Fixing the Flaws | Yamaha Revstar RSS02T | Wiring Changes (and Kinman Pickups)

A very nice guitar gets some simple useful electronics upgrades.
Lots of people commented on part one (below) that they love the sound of the stock wiring. And that's fine.
But lots of other people love the guitar but don't like the phase/boost options. This video is for you.
Part One:
• A Flawed Gem : Yamaha ...
PDF of the wiring changes shown:
psionicaudio.com/pdfs/Psionic_...
And Boyd Timothy did these mods after watching this, so you can hear them with the stock pickups here (note that his abrupt volume pot issue is how audio taper pots work into clean low volume amps - I’ll be doing a video on this subject soon):
• Improved Yamaha Revsta...
Be sure to check out his channel - some very nice playing!
And here's one from Palatine Pickups:
• Yamaha Revstar mit neu...
Timeline:
00:00 Intro
00:29 Kinman vs Stock Pickups
01:15 Stock Wiring
01:54 Easy Mods
02:02 Middle Position Sweetening
03:21 '50s Wiring
03:54 New Wiring/Pots
04:15 New Position One
04:26 New Position Five
04:33 New Position Three
04:47 New Position Two
06:27 New Position Four
07:33 New Wiring Layout
08:03 Playing Tests Explained
08:35 Stock Position One
08:54 New Position One
09:22 Stock Position Two
09:36 New Position Two
10:07 Stock Position Three
10:25 New Position Three
11:07 Stock Position Four
11:22 New Position Four
11:39 Stock Position Five
12:03 New Position Five
12:53 Stock Treble Bleed
13:15 New '50s Wiring
13:42 Logan Playing (no talking)
-------------------------
These are things I get asked about a lot :
Amp Tech Gear Used :
Hakko FX-951 soldering station
Weller SPG 80L soldering iron (chassis work)
Rigol DS1054Z digital oscilloscope
Thsinde 18B+ digital multimeters
Kester 60/40 solder
Below are things that make this channel possible that people don’t usually think about. If any of these companies want to send me new and wonderful toys, I’m open to that. I can’t take free stuff when it comes to the amps I review, etc, but for the stuff below, bribe away!
Microphones/Audio Equipment :
Guitar Amps : Usually a Shure SM57 (exceptions noted in videos)
Bass Amps : Sometimes a Shure Beta 52, other times just an SM57
Voiceover Bench : sE Audio sE8 (small diaphragm condenser)
Voiceover Streaming : Shure SM57 with shockmount and windscreen
Voiceover Mic Arms : Elgato Wave Mic arms
Guitar Mic Stand : Gator Frameworks short weighted base stand with boom
Mic Cables and Guitar Cables : Mogami/Neutrik
Mic pre : MOTU M2
DAW : Logic Pro X on MacBook Pro 16 running Sonoma 14.0
Plugins : No effects other than level matching/normalization unless a recording
specifically has reverb etc added in post (rare, various Waves plugins)
Monitors : Yamaha HS7s
Monitor Stands : Gator Frameworks Desktop Clamp-On Stands
Monitor Isolation Mounts : IsoAcoustics Iso-Puck Minis
Headphones : Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (main)
Headphones : Sony MDR-7506 (alternate)
Video Equipment :
Camera : Sony ZVE-10 with SmallRig Cage (main)
Lens : Sigma f2.8 18-50mm (main)
Lens : Sony ZVE10 kit lens (rarely used)
B Camera : Apple iPhone 13 Pro (rarely used)
Tripod : SmallRig 71” with SmallRig Fluid Video Head
Streaming Mount : Elgato Master Mount S with SmallRig Ballhead
Bench Light : SmallRig RC 120D
Bench Light Diffusor : SmallRig Lantern Softbox
Bench C-Stands (light and overhead camera) : Neewer Pro SS Heavy Duty
Streaming Light : SmallRig RC 120B
Streaming Diffusor : SmallRig Parabolic Softbox
Streaming Light Mount : SmallRig 148CM Wall Mount Boom with Triangle Base
Various Other Lights : Neewer LED Panels with Neewer Softboxes
Video Software :
Davinci Resolve 18.6
Paul Leeming LUTs
Adobe Illustrator 28.0
Adobe Photoshop 25.0
Ecamm Live (streaming software)

[@PsionicAudio]

The PDF link is in the description now. I’m aware in the before/after comparisons the before clips had more reverb. I don’t think that affects the core sound. I also forgot to mention that Chris Buck has a 3 way switch and two volume pots. Which is also a good solution so long as you can live without a tone control.

