The variations in each of these Healers lately have really been keeping me on my toes. Jon H @radio.gra of @kowloonwalled had some great ideas about what he wanted for his Healer to compliment his other gear.
This one is unique in that the pickup configuration is based on Robbie Robertson’s Last Waltz Stratocaster where the Bridge and Middle pickups are slammed side by side instead of the usual spacing. Robbie’s 1954 Strat probably wouldn’t have had a Reverse Wound / Reverse Polarity (RWRP) middle pickup though, unless someone modified it beyond moving the pickups. That means that no selection would have been Hum-cancelling despite looking like a humbucker.
Humbuckers are cool though so what we did here was have Rob @geminipickups make a modern set with the RWRP middle pickup so the Bridge and Middle pickups can run in SERIES or PARALLEL when they’re on together so they do indeed Hum-cancel. To further the awesomeness, when the 5 way switch is in the 4 position (normally neck and middle) and the push/pull pot is pulled up, ALL 3 pickups are ON. None of this is actually complicated either, very user friendly, but hard to write out.
Long story short, there’s a lot of great tones here! The Swamp ash body is really light and resonant. The maple neck and fretboard are a matched cut from a set of wood I got from a furniture maker and it is stable as heck. The satin Gold finish wraps over the top radius as well as the headstock. Hard tail Hipshot Bridge, string through tele ferrules, and Fender locking tuners. 55 x 110 Jumbo Jescar fretwire. Parchment guard and pickup covers. 25.5” scale, 1.625” nut width, 6.5lbs total weight.
Thanks for your commission Jon! Have fun recording this weekend too.
#healyguitars #healyhealer #electricguitar #offsetguitars #kowloonwalledcity #goldtop #swampash
