Ben Smith explains and demonstrates use of the most versatile Rees HSH.2 pickup controls in this video:
Controls
You can have any controls you like on a custom Rees guitar. The standard control chamber is deliberately large. However these are the control sets I recommend, having developed them to be very versatile, elegant and simple to use, well matched and tested with particular pickup sets. ( I am a Cambridge graduate electronic engineer.)
Video Demo
Ben Smith explains and demonstrates use of the most versatile Rees HSH.2 pickup controls in this
video:
A Guitarist's Explanation of Wiring Mode Choices:
A single master volume or two pickup volumes?
A single volume
control is quickest and most certain in use. Easiest for performing.
Two volumes:
Being able to set the volume different for each pickup and flick a switch between them may be useful.
When both pickups are used together in normal mode, the voice character changes significantly from 100%+80% to 100%+100% to 80%+100%. When both are full-on the pickups talk into each other making the sound more stable but a bit nasal. Backing one or the other off a bit cleans up and opens the voice.
Humbucker and Single-Coil Voices
You know how a humbucker sounds, and you know how a good singe-coil (strat-like) pickup sounds.
Technically a humbucker is two singe-coil pickups wired in series (see below). That makes it twice as loud if the coils are identical, and fuller and fatter sounding than a single-coil because it is sensing a longer length of the strings. "Coil-splitting" a humbucker down to a single-coil makes it sound like a strat pickup. However this does not sound great with common shorter necks (because the strings have less energy) and not great with vintage wound humbuckers because each coil has less winds and less output than a strat pickup. However the majority of Rees guitars that have 25.5 in necks and high output scatter wound pickups also provide excellent singe-coil voices and this is implemented in every recommended control set.
Normal (=parallel) wiring and Series wiring
Geeksville. Don't Panic! Lets explain it by imagining two acrobatic human vocalists pretending to be guitar pickups.
When the duo sing together side-by-side (=parallel), as on most guitars' middle pickup selector, they stand close together and sing facing each other and not the audience. The result is a sound that is fuller, balanced and controlled, not louder than one facing the audience, and a bit nasal. This is because parallel coils project their electronic sound signal into each other as well as into the amp.
To emulate a pair of pickup coils in series, one of the singing duo stands on the shoulders of the other. Both face the audience. The resultant sound is loud, full, and open. This is very useful, but not used on common guitars because the change of volume when moving the pickup selector switch is irritating to many guitarists. Rees guitars avoid this problem by putting the series wiring as a different mode.
Phased wiring
Crazy stuff now. One of the pickups is wired the wrong-way-round! (= in anti-phase). So one of our vocalists is standing on his head.
The voice is chimey and quacky and a bit thin on bass. Perhaps not useful to many guys? Turn the bass up on the amp, use a single coil with a humbucker and it's getting very interesting. Play in a band and for certain songs you have a distinctive magic voice that cuts right to the front without drowning out the other guys at all! It's a special use thing.
Humbucker Pickups
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Rees 2010 Controls: This is tonally four guitars in one, each having a 3-way pickup selector that works as you would expect. That adds up to 12 various voices that are all very useful! The rotary voice character switch effectively changes the voice of both pickups to select a different type of guitar thus: |
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HH.1 Controls: Quite minimalist, but it still has 6 great voices. Hear this in the Rees R2 sound recordings |
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HH.2 Controls: Offers control of each pickup separately. |
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HH.3 Controls: Toggle Pickup Selector: Neck PU; Both PUs; Bridge PU Neck PU Volume knob (pull to make Neck PU Single-Coil) Bridge PU Volume knob (pull to make Bridge PU Single-Coil) Neck PU Tone knob Bridge PU Tone knob These controls are the same as on many Gibson guitars, but with the addition of pull switches for single-coils. |
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HH.4 Controls: This is a "do-all-tricks" wiring that is elegant and easy to use. Hear most of this in the Rees F2 sound recordings |
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HH.5 Controls: This is a "do-all-tricks" wiring similar to that used by Jimmy Page. |
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HH.6 Controls: For humbuckers the middle pickup selector makes a middle humbucker voice using one coil of each pickup together in series. This is an excellent voice, less nasal than the HH.1, and very effective with a P-Rails bridge pickup. For single-coils the middle pickup selector works normally like the HH.1. Hear this in the Rees G90 sound recordings |
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HH.7 Controls: This is a powerful range of 9 voices, yet it is very simple to use. The 3-way pickup selector always works in all 3 modes as you would expect. The rotary mode switch effectively changes the voice of both pickups thus: An optional extra pull switch can be added on the tone knob to add an anti-phase effect. |
P90 Pickups
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P90.1 Controls: Minimalist Hear this in the Rees Rambler sound recordings |
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P90.2 Controls: P90s With tricks |
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P90.3 Controls: Toggle Pickup Selector: Neck PU; Both PUs; Bridge PU Neck PU Volume knob Bridge PU Volume knob (pull to make Phased when both PUs used) Tone knob (pull to mix both pickups in Series) Mixing pickups 80% + 100% is nice with P90s Hear the 2 volume mixes in the Rees Rambler sound recordings |
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P90.4 Controls: Toggle Pickup Selector: Neck PU; Both PUs; Bridge PU Neck PU Volume knob Bridge PU Volume knob Neck PU Tone knob (pull to make Phased when both PUs used) Bridge PU Tone knob (pull to mix both pickups in Series) These controls are the same as on many Gibson guitars, |
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P90.5 Controls: Toggle Pickup Selector: Neck PU; Both PUs; Bridge PU Neck PU Volume knob Bridge PU Volume knob Tone knob Mixing pickups 80% + 100% is nice with P90s Hear the 2 volume mixes in the Rees Rambler sound recordings |
Humbucker + Strat + Humbucker Pickups
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HSH.1 Controls: This circuit is very cunning and unique to Rees. The mid humbucker is made of a bridge coil and a neck coil and sounds like a single humbucker in the middle. The position 2 and 4 in-between sounds have the expected nasal quality. Works best with a vintage strat pickup in the middle so that all single-coil selections are similar volume and sound like a strat. All 5 humbucker selections are of similar volume, but as expected, louder than single-coils. Hear this in the Rees S5 vibrato guitar and Rees S5H guitar sound recordings. |
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HSH.2 Controls: This is a "do-it-all power-axe" (particularly with a P-Rails that adds P90 voices). |