how to do the David Gilmour Mod switch on a Fender Stratocaster
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2024
- How to add the David Gilmour Mod switch on a Fender Stratocaster
this gives you the full 7 pickup combinations instead of 5.
It's not a great change in sound but there are subtle changes.
* I accept no responsibilities in any way to anyone attempting to modify there guitars *
Haha that hammer/drill joke was fantastic.
I’ve done this to several Strats and it’s a very useful sound. Tele players have known this for years now but the neck and bridge combo sounds great and is more usable many times than the “quack” sounds in the 2 & 4 positions.
7:55 lol The little gags you throw into into your videos are great. I thought you were about to make a terrible mistake there. xD
You are the first person that explains it so I can to follow why & what to mod. Thanx
RE: the "CE" sticker on the neck plate:
CE stands for Conformité Européenne, which is French for "European Conformity." ... For a company trying to sell a product, getting a CE marking makes things much easier because it means you can sell the product anywhere in the EU.
It's the European equivalent of Underwriters Labs in the US (UL)
I really think the letters are too close to each other for EU conform. This is the chinese export logo!
Marcel Ooms I was about to contradict this but thought a search would be beneficial and you’re spot on. I’ve learnt something today.
images.app.goo.gl/bxauEM2KhMDeP9De9
Turn your amp up and you'll find the difference is quite apparent.
Thank you for a very well explanation! I was afraid to do this mod and it turned out to be a simple one, wouldn't have done it without your video!
God bless you for making this and doing it so well and thoroughly. I will be using this to modify my strat. I wanna get a rolling palm bender as well, and try to get somebody-bender tele-like (as far as is possible that is) with it and use it as a country guitar. I like that it retains all the possibilities of the strat as well, only just adds and doesn’t subtract like a blender knob does. And the fact that it is a Gilmour mod only makes it all the better since the solo in “Mother” is the precise reason I asked for an electric guitar when I was 12 in the Christmas of 92. Thanks.
Thank you so much for posting this!! Very informative and helpful, I’ve been wanting to try this mod for a while but I’ve been scared to try. You really cleared things up so thank you!
Thank you, Markus! Such a simple mod, but one which adds flexibility.
This is a great tutorial. I will definitely be doing this to my Gilmour Strat. Thank you.
Thanks. Enjoyed this. I love learning about Anything related to Strats, and also Pedals & Effects. Nice Mod. More tonal flexibility.
I'm doing this as soon as the switch arrives thanks very much for your video it made it much easier 👍👍
Great little mod to do! I've done it with the Bridge Pickup, so in pos 4 and 5, i've got a push push button put in that activates the bridge.
A lot of the modern strats have a variation on the push/pull switch, where the centre of the volume pot is a latched switch, used a lot for coil splitting humbuckers
I have put this switch on one of my Strat. The sound of the neck and bridge is really useful. Also the 3 pickups together are something special
Hi im a new sub i just found your channel which i found by accident via the video you made of repairing the Maplin.. I really glad i found you to really intreasting stuff you post thanks for all the videos you post be honest i dont know how you know so much about electronics
I just wire my Strats to have a universal tone control and use the second tone control as a blend pot to bring in the third pickup in any position. Gives you the same flexibility without drilling any holes, but also allows me to adjust the balance between the pickups...seems a better solution to me.
Are those push pull pots too big? I think it might not fit in mine
That's right , the Fender 1/2 or full blender makes a Strat into 2 guitars!
Thank you so much ive never new this mod was that easy
Very clear and useful. Thank you very much!
A good tip when you are drilling on smooth plastic; put a wee cross of masking tape over where you want to drill, will stop the drill bit wondering and scratching the finish.
Small brad point bits for the pilot hole work well
yes agreed tape would have been safer ( just in case )
Good tip, it’s something I used many years ago when drilling a hole to install car aerials ( antenna) , it stopped the drill slipping and skating over the wing and seriously damaging the paintwork.
Nice Lockdown viewing Markus.
Revisiting some of your vids. Now I might try this on a strat with a push pull pot.
Hi Russell yes I think it would be much better with a push pull pot.
