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Messages - HarlowTheFish

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16
The Pickup Place / Re: One coil with more winds?
« on: September 26, 2020, 03:24:12 AM »
Yeah in that case try to call in your order and tell them that you wanna use that combo to make sure you can use the inner/outer coils together (if you care about this - not essential or anything, especially with a single-sized HB, but YMMV).

I'd still recommend series/parallel because you'll still get more brightness and less output, just not so much more brightness and less output that it sounds thin like single-sized HBs have a tendency to get. I know there is (or used to be) a wiring diagram on the Dimarzio site for B series/B parallel/both parallel/ N parallel/N series (or maybe middle is both split, I'm not super sure) that seems like it would work swell for you.

17
The Pickup Place / Re: JP Neck Pickups
« on: September 25, 2020, 01:28:32 PM »
Harlow, I really like your descriptions as they not only cover sound but also feel and are put in context. I think this is really helpful.

Cheers Stephan
IMO, my $0.02:
You can get any sound with an MXR 10-band and we would all be playing Telecasters if that was the only thing that mattered.

The real reason we all gravitate to different axes/pickups is because they feel different, respond better/worse to our individual playing styles, and drive our different rigs in their own unique ways. I have 4 humbucker guitars, an ESP Eclipse, and RG Prestige, a Strandberg (HSS but still), and my Kiesel - they all sound like bright, decently attacky modern humbuckers (Strandy excepted) and I can make them sound the same with a couple of notches on my amp EQ. But the response, playability, and feel of each pickup in each guitar (despite the fact that I could easily swap all of them around and not necessarily hear a difference on a recording) is complementary to the response, playability, and feel of each guitar. I like the stiffer Lithiums in the Kiesel because it has a spongier resonance, I like the more compressed Fusion Edge set in the RG because of its open resonance, and I like the EMG-ish Guitarmory Patriots in the Eclipse because they make it sound as big plugged in as it does acoustically.

Jazz guys don't dislike the X2n because of the sound and output - there's a lot of them that use a Tone Zone which is in the same kinda ballpark - they dislike it because of the feel.
Country guys don't avoid humbuckers because of the sound necessarily (as there's definitely HBs that will get that plucky clean) but because they don't feel right for the style of playing.
Etc., etc.

Just my $0.02, /rant

18
The Pickup Place / Re: One coil with more winds?
« on: September 25, 2020, 02:47:19 AM »
Same number of turns generally = similar-ish output
Thinner wire and higher resistance generally = a bit less treble

So you shouldn't lose much more volume than one would reasonably expect from a coil split, and the only real worry is minute differences in EQ that you might not even notice.
I'd recommend doing a series/parallel switch rather than a split, because you get a bit more output and it doesn't thin out your sound as much as a split, especially with a single-sized humbucker.

19
The Pickup Place / Re: JP Neck Pickups
« on: September 25, 2020, 02:44:28 AM »
I've played the CL/LF, Illuminators, and SEs in the same guitar - a friend's 2HB parts tele - and to my ear they sound damn near identical, with the general trend that I wrote in my other post: I've genuinely heard SD JBs that sound more different because of the differences between the 80s and modern models, or just between individual pickups, and you could easily make up this ground with about half a degree turn on your amp's EQ.

They feel pretty different though (the bridges more so than the necks - those just feel like you have a cranked MXR compressor on all the time). The CL feels way stiff and to my hand kinda harsh - I pick pretty hard and I have a bass background, so I tend to push the strings in towards the pickup a bit more than most guitarists, while the owner of this tele (who picks more normally) doesn't get that harshness so much. The Illuminator is less stiff but IMO it's a bit tubby in the low mids, so especially if you play kinda hard you get this really strange response where the treble and upper mids take a sec to come up in the sound. SE IMO is less stiff like the Illuminator but doesn't do this so it's my favorite one for the bridge.
As far as neck, my big issue with them (and why I kinda agree with Darth Phin) is that they sound different in the same way that the matching bridge pickups do, but they all feel so compressed that I could frankly not tell them apart when playing. Just off of hearing the sound, the SE is my favorite because I prefer brighter amps and it works well with that, Illuminator is so-so and the LF I really don't dig because it feels really indistinct. As far as playing feel I'd rather go for an Air Norton, which is just as fat but retains some dynamics, or a D-Activator X set to do something kinda like Michael Romeo thing (Tone Zone neck/X2n bridge) which sounds similar but IMO responds to my playing a lot better despite still being way too OTT for me.

I'm still curious, it's just that in my experience this particular line of pickups is a pretty shallow rabbit hole to dive into - OSHA wouldn't be too keen on that.

