Fender 'Blacktop' HH Strat

[cockroach]

The thing I dislike about humbuckers is that there is little or no control of tone with the guitar volume control, unlike Fender type single coils.

They are OK for a nice jazz tone, or if you want that cranked up heavy 'rock' sound, but overall I prefer a single coil type guitar, and put up with the buzzing...

So that's the end of my 12 string neck then Bill?!!

[Bill Bowley]

'Roach,

No mate, not the end of the Burns 12 string necks, they still await their destiny! The one that is being fitted to the Strat hardtail body is a Warmoth one that I bought for the purpose a few years ago (is it that long already?!!) Here's a pic of it.

Do you still want to build a 12 string?

[cockroach]

Bill,

I dream of knocking together a double neck actually!

Ideally with both magnetic and piezo pickups- four in one so to speak, should cover most eventualities- electric 6 string, acoustic 6 string, electric twelve string, acoustic 12 string, and use a capo up high on the 12 string neck for mandolin...maybe a project when I retire from work in a few years time..

[Bill Bowley]

'Roach,

Reason I asked was I will never get around to using both of these BALDWIN necks, so one should go to a good home really. I don't know how it would look on a double neck guitar though, being the BALDWIN scroll type head. On the other hand, I have a 'bolt on' VOX Folk (see pic) 12 string neck spare (the body 'snapped' one of its internal supports, the luthier said 'scrap it'!), that may interest you?

[ELET]

I put a Seymour stacked humbucker at the bridge with a coil tap and it was neither one thing nor the other, it didn't growl and the single pole sound was weedy and not Strat.
I put a pair of mini humbuckers on neck and bridge which did growl but again, the single pole tone was woolly and not Strat .
I wired the middle pick-up of the standard set-up so as to be in series with either the neck or bridge pick-ups but it didn't humbuck, it just went muddy.
Project abandoned.

Some time ago, (when you got about $2 to the pound), I bought a pair of GFS Retrotron Nashville pickups. I tried them in a couple of guitars and didn't like them, they sounded nothing like real Gretsch Filtertrons. The other day I was on the verge of selling them when I thought I'd give them a try in a quite nice pool routed Strat copy I have knocking about. I got a two humbucker scratchplate from Axesrus for £14 and wired them in using a one volume one tone and a .022 orange drop capacitor "Fezz Parker" Telecaster circuit. I'm amazed with the results. Although thy still sound nothing like real Filtertrons they both sound bright and not at all muddy, the tone is quite usable for Shads stuff and the guitar is much less prone to buzz and hum than a single coil pickup guitar. Like Ecca I'd long ago come to the conclusion that Humbuckers on a Strat were a waste of time but for some reason the Retrotrons seem to work well.

[cockroach]

Hi Bill,

I would be interested the Baldwin neck thanks.

If you want to send me a personal e-mail to discuss business, please let me know..!

I tried one of those Vox/EKO 12 strings years ago when they came out, but the neck is way too big, thick and wide for my small hairy paws!

[Bill Bowley]

'Roach,

Check your mail.

[cockroach]

Thanks Bill

I've sent you a personal e-mail (hopefully!)