@@markusfuller I have a push pull mid boost on my Yamaha RGX612a but it needs a little attention I think. Time to get the scope out I think
Yeah that’s something I’d like to do with my strat,It would give a telecaster style sound I imagine
Very informative and entertaining! Thank you! :-)
Oak Grigsby do a six position switch, which allows you to add the Neck+Bridge selection without changing the look of the guitar and with minimal extra wiring
I have several Strat style guitars including a '73 Fender and I've been doing this mod since the late 70's.
Only recently have I discovered that it is referred too as the "Gilmour switch". I always did mine with the bridge pickup not the neck. I don't think it makes a difference but that's how I've always done it.
Well presented vid 👍
Great video!🤘
Yes its American, CE just means it conforms to EU standards. It can be exported from the US
I use a DPDT switch, to select bridge and neck together. So in either of the two end positions you get neck and bridge, and in any of the middle positions you get all three. But as the tone controls work as normal (i.e,, depending on the selector position) you get extra options. For example turn the neck tone down to 5, and you can swap between that and full treble just by moving the selector.
does both connected in series or parallel when we hit the switch?
Thank you, great information!
hmm I got a Strat "deluxe" a few years back that had this switch on it already! Well it's a push button thing, but Effectively does exactly this! I had no idea it was the "Gilmour" mod, I love it, I like playing with the bridge and the neck at the same time, sounds good on leads! Anyway subbed, this was interesting!
Benjamin Janzen funny story here; Anderton’s had a deluxe strat that I drove three hours to play. They also had a ‘Gilmour’ FSR strat. I ended up taking the black strat over the deluxe! I must have, subconsciously, wanted something Gilmourish.
@@ryanboshell6124 yeah the Gilmour Strat's are nice, I just needed a Strat at the time, and I got mine for a great price, nice to know it's basically the Gilmour mod on it!
This is a GREAT mod for anyone that wants more out of a 3-PU system. MANY years ago--back in the late 80's--I didn't know that Gilmour was using this. I was modding my hot rod high output Ibanez and Charvels for this. I started offering it as a package deal for Strats to a lot of my Fender playing customers. What it did was: Take out the middle tone pot which was designated to the NECK pickup (remember, original strat wiring does NOT have a tone control for the bridge pickup), switch the furthest tone pot (originally for the MIDDLE pickup) to a MASTER tone. Now you have a "hole" between the NEW master vol & tone. That "hole" would house the "neck priority" switch which I just used standard SPDT or DPDT mini-switches.
Once you do that you get 7-positions instead of 5. Since, again, I started doing this for my own high output prog' and metal guitars, it was used for when you want that classic single-coil vocal-like tone for playing solos, but still want to retain the harmonics and aggressiveness of the bridge pickup. In modern progressive guitar-talk, it's for when you're playing "scary" lol! So.. I called it my "scary switch" mod. Needless to say I had quite a lot of strat player coming in the shop for this one. MANY YEARS LATER when I was making my version of Gilmour's Tuxedo--a slightly modernized upgraded "players" version of his old well-known black & white--I realized his little hidden switch was something I had previously believed I had come up with on my own. Who would'a ThUnK-iT that I was using it primarily for very loud super high-gain playing, and there was Gilmour getting out of it what so many of my classic strat customers enjoyed so much.
Almost every one of my customers that gets this mod (still to this day) says that when they're playing clean for studio recording "clean" tones, their fav' setting is ALL THREE ON at the same time. It's incredibly bell-ringing clear and opens up a sound you'd be surprised could come from any strat, charvel or Ibanez alike. When you're adding this to a modern Hum-Single-Single high output guitar, try adding a series/parallel switch to your 4-conductor bridge pickup.. OR.. if you use a humbucker in the neck position, try adding the series/parallel switch to the neck pickup and you'll get a single-coil-like tone from THAT one any time you switch it to parallel. It'll be a LOT HIGHER in output than a standard single or even a high-output single (I use the DiMarzio FAST TRACK DP181 for most of my neck positions).