[@kamillko5355]

He no longer has it. He explained it recently he didn't like the volume volume setup and had it restored back to the normal revstar setuo with volume and tone pot.

[@stratofever1]

It would have been nice to hear the mods with the same pickups.

[@Fredgomes431]

Hey @PsionicAudio How could I do a coil split mod using the existing push pull?

[@scottwilcox6313]

I'm so very happy that I had you modify the electronics. What a difference. I'm very pleased. Thank you again Lyle.

[@AYACSM]

Maybe I am the only one, but I liked the original p1 sound more. Sounded warmer and fuller to my ears

[@arunkarthikma3121]

Yeah, me too, along with position 2. Also, the focus mode is great if you play higher gain.

[@arunkarthikma3121]

The only one I found to be a necessary improvement was position 4, because it's got that chimey funk sound. But since it's just a high pass filter, I think EQ is enough.

[@bostonbesteats364]

"Flaws" is an overstatement.

[@renleblanc2993]

Having just ourchased this guitar and tested it extensively last night - I would note that the push/pull mechanism works great with overdrive, and best on the bridge pickup. It gives a sort of filtered tone that sounds great. It doesn't work well on clean settings, but you get good results with gain. The pickups themselves sound great ( mine were already set at a perfect height) the volume knob is fantastic as well, the treble bleed works very well. I wouldn't change a thing on this guitar,except maybe locking tuners to make string changes easier.

[@el0blaino]

Wow what a quality video this is, Lyle. Really love this. The diagrams helped me pre-think about the changes without getting distracted by the real-world objects, so that when I see the actual object I can understand the explanation better. Great for learning. And the drawings are very clear! Then, the video itself - great lighting, smooth editing. I mean, the shots of the guitar and then Logan look so excellent. Then, Logan playing so you can hear the end result, with the explanations drawing my attention to whatever is of import. And not to leave out the narration, which sounds clear and rich as always. This must have taken you a ton of time to create for us, but wow, the quality is unmistakable. Very impressive.

[@imacmadman22]

I played my share of crummy, sub-$500 to $1000 guitars as a young guitar player. We have come SO far, now I want a Revstar even more. Excellent video, Lyle.

[@VideoDetection]

Just a little feedback to say I wired in your full mods version into my Revstar with the humbuckers and it works fine. Better then fine, as its an improvement over stock. Removing the transformer takes out 3 oz in weight by itself and good riddance to it and same goes for the pull switch that always sat higher than the volume knob. So I have your EZ mods in my P90 Revstar and now will upgrade it to the full mods version too. I used Korean made Alpha full size pots in audio taper and they provide a very nice amount of friction when turning. They also have the advantage of fitting the oem knobs so eliminates the need to fit something else. The Revstars look stock but sound better without the transformer and the phase shifted positions 2 and 4. Thanks so much for making this info available as I'm loving my Revstars even more!

[@ryanmccabe7821]

I have a question as I want to do the full mod to my humbucker revstar also. I believe the humbuckers are 4 wire so would I be able to wire the push pull to split the coils?

[@omen3766]

congrats on the channel growth! thank you for adding to the best of KZbin.

[@Henni63]

Very nice improvement. These pickups sound darn good, too.

[@sgt.grinch3299]

Thanks Logan. I enjoyed your demonstration.

[@ClemsonJohnson]

This presentation has inspired me to try some different wiring on my original Fender WRHBs . I had already started going down a bit of a rabbit hole when I discovered they originally came with 1 Meg pots, but you just opened up an other avenue to contemplate. Thanks, I will be watching this one a few more times and downloading that PDF.

