Faultless, outstanding in every way.
I like the no solder aspect and easy pickup switching. It didn't take long to assemble. I'd like to see the ground block in another location or a terminal block instead, that took the longest, trying to get 3 wires in that block.
Solderless is the way to go! Wire retaining system is rock, or blues, (insert your genre or style of play), solid. Tinned wires are beneficial ‘though not essential.
Discerning the tone controls in the second position, all three pickups, takes a bit of playing around with to understand.
Primary reason for my interest in getting this switch was for the Telecaster sound of bridge and neck pickups. Push/pull pot is extremely smooth and takes minimal effort to lift. I use the pick to quickly lift it.
Shipping was fast, install was easy, if you’re willing to take your time anyone can perform this mod.
I put them in a Jet JS300 import guitar and they sound terrific.
I had the 50s coil split previous version, this is better. Specially the pots feel much smoother, and it turns out I prefer the 60s wiring better too.
Super easy to install with vast array of tonal options .
glad I did not pay much for this guard. I have a bullet Strat and took the chance that it would fit since it is an eleven hole guard.the furthest bottom rear screw hole was off by a whole diameter. probably fender doing. so just because you have an 11 hole guard does not mean it will fit on anything but a real Strat !
This upgrade was so easy and has made a tremendous improvement to my tele. Top notch quality components. I will definitely be using Obsidian Wire for any future upgrades I do on any of my guitars.
Loaded a new pickguard with Seymour Duncan, Classic Stack noiseless singles in the neck and middle and a 59/Custom Hybrid humbucker in the bridge.
I normally wire and solder up my own selection of pots and switches but decided to give the Custom HSS Gen 2 ObsidianWire a try in this build. I'm glad I did as its an all quality unit and the push in wire termination works a treat.
Still run a tiny bit of solder on the pick up wire ends so they would not fray when inserting into the terminal block.
If your thinking about trying this Custom HSS Gen 2 unit you will certainly be impressed by its quality build. I wondered how good the spring tension termination would be to use and it was easy with tight good connections.
It took longer to mount the pickups than to connect them. All up probably took me 1 hour to do a thorough install.
Super easy to hook up. A little tricksy with the push-button thing and getting the wire in there correctly but it works out. Biggest problem with it being "difficult" is wires that are perhaps a tad too short. But overall - not very difficult. I took it super slow and got everything right the first time. I'm psyched now because I can swap in different pickups pretty easily. I got the Universal because I initially had a humbucker on it, but ended up going back to a normal SS config. Super flexible. Love it.
Only weird thing with Youtube videos is that I only found examples from Landon Bailey (which ARE great) but he always uses the Vintage 3-Way and I had the Custom. Just a bit different but nothing to worry about.
quick, easy replacement of stock equipment; really appreciate the solderless harness setup. Solid swiching and tone control.
What a well-designed piece of kit! Gives you a lot of versatility for experimenting with different pickup combinations.
I wanted to try assembling some parts I had into an offset tele-style guitar with neck humbucker, but I didn't know anything about electronics or have soldering equipment. The Obsidian was the cleanest no-solder solution I found. I bought one with the push-pull tone pot for coil splitting a humbucker pickup and found it very easy to install. The Wago push-button terminal block on the board is perfect for guitar wiring, and less fussy than screw terminals.
If you've got a Lawing Zexcoil pickup with six individual coils, the push-pull switch as configured won't enable their "silent split". With a normal coil split, one of the coils is just sent to ground when splitting. The Zexcoil needs to be switched from series to parallel instead, which requires different wiring. If you split the Zexcoil with this configuration, you only get sound from three strings, but it works fine in non-split mode.
I emailed Obsidian with questions about the configuration and got a reply directly from the founder!
Took a minute to figure out the correct wiring.
Customer service was great.
Fast response to my questions.
I could install another 1 in no time.
So far I like it. Seems to be high quality.
I usually solder.
I see the benefits of a quick pup swap.
Awesome product! Super easy install. Works flawlessly. No dead spots, scratching, hissing, or any other anomalies. Couldn't be happier. Fretless Jazz Bass with passive Bartolini's.
Vintage '3-Way' for Tele®
Love the new switch on my Les Paul custom definitely will be coming back to buy more for 👌🏻
This was really a no brainer install, like 15-20 mins from start to playing again. I've had a few similar harnesses in the past, but this one seems built like a tank. It will outlive the guitar, surely.
I had really nice upgraded electronics in my 60th anniversary American Strat, but wanted to check out the Gilmour mod and super glad I did, really opened up new tones that I’ve been looking for. I do still like the taper on the other volume pot better, smoother control, but otherwise surprisingly satisfied with the system, I can’t stop playing! Highly recommended, AAAA++++.
Put in a 60th Anniversary American Strat and I play through a Blues Jr IV with BillM modes and upgraded Celestion G12H Heritage greenback.
I purchased and installed the Vintage '3-Way' for Tele® × 1 Loaded Control Plate.
I had no experience replacing controls in a guitar.
The kit ( including the instructions ) exceeded my expectations. The instructions are well written. The kit was easy to install. The controls work great!
I highly recommend this kit.
This is my fourth or fifth order from Obsidian. Honestly, I can do this myself, but why on Earth would I when the build quality of the Obsidian products is out of this world. I have loved every product. The Blender is no different. I wanted the John Frusciante sound. The guitar sounds amazing. My playing still needs work. Maybe another 25 years of playing and I will finally accomplish his sound/style.
Really nice and neat loaded jazz plate, Sounds great
HHS Loaded Pickguard for Strat
ObsidianWire™ Universal Blender G2
ToneRider® THE ALNICO II - TRS4 & (AC2 NICKEL)
I am partial to the versatility of the HSS configuration and wanted to bring life to my SSS guitar. (USA 2009 Fender Standard Stratocaster). This universal blender harness made it even more versatile with the ability to blend neck & bridge pickups to taste, bringing tonal capabilities to a minimum of 9 tones. The quality pots allow you to find the sweet spot in just about every configuration. Plus, I really needed a tone bleed circuit. The ToneRider® pickups are absolutely amazing and have a clarity and articulation that totally achieves that "sound" I've been yearning for. The sound that makes your eyes close in sheer satisfaction.
The build and the components used feel extremely high-quality and you can tell someone put a lot of love putting it together with it's intricate lines and precise wire cuts. Everything down to the switch and provided PureTone output jack just scream quality. Better yet, the shipment only took less than 7 days to get to my doorstep. That's over 12,000 kilometers my friends.
The installation only took me about 25 minutes to perform, simply by following the provided instructions. I'm not a very technical person, but I can follow directions. If I'm being completely honest, the most difficult and time-consuming part of the install, was the removal of the plastic from the pickguard and humbucker after the fact. Again, be slow and methodical about it. Go grab a scotch neat, and chill. Overall, ObsidianWire® gave me an exquisite experience from the unboxing to strumming my first chords, pure magic and delight. I guess my only complaint now is that all my other guitars will be closet queens. Thank you ObsidianWire® for everything!
Knobs fit perfectly on the MKII kit I received as a gift. Kit also fits nicely into my Vega Les Paul which I originally bought in 1984. Only had to open the holes for the pots. Paired with Seymour Duncan Hot Rodded pickups. Sounds awesome. Thanks Obsidian Wire for great products. Simply Awesome.
Love this. The clarity and range of sounds is just unbelievable. Took me a bit longer to install because I had to drill out the pot holes on my Epiphone because they were too small, so just beware of that possibility. Other than that, I would 100% recommend. Worth every penny.
J-bass drop in is a more complicated (more wires) but this p-bass drop-in is a piece of cake.