Trick too is; HIDE the series/parallel in a push/pull pot in either your tone or volume control, and that way you won't even have to drill for another mini toggle. When you add THIS extra switch, you'll now get NINE possible pickup combos out of a standard H-S-S pickup arrangement.
***JUST ONE THING I'd like to respectfully "correct" in this video about Gilmour's switch:
There's actually a "slit" cut into the pickguard, and the mini-toggle is mounted on a bracket that attaches to the pots UNDERNEATH the pickguard so that the switch sits LOWER than it would if you mounted it directly to the pickguard itself. MY GUESS (just my educated guess here, not saying I know for certain), my guess is that he likes it out of the way from the volume control--the way he likes to use that as an expression alternative, swells and such. If you set it up the way he does, you can switch it easily by scraping your pick over it while playing. I'm also "assuming" this is what he does to. Watch him closely if you ever get a chance to ZOOM IN on him in any high quality videos you may see of him using that old Tuxedo strat.
No go to your bench or nearest luthier and GET THIS INSTALLED ASAP!!!!! You'll F*n LOVE IT!
~JSV
Just another comment on this strat wiring mod: It's also "undoable" which is why it was tried at first by many of my strat customers. Meaning you can always RE-wire your strat back to it's original wiring and pot config' IF you wnated to for any reason.
-JV
Thankyou JSV, your comment is really interesting and has valuable information within. Its great times we live in where we can all share information with one another. best wishes.
@@markusfuller Awesome! And it great you have this vid up to inspire others to install a simple and really essential modification.
~JSV
I've been a very big Pink Floyd fan since 1987, read a lot of books etc. 'bout Floyd but I never knew this!
you mean read.......
@@jebusgod Edited post to remove typo.
Awesome! What processor were you plugged into?
The easier way to do this is to use a master tone (middle knob) and use the bottom tone control as a blender knob. Works better with a no-load but not required.
Just put a M/FM connector in the pickup cavity on the bridge ground wire. Do the same on your jack wires and you can easily take the whole thing off. Drill the hole from the underside to avoid hitting anything. Your sizing hole you have to "screw" the switch into position is a really good idea!
I liked your GAG ROUTINE about PUNCHING hole in the pickguard ! * ! * ! JimInCincy....
I have a Strat with this modification. I'm not sure why, have been told that it is the capacitor, but with the switch engaged, a bit of the high end is pulled off the middle pickup when in the middle position on the pickup selector switch. So, I'm getting actually eight (useful) sounds out of the guitar.
The original pickups were swapped out for brand new ones, and the results are the same, so I know it has to do with the wiring and not the pickups.
I went even further with the modifications and gave the bridge pickup it's own time control and had the Greasebucket tone circuit installed on both tone controls.
I purchased the guitar with the Gilmour mod and normally do mods myself. However, I did not have the proper tools for the Greasebucket tone circuit, so I had a technician do the other two mods for me. He reset the pickup heights, but they are fairly high output, so I lowered them back to where they were (originally)to get that quack sound back in the 2 & 4 positions.
It is a guitar that everyone eyeballs and wants to own. I very rarely take it out of the house, for fear of it being stolen. A unique cherry sunburst with a tortoise shell scratch plate/ pick guard (it is called either or lol) and a Jeff Beck neck that I installed after purchase. Too stressful to worry about, so I keep it at home. Lol.
Hi Stephen I know exactly what you mean by not taking it out the house. I have lost 2 quite rare guitars during my college days, they just disappeared never to be seen again. I’m a keyboard player more than a guitarist (as you can obviously tell in my video LOL ) and if I do any work out of the house I keep my eyes and hands on my own gear at all times as I cannot afford to replace things when they go missing.
Of course, the other matter affecting Gilmour's sound is the fact that he uses EMG active pickups which, according to a friend, "hear more string somehow." So the 7-way with actives is more evident than with passives.
really clearly explained. well done, off to get my soldering iron to try the mod. Will use a push-pull 500k log pot with the switch to avoid the extra hole, shouldnt be too hard.....Many thanks, H6UK ( still playing at 82 !!)..........
