106
Guitar Lounge / Re: Stratocaster tuning secret
« on: January 15, 2011, 08:53:03 AM »
There's a product for that COBL... the D-Tuna. I'm not a Floyd guy but I've played 'em and they seem to work pretty well.
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107
Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The PAF Pro
« on: January 15, 2011, 08:50:32 AM »
I've been having a hard time finding the right neck pickup for my Dean Cadillac so I finally got around to trying a PAF Pro in there. Installed it yesterday and I like it a lot. I'm gonna give it some more time but right now it's feeling like a keeper.
When I first got it installed it didn't seem bright or defined at all. Quite the opposite actually. So I dropped the height and raised the neck side poles a bit. Now it still has the warmth from before but with added clarity, crispness, and just enough growl. Nice harmonics and grunt when I want it. And it really lets my hands do the talking. I can COMMUNICATE with this pickup, if that makes sense. And it makes me want to ROCK.
I'd read before that the PAF Pro is PAF in name only. I disagree. Once I got it tweaked right, it sings with a rich PAF flavor, only clearer. This pickup walks the line between vintage and modern. Can go both ways. It reacts extremely well to control changes, too. Haven't installed parallel/split coil switching yet, but I plan to.
When I first got it installed it didn't seem bright or defined at all. Quite the opposite actually. So I dropped the height and raised the neck side poles a bit. Now it still has the warmth from before but with added clarity, crispness, and just enough growl. Nice harmonics and grunt when I want it. And it really lets my hands do the talking. I can COMMUNICATE with this pickup, if that makes sense. And it makes me want to ROCK.
I'd read before that the PAF Pro is PAF in name only. I disagree. Once I got it tweaked right, it sings with a rich PAF flavor, only clearer. This pickup walks the line between vintage and modern. Can go both ways. It reacts extremely well to control changes, too. Haven't installed parallel/split coil switching yet, but I plan to.
108
Guitar Lounge / Re: Stratocaster tuning secret
« on: January 14, 2011, 08:56:36 AM »
It's not the Floyd's fault directly. It's a side effect of having a big chunk of wood chopped out of the middle of a guitar that impacts tone, and it just means that less of the overall tone is going to come from the wood, and more from everything else.
109
The Pickup Place / Re: Bluesbucker vs. SD Phat Cat
« on: December 16, 2010, 08:41:50 AM »
I agree. The Bluesbucker has some PAF-ish flavor to go along with the P90 tone, in a good way IMO. I love the Bluesbucker.
People around here might turn their nose up, but Kent Armstrong also has a very good humbucker sized P-90. A set of them should cost you a lot less than the Phat Cats and will sound just as nice. If you go with Kents, get the regular one in the bridge, and get the lower output (vintage is what it's called) reverse polarity model for your neck.
Don't forget about Duncan P-Rails. After a year or so I got bored with mine, but I thought the P-90 tone in it was very good, as well as the parallel tone. The rail tone was OK for me. The humbucker series tone... meh. The thing that made me get rid of it was that it really didn't go welll with what I wanted in the bridge (Tone Zone).... I was surprised about this because the P-90 Tone Zone and Dimarzio Virtual P-90 is maybe my favorite pickup combo ever. But in the end the Tone Zone stayed and the P-Rails got the boot. Man, I wish Dimarzio made the Virtual P-90 in humbucker form factor!
Also you can get single coil to humbucker conversion plates which can open up the whole world of strat pickups to you. I'm using one right now with a Dimarzio Chopper in the spot where the P-Rails came out of. I bought a couple from an eBay seller called "tricked out guitar" I believe. They come in black and cream. The nice thing about those is that you can flip 'em and slant your strat pickup one way or another.
People around here might turn their nose up, but Kent Armstrong also has a very good humbucker sized P-90. A set of them should cost you a lot less than the Phat Cats and will sound just as nice. If you go with Kents, get the regular one in the bridge, and get the lower output (vintage is what it's called) reverse polarity model for your neck.
