This is such a great mod + it's super cheap #thrifty :) The Green Gizmo™ build video is now live kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html plus the schematic and pedal are here mcphersonmusic.site/product-category/pickups/the-green-gizmo%ef%b8%8f/

@woodygranger2126

9 ай бұрын

Starting with a great pickup and fine tuning to what you like in your guitar. I've been saying that for years. Make what you already have sound better is a good option if you are on a budget. BTW Great video with lots of great information.

@rickpilcher6576

9 ай бұрын

Do you have any plans to make and sell a version of that pedal? I would certainly be a buyer.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

@@rickpilcher6576 yes - kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

@Earthwormjimm

8 ай бұрын

I’m new to pedal building but I’ve decided I want this to be the first pedal I build

@rickpilcher6576

8 ай бұрын

@@Earthwormjimm I just received my built one. Great useful pedal. Unsolicited tip - move the switch further away from the knob, its fiddly where it is. Also use a big switch .

I see this "Gizmo" being a useful pedal for luthier shops to have, letting customers dial in the sound they want before you install the mod for them

@KarstenJohansson

9 ай бұрын

Also literally every guitar player who records, but doesn't have a lot of equipment. Instant way to sound like you have several different guitars that inhabit different parts of the mix.

@thelastgreyhawk2161

9 ай бұрын

@@KarstenJohansson I completely agree with that too

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

@@KarstenJohansson kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

@corknakovastein

8 ай бұрын

im making the pedal to put in my pedal board

@KarstenJohansson

8 ай бұрын

@@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar Thanks! This'll be a fun project for the weekend. I think I might end up using it as a more permanent fixture, too.

With 58 years of playing experience, I rarely seen something on KZread that's new to me, but you changed that with your clever.and useful info.

@robertzombiekill6365

4 ай бұрын

Wow you've been playing 58 years & didn't know this? Been playing 50 years and have known this forever.

@JohnDoeJohnboy

4 ай бұрын

42 years experience me

Old timer here haha, and im not the only one but I've been modding caps and pickups since the early 70's but what I'm realy impressed with is your new pedal! I truly hope you have amazing success with it if you decide to design and develop it more and market it.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Done : ) kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

Gibson did this in the 60's with the Varitone on the 345 and 355

Been playing and building guitars nearly 40 years and building valve amps a long time - Its not often I learn something new, Thanks! :D

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

I'm stoked it was helpful, cheers!

This is probably the most helpful and approachable "mod" video I've ever seen on YT. A handful of ceramic capacitors (still cheap nowadays) can make a huge difference in letting anyone create their "personal tone." (I bought a decade box specifically for messing around with tone. 👍) I know a pro blues guy, who always gets the hottest singles he can find. Some of his fans think this is for volume, to overdrive the preamp and get his distinctive growl (he despises stompboxes other than a very occasional wah). It's actually to crowd the mids and get away from the "icepick" tone of singles. On the other hand, whenever someone says their humbuckers sound "muddy" or "muffled," I tell them to back 'em down a few turns, to un-crowd the mids. And if they get new PUs, to go cooler NOT hotter.

In my guitars I actually always swap out one of the knobs for a 6-way switch with different cap values used with the tone knob. I did this to shift the peak frequency. It's also a great mod for making a guitar over-the-top dark for thicc doom sounds.

@j3ffn4v4rr0

9 ай бұрын

Great idea!! I was imagining either an extra switch on the guitar just for the capacitors, or Waylon's "gizmo" having a home on the pedalboard. I know next to nothing about guitar electronics...do you see any advantage of replacing the regular tone knob like you do, vs keeping it in, and maintaining the ability to simply roll off high frequencies when you want (plus the resonant peak control)?

@jeke4977

9 ай бұрын

A Varitone switch. I don't know why this didn't catch on.

@iracordem

4 ай бұрын

great mod! a buddy in the 1980s got a $40 unbranded japanese burst LP copy from a yardsale, it had the 6-click rotary knob. he drew a little diagram with the cap values and wired it up in abit over an hour. it sounded great.

