Reviews

Based on 784 reviews
90%
(709)
4%
(28)
3%
(20)
1%
(7)
3%
(20)
S
Custom HSS / HSH for Strat® Gen2
Steve McCarthy (Charleston, US)
Install Time: 30 - 60 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Great product with easy install

I enjoyed being able to install product with no need to engage with guitar tech to do the installation and soldering.

N
Custom '7 WAY' for Strat® Gen2 // Gilmour Mod
Nick Wilkinson (Columbus, US)
Install Time: 11 - 20 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
This elevated my Squier Affinity to Fender Ultra Status!

Bro I s**t you not, my guitar sounded like it was the same quality of a fender ultra. This blew my f*****g mind! I am truly blown away. Keep up the awesome work Obsidian Wire!

Install Time: 20 - 30 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Painlessly easy to install….its mindblowing

This is the first time I bought this product after countless hours of finding a device that could connect my new pickup to my old guitar.
Finally found this via AI Copilot help.
This is by far a very innovative and extremely easy way to swap pickups on a guitar. No soldering or anything needed.
Product performs well…especially the blender mode.
Wow…. I’m totally satisfied with this purchase.

R
ALNICO II BLUES Tele Pickups TRT3
Roberto Naranjo (San Antonio, US)
Sound:
Bad
Amazing
Quality:
Bad
Excellent
Value:
Expensive
Amazing value
Alnoco II BLUES TELE PICKUPS

Very good performers.

P
Custom HSS / HSH for Strat® Gen2
Pedro frugone “la ley “ (Austin, US)
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Try them all .. obsidian has the edge!!

There are many manufacturers out there which are fantastic.. obsidian is the best ! Why ? People like me that has “ok” soldering abilities don’t cut the cheese .. in I order to get your pickups to sound the way they are intended you have to be a master at soldering.
Are into bleeds ? This guys have the ones that lose less bass than anything I have try before.. and I been trying them for 40 years🤣
Yes we all know 90% of the sound is in the finger.. right? Well the other 10 is in the electronics . So don’t lose time in soldering … and use it on playing ..God bless

Install Time: 1 Hour +
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Seymour Duncan Little 59 bridge very bright and gutless...

My install was for a Strat build with Fender Ultra Hot Noiseless in the neck and middle and Seymour Duncan Little 59 humbucker bridge. Tried many wiring combinations but the Little 59 was simply too bright. I used the Obsidian wire blender control plate with auto split for position 2, but even the bridge alone was too bright and gutless. Could be the 500k pot? I put it in SSS mode and still the same. Ended up putting the Noiseless hot in the bridge too and tone is as expected.

Hi Drew,

Thanks for your feedback. There are a couple of things to try

- Set the 'Mode ' switch to the SSS / 250k setting. This will tame the highs of the bridge pickup
- Set the bridge pickup further away from the strings. This will reduce high frequencies.
- // OR set the bridge pickup closer to the strings for greater overall output.

If the above does not help, let us know and we will see if there could be something esle causing output issues with the bridge pickup.

Install Time: 20 - 30 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Great Buy!!!!

I bought for my 2016 Epiphone LP Studio. Reamed out the Holes for the Pots and I installed in less than 30 minutes. I suggest ,if you do not have the correct knobs, buy them with this wiring kit. NO Problems at all. sounds Great.

L
Pickguard for Tele® (Modern 8 Hole)
Liam (New Plymouth, NZ)
Awesome pickguard - but check specs

Nice quality pickguard, but had to sand it quite a lot for it to fit on my MIM Player Tele. Without sanding it would sit over top of the control plate.

Other than that though, awesome product - good price. Obsidian for the win

Install Time: 30 - 60 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Epiphone Custom Pr

I put this Obsidian MK II in my Epi LP Custom. I did have to enlarge the holes for for the pots as they didn't fit without modification as (obsidian directions said). The other issue was the output jack was grounding out. This was a simple correction, simply had to rotate jack 180 degrees. Now the good (great!l the rest of the install using Seymour Duncan pearly gates was really straight forward. This guitar nows sound better than my 3 others which cost much more individually. I will definitely purchase again.

Install Time: 11 - 20 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
7 way Gilmour Strat upgrade

I installed the device in. Squire Strat. The install went as expected. The only modification to the guitar was to increase the pot holes size to 10 mm. The upgrades sound great.

M
ObsidianWire for Precision Bass®
Miguel Jimenez (Appleton, US)
Install Time: 11 - 20 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Wow!

So easy to install! Can’t wait to buy the lollar pickups I want and not have to solder them on. I feel like the tones vary more now and you have much more to choose from. Only thing is the pots are a bit stiffer than the stock ones but that’s ok!

R
Tone & Volume Knobs for Strat®
Robert Purdy (Chicago, US)
Purchased for my best friend's mod project.

I purchased these for my best friend for Christmas. They seem to be great knobs, but I am left-handed and he is not so we'll have to wait until after Christmas to know more. Everything else I have purchased for myself from Obsidian Wire has been stellar.

M
Custom Universal for Tele®
Millard LeMay (Fort Mill, US)
Install Time: 11 - 20 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Mostly great

The kit worked well with single coil pickups, but not with two humbuckers. Yes, I did turn the switch to HH. Overall, I love the kit.

