The fastest moving target in the bunch. Too many changes to list over the years. Started as a bog standard 2002 Hwy. 1 Strat, three singles, three knobs, one switch. Probably spent longest with Lawrence L220SN, L220SM, and L298TL pickups (yes, a Tele bridge pickup, at the proper slant and position), which is a really good combo. Currently has the PRS 245SE bridge as a placeholder, awaiting a final choice there, and a pair of Split Blades, along with my super 5 way and 3-way toggle combo, and master passive bass and treble pots, per the common G&L sett-up. Currently eyeing up either Madlove or The Creamery for their CuNiFe magnet HB-sized "Wide Range" humbucker as candidates for the bridge spot, but not there yet....
EDIT:
I may have mentioned this was the fastest moving target in the mods bunch.
When I dropped in the 245S, I had already remembered that I had a Lawrence L500R sitting around in the drawer. Just an hour ago tonight, at 2am, I remembered
WHY it was in the drawer. I didn't want to use it due to the L500 R/L set in my old '08 Studio LP being too loud compared to my other guitars. Somehow that got simplified in my brain to "I don't want to use this pickup". I'm glad the rest of the equation popped into my brain finally....
Turns out it is just what the doctor ordered. A
little bit louder than the 245S, but with that famous Lawrence clarity and wide-ranging tone.
In parallel, it works nicely to fill out the lows on the Strat bridge pickup sound, while retaining the highs and clarity. Combines with either of the other pickups quite well for a fantastically sweet and quacky bridge+middle, a wonderfully clean and clucky bridge+neck tone, and a nice, politely-snarky bridge+neck 1/2 out-of-phase tone.
Push in the S1 to get the bridge in series, and the neck+bridge combo gets a little bit more "Tele" flavor, from the pickup loading changeover from bridge loading neck to neck loading bridge (the lower impedance coil tends to dominate when pickups are not matched in level/impedance). The 1/2 OOP sounds a bit more snarky and aggressive with the bridge in series. Lastly, you get a bit more midrange heat with the bridge alone in series, while retaining the clarity in the lows and highs....
EDIT 2:
L500L arrived just before lunch today, and was installed and initial tests done before the USPS notification arrived that it was delivered....
The L500R was a big step in the right direction, and could squeak out enough level if adjusted really close, but all the close-pickup brights in parallel mode were a little more than I wanted. Upping to the L fixes that. At the famous "one nickel, two nickels" height starting point, it is really close to optimal in parallel and has some really nice whomp in series. Parallel with the L500L hits right between parallel and series on the R, and series on the L500L hits a notch up from series on the R. All the combinations with middle and neck sound good in either parallel or series, even the half-OOP really shines with a nice bit of nasal honk, in two flavors....
The inside coils approach the Strat-esque quacky, jangly while retaining a separate voice, and are just a little quieter and more delicate than the outside coils due to the pole pieces being closer to the strings on the outside pair.