@alanknott363

3 ай бұрын

@@jeke4977 Exactly 👍

Thank you for such a powerful idea. Bought a bunch of 560nF silver caps, since the bridge value was addressing a different issue also. Already tried it on a set of AlNiCo-5 Strat pickups. It let just the right amount of air out their tires. On a spare P-Bass that had questionable pickups, I added one in parallel and a 0.5H ferrite core inductor (in my parts bin for 25 years) in series. It's much more sober and focused now. I didn't know how I was going to get it to sound right but now suddenly it does. Such a cool trick.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

6 ай бұрын

Your welcome , stoked you like it :)

pickup height is important. first thing i do on a new guitar that the pickups dont seem right, adjust the height up or down and test test test. The other useful too is a decent eq pedal. guitarist have dozens of fx pedals, but no eq.

I think a spectrum analyzer would do this video a lot of justice, but it is definitely nice that you can really hear the difference.

@JohnDoeJohnboy

4 ай бұрын

So is it kind of the opposite of compression? Or a sweet spot box lol can u invent some tuners that don't go out of tune too quick for my SG? I'd be most impressed with that! I'd get locking tuners but every bit of it is original even the pearl Gibson tuning pegs. I'll put pics of it on my page it's red heritage cherry 🍒 red but u can see the mahogany grain through it, best axe I've ever bought by a way. I just put new Elixir strings on it so maybe that's got something to do with it, wierd tho cos when I tune it it's sharp not flat ffs n its kept in its flight case when I'm not using it as there's no scratches or dings etc

Capacitors in parallel wil just drive high frequencies to the ground. It's a filter. But it's a good idea having different types of filter in a stompbox.

Just a really good idea. The change in the bridge pick-up was profound and obviously useful. I will be doing this as soon as I can get hold of some caps. Thanks a lot.

Utterly magnificent video! So clear and concise. I echo the thought that all Luthier mod shops should have your gizmo for customers to try sounds before committing to a mod. More videos please👍👍👍

How is there not 1000 videos on this?! Im obsessed! bought 100 different caps to experiment with...Thank you for this!!

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

8 ай бұрын

That right there is the fun part for me, the experimentation part! cheers!

@uke_mike

8 ай бұрын

@@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar This may be the dumbest question youve ever heard but please bare with me...Is there any cap or "device" or anything you can wire in series like these caps tame the harsh end, that does the oposite? something that makes a muddy pickup brighter without touching the tone knob? sorry if thats stupid, im new to the electronics part of a guitar. Thanks!

Hi, This is Harry the one who came into ur store today, i will definitely be watching ur channel a ton. and thanks for everything!!

Really enjoyed watching and hearing you play! The presentation was well produced, presented and highly engaging. Well done! I hope this channel gets the exposure it deserves.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much!

This is the most fascinating thing I've seen in a while on guitar YT, such a simple and clear mod. And, yeah - I think now guitar player just want that pedal of yours.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Done - kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

And now they can build it or buy it! kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

Have you unintentionally just invented a new pedal that strat players would be interested in?

@kalkidasofficial

9 ай бұрын

Indeed

@johnkosh6495

9 ай бұрын

It’d be easer.

@timhamlett5042

9 ай бұрын

I think guitar techs would be more interested in your “Gizmo”

@tr3ndkiller

9 ай бұрын

We need that pedal and we need it now! 😮

@garygratzer9670

9 ай бұрын

Did you build the switchable capacitor box or are they available?

Been doing this for literally years. Well done, mate!

Thanks!!n I found a 3.3nf capacitor at home and put it on my guitar, the bridge humbucker was ultra sharp, with this mod it sounds lovely. You are a Hero!

Dang, dude, that’s a very cool mod! Great improvement! Subscribed! Btw, I really like using positions 2 and 4 as well, and the mod made them even more pleasing! 👍

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Thanks man :)

This is awesome chief! thank you! One of those few times that KZread actually suggested an awesome video! Glad it did... Subscribed!

Great job, the difference in tone was instant, surprisingly good and subtle yet obvious. Thankyou for sharing your knowledge 😊

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

5 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

One of the best mod videos on the web. Thanks.

