap set at 047 now to match what the us BB is, but will try some other values one of these days. It's now my poor mans BB and sounds great.

Thanks for your help!

Glad to hear it worked out for you.

We'd love to see (and hear) your modded Tribute Bluesboy. See our Tutorials for posting photos, videos, and audios in the Announcements section.

[Jared]

Not to revive an old thread but this doesn't seem to specify one other thing. Once the plate ground has been switched (little connection from the red to the yellow) don't you have to switch the wires at the control plate? Connect the yellow wire where the red one was and vice versa in order to switch the polarity. This may be a given, but I am going to be doing this very thing so want to be sure.

Thanks

[mikewashmo]

Wow, that has been a while. Honestly, I can't remember if I had to switch the red and yellow at the other end? I have the Electrix wiring harness in there that has plug in connections, so I very easily could have switched those wires since no soldering is involved. I actually have had a few different pickups in that one in the last year. I had a GFS mean 90 in the neck and liked that one a lot, but recently stole that pickup out of the BB to put it in the neck of a recently acquired PRS SE 245. I put the SE 245 neck humbucker in the BB and the middle position is messed up again. I might just get another P90 to put in there since I put the Seth Lover in another guitar, too. Lot of rambling, but I would try it switched like you mention first because I think I did end up switching it on the switch end, too. Hope it works out for you....

[Craig]

Not to revive an old thread but this doesn't seem to specify one other thing. Once the plate ground has been switched (little connection from the red to the yellow) don't you have to switch the wires at the control plate? Connect the yellow wire where the red one was and vice versa in order to switch the polarity. This may be a given, but I am going to be doing this very thing so want to be sure.

Thanks

Here's a photo of the wiring (from our Gallery: Instrument Manuals and Wiring Schematics):


Hope this helps.

[Jared]

That confirms it, thanks guys.

Interesting on the PRS bucker in the BB. I have a 57/08 in a PRS studio but would never remove it. Probably the one guitar I would not tinker with. It's a very nice PAF pup. Would probably sound great in a BB.

Thanks again fellas

[Jared]

Wow. Modified the bridge pup and reversed the polarity. Got the Seth installed, changed out the pots to CTS and a new switch and Sprague cap. Wow, the Seth Lover sounds good in the neck of that semi-hollow BB. The middle position is incredible as well.
Only fit and finish flaw on the tribute is the interior edges on the f-hole could have been finished better, but this is an import and small potatoes really. Also did a complete set up (truss rod, etc.). The guitar sounded really good stock but the new electronics and the Seth lover really opened it up. Incredible tone, very happy with it. Compares tone-wise to guitars I have costing 6 x as much.
Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.