Godin Mods: Look out - He's got a soldering iron and he's not afraid to use it!

[DarthWombat]

G'day all...

I have a Godin Freeway SA with an HSH configuration. The middle pickup is almost unusable due to noise, so I'd really like to replace the stock one with a comparable noiseless one. I've already had a go once with what I think was a Seymour Duncan vintage stack neck pickup, but I found it way too quiet to mix with the humbuckers and put it straight back on eBay. (While I was doing this, I forgot to measure the DC impedance of the existing pickups - d'Oh!)

My first question is whether I should go for something like the Fender hot noiseless or Duncan hot rails BRIDGE models to replace the middle pickup. Is there any rule of thumb which uses DC resistance to match a single coil to humbucker pickups? The stock Godin humbuckers are pretty ordinary but sound OK - I actually like their thinner sound which allows me to fake a passable single-coil tone without coil taps. I play in a covers band so versatility is a major objective. I also don't want to go drilling holes in the pretty wooden top of the Godin if I can help it, so I would prefer to use push/pull pot switches to replace the existing pots.

Instead of just replacing the middle (single coil) pickup, can anyone suggest a full matched set of HSH pickups which would deliver a wide range of tonal possibilities? I personally lean towards the warm David Gilmour sound, but I still need to be able to do vintage-type tones for 50's rock'n'roll, big power chords for 80's spandex rock or raw AC/DC-type grunt. It's simple really: I just want it all from one guitar (and my trusty GT-8)...

Once I've sorted the magnetic pickups out, it's time to turn my Godin Freeway SA into a three-voice model. Despite the fact that this guitar is not sold as such, I have found out that the Graphtec heaxphonic pre-amp and piezo pickups are the same as in the higher-end Godins, which will allow me to use the piezo signal to get a more realistic accoustic tone. I've already got some pointers from Graphtec when I contacted them to resolve a noise problem (N.B: ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROVIDED BY GRAPHTEC, ABSOLUTELY STUFF-ALL FROM GODIN).

What I need to know is how best to use a DPDT push/pull pot switch between the magnetic and piezo signals. My thoughts are to run the input and output signals to/from the volume/tone circuitry each to one side of the switch so that I can use the same control pots for either signal while completely isolating the unused one. Note that on the pre-amp, there is a separate input for both the magnetic and peizo signals.

Has anyone out there attempted this kind of butchery before? Or has anyone got a genuine three-voice Godin they've pulled apart? Sorry about the long post, but I thought I'd hit you with the whole lot at once so you can get an idea of where I'm trying to go with all this. Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Alex.

[David Schwab]

I recently installed some pickups into a customers guitar. It was a Squire strat with two pickups, the kind that looks like a '51 P-bass.

So he used a Duncan Invader at the bridge... very loud pickup.

For the neck pickup he used a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Solo Pro. It's a stacked Strat size pickup.

I hadn't used one of these before, and I'm not a big DiMarzio fan, but this was an outstanding pickup. It has alnico II magnets. Great single coil tone with no noise. They say it was meant to have a P-90 vibe. It should fit right in with the humbuckers.

[DarthWombat]

Thanks for the diMarzio suggestion, Dave - Output-wise, though: how do you think it would go? Would I need to go for the bridge model (as opposed to the neck) to match the humbuckers? I wasn't specifically chasing the vintage single-coil tone per-se (it was more a case of not wanting to butcher the woodwork to replace the existing pickup) so I hadn't considered the Virtual Vintage Solo Pro. I'll see whether I can get a listen to one locally.
Thanks again,
Alex.

[David Schwab]

It's a pretty loud pickup. Considering it was in a guitar with a Duncan Invader, and it didn't seem under powered. It got a good neck tone like Slash from GnR got.

Otherwise you need to go with one of those side-by-side dual rail types. They pretty much sound like humbuckers.

[DarthWombat]

If the diMarzio can cut it with a Duncan Invader, then I'm sure it'd be fine with the Godin-badged humbuckers. They don't seem to be super-hot or anything.

Can you recall whether it was a bridge model or a neck/middle one? I believe that bridge pickups tend to have more turns (and, hence, a higher DC resistance) to allow for the smaller string movement towards the bridge. Maybe it'd be overkill to put a bridge model in the middle position, maybe not: I just don't know... ...What do you think?

[David Schwab]

It's supposed to be for the bridge position I think... they don't say. The Virtual Vintage Solo is for the bridge, but they say it can be used anywhere. The Solo Pro has slightly less windings and uses Alnico II's.

[DarthWombat]

Any idea what the DC resistance of any of your pickups was? I'm thinking that it might be a useful reference point, but I do know that the Duncan stack pickups seem to have a DC resistance around twice that of comparable-output single coils.