E
Vaughan Loaded Pickguard for Strat®
Edward Lopez (Irving, US)
My 4th loaded Pickguard

I just purchased the SRV loaded pickguard for a partscaster I’m putting together. I previously purchased the John Mayer, John Frusciante, Mike McCreafy ones too. The quality is top notch and the sounds very, very good on all of them. I think the only left is the Pompeii/ Gilmore pickup. Did I read “buy 4 and the 5th free”???

Custom shop Loaded Control plate for Jazz bass

Arrived quickly, great packaging, nice personalised note, easy to install, very happy with the product. Thank you.

Install Time: 11 - 20 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Easy Installation, Excellent Sound!

My best friend had a strat he attempted to mod into an HHH configuration almost 20 years and was never able to get sound of it. I secretly borrowed his guitar and installed this in about 20 minutes. Used some pickups he had mentioned, leveled the frets, docked the bridge (per his original plan), and cleaned it thoroughly. It sounds and feels great now. I cannot wait to give it back to him for Christmas. He's going to be very surprised! Installation is painless and having a blender is a fun addition to get a few more unique tones out of it.

A
Custom 4-Way for Tele®
Abraham Lopez (El Centro, US)
Install Time: 11 - 20 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Amazing Performance

Not only is it an upgrade but the sound feels so natural and clear and the overall build is good quality. Totally worth the money and time. Will most likely use this on my future builds. Thank you!

R
Custom 4-Way for Tele®
Ronnie (Topeka, US)
Install Time: 11 - 20 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Love it!

I made a parts caster for my son. The no solder feature is great. Made installation a breeze. I like the fact that if he wants to change the pickups it will be easy to swap them out. Love the 4th position. It adds a little extra to the tele.

V
Custom '7 WAY' for Strat® Gen2 // Gilmour Mod
Vic Green (Mount Pleasant, US)
Install Time: 11 - 20 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Gilmour Mod

Bought a second one for my Fender Strat after installing one for my Squire CV50 Strat. Love it, easy to change pickups, I like the push/pull pot is on the lower tone pot. When pulled up it’s out of the way from the strumming hand. Sounds better than the stock controls, IMO. Great Design, that’s why I bought two!

Install Time: 20 - 30 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Great piece of kit. Nearly perfect. Nearly.

This is my second MKII for a Gibson LP and the one thing I wish this came with (both times now) was a second set of washers and nuts for the pots as I've had to elevate the board in the cavity so that the knobs aren't floating way above the body.

Also, the toggle switch doesn't come with a recessed/deep nut for carved top LPs, so I had to swap the wiring and keep the existing switch (because the recessed nut on the stock Switchcraft switch wasn't compatible with this Switchcraft switch - which isn't that big of a deal, but is kind of annoying and it does mean this is not a totally solderless install if you're swapping over from something like this.

Most of that could be interpreted as personal preference, but a kit like this should at least assume some of these things... or at least provide options for these things on checkout.

Hi There,

Thanks for getting in touch.

The pots on the LP sets come with nuts pre-loaded on each one. These can be set further up the shaft to set the effective length that pokes through the body.

The switches we supply have a longer thread body than the Switchcraft switches, which means they tend to have adequate length for poking through the body without the need for a recessed nut.

I hope this helps.
Mathew

Upgraded Squier Baritone to 4 way.

Bought myself a baritone Squier Tele that just wasn't cutting it. Purchased some noiseless g4 fender pickups and didn't really wanted to solder it in. And having had a great experience with obsidian some years back I decided to give it another go and I have no regrets. Guitar sounds great, minimal noise and the 4 way mod just gold for the amount of gain I am throwing at this guitar. The packaging was solid, the build quality was solid. Everything come in perfect conditions. Will definitely return when the need comes again.

Install Time: 20 - 30 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Easy install, quality parts, sounds great

Love my new harness from Obsidian Wire. Shipped out very fast. Instructions were straight forward and it works exactly as expected. Added bonus. I did not realize it came with the output jack as well :)

D
Custom '7 WAY' for Strat® Gen2 // Gilmour Mod
Donald Craddock (Penn Valley, US)
Install Time: 20 - 30 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Custom 7 way0

Great sound easy to install. I will buy another soon….

S
Add Ons
Serge Peter (Lausanne, CH)
Very good sound

Good product, well manufactured, good sound..

Install Time: 30 - 60 minutes
Build Quality:
Very bad
Excellent
Functionality:
Same as stock
Greater range of sounds
Sound:
Terrible
Amazing
Very happy with the Obsidian MKII for Les Paul.

Adding this drop in harness was pretty easy. The only real hiccup was the holes in my Epiphone LP didn’t match up. Not the fault of Obsidian Wire, my guitar was the problem. Once I got the holes to a point where I could install one of them didn’t cover up completely.

Now as for installing switches and pickups? Couldn’t have been easier. Took me all of 10 minutes. I prefer the 50s wiring, but how great is it that if I choose to use modern wiring I flip two switches. I love the taper of the pots. This is a great and easy upgrade and recommend it over rewiring it. I had rewired to 50s wiring diagram but the MKII sounds much better than my wiring, and I have rewired many guitars successfully.
The only problem I have is the knobs sit high even though I have the unit as low as I can get it., but I can live with that.

Get one, you wont be disappointed!