It's not my intention to badmouth the product, but this is my actual experience with it.
First, a brief recap of events:
I, like many, pre-ordered some of these as soon as the option was available. Unfortunately, immediately after shipping them out, it was discovered that the factory put in the wrong type of switch and they were recalled. I kept mine and finally found replacement switches for them.
I'm proud to say that after a slight hiccup (soldering issue on my part) the transplant was a total success. The switches operate as Duncan originally intended: I get Series, Split to Inner Coil, Split to Outer Coil, and Parallel, so Mission Accomplished. I have the equivalent of the ones that Duncan will be shipping out this week (according to the latest news, anyway).
With that out of the way, here's the review:
I'll be blunt: unless you're installing these into a guitar that has deep pickup cavities, and/or into a semihollow, and/or into a Humbuckered Strat with a big route (Universal/Swimming Pool), you will have to cut either the pickup lead down considerably or route some wood in order to get the circuit board for the Triple Shot AND the pickup to fit in the cavity. Especially if you have a fairly tall pickup. I'm using an Anderson neck pickup that is almost 3/4" tall from baseplate to bobbin in a guitar roughly the thickness of a Gibson SG, and after fighting with it for 20 minutes, I've come to the conclusion that unless I trim the pickup's lead down to about 1", it's not happening.
The immediate alternatives of routing out the base of the cavity, trimming the wires to 1" long, or using a different/thinner pickup are in no way viable options for me.
As well, during the struggle, the 4 wires that connect the switch board to the wire board broke away from the wire board. I'd say it was due to the angle at which the wires enter the board (perpendicular) as well as trying to get it to fit in a shallow cavity under a tall pickup with 9" of coiled up 4-conductor pickup lead.
I know many Puritans despise PC-style connectors like the EMG quick-connect, but that system would suit the Triple Shots a lot better than the current system IMO.
Of course the broken wire issue can be remedied - I've already done it on the Bridge ring: strip and separate the 4 wires and twist/solder them directly to the pickup's wires, then to the main points on the board.
However, the bridge pickup was a Duncan, and therefore shorter, and therefore I had more room to fit the board and the full amount of pickup lead.
The only other remedy I can think of is to extend the board's wires to the control cavity (which a quick-connect system would promote). However, most solidbody electric guitars do not have enough room in the wire channels to accommodate 2 cables of the 4-conductor diameter, so this is going to be a fight.
In summary, if you want massive tonal variety out of a guitar with at least 2 humbuckers, a Triple Shot in the neck and the bridge with 2 4-conductor pickups will, in addition to the guitar's standard controls, give you just that.
It's a great invention and one I consider the next significant revolution in the world of electric guitar. It's as big an innovation as the Humbucking Pickup.
But you should be forewarned that there are critical design differences between guitars and pickups that might just kill the dream for you unless you're willing to Frankenstein a few things. If you've found the pickups you'll be buried with, then cutting the leads down to 1" shouldn't be an issue.
For the rest of us who might decide to sell the pickups down the road, it is an issue.
If you have a pickup such as the Anderson H-1 where the leads are soldered onto the baseplate or are otherwise exposed, you can connect the switchboard wires directly to these solder joints. The pickup's 4 conductors then become the extensions of the switch wires, which means you can thread the cable to the control cavity and connect them to the wire board there.
Knowing what I know now, having gone through the hassle of the broken ribbon cable and having to Newcenstein the wiring, would I buy them again? Yes, in a New York Minute.
First, a brief recap of events:
I, like many, pre-ordered some of these as soon as the option was available. Unfortunately, immediately after shipping them out, it was discovered that the factory put in the wrong type of switch and they were recalled. I kept mine and finally found replacement switches for them.
I'm proud to say that after a slight hiccup (soldering issue on my part) the transplant was a total success. The switches operate as Duncan originally intended: I get Series, Split to Inner Coil, Split to Outer Coil, and Parallel, so Mission Accomplished. I have the equivalent of the ones that Duncan will be shipping out this week (according to the latest news, anyway).
With that out of the way, here's the review:
I'll be blunt: unless you're installing these into a guitar that has deep pickup cavities, and/or into a semihollow, and/or into a Humbuckered Strat with a big route (Universal/Swimming Pool), you will have to cut either the pickup lead down considerably or route some wood in order to get the circuit board for the Triple Shot AND the pickup to fit in the cavity. Especially if you have a fairly tall pickup. I'm using an Anderson neck pickup that is almost 3/4" tall from baseplate to bobbin in a guitar roughly the thickness of a Gibson SG, and after fighting with it for 20 minutes, I've come to the conclusion that unless I trim the pickup's lead down to about 1", it's not happening.
The immediate alternatives of routing out the base of the cavity, trimming the wires to 1" long, or using a different/thinner pickup are in no way viable options for me.
As well, during the struggle, the 4 wires that connect the switch board to the wire board broke away from the wire board. I'd say it was due to the angle at which the wires enter the board (perpendicular) as well as trying to get it to fit in a shallow cavity under a tall pickup with 9" of coiled up 4-conductor pickup lead.
I know many Puritans despise PC-style connectors like the EMG quick-connect, but that system would suit the Triple Shots a lot better than the current system IMO.
Of course the broken wire issue can be remedied - I've already done it on the Bridge ring: strip and separate the 4 wires and twist/solder them directly to the pickup's wires, then to the main points on the board.
However, the bridge pickup was a Duncan, and therefore shorter, and therefore I had more room to fit the board and the full amount of pickup lead.
The only other remedy I can think of is to extend the board's wires to the control cavity (which a quick-connect system would promote). However, most solidbody electric guitars do not have enough room in the wire channels to accommodate 2 cables of the 4-conductor diameter, so this is going to be a fight.
In summary, if you want massive tonal variety out of a guitar with at least 2 humbuckers, a Triple Shot in the neck and the bridge with 2 4-conductor pickups will, in addition to the guitar's standard controls, give you just that.
It's a great invention and one I consider the next significant revolution in the world of electric guitar. It's as big an innovation as the Humbucking Pickup.
But you should be forewarned that there are critical design differences between guitars and pickups that might just kill the dream for you unless you're willing to Frankenstein a few things. If you've found the pickups you'll be buried with, then cutting the leads down to 1" shouldn't be an issue.
For the rest of us who might decide to sell the pickups down the road, it is an issue.
If you have a pickup such as the Anderson H-1 where the leads are soldered onto the baseplate or are otherwise exposed, you can connect the switchboard wires directly to these solder joints. The pickup's 4 conductors then become the extensions of the switch wires, which means you can thread the cable to the control cavity and connect them to the wire board there.
Knowing what I know now, having gone through the hassle of the broken ribbon cable and having to Newcenstein the wiring, would I buy them again? Yes, in a New York Minute.
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