Would you like fries for that shake? How about phantom power for your active pickups or onboard preamp/effects?

We usually think of phantom power as related to condenser mics but I’m not talking about the 48V you get from a mixing desk here, although it is pretty much the same principle: carry your power on the same cable as your signal so you don’t have to lug around a battery. On guitars with active electronics this system is particularly useful since:

• Obviously, there’s no onboard battery: no replacing, no recharging, no making room for an aftermarket installation.
• You’re not restricted to batteries, yet you retain the option of using them: you can just as well power your pickups from any standard 9V adapter. Or go 12V or 18V if that’s your cup of tea.
• One cable fits all: the system is compatible with any guitar that has been set up to use it or any other (mono) guitar for that matter:
  • phantom-powered active guitars: all that needs to be done to the guitar is to use a stereo jack and tie tip to signal, ring to where battery (+) would be and sleeve to ground. Anyone with basic knowledge of electronics should be able to figure this out;
  • “standard” active guitars: (i.e. those with onboard batteries) if for some reason you need to use one, just short the ring to sleeve, before disconnecting power, of course. Otherwise you’d be shorting out your battery or adapter. This is necessary because most manufacturers use (or should use anyway) the “insert jack to connect battery” scheme, i.e. the battery is floating unless you short R and S together, which is what inserting a mono jack plug does. This could be accomplished with a switch.
  • passive guitars: if for some reason the original TRS recommendation is abided (which people rarely do) power would again be shorted to ground, which is hazardous if not fatal to the supply. To be safe, you could simply unplug the battery or barrel plug from the adapter or again use a switch, possibly the same one as before: a single pole on-off-on switch can choose what the ring is connected to—supply (phantom power), nothing or ground.

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This is an updated version of the restored Procrastinator, my very first guitar. It’s basically a maple Ibanez Destroyer copy shape-wise, which itself is an Explorer rip-off. This version features improved bridge and tuners and a single humbucker with coil tap. I’ve actually made the pickup from two vintage Schaller single-coils. The neck is also fretless after the 9th fret for whenever I feel an atonal solo coming up. Thinking of making it fully fretless, though.

Ah, yes, the Razorwire, the baby I’ve ben planning for a couple of years now, my own custom body shape and configuration. This guitar has two controls: a volume pot and a rotary switch behind it that switches between neck pickup (active)/bridge pickup (active)/bridge pickup (passive, hardwired straight to the jack).

I’ve been tweaking this guitar for years but I think I’m finally done (oh, really?!). Not much to say about this one; it’s obviously a Les Paul copy, certainly has that vintage vibe, with a dash of insanity, topped with Gary Busey’s psychotic grin. Controls are: pickup selector (neck/both out of phase/bridge), tone switch (normal/low pass), volume pot and gain pot for the onboard preamp.