Don't forget about Duncan P-Rails. After a year or so I got bored with mine, but I thought the P-90 tone in it was very good, as well as the parallel tone. The rail tone was OK for me. The humbucker series tone... meh. The thing that made me get rid of it was that it really didn't go welll with what I wanted in the bridge (Tone Zone).... I was surprised about this because the P-90 Tone Zone and Dimarzio Virtual P-90 is maybe my favorite pickup combo ever. But in the end the Tone Zone stayed and the P-Rails got the boot. Man, I wish Dimarzio made the Virtual P-90 in humbucker form factor!
Also you can get single coil to humbucker conversion plates which can open up the whole world of strat pickups to you. I'm using one right now with a Dimarzio Chopper in the spot where the P-Rails came out of. I bought a couple from an eBay seller called "tricked out guitar" I believe. They come in black and cream. The nice thing about those is that you can flip 'em and slant your strat pickup one way or another.
110
Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Crunch Lab
« on: November 16, 2010, 09:31:25 AM »
Links to helpful info about the Crunch Lab:
Couple of interesting threads (with reviews) at SD forums:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190617
http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201996
Blogger compares Crunch Lab to other Dimarzios:
http://diy-fever.com/reviews/crunchlab-liquifire/
Guitar World video review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RTEYvI9Xco
Now for my review!
I've been hunting the perfect set of pickups for my latest guitar, a Dean Cadillac. It's a huge chunk of mahogany, arched maple top, sonically spot on to a Les Paul. I don't really care anything about John Petrucci, but the thing that really swayed me to want to try the Crunch Lab was the Guitar World video (link above). At first I thought the Crunch Lab might not be good in mahogany due to stuff I've read on other boards, and the fact that I *thought* Reverend guitars (used in that video demo) are strictly made out of Korina, but then I found something saying that some of those single-cut Reverends were also made from mahogany/maple, so I decided to take the chance. I figured if I never tried the Crunch Lab I'd always be wondering "what if".
I got it installed (bar towards neck) and the Crunch Lab is a home run in this guitar! I totally get now why they named it "Crunch Lab". When palm muted, the consonant of this pickup is not really a "thunk" or a "chunk" but actually kind of a crispy crunch sound. After getting to know this pickup for a little while I'm kinda scratching my head wondering HOW they did this, as the pickup has a lot of killer qualities that seem in conflict with one another. Clear but full. Warm but crisp. Agressive but refined. I understand why LuredMaul said the CL "might just be the answer to this whole forums issues".
Bring your biggest chord under the most gain, and the Crunch Lab can handle it like you wouldn't believe. Insanely awesome. Dynamics it's got. Very sensitive to attack, yet not an unforgiving pickup. Some sensitive, high output pickups can magnify a mistake and make it uglier... total lack of mercy. Not so with the Crunch Lab. Compared to a lot of other pickups In the mercy department, the Crunch Lab is a savior. Maybe it's the whole "crunch" thing. Every sound out of this magnet is a thing of beauty.
Maybe it's this guitar, but I don't really get why Dimarzio's site says this pickup is "not a screamer, and it's not about thundering lows". The low end on this thing is pretty devastating. Not in a Tone Zone massive sort of way, but kind of like a two-headed dragon. The crunch sound seems to cut through a mix like crazy. And maybe it's just my cab, but I'm hearing some really LOW accentuated frequencies, like sub-5 0k. Together they make the low end extremely dangerous. And about screaming... here's where we get back to the head scratching. When you go up the neck, this pickup sings tenderly and sweetly up high. But I'm ripping out nasty, sick, in-your-face harmonics all over the place with ease like it's a Norton.
The CL cleans up nicely by rolling back the volume. It really sounds great putting tubes just past the point of breakup then using the volume control on the guitar to find exactly the right spot. And it's got some great sexy tones by rolling back both the tone and volume on a high gain sound. I do want to point out that while the CL is definitely a metal pickup, it is not just a metal monster. It sounds fabulous with cleans or, like I said, just past the breakup point.
All in all, the Crunch Lab is TOTALLY living up to the hype for me. A definite keeper.
Couple of interesting threads (with reviews) at SD forums:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190617
http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201996
Blogger compares Crunch Lab to other Dimarzios:
http://diy-fever.com/reviews/crunchlab-liquifire/
Guitar World video review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RTEYvI9Xco
Now for my review!
