#169655  by KirstieTheWolf
 
Hi! Been studying the wiring of Jerry's guitars and I got kinda fascinated with the way he wired his tone. Like most of his solutions it is kinda crazy but I really don't see the benefit. Most guitars that share neck and middle tone just use a jumper on the switch to share a single tone pot and it works. Is his way better? On tiger and wolf it kind makes sense with the 250k/½M but it is peculiar still since he used the humbuckers split so ½M for the neck too would be more uniform. Did he just really like the different value it would be in the middle position? I'm kinda surprised he didn't take it all out at that point and just had 3 tone knobs.
 #169855  by wpmartin1979
 
KirstieTheWolf wrote: Sun Feb 07, 2021 7:02 am Hi! Been studying the wiring of Jerry's guitars and I got kinda fascinated with the way he wired his tone. Like most of his solutions it is kinda crazy but I really don't see the benefit. Most guitars that share neck and middle tone just use a jumper on the switch to share a single tone pot and it works. Is his way better? On tiger and wolf it kind makes sense with the 250k/½M but it is peculiar still since he used the humbuckers split so ½M for the neck too would be more uniform. Did he just really like the different value it would be in the middle position? I'm kinda surprised he didn't take it all out at that point and just had 3 tone knobs.
Interesting question, and I really don’t have the technical answer. Here is a philosophical one though:
Jerry was very experimental. He experimented in everything he did. Also, the 80s were a very experimental time with gear and electronics in general. New break through a were emerging all the time from experimentation.
Jerry also did some irrational things with his gear like mic a 2,000 watt power amp. In other words he used a super high power power amp even though he was mic’ing the speakers into the mix. Kimock has talked about this on a Gear Page thread somewhere I believe.
Now some have argued that Jerry did not have a say in the design of his guitars. I personally don’t believe that and I have argued that he must have had conversations with Doug about his guitars, but some in this forum will argue that he didn’t have anything to do with the design at all. In that case, it would have been completely up to Doug Irwin how the guitars were wired.
Either way, I would go back to the experimentation thesis. Some stuff from that era makes a lot of sense, but some stuff seems silly to us now because of all the advances we have made since then.
 #169856  by TI4-1009
 
I think I've read that when Jerry got the guitars from Doug, Steve would take them into Gary Brawer for "Browerization".

I always figured the dual pot was due to the humbucker/single coil.

When I did my Wolfish I just opted for the three tone pots.
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 #169862  by lbpesq
 
Alligator used a dual tone pot that operated the neck and bridge pickups (as opposed to the normal Strat wiring that leaves the bridge pickup with no tone control). That’s how I build mine.

And it is true that Gary Brawer did the electronics in the Irwin guitars.

Bill, tgo
 #169889  by wpmartin1979
 
lbpesq wrote: Sun Feb 14, 2021 7:19 pm Alligator used a dual tone pot that operated the neck and bridge pickups (as opposed to the normal Strat wiring that leaves the bridge pickup with no tone control). That’s how I build mine.

And it is true that Gary Brawer did the electronics in the Irwin guitars.

Bill, tgo
So to your knowledge did Jerry have a say in how his guitars were wired or did he have the same “hands off” arrangement with Brawer as he did with Irwin?
 #169891  by strumminsix
 
TI4-1009 wrote: Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:43 pm I think I've read that when Jerry got the guitars from Doug, Steve would take them into Gary Brawer for "Browerization".

I always figured the dual pot was due to the humbucker/single coil.

When I did my Wolfish I just opted for the three tone pots.
Read similar that guitars came form Doug, then got Jerrified on the electronics.
 #169906  by lbpesq
 
wpmartin1979 wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 6:27 amto your knowledge did Jerry have a say in how his guitars were wired or did he have the same “hands off” arrangement with Brawer as he did with Irwin?

I assume you are referring to our previous conversation specifically regarding Tiger. I merely posted a portion of an interview with Doug Irwin in which he said that Jerry gave him free rein with Tiger. I can appreciate that you don’t believe it to be true. I have never discussed the accuracy of his statement in the interview with Doug. I have no personal knowledge of the veracity of Doug’s statement, but I also have no reason to doubt it. You can read the full interview over at dozin.com.

As for whether Jerry had input with Gary Brawer regarding the electronics in his guitars, I would assume he did and, having worked on several of Jerry’s guitars, Gary already had a pretty good idea of Jerry’s preferences but, again, I have no personal knowledge and have never discussed this particular question with Gary. I haven’t been to Gary’s shop in over a year now, due to the pandemic, but if I remember, I’ll ask him the next time I see him.

Bill, tgo
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 #169916  by ac4468
 
Also, wiring it with a stacked pot would allow you to change to any combination of values without having to rewire anything else. You would just need to change the pot. With a Single pot, switching to a stacked pot with multiple values isn’t as quick. Of course this is all theoretical. I’ve done both and frankly find the single pot method perfectly acceptable end it gives you more choices in brand and quality.
 #169922  by strumminsix
 
lbpesq wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 12:27 pm
wpmartin1979 wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 6:27 amto your knowledge did Jerry have a say in how his guitars were wired or did he have the same “hands off” arrangement with Brawer as he did with Irwin?

I assume you are referring to our previous conversation specifically regarding Tiger. I merely posted a portion of an interview with Doug Irwin in which he said that Jerry gave him free rein with Tiger. I can appreciate that you don’t believe it to be true. I have never discussed the accuracy of his statement in the interview with Doug. I have no personal knowledge of the veracity of Doug’s statement, but I also have no reason to doubt it. You can read the full interview over at dozin.com.

As for whether Jerry had input with Gary Brawer regarding the electronics in his guitars, I would assume he did and, having worked on several of Jerry’s guitars, Gary already had a pretty good idea of Jerry’s preferences but, again, I have no personal knowledge and have never discussed this particular question with Gary. I haven’t been to Gary’s shop in over a year now, due to the pandemic, but if I remember, I’ll ask him the next time I see him.

Bill, tgo
I'm picking up what I think you're throwing down:
Irwin built with free reign on the look, feel, etc of the guitars
Gary setup and electrified it to JG's specs

At least that's how I always assumed it went down.
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