Good morning from Richmond, VA, USA!

[gasolinealleymusic]

I'm the new guy in class. I make guitar pickups for my day job, tinker with guitar pedal builds and simply like to figure out how things work. Came here hoping to find info on modding a Yamaha M406 mixer for direct outs and various other improvements for recording. Thanks for having me!

 

[Ricardus]

Cool. I'm sure people here will have guitar pickup questions for you!

Did you work for one of the companies we've heard of?

 

[a soBer Newt]

I just did a M406 direct out modification on two units.

 

[gasolinealleymusic]

Cool. I'm sure people here will have guitar pickup questions for you!

Did you work for one of the companies we've heard of?

If you're into guitars, you've very likely heard of who I work for, just not sure I should announce it here. I'd be happy to answer pickup questions though.

 

[gasolinealleymusic]

I just did a M406 direct out modification on two units.

Might you have any pics of the process? Did you do the 48v mod or EQ mod? Thanks!

 

[andYz00m]

Welcome to the forum!

I have a pickup question...

A luthier buddy of mine made custom pickups for a lot of basses and guitars as part of the services he offered. All of my friends and I have revered the pickups he made as they consistently sound better than anything else I have tried. Every time I asked him what his secret was, he said "Theres nothing special about these, Im using the same materials and specs as everyone else."

Is this just him being modest and not wanting to share his secret sauce? Or is there really less distinction between the "boutique" pickup makers and everyone else?

(for reference I have many guitars with everything from Fralins, Lollars, Antiquity's, to stock fender/gibson/squire stuff).

 

[Ricardus]

If you're into guitars, you've very likely heard of who I work for, just not sure I should announce it here. I'd be happy to answer pickup questions though.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to find out the company. It's cool.

 

[gasolinealleymusic]

Welcome to the forum!

I have a pickup question...

A luthier buddy of mine made custom pickups for a lot of basses and guitars as part of the services he offered. All of my friends and I have revered the pickups he made as they consistently sound better than anything else I have tried. Every time I asked him what his secret was, he said "Theres nothing special about these, Im using the same materials and specs as everyone else."

Is this just him being modest and not wanting to share his secret sauce? Or is there really less distinction between the "boutique" pickup makers and everyone else?

(for reference I have many guitars with everything from Fralins, Lollars, Antiquity's, to stock fender/gibson/squire stuff).

He's telling you the truth; most folks are winding using the same materials (bobbin material, wire type, magnet type, etc). The main differences are their turn counts and tension on the wire as the coils are being wound.

 

[andYz00m]

He's telling you the truth; most folks are winding using the same materials (bobbin material, wire type, magnet type, etc). The main differences are their turn counts and tension on the wire as the coils are being wound.

This is what I figured. That being said, Im sure there is some expertise/magic in the turns and tension that makes the pickups people love different from the stuff that "sucks".

 

[a soBer Newt]

Might you have any pics of the process? Did you do the 48v mod or EQ mod? Thanks!

Did a full recap and made up this board with 6 THAT Corp drivers with variable gain. DB25 had direct out 1-6 then MIX LR on 7-8. Made a new mounting plate to space the transformers slightly apart. Made some boards to replace the ICs but haven’t done that yet.

 

[gasolinealleymusic]

Did a full recap and made up this board with 6 THAT Corp drivers with variable gain. DB25 had direct out 1-6 then MIX LR on 7-8. Made a new mounting plate to space the transformers slightly apart. Made some boards to replace the ICs but haven’t done that yet.

That's an advanced level of tinkery. Really beautiful work! I plan to recap mine while I have it open as well. I hadn't even thought about adding DB25. Great choice for adding those individual outs.

Have you seen the mods where folks are adding 48v switching for each channel, plus switches that determine direct out or master section out for each channel?

 

[Valveamp 101]

He's telling you the truth; most folks are winding using the same materials (bobbin material, wire type, magnet type, etc). The main differences are their turn counts and tension on the wire as the coils are being wound.

I've been making pickups, as a side business, for over 14 years and can attest to this. I'm sure I've used some you have wound even as I've owned or tested a bunch from your company and most of the other high quality makers. Everyone making pickups has a uniqueness to their pups and is really worth trying a bunch out if possible. My day job is repairing pro audio, lighting, and video gear so I love looking at what everyone here is up to! Also do recording/mixing for 25 years and have acquired a lot of gear that I enjoy (usually) maintaining and modding. I love these types of mods on mixing consoles!

 

[Elksonic]

Hi. I just recently joined the group and found your post. I've been modifying the M406 for years for local musicians in my area. My mod uses the echo send to separate outputs on the back of the unit and preserves the mixer function of the 406. I've used Yamaha transformers in the past to provide balanced output but last year I designed a transformer board and sourced transformers that fit well inside of the mixer and do not add a lot of weight.

 

[johnny free]

Did a full recap and made up this board with 6 THAT Corp drivers with variable gain. DB25 had direct out 1-6 then MIX LR on 7-8. Made a new mounting plate to space the transformers slightly apart. Made some boards to replace the ICs but haven’t done that yet.

Very nice! Do you make those direct out boards? I recapped a pm180 and a pm700 and added direct outs to it. Now i have since collected a handful of m406 to build out for my studio. I plan on upgrading everything i can on them.

 

[Elksonic]

Very nice! Do you make those direct out boards? I recapped a pm180 and a pm700 and added direct outs to it. Now i have since collected a handful of m406 to build out for my studio. I plan on upgrading everything i can on them.

I made one transformer board and tried some PCB mount Edcore transformers. It seemed to work well but a friend decided he wanted the mixer so I sold it.
I really need to find out how it's working for him. My first build with Yamaha transformers developed a problem in a channel ( unrelated to the output mod) and I haven't had time to troubleshoot and repair the mixer.

I used that mixer recording guitars for a local rock band and they released their record late last year. I liked the 406 preamps on heavy guitar sounds but I feel the M406 channels are a little dark sounding in general. All of my M406 units are a little long in the tooth and could use some other upgrades.

I currently use one of my M406 mixers for mic inputs for a rehearsal PA setup.

I'm interested in how your upgrades go.