I've been hunting the perfect set of pickups for my latest guitar, a Dean Cadillac. It's a huge chunk of mahogany, arched maple top, sonically spot on to a Les Paul. I don't really care anything about John Petrucci, but the thing that really swayed me to want to try the Crunch Lab was the Guitar World video (link above). At first I thought the Crunch Lab might not be good in mahogany due to stuff I've read on other boards, and the fact that I *thought* Reverend guitars (used in that video demo) are strictly made out of Korina, but then I found something saying that some of those single-cut Reverends were also made from mahogany/maple, so I decided to take the chance. I figured if I never tried the Crunch Lab I'd always be wondering "what if".
I got it installed (bar towards neck) and the Crunch Lab is a home run in this guitar! I totally get now why they named it "Crunch Lab". When palm muted, the consonant of this pickup is not really a "thunk" or a "chunk" but actually kind of a crispy crunch sound. After getting to know this pickup for a little while I'm kinda scratching my head wondering HOW they did this, as the pickup has a lot of killer qualities that seem in conflict with one another. Clear but full. Warm but crisp. Agressive but refined. I understand why LuredMaul said the CL "might just be the answer to this whole forums issues".
Bring your biggest chord under the most gain, and the Crunch Lab can handle it like you wouldn't believe. Insanely awesome. Dynamics it's got. Very sensitive to attack, yet not an unforgiving pickup. Some sensitive, high output pickups can magnify a mistake and make it uglier... total lack of mercy. Not so with the Crunch Lab. Compared to a lot of other pickups In the mercy department, the Crunch Lab is a savior. Maybe it's the whole "crunch" thing. Every sound out of this magnet is a thing of beauty.
Maybe it's this guitar, but I don't really get why Dimarzio's site says this pickup is "not a screamer, and it's not about thundering lows". The low end on this thing is pretty devastating. Not in a Tone Zone massive sort of way, but kind of like a two-headed dragon. The crunch sound seems to cut through a mix like crazy. And maybe it's just my cab, but I'm hearing some really LOW accentuated frequencies, like sub-5 0k. Together they make the low end extremely dangerous. And about screaming... here's where we get back to the head scratching. When you go up the neck, this pickup sings tenderly and sweetly up high. But I'm ripping out nasty, sick, in-your-face harmonics all over the place with ease like it's a Norton.
The CL cleans up nicely by rolling back the volume. It really sounds great putting tubes just past the point of breakup then using the volume control on the guitar to find exactly the right spot. And it's got some great sexy tones by rolling back both the tone and volume on a high gain sound. I do want to point out that while the CL is definitely a metal pickup, it is not just a metal monster. It sounds fabulous with cleans or, like I said, just past the breakup point.
All in all, the Crunch Lab is TOTALLY living up to the hype for me. A definite keeper.
111
Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Norton
« on: November 16, 2010, 08:49:52 AM »
My take on Norton in the Neck...
I read a glowing review from another forum member who paired the Norton in the neck with the Tone Zone in the bridge, so I decided to give it a shot. 22 fret guitar. Mahogany, but thin sounding for mahogany.
I have the Tone Zone adjusted exactly to my liking, medium height, and it sounds fantastic in the bridge. But with the way I have it adjusted, the Norton was way too loud in the neck, even with its height far away from the strings. I already had this guitar wired up for switching the neck pickup from series to parallel and splitting either coil so I was able to test all of those sounds. My favorite sound by far from the Norton in the neck was with the slug coil active. Kinda creamy and vintagey. Good sound, but not good enough for me to keep the Norton there. Running it normally (series), I couldn't help but thinking I'd much rather be playing through an Air Norton instead.
For grins I decided to flip the pickup around. Since I was really digging the slug coil split, I thought maybe I'd like it more with that coil towards the neck. But as soon as I flipped it... yuck! All switching options were fail. I'm sure someone like COBL could give us the technical/scientific explanation (which I'd actually be interested in) but the harmonic tones were just all wrong with the pickup installed this way.
I read a glowing review from another forum member who paired the Norton in the neck with the Tone Zone in the bridge, so I decided to give it a shot. 22 fret guitar. Mahogany, but thin sounding for mahogany.