*A high-end low tech mod* for singles is cutting a steel sheet metal plate to glue on the back of the magnet which easily doubles to triples output, and then you can add passive R-C filters to *really* make a huge alteration to tonal output without risk of it losing sustain and other desired characteristics by the time the signal reaches pedals and/or an amp. You can also step them up to a 1 and sometimes even 2 meg ohm pot which won't bleed off highs as you cut your volume, but this mod doesn't just give a massive output boost, but when you cut volume the very high impedance pots can make 60-cycle hum a constant which is why 1 meg ohm is typically adequate for singles and humbuckers. I'm a college educated electrical/electronics engineer though and while I once thought it was blasphemy, I now support active pickups 110% but with this caveat. Mine our custom made and if I desire, custom voiced with both fixed and variable filter schemes. Unlike commercially sold active modules or pickup sets, I run it all Class-A so your active sound can remain identical to the passive and the only obvious and significant change is the voltage output is 10-20 times what it previously was. *There's heaps of active pickups out there that I don't particularly like starting with EMG's.*

subbed right away! this is very useful info without any BS, love it!

Wow!! Great bit of information. I have many squire strats and teles. Gonna try this

I like the adjustable capacitance box (revoicer) that you have ... better than having just one fixed value.

Just discovered your channel. This is the info I've been looking for. I subscribed!

My friend sent me this video and I'm blown away, thank you! Subbed, can't wait to see more content.

Been doing this and the Volume pot Frequency range bypass mods on guitars since the 90'S great to see others using some RLC bridge ideas to improve their axes. I use an ancient Capacitor decade box its a little ripper

It's a great idea, looks a bit like the Vari-Tone which Gibson used to fit in some models of 335 and little like the "Bill Lawrence/Jerry Donahue" mode for Telecasters. I'll certainly be trying it out. Thanks !!

Earned a sub from me, what a great channel! Electronics have always been challenging for me to understand and your explanations are just awesome.

I have been doing this since the mid '80s. Just chanced upon it and pretty much have done this with all my guitars. So pleased to see you have a superb device like you displayed. Super cool indeed.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Adding LOT of cable can do similar things, but excellent advice dude

I just bought a used Squier Bullet Strat from a pawn shop on evilbay a month ago. I replaced the pickups, the pickguard, and the machine heads. All the stuff that I didn't want any way. The pickguard and pickups, controls, and wire I replaced completely with better components. At least the wire and the capacitor are USA made. Everything else was made in China but it works for me and I love it! I like hotrodding my own guitars when it's something cheap like this and doesn't cost me any money really. And it doesn't matter because I'm not destroying or modifying any of my expensive guitars irreversibly.

Despite of Your Dog Shiz crayon drawing medium… 😆…this Video shows one and the best description, Visual and explanation of the sound of the hertz of pick ups. I’m a simple man, and a Bass Playing man. So Yeah… And! I STILL can hear the difference and the concept…. Much Respect from Canada… 😊 Thank you much, don’t change.,and more pls… 🇨🇦❤

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

haha, thanks so much :)

Excellent information! Thanks for making the video.

Been playin a long time, never seen this before. Genius… thanks for sharing

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Glad you liked it!

Man great video!!! Thanks for the information!

Just ordered! My clients will love this service! Thank you so much!

For a typical 2.3~2.8H Strat pickup, I prefer a slightly higher freq peak. ~2.2kHz has good clarity without sounding harsh. The cap value for that would be in the 1n5F to 2nF range (along with a typical 200-400pF guitar cable and ~140pF pickup capacitance). I use values like that on the tone knob. The useful versatility throughout the sweep is great.

Seriously solid advice and info! Reminds me of the great Yamaha Soundbook I used as A Bose vendor. Thank you! This could easily be a MasterClass!

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful, cheers!

Awesome! I need to play with one of those boxes for a few minutes.! Thanks

I like that breakout box you’ve made and you’ve inspired me to create my own; characterizing, tuning, and modifying pickups are on my list.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Here you go : ) kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

I would love to put the caps on push pull pots to be able to turn them on and off for even more tone options. I used to do all kinds of mods but I hadn't thought of simply putting the cap in parallel, Ill be playing with this one for sure. Thanks so much

Awesome. A super-effective simple mod. Thank you.

The difference is dramatic, it actually sounds really good after the mod… And the little green box would actually be a killer tool to have if you’re playing multiple Strats and/or Teles in a live set up situation with different pickups on them! Great video!

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Thanks! If you want to build one I've posted a video here kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

@rafaelmendez5758

9 ай бұрын

That’s great, thanks!

That is definitely an improvement. Super cool.