[@benspeeds]

Ohhhh MAN!!! Dude you're my hero! I REALLY like my Revstar but have the same issues you did with it but had no idea how to simplify the mess under the hood. I'll DEFINITELY be looking into making some of these changes in the near future. Thank you again for such deep knowledge matched with high quality diagrams and video. You're setting a new higher standard for the rest of the KZbin's to live up to.

[@gustavomajano5148]

Very much appreciated, it sounds like a whole different guitar.

[@lordgraga]

Very, very nice. I like the idea of the 5-way being a gradual blend between the pickups. I have always had a difficult time liking 2 pickup guitars with 5-ways, such as newer PRS Customs, but I will definitely keep this wiring in mind in case I get a guitar like that!

[@u_vocarockov]

Terrific professional work on all levels. Glad to have found your channel

[@richardlynch5632]

Thanks for taking the time to record the efforts you've made to make a great guitar more to your liking😎👍 BRILLIANT 😃👍 Have a feeling that this recording is gonna be saved and shared around the world😃👍👍 Personally am saving this in case I want to do the changes in the future.👍👍 The Revstar RSS02T has become my #1 non-vibrato equipt guitar😎👍 😎✌👍❤🖖

[@richclayton5785]

Beautiful tones!

[@oldguy5381]

Good content to have with coffee. Thanks Lyle

[@reedmillermusic]

These Kinman pickups and wiring really shine in the Revstar wow! Great video thanks again for this thoughtful comparison and all the details on your mods.

[@Guitarman007]

I'm listening on very high end studio monitors and I find the Kinman pickups to be very sterile. Very clean an lean and pristine... but sterile... not much warmth, and they seem to have lost any of the hints of "vintage" tone vibe. Nothing wrong with this at all if that's the tone you are going for, but I prefer the neck pup especially to have a bit more warmth and vintage feel. I don't mind making the bridge a little brighter though.

[@barbmelle3136]

From Leo: Nice work. The 2 and 4 engineered positions made really useful tones. I had never considered the 470 K resistor in parallel for the common middle position. The additional load really chops off some of the harshness on the higher frequencies. I think I will try to add that to a traditional 3 way switch. Thank you for your careful and clear explanation.

[@mkii1964]

Fabulous job Lyle! 👏🏼

[@mistermac56]

Excellent modifications. The Revstar has a much more clear and open sound.

[@ckmoore101]

I decided a while back, my next guitar purchase will be a Revstar. I just love the look and design, and price is great for its quality. Jack Thammarat sold me on its quality and sound, along with C Buck. He is such a monster player. So is Jack.

[@zloboslav_]

You have done MAGIC and I LOVE it!!! And you are sharing it all for free!!! Thank you so much, this is amazing knowledge!!! I appreciate you sharing your work so very much, thank you again!!! :)

[@BoydTimothy]

Awesome job with this! I’ve been waiting to see what your changes were because I’m gonna give my Revstar the same treatment with the soldering iron. :)

[@rockinthesuburbs69]

great suggestion for the revstar! tried the wiring changes with mine (stock pickups) and am going to stay with them. already wanted to sell the guitar. thank you very much sir!

[@lescaster2179]

To my ears, almost if not entirely universally the sound is more 'open and airy' with the mods. Took off a bit of what I would describe as a very light weight blanket over the tones from the stock guitar and opened it up overall. Thank you for your efforts in documenting this, sir!

[@halhawkins7641]

Great vid!

[@markchristopher4165]

Wow, amazing work

[@alexcojorian1306]

Really enjoyed positions 3 and 5, then position 4. I preferred original position 1. I was indifferent to position 2, new ou original. Congrats for your efforts and detailed documentation, 50's wiring fits very well in revstar. You've made a great contribution for this guitar!

[@cliffordholliday679]

I like the Revstar original sounds, also I like the boost switch. But your classic wiring combined with the unique pickup 5-way switch adds a very nice touch. I seem to get overwhelmed with my casino, having to blend the pickup volumes on middle position, this would be a great alternative! I am buying this guitar very, very soon so thank you for the informational video!!

[@sedoyotec]

Got to say that I find stock is nice, but your variant is very good!