I have the Tone Zone adjusted exactly to my liking, medium height, and it sounds fantastic in the bridge. But with the way I have it adjusted, the Norton was way too loud in the neck, even with its height far away from the strings. I already had this guitar wired up for switching the neck pickup from series to parallel and splitting either coil so I was able to test all of those sounds. My favorite sound by far from the Norton in the neck was with the slug coil active. Kinda creamy and vintagey. Good sound, but not good enough for me to keep the Norton there. Running it normally (series), I couldn't help but thinking I'd much rather be playing through an Air Norton instead.
For grins I decided to flip the pickup around. Since I was really digging the slug coil split, I thought maybe I'd like it more with that coil towards the neck. But as soon as I flipped it... yuck! All switching options were fail. I'm sure someone like COBL could give us the technical/scientific explanation (which I'd actually be interested in) but the harmonic tones were just all wrong with the pickup installed this way.
112
Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Bluesbucker
« on: November 05, 2010, 07:21:46 PM »
I want to update my continued experience with the Bluesbucker. I'm normally a humbucker-only guy, but I've spent a lot of time with real P90s and other single coils since my earlier post here to give me a better perspective.
First off, if you are looking for a strat-a-licious tone in a warm/darkish guitar (i.e. mahogany), get a Bluesbucker, install it in normal orientation, and wire it up for switching to parallel. You are in for a treat. I would compare it to the Dimarzio Chopper but with less mids... which is a great thing for mahogany because the wood is going to give you all those mids.
In series installed in normal orientation, this thing is kinda halfway between a P90 and a PAF, in a very good way. It is a little smoother than a typical P90, and it has a little more mass behind the tone than single coils. It's got a very sweet sound, though. The harmonics are very, very nice. Nothing overboard, but definitely the bubbly kind of neck harmonics you'd expect from Slash or similar.
If you are looking for vintagey single coilish sounds in a humbucker spot, this has you covered. To me the touch of PAF flavor is an added bonus. As time has passed, my love for the Bluesbucker has only grown, where my love for the Duncan P-Rails has completely vanished.
First off, if you are looking for a strat-a-licious tone in a warm/darkish guitar (i.e. mahogany), get a Bluesbucker, install it in normal orientation, and wire it up for switching to parallel. You are in for a treat. I would compare it to the Dimarzio Chopper but with less mids... which is a great thing for mahogany because the wood is going to give you all those mids.
In series installed in normal orientation, this thing is kinda halfway between a P90 and a PAF, in a very good way. It is a little smoother than a typical P90, and it has a little more mass behind the tone than single coils. It's got a very sweet sound, though. The harmonics are very, very nice. Nothing overboard, but definitely the bubbly kind of neck harmonics you'd expect from Slash or similar.
If you are looking for vintagey single coilish sounds in a humbucker spot, this has you covered. To me the touch of PAF flavor is an added bonus. As time has passed, my love for the Bluesbucker has only grown, where my love for the Duncan P-Rails has completely vanished.
113
Gear Closet / Re: Compression?
« on: July 14, 2010, 09:04:14 AM »Most pedal compressors are terrible, that's the problem.
This. The commonly used compressor pedals (MXR, etc.) are crap if you ask me. And the result for many guitarists who try these awful compressor pedals is that they don't understand how good compression can take a good tone and make it a great one, especially for cleans, because the crap compressors they've tried are robbing them of their precious dynamics. And they're right.
One rule of thumb for compressor pedals is if it's got less than 3 knobs, definitely avoid it. For me, the key to getting a good compressed tone is delaying the attack, so the front end of your notes stays unaffected (leaving your picking dynamics alone for the most part) while still giving you the creamy saturation that you want without adding gain. But just because a comp pedal has 3+ knobs doesn't mean it's going to be good. Even with an attack rate control, many pedal compressors still suck ass, because they don't attack smoothly enough. Like you hear a plunging sound when the compressor kicks in. That's not what you want, either.
Again I have to give Rocktron some love here. Their pedals are all pro rack gear pedigree, and their compressor pedals are fabulous, at least with the attack turned up high (to make it kick in more slowly). No weird plunging as the compressor kicks in, and it affects short notes and picking dynamics little if any, while still giving all the deliciousness to the notes and chords you do want to sustain. Plus they're fairly cheap.