Hello Howard. I wish I had the push/pull pot as I would have used that instead. but I just used what I had in my spares drawer. still playing at 82 :-) Brilliant keep on playing Howard.
@@markusfuller thanx Marcus, The switch mod is great, I just happened to have a pot to hand also.....will no doubt mod my other guitar.......keep the videos coming, well done. H6UK
@@markusfuller hello if the sounds in the synthesizer spontaneously change the problem in the sensor or in the display?pls help me
Rashid Shukurov Hello Rashid. I am not sure i understand your question. which synthesizer are you talking about ?.
@@markusfuller korg i30
Whats the blip effect called on 13:52? I love it!
Also, the CE sticker isn't Chinese Export...The CE mark is a mandatory European marking for certain product groups to indicate conformity with the essential health and safety requirements set out in European Directives. To permit the use of a CE mark on a product, proof that the item meets the relevant requirements must be documented.
This is correct. Good to see someone explained it better than I could
we know what CE means. It was said as humour / a joke in my video.
@@markusfuller I see this a lot, where people outside the UK simply don't get our sense of humour! Great video by the way, and the comments below contain some good suggestions for alternative ways of achieving this solution.
I prefer swapping out the bridge tone control for a push pull tone pot with a switch. DOWN position for absolutely standard Strat (ie you'd never know). UP position for the mod sounds. A bit more work unsoldering resoldering pot but worth it as it doesn't deface the classic look.
Wow, Jaime Lannister is a great guitar technician
how about some volume when your doing a demo? I have the mod and it works great. but your not really letting people hear the possibilities.
I think it's a Fuller sound. Nice humour.
I guess the ten way switch includes the "Gilmour mod", so I'm covered.
There is a 10-way switch from freeway that does everything you can ask from a Strat.
It adds 5 more positions by flipping the switch sideways (up-down) to access those.
It gives you parallel and serial options and pickup-combinations like on the Tele (bridge and neck) or all three.
It can be wired in various ways so can be also useful for SSH Strats.
Its about 40-50 EUR/$ so its not that cheap but the sounds it gives you are really good assuming your pickups can hold their water. ;-)
I've just become a patron, because I've become a little bit obsessed with your videos!
Thank you Nick. I really appreciate your support. every penny goes into gear or parts used in making the youtube videos and nothing taken out for anything else. Thank you very much.
@@markusfuller You're welcome. It's a pleasure Markus.
What switch did you buy?
What amp/voltage do you use
Interesting video. It seems to me similar to the "blender" mod with a blender tone. The advantage of this solution over the "blender" solution is that I don't have to sacrifice the second tone. Am I right?
You are right, one tone control will be for all pickups, the other tone control is used as blender. If i understood correctly, the advantage of the blender mod is, that it adds tone control for the bridge (if it originally was wired the way tone1 = neck, tone2 = middle) and you do not just switch on and of an aditional pickup, but blend it in. In my opinion the blender mod is the better choice.
OK so I did the mod myself as well. I also have tone control on the bridge position added. So when I flick the switch in position 1, I can adjust the tone of the bridge, but NOT the tone of the neck. It bypasses the tone pot. My question is: can I also add the tone pot from the neck pickup to the toggle switch and will it then have tone control on bridge + neck when toggled 'on'? Hope you can help me out :)
No
Nice
Just copy the switching from the strat elite and you get about ten combinations, including pickups in series, which sounds a little humbucky.
Hi, what kind of switch is it?
Seems to me by mounting the micro switch deeper below the surface it will protect the switch itself, I, m guessing Gilmour broke a few before his tech came up with a solution!.you need to crank the gain up with some delay and reverb to hear the mod at its best mate!
That’s actually a pretty substantial shift in timbre... not to disrespect you (I adore your videos!), but I think a more experienced player would experience the change as a far more dramatic shift.
Anyhow, I loved the video, learned something new, and think this mod will be a very exciting option for more seasoned players to add more colors to their guitars.
Personally, I’m doing it today!! :)
I agree but as I say in the video I'm a keyboard player not a guitarist. I could have had my friend play the guitar for me but he was not available for a week or so I just wanted to get on with the job and complete the video. but I am having great fun dabbling with this guitar and maybe in another 30 years I will be able to play a good tune on it :-)
markusfuller so I actually did the mod myself yesterday and it turned out great!! Thank you so much making these videos!