[@ryanpullin]

I’m gonna steal that idea for the 2 and 4 positions, that sounds awesome. Also 100% agree with the 50s wiring being superior. I used to try to throw treble bleeds in everything but the 50s wiring is just simpler and preferable.

[@velutumbra]

This is a rabbit hole. I once had one of my Ibanez (HSH) with a 13 coil selection mod. And I gave up adding serial and vary-tone options when the schematic became spaghetti and required drilling my beautiful translucent red finish. Now it is stock wiring with mellower pickups. I ended up with the conclusion that too many options will make you waste more time fiddling with knobs and switches than actually playing. That "preset" you made was a good idea.

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks, I completely agree. Simple is almost always better. You never want to be second guessing everything.

[@guitashmurtz4772]

Thank you vert much for sharing!

[@TomSJazzBass]

Fantastic mod. I genuinely think even the upgraded pots improved the tone of the 1&5 positions but that might be psychosomatic

[@GazWJ205]

Really appreciate your opinions on this and very interesting take on it. I actually like mine stock and see some of your flaws as positives. The treble bleed does thin out the sound, which allows me to get a single coil sound by winding the volume back. The boost circuit then throws it back past p90 into thick humbucker territory. The tone control is really responsive to finesse this. I’m agreed the 2 and 4 positions are a bit too weird for me, but I hear they sound good with very high gain. Great content 👍

[@sgt.grinch3299]

I like Yamaha instruments. I played their custom drum kits for years.

[@jessenewman5976]

Great show. Would enjoy similar content.

[@Pb123456100]

Thanks for this fantastic video. You should do more guitar reviews as I don’t have much of a clue what you’re talking about with amps.😂 I have this guitar! As you said it is a great guitar but I too felt there were few usable pu positions and especially didn’t like the boost too much. I may give these mods a go if I get the inclination. Thanks again!

[@SubutaiTuul]

nice changes, i can see myself do something like this with 50's wiring, i think ill be swapping out the 5way with a 3way switch. pickup swap for sure not sure what maybe lolars

[@steveDC51]

Definitely easier on the ear. Nice job.

[@vince8081]

I made it to my p90 strat, it's a really great upgrade, and a very clever move. It's sounds clearer and less fat, i think it's really great for clean sounds lover. The rock/overdrive lovers would maybe prefer the original layout. I keep the two different switch blades for change it easily if i want... Thanks a lot Lyle.

[@klaymeister]

That new position 2 and 3 are really nice tones. This is a swiss army knife guitar now.

[@sgt.grinch3299]

Vast improvement over stock. The guitar sounds great.

[@losangulos]

Love to see a Squier Stratosonic get its video!

[@mcfats7652]

Wow, this is a great example of how to be a solid dude. Providing the pdf along with the video and explanation is above and beyond. Sounds great, Lyle! Thanks for sharing all this with us! Very cool 🎸 Do you recommend using EMI shielding? I copper taped my 57 reissue strat, and it doesn't seem to change anything with the 54 custom shop pickup sound/hum. It did wonders for my stock 66 vox hurricane, though. Is there something in the way different pickups/bodies are built that make EMI shielding pointless for some and useful for others? I followed Gerry Hayes' 'Complete Guitar Wiring' book, a great resource for anyone who tinkers.

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks man. PDF coming, gotta finish an amp first. Well-done shielding is always a good idea unless it’s a very valuable vintage instrument. But shielding keeps out environmental noises. It won’t stop single coil buzz.

[@Goodrichvp]

Love, love , love your channel. Thinking about upgrading my new revstar, I am immediately upgrading the tuners, but I have the humbuckers and would love the option of getting rid of the pull boost, any schematics for up grading the electronics with this? Thanks for your channel!

[@TysonKreiter]

Was wondering about this. I knew the Yamaha's were made well but never loved the sound out of them. Thought about grabbing one and throwing some burstbuckers in it. Make it sort of SG-like.