20
The Pickup Place / Re: JP Neck Pickups
« on: September 24, 2020, 08:44:01 PM »
I know that but this is a forum about pickups. We are supposed "want" to know the differences between those. All the details. Does that makes sense to you?
I mean yeah but Darth Phin is right - these are pretty minor changes in pickups that feel and sound very similar. The CL/LF is has the most treble and is the most aggressive overall, the Illuminator has a bit more low-mids and less low bass than that and a brighter but less extended treble (so a growlier rather than snarlier attack under gain), and the Sonic Ecstasy is basically the same tonal recipe as the Illuminator but a bit sweeter on the treble. They're all a great steak, so to speak, it's just a matter of whether you're a skirt steak (CL/LF), NY strip (Illuminator), or ribeye (SE) kinda person. Even JP seems to take them as just evolutionary steps bc every time a new pickup comes out, all of the guitars he still plays switch over to them (JP 15 started with CL/LF, got Illuminators, JP16 started with Illuminators and switched to SE, Majesty did the same).

21
Guitar Lounge / Re: Frankenstein Bass Question
« on: September 23, 2020, 01:34:33 PM »
What does FUBAR mean?
Fucked Up But All Right, Stephan

Hey, everyone,

I just ordered some parts to put together a bass from a guitar with a FUBAR body. This is my first ever guitar-related project.
The seller I ordered the guitar from was selling an ESP V-50. I noticed it's a thru body set up. I saw from the pictures the high E occupies most of that empty space in the holes for the strings.
So, I guess my question is: What kind of work would go into making a thru body guitar work as a thru body bass?

So you want to make a bass from a guitar body? Like a Bass VI-type short-scale deal with 6 strings and guitar spacing, or like a 4-string bass deal? In either case, I'd recommend filling the bridge post and ferrule holes and redrilling for a new bridge much further back, otherwise that neck's gonna dive like a fish. IMO, get a body that'll balance a bit better if you really wanna do that, but if you're really set on that V-50, then:
  • get a short-scale neck, Allen Eden sells some
  • fill the bridge post and ferrule holes
  • redrill for a new bass (or bass VI) bridge as far back on the body as you can for balance reasons
  • fit the new neck after shaping the headstock and drilling tuner holes (make sure you measure for the scale length - you might need to make the neck pocket deeper or have the bridge at a specific location to get it to intonate
  • add your pickups of choice, string up, and set up
  • profit

Pain in the ass, to be honest, but DIY short-scales are really cool and DIY Bass VIs are even cooler IMO. You might genuinely have an easier time with unrouted parts though, just because you don't have to do as much filling to get rid of the pre-existing hardware mounting holes.

22
I'd go for something with a Neodymium magnet and high wattage -- you can get a lot of clarity that way because the speaker won't fart out or distort without having to compromise on warmth. I know Eminence has/had a Neo 8" in the lineup, and I'm pretty sure Jensen has a couple Neos as well.

23
The Pickup Place / Re: Pickups you have changed your mind about...
« on: September 19, 2020, 02:51:16 AM »
The MFB/Suhr neck and mid singles in my Strandy Classic 6. I liked them well enough, they were fine, but kinda bland -- the bridge humbucker in that same guitar was stellar, so they always landed a bit flat for me. I pulled them to go in my Mustang, and it's now easily the best-sounding guitar I have as well as my favorite player. Punchy and muscular in the midrange, grunty and tight in the low end, and just enough snarl in the treble while staying sweet even with the tone all the way up (first guitar I've ever actively used the tone knob on too, and these pickups are super versatile if you play with the controls). Honestly if I see a set of these up for sale ever I'm probably gonna get them because they're really damn good.

24
The Pickup Place / Re: Sugar Shakra questions
« on: September 19, 2020, 02:44:53 AM »
Rails in general have lower magnetic pull due to the construction vs. a single coil with magnetic pole pieces.

It's probably usable in the middle with a full-size humbucker, but I'd only do that with a very hot bridge humbucker, like a D-Activator X or X2N. It's got similar output to something like a Super Distortion, so it's already hot even by humbucker standards, and I would be hesitant to pair it up with anything that isn't even hotter than that.

25
The Pickup Place / Re: Pickup for a BC Rich Bich
« on: August 17, 2020, 03:43:24 PM »
Bartolini does both a vintage-style one (so it'll have a bit more character) and a more modern one (which should be more transparent) that are for guitar - boost only, just output, so no EQ. They're a bit hard to get your hands on, so you might have to reach out to them and see if they can hook you up. I actually dig the vintage-style one a lot, a buddy of mine had one in an old axe of his, and it's really nice as a lead boost or, surprisingly, for jazz - warm and fat, without killing your treble response or making it too pokey.

