Jason Richardson Cutlass 6 push-push wiring mod, and a more general question

TSJMajesty said:
I thought you may have meant a floor switch, but I wasn't sure. No worries.

You mean push/push?

Enjoy? Ha. I don't even attempt his stuff! :tearsofjoy: Petrucci is more than enough for me. I finally got the intro riff to Never Enough up to speed!

I looked at the pros using the III, and once I learned that JP had replaced his rack units with just the Axe, that, along with many other things I heard about, did it for me. I bought it mainly to use as a multi-effects unit with the Tri Axis & 2:90, but since the amp modeling was such a welcome surprise, especially after Cygnus came along, I hardly use the Mesa gear. (I wonder how many new people read these threads and wonder, "What's this 'Cygnus' thing I keep seeing all about?" :tearsofjoy:)

This thread had me looking about around to learn more about the JR Cutlass. I already knew about the guitar, but now I really want to try one! It seems every single top is unique; Very cool. Kinda surprised at the number of them on Reverb right now, that seem to be in near-new condition, yet could probably be had for $1200 less than what a new one would set you back.
One thing that I'm certain of, just like a Majesty, you wouldn't think it's a very versatile guitar, but that's not true. I'm wondering if those sellers just didn't bond with it...
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Yeah push push like the jr7,

I am addicted to playing the main riff from titan currently (its insanityyy) , though not as perfect as him, and i used to play alot of his sweep stuff earlier, he is reason i can sweep pick.

i am also in the extremely low tuned thall , and djent phase currently, and i enjoy the chugs on the axe heck alot more than anything else.

But getting the picking hand control like him is one of my biggest playing goals.
 
guitarnerdswe said:
Having quite heavily modded both my Music Man LIIIs with circuit board etc, I would say that it's probably a lot easier than what I did. Here is how the JR looks under the hood:

IMG_5782_15776a1e-15c8-41b4-a503-db4c6c412e24.jpg


From left to right: Pickup selector switch, volume pot, boost trim pot, tone pot, and a silent circuit to keep the splits quiet (with it's own trim pot). Without having one in front of my, I can't say for certain that it's possible. You're going to have to do what I did, which is trace the circuit and wires with a multimeter to figure out how everything is connected.
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So the boost does have a trim pot. Huh. EBMM should include that info in the 'Controls' section, methinks.
 
TSJMajesty said:
It's a 20dB gain boost, but doesn't appear to be adjustable. So if you wanted adjust-ability, then yeah, a floor switch for the Axe Fx/FM3/9 would be the way to go. I like the convenience of it being on the guitar however, because since I'm not in a band atm, I never set up my switcher when playing.
Either way, I definitely like push/push knob/switches much more than push/pull.
@Cooper Carter as usual does a fantastic review of the JR Cutlass. And imo, hangs right there with Jason, but his songs are more, um, what's the word..., easier to listen to...? (Not that anybody asked ;)) And in his video, you can really hear how versatile a guitar it is.
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The boost is adjustable. 20 dB is max, not hard set at that.
 
jin1995x said:
But getting the picking hand control like him is one of my biggest playing goals.
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Yeah! It's a challenge for sure. To get that riff I mentioned, I realized I couldn't play even, consistent, alt-picked, 16th notes (which is key to not only that riff, but so much else), so I cued up Season 1 of Fargo, and just sat there with a metronome, chugging on an open low E, wishing that there was a way I could gradually increase the metronome tempo with an expression pedal. BORing, but necessary.
 
guitarnerdswe said:
People don't like alder? It's the most common solid body wood by far 😵
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Common of course , but i rarely see premium brands use them in high end guitars, very seldom do i see people choosing alder in a custom guitar as well. Probably very few 7/8's even have them, swamp ash and basswood, mahogany are the preferred ones. or it will be alder wings at best.
On 6 strings its a different story they are liked for the bright attack they have for bluesy rock tones, but when someone buys jason guitar he is more interested in metal ofcourse in most cases.

For 7's at music man only jr has an alder body and one of jp model has alder wings. All other jp guitars are some form basswood,/ mahogany/ okume. combo with a top.
 
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guitarnerdswe said:
The boost is adjustable. 20 dB is max, not hard set at that.
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Good to know. I just couldn't find it, and the back plate doesn't have any holes in which to access a trim pot (at least on the ones I saw in the videos I watched.)
guitarnerdswe said:
People don't like alder? It's the most common solid body wood by far 😵
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Is it used as a cost-saving measure? Or common due to availability? (My knowledge of guitar woods is pretty low.)
 
jin1995x said:
Common of course , but i rarely see premium brands use them in high end guitars, very seldom do i see people choosing alder in a custom guitar as well. Probably very few 7/8's even have them, swamp ash and basswood, mahogany are the preferred ones. or it will be alder wings at best.
On 6 strings its a different story they are liked for the bright attack they have for bluesy rock tones, but when someone buys jason guitar he is more interested in metal ofcourse in most cases.