I was just getting ready to mod my Strat. Thanks for the idea of using a push-pull type knob for the volume switch. My only question is that knowing that, why did you go ahead and permanently damage your pick guard with another hole?
I did not have a push pull knob in my parts box so i went for using a switch, my guitar was quite cheap to buy but if it was expensive I would not have drilled a hole in it.
Damage sure is relative. Its an upgrade
@@markusfuller Wow Fast response! Thanks! Reason accepted!
Let's remember that this is a Dave Gilmore mod too..
This is exactly how He did this to His Black Strat!
Granted, there are other ways to do this, without putting a switch in, by using push/pull pots,
But This tutorial is authentic to the real mod.
Very nice and not an extended Gm in sight
Anyone have any experience with this mod? does it really make a difference?
Cool!! Now refinish it black with a black pick gaurd. But to make the real difference you need to have tone master skills!! But still great for all.
Can I use any wire when connecting the switch to the pickups?
If you could get wire that is close to the thickness of wire already used in the guitar then that should be fine, it doesn’t have to be exact.
First- another great video
Those ain’t bolts , those are nuts!!!
Yes I know but didn’t realise what i had said until I already uploaded the video. :-)
How about using one of the selector switch mount holes instead of drilling a new hole?
Because they’ve already got screws in for the selector switch?
Thumbs up! :)
CE stands for Conformité Européenne which is French for the product having electronics that conform to European standards. It does not mean Chinese Export, which is a common misconception.
It's a nut! :-)
Put a treble bleed on the switch or just a capacitor
can I do this but instead of a neck pickup switch it's a bridge pickup switch? sorry if this sounds like a stupid question I know nothing about electronics and wiring, just making sure.
Hello. the switch just allows all 3 pickups to work together where the original selector only chose one or 2 but never all 3.
@@markusfuller I mean can I make it so the mini toggle switch makes the bridge pickup go on and off instead of the neck pickup?
@@thailai3277 yes you just connect the switch to one of the wires from the pickup as in use the switch to connect and disconnect that pickup.
question: why not the pot with coaxial switch?
Hi Tormy. I agree It would have looked better with the Pot and coaxial switch but I was just using what I had in my spares and also wanted to make it the same way Dave Gilmour had his with a switch. though if I had the pot with coaxial switch in my stock box I probably would have done it that way.
8:06 - my reaction "nooooo!!"
How does David Gilmour make that seagull sound?
He flaps his arms up and down then opens his mouth. 😮
Buy the bracket also
Is the switch on / off or on / on? Sorry for the ignorance.
Hello it is just an on/off switch.
where can i get the smaller switch?
Its just called a mini toggle switch. you can get them off amazon / ebay / mouser / rselectronics / just look for mini toggle .
Where did you get the switch????
I just had several in my parts box. Its just a toggle switch, you can buy them off amazon or most electronics parts websites.
Can someone please share the benefits of using this switch and maybe some scenarios to best use it? And also, does this wiring effect any other wiring mods (treble bleed mod, etc)? Thanks.
There's a demonstration for this mod in this video at around minute 4:00. Basically, this mod unlocks the ability to activate neck + bridge pickups at the same time (sounds like a tele), and to activate all three pickups for some kind of unique sound
ua-cam.com/video/WOiMf-p4EZA/v-deo.html
@@theramatube Thank you. My guitar now has this mod. It’s pretty cool.
Make sure the switch is a "2 position" SPDT ON-OFF, not a "3 position ON-OFF-ON.
Most Strat players don't like this mod. My guess is that they feel that it takes away the Strat's simplicity and logical switching and gives you 2 more sounds that are difficult to know what to do with. This is just my opinion after doing this mod for decades on my customer's Strats. Oddly, I pulled out the 4-way switching that I installed many years ago from my Tele, as series just sounded wrong to me and I never used it like I thought I would. It felt good to get that POS Oak Crapby 4-way outta there with its dead spots and get a nice 3-way CRL back in. Just sayin'. Before drillin' a hole in your pg, consider what I'm saying.