Just as a side-note, while I'm trying to make up my mind what HSH pickups to use, I discovered that my existing five-way switch had a spare set of contacts and my humbuckers had four conductors, so I wired in an auto-coil-tap for positions 2 & 4 (as per http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/WDUHSH5L1101 ). Now I can use 4/5 positions without noise (not the middle on its own), instead of just 2/5 (neck & bridge), and the Godin definitely sounds more "Stratty" in the blend positions. Cheap mod, instant results! I didn't even have to take off the strings!

Longer term, I'd still like to upgrade my pickups though, so I still have to decide on a matched set. I now have to think about the fact that the two coil-tapped blend positions will NOT benefit from a noiseless single-coil middle pickup. To tap or not to tap - life just gets more and more complicated...

[David Schwab]

Originally Posted by DarthWombat

Any idea what the DC resistance of any of your pickups was?

10.72 for a Solo Pro, and 10.85 for the Solo.

Originally Posted by DarthWombat

I'm thinking that it might be a useful reference point, but I do know that the Duncan stack pickups seem to have a DC resistance around twice that of comparable-output single coils.

Yeah, many stacks are like that. I think it's to make up for them being thin sounding.

The old DiMarzio HS-3 is 23.72K!

[Guitarist]

Just wondering where your axe is at? My Godin Solidac Lacewood has HSH and a piezo wammy-bridge. I swapped out all the pickups and ordered Bill Lawrence and after a while wired up a Superswitch w. push pull pot which makes it an very $%^&*(!@'ing versatile machine. I even added a piezo disk (crazy glued in neck-pup cavity) in parallel with the LRBaggs hexs for a truer acoustic tone. Only Carvin got this approach right by NOT using a metal bridge but ebony and so those electrics get an amazing acoustic sound.

Godins rule, O Canada...

10 sounds, added a Q filter (yes it sounds like it peels off windings as you turn the pot) + cap on the same control (middle leg is feed).
I earlier wired in a fet to buffer these pickups. You have a battery there so why not use the B+. I, however hate the buffered sound so removed it. Hold the phone: actually that J021 fet now buffers the $1 piezo disk which then feeds into the Baggs' board someplace resulting in the acoustic blend.

I have a Digitech rack unit, GSP1101, which has an volume pedal input which can be assigned to adjust any parameter. I thought, why not wire that up to a spare guitar pot - thus midi control on a guitar.
Do I hear a, "Oooooooaaaaahhh."? Mmmm, hang on, actually I could do that with the trs jack as well to toggle patches. Ahhh.
What would be a good multi-pin jack type for this? Ach, pedals are probably better anyways.

Guitarist

[DarthWombat]

Wow - I thought I was doing some heavy-duty Godin butchery! I take my hat off to you, Guitarist - that's some FrankenGodin you've got there! If I ever get bored with the noises I get out of my Godin, I'll be sure to hit you for some schematics.

Anyway, the story so far...
I still have all the factory pickups in, but I've wired the humbuckers do do an auto-coil tap in positions 2 & 4 in with the existing 5-position switch. This has largely solved my noise problem with the single coil (with two of the three positions, anyway) and gives me a much more Stratty sound in those blended positions. I will probably think about replacing the factory pickups sometime down the track, but they're doing the job at the moment.

I wound up putting in a push-pull DPDT (replacing the synth volume pot) to switch between the magnetic & piezo sounds. I also had to replace the SPDT source selection switch with a centre-on DPDT to make sure either un-used signal gets earthed (in order to prevent signal leakage). I didn't bother going for a blended piezo/magnetic sound because I wanted to keep it simple - I use the same volume and tone controls for both the magnetic piezo sounds (no extra holes drilled in the pretty wooden top).

Now I get four noiseless (and really useful) magnetic sounds and a pretty damn good accoustic guitar sound when I use the piezo source (massaged with the GT-8) - perfect for covers work. Call me a wuss, but I'll probably leave it there - I'm pretty happy with what I've got. The Graphtec graphite hexaphonic saddles make for a really nice accoustic sound and I've only spent about USD$10 in parts to get it!

[scarpo69]

G´DAY ALL ... 1st. sorry for my english. jeje
i have a godin multiac nylon SA & the 3rd. pickup is damaged i think....beacuse is no working... the others pickups have a really good sound but the 3rd is dead. & my question is: how can i get a new one ? o maybe have a solution with a luthier ...or i have to buy the six pickups? where can i buy it? what can i do? i don´t know what i have to do...

thanks. greetings.

Alex Can

[DarthWombat]

G'day Scarpo69...

Try http://www.graphtech.com/ for support on your pickups and pre-amp - they manufactured the OEM unit in my Godin Freeway SA (not 100% sure about your nylon string version, but I reckon it'd have to be them). Godin didn't even answer my e-mails, but the folks at Graphtec were extremely helpful - I'd start there.

I hope this helps,

Alex,

[scarpo69]

thank u friend, I´m from cancun mexico & i´m so far away from Canadá jeje....this tip is really good ... & I think it´s the better thing i have to do...

thank you again.