[@waltimedes]

Very nice changes, I like the new sounds more. That treble is more realistic for sure. I have this kind of silly idea to rewire my strat but need to figure out how. I want to go to a 3 position switch and do a blender, but blending the neck in on every position instead of the middle pickup as is usually the case. I rarely use the Hendrix/SRV tones but it would be nice to have neck and bridge together.

[@50gary]

In my Strat. I have positions 6 & 7, 6 is all three in series, and 7 is neck and bridge for a quasi Tele sound. Push pull pot. Bridge

[@wizdeas6064]

So much information, delivered clearly and concisely with excellent graphics and then the sound comparison to cap it all. Perfect!

[@yakubeshi]

Great video, thank you! Still, I prefer the stock setup. Phase shifts sound really interesting and the passive boost is useful for jazzy tones. Each to their own.

[@brianaaland5263]

I love your disclaimer at the beginning. "Your not wrong" haha.

[@joybuzzer]

I'm pretty sure he said "You're not wrong".

[@bradyp69]

I have the standard and I thought the pups were just okay. The tones through the capacitor just seemed dark and muddy to me. I swapped out the pups with the Fishman fluence P90s and wired it using the push pull pots on both volume and tone to open up all the variation of the fluence sounds (each pup has three tone settings). I also added the fluence universal battery pack, and was able to fit it all in the existing cavity without any additional drilling. It sounds fantastic, and has zero hum.

[@ScottyBrockway]

50's wiring ftw. I like the blend options you did with the 5 way, very nice. I actually like the boost thing with the transformer, if I get one of these I'll have to tweak it to leave that somehow, not a fan of the cheap push/pull pots it has stock. Would be nice to hear what it sounds like into some gain.

[@PsionicAudio]

I’ll do a video with some gain soon. Logan’s not a rocker but I think the sound of a guitar into a clean great Deluxe Reverb tells 90% of what you need to know. As to the transformer, I prefer a cocked wah.

[@MrSamobizarro]

I just have my guitar tech do this changes and I can testify this was the best decision I could've made. The tone came alive, positions 2 and 4 are now usable. I removed the push pull cause it really didn't make sense to me, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the push pull instead. Bottom line: do it, this guitar needs it!

[@sboy1955]

Nice change.. the only position that seems like a toss up was the middle selector with the new pickups and wiring. All the others were clear winners to me.

[@Carlminimal]

5 for effort, 5 for thinking😁 But I do think the stock wiring sounds better, I suppose its what you are going to play that matters. I love your video tough, really helpful for my lp project😁👍 This new sound you get from this revstar is between a strat and a banjo😆 lol good for some music👍 Ps more videos, music is doing and playing while trying ds Excuse my bad English😔

[@murrayguitarpickups9545]

Wish I had discovered your channel back when I was figuring all this out through trial and error. I didn't know how the revstar was wired but I think I would have made similar changes, that pos 3 mod is something I wouldn't have thought of.

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks Murray. Yamaha actually did something similar in the previous version of the Revstar and in the new lower priced version, though Yamaha made it kind of drastic. Rickenbacker also did things along these lines, but most “guitar wirers” don’t play around with caps as filters.

[@murrayguitarpickups9545]

@@PsionicAudio Yeah I stick to pickups because there's not a lot going on in terms of circuitry, the interesting stuff is way they're effected by resonant frequencies, that's something I'd really like to test scientifically. It's something I can definitely feel in the way they play but no ones seems to have done any solid science on guitars specifically.

[@PsionicAudio]

Well, the “simple” passive guitar circuit is pretty complex in that it has inductance, resistance, and capacitance in a very changeable network. The math gets complex.

[@murrayguitarpickups9545]

@@PsionicAudio Thats very true, then you've got magnetic fields that you can manipulate also, its not voodoo there's just a lot more going on than meets the eye.

[@PsionicAudio]

And then all your work can be undone by a Fender Thin...

[@caseykittel]

cool! thanks! If get one I'll have to remember how to find this vid.

[@DikiBolz]

Hi! This is fantastic! Can it be done with RSE20 with humbackers and to expect an upgrade in sound like it is with RSS and P90?

[@dustinthiessen]

Nice work! 5/5 positions I preferred the new sounds, even on my shitty macbook speakers lol

[@mcfats7652]

Thanks!

