Eric Schenkman admits to leaving electronics broken rather than having them fixed.

Eric Schenkman’s guitar journey took a turn when he decided not to fix the broken electronics in his Forest Green Stratocaster-style guitar. This decision led to a unique sound that became a signature feature of the Spin Doctors’ latest album, Face Full of Cake. Schenkman’s guitar, custom-made by John Suhr, was initially built to replace his 1965 sunburst Strat, which was his sole guitar at the time.

The green Strat was equipped with two Seymour Duncan humbuckers and a single-coil in the middle, serving as the primary guitar during the group’s successful debut album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite in 1991. Schenkman had purchased the sunburst Strat in 1978, which featured a unique power pot circuit that allowed it to transition from a Strat to a humbucker sound based on volume levels. However, Schenkman’s decision to maintain this circuit in his Forest Green guitar resulted in a revelation of its own.

Schenkman rediscovered his green Strat in the early 2000s, and with the assistance of Thomas Nilsen from Cream T Pickups, he had three custom-made Stratocaster pickups installed. Despite the guitar sounding like a proper Strat, Schenkman noticed a peculiar broken element to its sound. The tone knob did not affect the bridge pickup as expected, only made minimal changes to the middle pickup, and worked conventionally on the neck pickup, where Schenkman spent most of his time playing.

Additionally, Schenkman highlighted the super weird out-of-phase position between the neck and middle pickups, creating a unique sound effect that resembled an Octavia pedal, even at low volumes. Schenkman’s decision to leave these broken electronics unchanged resulted in a distinctive tone that played a crucial role in the Spin Doctors’ latest work, Face Full of Cake.

Although initially surprised by the broken element in his guitar, Schenkman was taken aback to learn that Dweezil Zappa had intentionally implemented a similar modification in his guitars. This unorthodox approach to guitar electronics showcases the creativity and innovation that musicians like Schenkman and Zappa bring to their craft. The accidental discovery of new sounds through simple guitar modifications highlights the limitless possibilities that exist within the realm of music and guitar playing.