Other than that, the Seymour Duncan Blackouts preamp is kinda finicky in that it's always on, but if you're hooking it up to its own dedicated pot for volume control, you could switch to it (though you'd need a DP4T switch to route all the cables - it needs all 4 conductors from your pickups to work properly. It's really good for riffs, has a bit more attack and aggression compared to an all-passive circuit with the same pickups, but doesn't give you a lot of flexibility - it's either on or off, and is more coloring than flexible like you'd traditionally find in a BCR.

If neither of those strikes your fancy, or if you want proper EQ, your best option is either building your own pedal-style preamp, cannibalizing an existing pedal, or finding a smaller pedal builder who can do that for you - if you're going that route, I recommend something that has clean gain but not a lot of clipping (if you want more control and boost ability, but not a lot of extra stuff in your signal) or something that tops out at Blues Driver/Tube Screamer levels of gain so it's a bit more manageable and doesn't require a second pot to have independent output/gain controls.

You could also dig around Reverb/Ebay to find an old BCR or Carvin preamp or something similar (sounds nice and authentic to the build, but can be a pain to wire, and the Carvin is meant to be always-on and needs 5 knobs - volume, tone, active treble, active bass) or go with a Fender midboost or something like that (though I'm not a huge fan of these because IMO they can get congested and too nasal, though for some people just having the mid push is nice).

26
The Pickup Place / Re: Pickup for a BC Rich Bich
« on: August 06, 2020, 10:47:19 PM »
Especially if you're going for a more vintage-style preamp instead of a newer kind - those have some character of their own, and if you add something high-output and with a really specific sound ala Super Distortion, they get nasally and odd. I do really dig the vibe of the old BCR preamps, or something like the Bartolini Vintage preamp (the guitar one, not the bass one), so letting them pull their own weight IMO pays off.

27
The Pickup Place / Re: Pickup for a BC Rich Bich
« on: August 03, 2020, 08:58:15 AM »
I'd say maybe consider something a bit clearer/more modern - if you're shoving a bunch of BCR-style preamps and switches and crud in there, having something with a bit extra treble will get you more versatile results. Something like the Transition set (if you want a bit more output) or Air Classic (for a something a bit more vintage) would be my picks, personally. The Super D/Super 2 set that BCR used back in the day is a classic, but I think with all the electronics it ends up sounding a bit congested, and might benefit from something that was designed with driving a bunch of effects and switching as a consideration.

28
The Pickup Place / Re: Titan in Bridge of Les Paul?
« on: July 22, 2020, 04:29:26 PM »
The Titan will get you where you want EQ-wise because it's all mids - there's not a whole lot of bass to get flabby and not a whole lot of treble to get harsh. The caveat to this is that it's also a super 'dry' feeling pickup (not a lot of compression, you need to be picking hard all the time if you want output and aggression) and it's very modern-voiced which I know some people aren't into. The neck version is similar, but a bit brighter and with a bit more compression. IMO it actually really shines in parallel mode (position 4 on the JB Ibanez) for cleans and leads.

It's a decently dark set overall, but still very present and cutting due to the mid focus, and it'll definitely push an amp pretty well. I've played it in a parts Tele and in the JB Ibanez (the latter of which is pretty LP-like - mahogany body, chunky maple top, maple-mahogany neck, and ebony board).

29
The Pickup Place / Re: DiMarzio D Activator X set demo
« on: July 21, 2020, 09:24:19 PM »
have to ask,"Why the faceless silver surfer mask?"
You mean you don't have one? They're totally the 'in' thing these days - mine's rattle-canned with the EVH stripes too ;D

30
Gear Closet / Re: Amp choices
« on: July 15, 2020, 07:17:57 PM »
H&K is really killing it with amps these days - stuff that sounds killer and is really practical for gigs. I have a Grandmeister Deluxe 40 and it's got that classic H&K thing (super bright all the time but cuts through a mix like nothing else), 40 watts (switchable to 20, 10, and 1 iirc), a power soak and DI out so you don't even need a cab, 4 channels plus a boost, pretty good reverb, delay, and modulation, and can work with MIDI presets (saved reverb, delay, boost, and modulation settings) or as a little pedalboard-type thing (4 channels on the footswitch plus toggles for the delay, modulation, and boost). 20ish lbs, too, so you can literally fit your amp, footswitch, and cables in a backpack and have a 2x12 in one hand and a guitar in the other (I use a DV Mark Neoclassic 2x12 which weighs in at 27lbs, so my entire rig is like 50lbs plus guitar). The Black Spirit 200 they dropped kinda recently has the same features but is solid state, is both smaller and lighter (the GM is pretty tiny too - a bit smaller than an AC15 head), and sounds killer.

Honestly like, if you gig or record on a more limited budget ($1500ish for the GM40D and $1000ish for the Black Spirit, plus $150 or so for the footswitch brand new - but you can get a GM for like $850 with the footswitch on Reverb) and need a bunch of different sounds, their stuff is kind of a no-brainer if you dig the vibe and response.

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