[@PsionicAudio]

Danke!

[@kyledriscollmusic]

very cool

[@kyledriscollmusic]

I'm gonna have to try out the 50s wiring

[@TJEvans98]

Hello there...great video, and thanks for creating it. My Revstar started having component issues a couple months back. Switch is scratchy, and the push pull for the boost is sticking. I decided that if I was going to replace the components that I might as well try something different. I almost exclusively play in position 3. I like the tone, and well...the lack of hum. Finding your video, I have a couple questions. First and foremost, when removing the existing parts, I noticed a couple extra ground wires coming from the pickup area. As you know, both pickups have their positive, and then the negative, heat wrapped together....but, in addition to the bridge ground that comes from a hole near the volume pot, there are 2 additional black wires coming from the same hole that the pickup wires come from. What are these wires? they were connected to ground on the back of the pot, so obviously they are ground wires. I haven't removed the pickups (not swapping pickups, just pots switch and jack.) Are they grounds connected to cavity shielding, or something? And question 2...of the thousands of resistors I have collected from building pedals for a couple years, I have no 270K resistors. I know you mentioned that the choice of resistors can be variable. What effect does a slightly higher value or slightly lower value (240K) have on the tone in that particular switch position. Ok, third bonus question....does the type of 10nF capacitor make any significant difference? I have Monolithic Ceramic, Polyester Mylar, Polyester Box Type, regular Ceramic Disc, Tantalum...does it really matter which I use...pros and cons?

[@Prajnana]

Most carbon resistors are 10% tolerance (or +-27K for a 270K). The author zeroed in on a value using a pot so his final value of 270K is probably spot on. You can series/parallel various resistors to get exactly 270K (ex. a 240K in series with a 27K should be within 10% of 270K), but would need an ohm meter to verify the actual (not calculated) resulting resistance. (Grab a basic electronics manual for the series and parallel resistance and capacitance formulas.) Then again +-10% might be close enough.

[@bryanh3057]

I love the changes and the tips for sure! The only think I didn’t care for was the new bridge pickup by itself. I felt like it was super thin and gutless, but I don’t the wiring or anything was at fault. Just my 2 cents 🤷‍♂️

[@salvovulcan9725]

Great information really appreciate it. Do you have some information about the revstar 502t, I didn’t find anything to understand the difference between this model and the rss02t

[@alexcojorian1306]

I think the new model is chambered

[@andybance7546]

Great stuff! Would you suggest similar mods to the humbucker version of the Revstar including a pickup swap? And maybe removing the transformer altogether? Thanks!

[@PsionicAudio]

Thank you. All I can say is that the mods would work on the HB version and I would do that to own I owned. But if you like the stock sound that’s fine too. I haven’t played the HB version so I don’t know if I would like the stock pickups, but again, that’s subjective. This client wanted noiseless P90s so the Kinmans were chosen. You can remove the transformer if you don’t use it - it just adds a bit of weight. Or leave it. Sorry to be all “it depends” but realistically that’s the answer.

[@andybance7546]

@@PsionicAudio thanks for getting back to me. As you say, it’s a subjective thing. I’m a bit torn as it’s lovely guitar to play and very well made but it seems to lack a bit of zing overall and unless I have a sudden conversion to jazz I can’t ever see me using that boost!

[@japhygoldman8856]

I think one major issue with comparing the tones here (before and after) is that with the various resistors placed in series with both pickups after the mods, the volume/gain levels are quite different so it's difficult to compare before and after versions. There are some parts where I preferred stock, but that may well be due to the thin-sounding low-volume version of the 'after" mod. Definitely, some of the modded version sounds are better, with more tonal balance but it is hard to tell with the drastic volume difference at play here

[@PsionicAudio]

Well, the volume difference between positions 1 and 2 or 2 and 3 in the final version is about the same volume difference you’d find between the same positions in a Strat. So not drastic. Yes, it’s lower than the stock 2 and 4 positions, but it also doesn’t sound notched and honky. Positions 1, 3, and 5 are the same level as stock.