As good a Strat tone(s) as I've ever heard at any price point.

I am building a superstrat with that revoicer pedal incorporated in the pickguard utilizing a 6 position rotary switch instead of one of the tones. Basically the wiring goes from the switch output to the rotary switch with 5 condensers (one position will be bypass) then to the tone pot which will act over the selected condenser. Doing the math it will end up having 5*5+5= 30 different tones before the pot modulation. Preatty neat having that revoicer pedal incorporated!

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Very cool setup!

@theofficialdiamondlou2418

9 ай бұрын

Now your catching up with BB King.

@clemwest4536

9 ай бұрын

​@@theofficialdiamondlou2418was gonna say! Now all that's missing is an inductor...

Really interesting. I enjoy your playing too. Thanks! 🎶⭐👍

Wow, the bridge really improved. G&L does something similar with their ASATS with MFD pickups.

Thank You so much for sharing your knowledge. This is just great!

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

Hey Waylon, great mod. I use a one pickup humbucker guitar with 8 k and only a tone pot. How is the wiring here? Between the hot wire and Pot solder contact? 22nF or 33 nF or 47nF? Thank you for an info and greetings from Düsseldorf 💥😎🎸🎼

This is awesome, I'm getting on this with my tele and my strat ASAP!

This is awesome! Thankyou so much!!!

Imagine having this as a Pedal on stage 🫠

Nice one! Very cool mod 👍 Judging from the vowels and ‘heaps’ I’d guess you’re a Kiwi 🥝 I am one too but I’ve lived abroad for more than half my life. Always cool to hear the accent though! I’ve subbed and am looking forward to watching more of your vids 😊👍

This is blowing my mind. Subscribed Keep up the actual quality videos. Pickups are surrounded by so much nonsense in opinions and marketing.

Really curious about this. It got me thinking, is this the same as using a long cable that adds capacitance to your overall circuit?

This is amazing. Thanks, Waylon!

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

5 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Omg, 20 years palying and i finally understand how Tone control actually works.

I envy you guys who can play well and do great mods! Thank u young man! I have subscribed! God bless 🙏

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Thank you :)

Great info here. Thanks for this as I can see myself using this.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

8 ай бұрын

No problem, cheers!

Wow, that was quite a transformation in tone. Well worth a sub. I'm looking forward to checking out your other tips. Like a few of the other commenters, I'd also be interested in learning how to make the little test-bed pedal you demonstrated. Great stuff.

@kmichaelp4508

9 ай бұрын

I agree 100%! I was just about to say that in my own post.

@oddshot60

9 ай бұрын

Years ago I built something similar to help diagnose problems in fuel injection systems. I would definitely like to learn to build one ... VERY useful.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Done : ) kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

Cool idea and mod. I do a lot of techie work here in Canada on guitars and modding them. The hardest thing is finding capacitors here we have to go all the way to China to find the what we need. Okay so I subscribed

Thanks man! One of the most useful videos I've watched recently 🙏

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful, thanks!

Really clever mod, well done man.

Position 4 gave me tingles. Gonna defo try this, thanks for do this vid, subbed.

subscribed n shared on FB and will buy the scematic n will be building one, many thanks Waylon, A+

That was very informative. Subbed

I would love to have that beefy bridge pickup sound. Great video

Excellent video! Thanks for this. As another thought, possibly also mentioned in comments already. You could install a notched pot or 3 way micro switch (ON/ON/ON) or a push pull pot to activate different capacitance in built… thus creating a wild variety of tweaking….

That external varitone box is a really cool idea, although it will sound slightly different on the output of the guitar when compared to putting them directly in parallel with the pickup. When the caps are directly in parallel they form a resonant LC tank with the pickup's inductance. This resonance will be ever so slightly damped by the cap being after the volume and tone controls. Still, it's a good way to get an idea of the response.

