Young Guitar Magazine Pdf May 2026

TONE SECRETS: THE SCIENCE OF THE SUPER SWITCH How HSS Pickups Changed Modern Rock (And How You Can Wire It) By: Takashi “Tone” Yamamoto

The image is iconic: a beaten sunburst Stratocaster. But look closer at the pickguard of your favorite 90s rocker or modern metal guitarist. Chances are, that single-coil in the bridge position has been swapped for a fat, ceramic humbucker. Welcome to the world of (Humbucker-Single-Single).

### Production Notes for the PDF Creator: - **Fonts:** Use **Helvetica Neue Condensed Bold** for headlines, **Courier New** for tablature, and **Minion Pro** for body text to mimic the classic Japanese guitar magazine aesthetic. - **Color Palette:** Deep indigo (#1A2A3A) for headers, bright orange (#FF5E00) for accent boxes/pull quotes. - **Images Needed:** Placeholder boxes for a wiring diagram of the Super Switch, a fretboard diagram of the A Dorian mode, and product shots of the BOSS IR-2 and Joyo American Sound. young guitar magazine pdf

In this month’s Tech Lab , we are ditching the noise and boosting the gain. We will show you how to install a 5-way Super Switch to retain your quacky position 2 & 4 tones while unleashing a bridge pickup that can chug. Leo Fender got it right in the 50s, but by the late 80s, guitarists needed two things: the clarity of a neck single-coil for cleans, and the brute force of a humbucker for riffs. The problem? Slapping a standard humbucker into a Strat usually kills the "cluck" in position 2 (Bridge + Middle).

All articles, transcriptions, and diagrams copyright 2026 Young Guitar Magazine / Rittor Music. For personal use of the PDF subscriber only. TONE SECRETS: THE SCIENCE OF THE SUPER SWITCH

Think of Dorian as the sound of “Maria” (Santana) meets “Scar Tissue” (RHCP). It is a minor scale with a raised 6th degree. That one note turns a sad blues into a funky, hopeful groove. Relative to C Major. Played over an Am - D9 vamp.

B|------------------------5-6-8--------- G|----------------4-5-7------------------ D|--------4-5-7-------------------------- A|-5-7-8---------------------------------- E|---------------------------------------- Welcome to the world of (Humbucker-Single-Single)

The "Money Note": The F# (6th degree) against an Am chord. T = 90 4/4