[@konradhof7318]

I had talked myself into the Standard Revstar based on P-90s, stainless frets and build quality. I talked myself out of it based on weird electronics (mud boost switch), skinny neck and >8lbs. I don’t want to buy new music gear (like guitars, pedals and amps) that requires modifications to sound good. But I’ve only seen demos and reviews of this; I haven’t had opportunity to play this new generation of Revstars.

[@PsionicAudio]

This one doesn’t feel heavy, though I haven’t weighed it. The neck is too thin for my tastes but most would love it.

[@marcsullivan1168]

Would the 50s wiring give better response/cleanup with a fuzz face type fuzz (Fulltone 69, etc)?

[@jclebedev]

Fascinating. Is that bass roll off mod similar to what Reverend is doing with their 'bass contour' control?

[@PsionicAudio]

I can’t say as I haven’t had a Reverend in. Probably something along these lines though.

[@jasonmarch1983]

Just to let you know, if you plan to go to Japan. I picked up my Revstar last week for 592 USD out the door at the flagship 12 story Yamaha Ginza store. Versus 880 in the states. Weak yen, strong dollar, and no tax when I showed then my passport. Beautiful store and building it is. You can get the pro, Japan made for about 1400. They have some beautiful custom 'not for sale' Revstars on display. Unfortunately, the Yamaha museum is in another city.

[@sam-ww1wk]

And you got to buy it Japan,, that much cooler.

[@orryfishburne5326]

Do u have some good recommendations for someone to start getting into soldering and electronics. Something like a good book to learn the basics from, or website, or channels? I really want to start learning. Start with something small like making patch cables for my pedal board then work up to the point of modifying my own guitars and go from there. Your Revstar mods sounds fantastic btw. 😁

[@VideoDetection]

Ok some feedback on trying out your mods. I have just completed the EZ version of the mod, but also fitted new full size pots in, (for the full install later) and scrapped the transformer. I have ordered a Superswitch which I will fit the components to for the full mod conversion when it arrives. This way I get to test out both versions of your mods. Wow, I did not expect such an improvement just by removing the volume bleed and adding a 470k resistor in parallel in the center switch position. It growls in the center position now without needing much drive. Its like discovering an old friend again and it will be hard to go ahead now and do the full mod as I'm enjoying this EZ version. Thanks so much for the great ideas and the great sounds it produces.

[@PsionicAudio]

So glad you dig it! The models that have 5 way switches come stock with the superswitch, just in case you ordered a second one not knowing.

[@VideoDetection]

@@PsionicAudioYeah, I ordered the 5 position superswitch as I'll keep the ez mod oem superswitch and then have both ez and full, easy to swap in and out. I'm also thinking about doing the ez mod on my humbucker version of the Revstar. Have you tried it on the humbucker version? Never used the transformer so happy to remove it and save the weight :)

[@PsionicAudio]

It should work exactly the same with the HBs.

[@stratofever1]

Great mods! but is it me or the overall sound is "thinner"?

[@kurtz1993]

Just wondering... Do you know if there's a way to modify that transformer to pick up more frequencies when boosting? 🤔

[@bengunderman5382]

I wonder if there is a better transformer that could be swapped for the stock one

[@VideoDetection]

Just watching your video and at 4:09 I noticed in the slow shot of the wired in pots, you have the volume pot (terminal 2) appearing to be connected to ground. That would obviously result in no output to the jack so just curious what that shot shows? Interesting changes and great sounds, so I think I will try your full mods with my Yamaha P90s and see how it goes. Great video and excellent detail for someone like me to follow and install. Thanks for making it available.

[@PsionicAudio]

That’s shielding on that wire which is grounded but the center conductor goes to the volume pot wiper.

[@VideoDetection]

@@PsionicAudio That would explain what I saw and thanks for replying!

[@Prajnana]

Call me contrare, except for your treble bleed mod, I actually like the stock wiring and thought several wiring mods lost some of the tone complexity of the original. I also noticed annoying sonic "fuzz", especially on the trebles, that seemed worse after the mods. I would assume that was the amp, not the pups, but it biased me against the mods. I'll have a relisten with different headphones that might change my mind. Good video!