@christopherventer6391

9 ай бұрын

This is only a difference if the volume control is rolled down. If it's all the way up, the cap in the box is also directly in parallel with the pickup along with the tone control (which is also a cap in parallel with the pickup, but with a pot in between) and the volume pot's total resistance value. The main difference between putting it inside the guitar vs out is that the cables also have parallel capacitance and would contribute to the resonant frequency of the peak. So, you would really also want to make sure you either measure the capacitance of the cable or use the same type and length of cable if you wanted to be able to exactly repeat it. This is kind of a variable capacitance cable, in effect. The Source Audio Zio pedal, incidentally, has a tone switch that does this with 3 cap values to choose from and then the rest of the pedal curcuitry comes after so you can dial in a consistent buffered or boosted output

Thanks man. This is gold

Cheers for a great tip! I have a question: Which cap would you put on a bridge humbucker that sounds muddy and dull?

Thank u for this fascinating video. The changes sound so dramatic- amazing mod

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

4 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Brilliant idea! Thank you for the info, keep up the good work!

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

4 ай бұрын

Thanks, will do :)

love the tip! love the playing! epic video well done

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Awesome! Thank you!

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing

Note that the input impedance and capacitance of the amp also play into this, so your mod is specific to a particular signal chain, even including the cable, to some degree. Good to hear someone explaining, without snark or exaggeration, that beyond super cheap cost compromised models, pickup choices are pretty irrelevant.

Wow the Character of the tone Change thanks mate

Just the information I needed, thanks!! I firmly believe that you get the best out of what you have till you decide to put some more money into something. I also believe that you don’t always have to spend a fortune to have a tone that’s great and unique to yourself and your video here is a fine example in my opinion. Liked and subscribed 👍

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

This is super cool! Thanks for posting!

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Sounds great. I tend to just go for whatever the the thickest cap I can find is(currently a pack of .05 orange drop's), and try to dial in the tone I'm going for. It usually works out, but I get that thick dark jazz tone that never gets used when the knob is maxed out. It's cool to have as an option though. Especially if I want to make the walls rattle some.

Excellent video Waylon there are also switches that use multiple treble bleed circuits and you flip tiny dip switches and choose which one you like.

I wonder whether this is the same effect that players used to get in a more primitive way back in the day by using long or curly cables? The effect on the bridge pickup was particularly striking.

@terryenglish7132

9 ай бұрын

Yes. Hendrix used it to tame highs

The BB King model Gibsons have a similar sort of rotary knob for various caps too. I'm surprised it never caught on more it such an easy way to change the sound of any guitar. Cheers.

@KarlKarsnark

9 ай бұрын

@@Peterbrendanalbert Yes, it has about 5-6 different positions on it, I believe.

@theofficialdiamondlou2418

9 ай бұрын

Well at least two other people know what I do. Lol. It’s like reinventing the wheel. Les Paul (the person ) designed the Varitone for BB King in the early 70’s. If I remember correctly it’s 5 positions ,and a bypass. But I could be wrong on that one. I almost bought and put one in my LTD/ESP. But did something more custom instead. 🤙

That is amazing, you really dialled that guitar in , think I am going to have to do some experiments

Great video man. Thanks

Great info and explanation. Saved me months of studying forums

Sounds great, what value cap would you recommend to tweak the bridge on a usa standard strat from '96? Im ok at soldering but crap at electronics values!!

That pedal is very creative.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Thanks! I've got a build video up as well :) kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

Loved the gizmo! Subscribed!

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIuGppeJkdq2p5M.html

As a electronic nerd who happens to play guitar, that was glorious. I love my strats but I agree with the bridge pickups being shrill for my taste. My go to has been either and HSS setup or having a mini switch to run bridge/neck together (i.e. the Gilmour switch) but I'll have to play with the caps some time to see what works best for me.

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Stoked you enjoyed it!

I've never had a use for a 0.022µF tone cap. I almost always replace them with either a 0.01µF or 0.005µF depending on the pickup. This way I have the option of in or out. On occasion I've installed pickups that sounded great save for being a bit brittle and harsh so I put a 1000pF capacitor between signal hot and ground. Tames the harsh without changing the character of the pickup drastically. The difference the 0.01µF or 0.005µF makes is even more noticeable as you add gain and more so on the bridge pickup.

I believe the electronics in Alembic basses work on a similar principle of shifting the resonant peak.

@warmetalpacifist

3 ай бұрын

Yup. It was called a Q switch or VQ potentiometer in the Series II electronics. I would say It's hard for most of us to get any of these.

Subscribed…..checked out a whole lot of your content last night. Some great stuff here for exploration…good luck with the channel

@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar

9 ай бұрын

Thanks : )