I though he was an austronaut in the International Space Station.
When taking off/putting on strings I've always believed you should work from the outside in (or visa-versa) so that there is no uneven tension torquing the neck. i.e. loosed both E's at the same time, then the A and B, then D and G. Could be wrong.
I believe he did this before he put a 5 way switch in it, so it basically makes it a 5 way switch except it only add neck and bridge and neck and middle
yes it makes 5 combinations of the 3 pickups with the 5 way switch. the added switch makes it 7 combinations of the 3 pickups.
hello@@markusfuller if the sounds in the synthesizer spontaneously change the problem in the sensor or in the display?korg triton
push pull pot is the best way to do this mod
I do it to every strat I have ever owned
Hi Jason. Im just doing it to another of my guitars today.
markusfuller FYI the two outer pickups on at the same time sounds a bit like a fender jaguar , all three on is basically a turbo boost for your guitar , gives it a real thick tone, you probably could do with adjusting your pickups , the neck pickup should be lower on the treble strings and the bridge should be lower on the bass strings, the middle pickup should be somewhere in between, try that and you will see the difference in tone a lot more.
Jason and the robots Thanks Jason I will have play with the pickup heights.
@@markusfuller no worries, glad to help. God knows you've helped enough people over the years.
Hi Markus, great vid as usual! I’m currently trying to fix a broken Yamaha SY77 synthesiser I bought and was wondering if you (or anyone else in the comments) could help me. When I bought it I thought thought the issue was with the internal battery, which I replaced. Sadly it didn’t solve the issue and I’m a bit stuck now. I’ve posted a UA-cam video demonstrating the issues which has a description about the issues and a link to a couple of forums I posted to looking for help. Thanks for any help/ advice :)
Demo: m.ua-cam.com/video/Qvjh5An8ExQ/v-deo.html
"CE Chinese export, i thought this was american"
CE stands for "Conformité Européenne". It is allowed to be sold in Europe because it conforms with their marketrules
I wouldn't do it even to a squier...
If you actually play it'll work fine.
"CE" is the abbreviation of "conformité européenne" (French for "European conformity") It has nothing to do with China. What is basically means is, the electronic item conforms with European standards for health, safety and environmental protection.
The CE mark is for "Community European," not China Export.
CE actually means ''European Conformity''.
Conformité Européene is the correct meaning of the CE mark or translated into European Conformity. calling it Chinese Export is just a little bit of humour that I try to add to my videos.
I don't thing David is using that switch must to be honest.
Or just buy a Red Special... has it all built in... every pickup it's own switch and fase switch...
But with a serial wiring instead of the typical parallel wiring, so no typical strat "between" sounds on a red special...
Phase
It's called a Pick Guard :]
Theese uncultured synthesizer enthusiasts..... ;-)
Scratch-plate in my world too - 8:58
@@benedictearlson9044 Well, they come from Golpeadoras on Classical Guitars. Later they were common on Dreadnought type Steel Strings... in '35 Gibson added this style to it's early Electrified Hollow Bodies.
But in this context, as a cover for the Electronics & a mounting surface for the Pickups... I'm fairly certain it was invented by Leo Fender & is called a Pick Guard. I believe it first appeared on the Fender Broadcaster... which arrived in 1950? ...later to become the Telecaster.
@@stocchinet they should be shot!
@@CaalamusTube Interesting. The terms seem interchangeable, but I have an idea. A plate eg steel plate would be a single sheet of flat metal. A guard eg a fire guard would comprise of a thicker object which sits in a 3d space. So may I suggest that flat Strat-type items are called 'plates' while the elevated or floating items seen on Jazz guitars and mandolins are called 'guards'?
Instant Jaguar ... sort of ...
Yes you have a good point.
Please, please, please polish your frets with some metal polish, clean your fretboard with naptha, then treat it with some lemon oil. Your Strat will thank you.
3:50 CE doesn’t stand for Chinese Export....
Your to quite thats why we cant hear much