[@hannes.mutala]

I am planning to buy revstard standard with humbuckers. I wonder if any of these modifications would apply to it.

[@PsionicAudio]

All of them. See my reply to @kingfoo.

[@ted149]

“When you pause on KZbin it greys out…” yes it does, but then click once on the picture and the picture goes back to looking normal. Just thought you’d like to know.

[@telecasterbear]

Nice.

[@deanmlshredder]

When you pause on youtube, just tap the screen one more time and and it goes back to normal.

[@jvin248]

50s tone circuit is awesome if you never move the tone pot from 'dimed' position but if you use the tone pot the volume changes! That's the reason for the modern tone pot wiring scheme.

[@PsionicAudio]

You’re misunderstanding the circuit. More on this later.

[@brooklynboy1000]

Now it’s got that t bone walker 1950s bluesy sound. The whole to want p90s is that vintage profile. Of course this guy is an excellent guitarist

[@Guitarman007]

I noticed the playing demos are very "percussive" semi chicken pickin centric through just about all positions... so of course making all positions sound less bassy and more mid/upper mid centric makes that percussive playing sound better. However, would have been nice (especially on the neck pickup) to show some more articular and longer soft blues notes to see the difference. Some players may prefer the warmer tones for blues and jazz on that neck and the middle positions I think.

[@TheBasementMusician]

You got rid of a lot of the honkiness and nasal tone. Sounds great! Were the amp settings (vol, treb, bass) all the same too?

[@PsionicAudio]

Yes, Vol just below 3, T just below 6, B just below 5, reverb was just under 3 here was a tiny bit higher in the last video (the before clips). Pretty much a “flat” Deluxe Reverb setup (the amp has no bright cap - YMWV if your does).

[@lifesbath]

The potentiometers were long or short shaft? Also, how did you fit the original volume knob in the CTS pot?

[@Fredgomes431]

Hey @PsionicAudio How could I do a coil split mod using the existing push pull?

[@PsionicAudio]

It’s a standard DPDT switch, so check the usual SD diagrams. Hint: parallel mode usually sounds better than coil tapping.

[@greblus]

I hope someone from Yamaha is watching 🙃. It's gonna be my next guitar but it will take some time because of my current Pacifica 311h, which is absolutely perfect.

[@mkrj2576]

Sounds way better redone. How much is the wiring vs pups?

[@PsionicAudio]

Thanks. Positions 1 and 5 the changes are entirely the pickups. Position 3 is mostly pickups with little bit of the wiring change. Positions 2 and 4 are mostly due to the wiring change. See the description for a link to a video of a guy who made these changes using the stock pickups.

[@bruunm1975]

exactly what Iooked for... Got one in a trade... P90s too noisy and yeah those out of phase sounds suck. Great guitar overall however and nice to play.

[@Mark70609]

I probably wouldn’t use positions 2 and 4 regardless. The transformer had its charm on the neck pickup.

[@jamesadler2791]

Quick KZbin hack when the video is paused/gray. If you click on the picture after pausing, the gray will go away. Click back on the picture to get your play button back. Good luck.

[@kevinmusso2397]

Can we ship our guitar to you to have the work done?

[@loganme]

@PsionicAudio did you have to ream out holes for the new CTS pots? Or did they fit as-is?

[@PsionicAudio]

I reamed them out.

[@loganme]

@@PsionicAudio Sounds about right, thanks. Did you use short shaft pots or medium?

[@Davefender100]

Out of curiosity what were the values of the resister and capacitor on the revstars treble bleed?

[@PsionicAudio]

330K and 560pF.

[@Davefender100]

@@PsionicAudio Thanks

[@Mabel90666]

Help! Are the resistors 1/4w, 1/2w or 1w? Does it matter? Any suggestions on suppliers? Stewmac?

[@PsionicAudio]

Doesn’t matter. Tube Depot has better prices and WAY lower shipping.

[@Mabel90666]

Lyle, thank you so much. Really enjoy your videos. I built radio kits as a kid (40yrs ago). I need to practice before I attempt any thing of this nature.