For 7's at music man only jr has an alder body and one of jp model has alder wings. All other jp guitars are some form basswood,/ mahogany/ okume. combo with a top.
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I can't say that that's been my experience. 7 out Suhrs 17 regular offerings are alder. Most Tylers are alder, a lot of Anderson as well. Many Music Mans are also alder (Cutlass, Luke, Silhouette etc). And yeah, pretty much every Fender Strat variant ever. I don't know what classifies as premium though, but the first 3 are still what I think when I hear high end guitar.

On a personal note, all my custom guitars have been alder, regardless of brand.

TSJMajesty said:
Good to know. I just couldn't find it, and the back plate doesn't have any holes in which to access a trim pot (at least on the ones I saw in the videos I watched.)

Is it used as a cost-saving measure? Or common due to availability? (My knowledge of guitar woods is pretty low.)
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Some of the older JP guitars had holes through the back plate, but I haven't seen a Music Man with that feature in a long time. I think it's for shielding reasons. My HSS LIII has 4 trim pots, no holes.

The wood comment was a reply to another user 😊
 
guitarnerdswe said:
I can't say that that's been my experience. 7 out Suhrs 17 regular offerings are alder. Most Tylers are alder, a lot of Anderson as well. Many Music Mans are also alder (Cutlass, Luke, Silhouette etc). And yeah, pretty much every Fender Strat variant ever. I don't know what classifies as premium though, but the first 3 are still what I think when I hear high end guitar.

On a personal note, all my custom guitars have been alder, regardless of brand.
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Nice! Its your preference it seems

. I think i should clarify i was talking more about extended range guitars than the 6 strings,

I do mention people prefer it on 6’s for that bluesy rock tones.

Yes, luke etc are high end guitars. But the expectation when one buys a jr sig is more towards extended range metal, as thats what he is known for, even before his sig all his previous guitars were mainly other woods. Barring i think one particular model.

He sounds better to me on a majesty/jp15 than his own guitar.
 
jin1995x said:
Nice! Its your preference it seems

. I think i should clarify i was talking more about extended range guitars than the 6 strings,

I do mention people prefer it on 6’s for that bluesy rock tones.

Yes, luke etc are high end guitars. But the expectation when one buys a jr sig is more towards extended range metal, as thats what he is known for, even before his sig all his previous guitars were mainly other woods. Barring i think one particular model.

He sounds better to me on a majesty/jp15 than his own guitar.
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Yeah, I was suspecting that you meant such instruments. I'm still a super strat guy, so I'm probably not familiar what most of the multiscale/extended scale, 7-9 strings etc are made out of. Googling gave me a lot of basswood (which is the least fancy wood in my book) 😂
 
guitarnerdswe said:
Yeah, I was suspecting that you meant such instruments. I'm still a super strat guy, so I'm probably not familiar what most of the multiscale/extended scale, 7-9 strings etc are made out of. Googling gave me a lot of basswood (which is the least fancy wood in my book) 😂
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Yeah basswood or swampash with some mahogany here and there(for neckthrough construction) mahogany sounds deep and lovely when neck through , my guitar in display picture is also mahogany neckthrough.
Bass wood is bright like alder but it tends to sound more aggressive with the pick attack, which is why people prefer, especially for low tuned metal rhythm stuff.

Swamp ash has more clarity for the lower tunings Is not as bright, but still sounds apt for the lower tunings.


Attached below, is my in progress skervesen raptor 7 , which is 26-28” multiscale, swampash body, richlite black fret board, 5 pc maple/ purple heart neck.
 

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What’s the neck size on that Jason Richardson model? Is it super thin like the JP or is it more of a C shape?
 
TSJMajesty said:
I can't think of a situation in which I'd need to split coils during a song.
But the push/push function of the volume knob on the JR Cutlass (and on the Majesty) comes in real handy. You can just smack it (with a pick in your hand), get the gain boost, for say some quick harmonics like in Panama or Rest in Peace (Extreme), smack it again and go back to playing with the gain boost off. I'd imagine you could use this type of knob/switch for other wiring combinations also.
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The difficulty is finding a push-push switch that is not as fragile as a Yes album. Don't understand why NONE of them use the time-tested Bic Clic mechanism for push/push. Bic had this figured out 70 years ago....
 
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