X100 Bladerunner Question

[Dylan McGee Jones]

Has anybody had a issue with a 'honk' sort of digital sounding breakup when the fat switch is engaged? I lowered the pickup but that doesn't seem to solve anything, and I replaced the battery. Also, does the 'tone' knob act more like a volume boost than a tone?

 

[GAD]

Moved to its own thread.

 

[GAD]

If memory serves it’s not a tone knob but more of a shaping knob but I could be confusing it with something else. I’ll check my docs later this morning.

 

[GAD]

According to my notes (which are not infallible) the "fat" control is an EMG-SPC. Here's the original ad for the SPC:

For a description of how it works, at least on a single coil, check out the electronics section of my X92 Citron review:

Guild X92 Citron Breakaway | GAD's Ramblings

Today’s rare guitar is the Guild X92 Citron Breakaway from the depths of 1984 which was a rare time in history when guitarists actually seemed open to new ideas. Follow along while I tear this Guild/Citron collaboration down to see what makes it tick while also delving into the history of a...

www.gad.net

 

[Dylan McGee Jones]

Ok this somewhat makes sense. Im not sure why you would want to fatten up the midrange on an active humbucker though (nobody is playing slide on this thing thats for sure!). Does the mini-toggle switch split the coil then? Maybe that's the reasoning and then you can fatten it up more if needed?

The X100 basically has four sounds -
toggle down fat knob down - thin (single coil)
toggle down fat knob up - mid range (hum bucker-ish, or single coil with tube screamer engaged is appropriate)
toggle up fat knob down - hot EMG humbucker
toggle up fat knob up - way too much mid range and super hot - I assume for leads

This still doesn't solve my issue with the sound being overly aggressive and distorting the input of my amp in a way that does not sound natural, more like digital clipping on any setting that isn't the 'single coil' setting, which defeats the whole purpose of the wiring of the guitar, and the guitar itself really (minus the badass body design).

Does anybody have a picture of the interior cavity by chance? I see in the Citron review that the wires are sliced and taped with electrical tape just like mine. Its kind of a rats nest IMO. I also experienced a battery loosely placed in the cavity and wrapped with thin black foam and a rubber band as GAD described. I put a new one in and put Velcro on it and the interior of the cavity so it wouldn't move around and disturb the wiring. Is there supposed to be a battery compartment inside?

Thanks @GAD !!

Dylan

 

[GAD]

The mini toggle was advertised as a "coil tap". If that's an EMG 81 (which is what my pink one had) then it cant be split or tapped. It's been a while and I don't recall how it's wired. I don't believe there was a battery clip in mine. If memory serves the battery was originally wrapped in that black foam-looking stuff that was popular in the '80s but deteriorated into dust 20 years later.

 

[Dylan McGee Jones]

All this makes sense to me, and the interior looks the exact same as mine so wow what a mess lol. So the pickup cant be split? It sounds like it is, sort of, but almost like it doesn't really want to be. I don't like the sound very much to be honest, I have to sit with it more and feel out where the mojo resides. 4 tones in one pickup is cool, but it probably requires the right half stack/high gain amp to bring it to life - which i don't have, nor do i want. They should have just put a DiMarzio SD in there and called it a day, even an XR7 would have been better.

 

[GAD]

All this makes sense to me, and the interior looks the exact same as mine so wow what a mess lol. So the pickup cant be split? It sounds like it is, sort of, but almost like it doesn't really want to be. I don't like the sound very much to be honest, I have to sit with it more and feel out where the mojo resides. 4 tones in one pickup is cool, but it probably requires the right half stack/high gain amp to bring it to life - which i don't have, nor do i want. They should have just put a DiMarzio SD in there and called it a day, even an XR7 would have been better.

Most of the ‘80s Guild electrics I’ve encountered had ugly wiring like that. At least the “new” and very ‘80s looking models.

You gotta remember that in the ‘80s rock scene EMGs were *huge* so it likely would have been a selling point to have EMGs in these guitars. EMGs are often described as “sterile” because they lack the character that we all love from a vintage PAF or HB1, but they sound amazing through a high-gain rig where the character is all amp. Remember, too, that back then we were all chasing higher output pickups to overdrive those rack setups, and traditional passive pickups turn to mud when the output increases. The EMGs solved that problem.

There are definitely players who like EMGs for clean playing or jazz, but for me at least they shine with high gain rigs. And just look at that guitar - it wants to drive an amp into screaming sustain.

 

[Dylan McGee Jones]

I totally get the EMG philosophy, and truthfully I’ve never been in a situation where they were necessary for me to get good tone out of my rig. But I do have a S-284 Aviator with EMGs and it sounds great through my AC30 and Fender Super Reverb.

The Bladerunner is ‘quacking’ or digitally clipping, at least it sounds that way in certain setttings, specifically with the toggle switch up. I don’t think it matters what amp/preamp you put it though. Is it due to being active? The Aviator is as well (both EMG 81’s). Any suggestions?

 

[GAD]

Looking at my notes I believe the switch is an EMG Dual Mode Switch Kit (DMSK) which is essentially nothing more than a switched capacitor. On mine it's switching in a .005uF cap which would act as a 338Hz roll-off. Here's the EMG spec sheet on the DMSK:

It's been a while since I played mine (I now have two) but if I get a chance I'll pull one out and check on it. My recordings, which are from five years and three rigs ago make it seem like it's just as described - a sort of tone switch.

 

[Dylan McGee Jones]

Soooooo I did a final setup of my Bladerunner and the 'quack' sound is gone! I think what was happening is that the bridge saddles were rattling against eachother in a way that the pickup was amplifying it and made it sound terrible on clean amp settings. The Kahler has saddle spacing adjustment screws (ridiculous IMO, but it was meant to be a universal accessory for any brand and neck spacing differed so I get it) and i was able to separate them all and eliminate the buzz. What a weird contraption that is a real pain in the ass to setup, plus the intonation and adjustments screws are under each string . Ive set Kahler's up before but i forgot how finicky they are. Anyways, problem solved.

I also lowered the pickup to reduce the output levels to my AC30 which helped a bit, but ultimately yes this guitar is meant for high-gain amp settings. Now that i can hear the pickup clearly with the buzz sound gone, the switch is a 'coil tap' or capacitor rolloff with the effect of a coil tap. The 'tone' knob is described as a 'fat control' which as GAD said is more like a shaping knob that boosts the mid-range as it is turned up. You could look at it more like a lead sound in whichever pickup mode you switch it to. For instance -

Switch down / Shape knob down - thinner single coil 'strat' rhythm sound
Switch down / Shape knob up - mid-range boost for singe coil lead or similar PAF humbucker sound
Switch up / Shape knob down - PAF SG-like rhythm sound
Switch up / Shape knob up - Hot EMG lead sound with mid-range boost - really great sustain and overtones above the 12th fret

I get it now! If there is ever a gig where this guitar applies itself appropriately ill bring it out, but with all the fragile body angles and specific pickup application i can see why these mostly remain indoors. They looks soooooo badass though, and the body weight and comfortability of the neck is incredible, like a lighter Gibson Explorer. Way to go Guild! Definitely not reissue worthy but a cool piece of rock-n-roll history.