114
Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Norton
« on: May 12, 2010, 12:19:37 AM »I've heard people say the Norton can be too loose or muddy in the bottom end for hard rock styles. Like palm muting and stuff with decent amounts of gain. How tight is the Norton compared to the Steve's Special? I have a SS right now and its alright but totally lacks mids I was just wondering if the bottom end is anything like the SS. I don't really have a problem with the SS being loose but I've heard people saying its not very tight so hows the Norton in comparison?
Wrong. All wrong. Norton is about as tight as it gets down low.
115
The Pickup Place / Re: I just lowered the height of my Tone Zone....
« on: March 24, 2010, 11:29:56 AM »
20 minutes of adjustment is probably quick. I've heard people around here say it can take a week of play and tweaking to really dial it in, and I tend to agree. Well maybe not a whole week, but dialing in the TZ is worth taking some time, using your ears, and making slight adjustments. The results are 
116
Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Norton
« on: January 19, 2010, 12:59:31 PM »I like to think Edward Norton. He's a balanced actor
Edward Norton wasn't around as an actor when the Norton pickup came out, so that couldn't be it. I did some searching around and found this thread, though:
http://www.jemsite.com/forums/f35/dimarzio-pickup-names-35556.html
It claims that the Fred is named after Fred Flintstone, and the Norton after Ed Norton, which is the name the character on The Honeymooners played by Art Carney that was the inspiration for Barney Rubble in the Flintstones. The Honeymooners is a bit before my time, but I have seen a few episodes. And I have probably seen every episode of The Flintstones.
Also the same Norton referred to by Eddie Murphy in his famous, "Norton! Why don't you come over here and ... ... ..." bit. You know, back in the early-mid 80's when Eddie Murphy was one of the greatest stand-up comedians around, and not doing dumb movies dressing up like big fat people.
I believe it.
117
Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Norton
« on: January 05, 2010, 12:01:59 PM »
Back on topic, I just wanted to add some thoughts on why I love the Norton...
First it REALLY has a TIGHT low end. If you like to shred down low and not have it come out like a thunderous ooze, then Norton is your ticket. Even with crazy high gain and playing speed, every note down low will come out well defined and scorching.
Second the harmonics are just out of this world. If pinch harmonics turn you on, Norton will make your toes curl. I love being able to roll back on tone and volume and STILL be able to rip out a screaming pinchy. And Norton's harmonics are very rich and musical, not too piercing or screechy like with some high output pickups.
Norton has an open-ish tone that it inherited from the Tone Zone. So you won't sound like angry bees, mosquitos, or other flying insects.
I love that its output is medium, that means I can match it up with a lowish output neck pickup and they can still play nice together. But even not being an insanely high output pickup, the Norton can still get as hard and heavy as you could ever use.
Now... does anyone know where the Norton name came from? That's something I've always wanted to know about the Norton.
First it REALLY has a TIGHT low end. If you like to shred down low and not have it come out like a thunderous ooze, then Norton is your ticket. Even with crazy high gain and playing speed, every note down low will come out well defined and scorching.
Second the harmonics are just out of this world. If pinch harmonics turn you on, Norton will make your toes curl. I love being able to roll back on tone and volume and STILL be able to rip out a screaming pinchy. And Norton's harmonics are very rich and musical, not too piercing or screechy like with some high output pickups.
Norton has an open-ish tone that it inherited from the Tone Zone. So you won't sound like angry bees, mosquitos, or other flying insects.
I love that its output is medium, that means I can match it up with a lowish output neck pickup and they can still play nice together. But even not being an insanely high output pickup, the Norton can still get as hard and heavy as you could ever use.
Now... does anyone know where the Norton name came from? That's something I've always wanted to know about the Norton.
118
Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Bluesbucker
« on: November 09, 2009, 04:37:54 PM »
Some thoughts about Bluesbucker in the neck...
I don't have extensive experience with P90's but I have played my share. Bluesbucker to me sounds like a sweet, delicious P90. Maybe not quite as gritty as some. In parallel it sounds a *LOT* like position 4 or 5 in a strat and is quite a bit brighter than in series. This pickup is very sensitive and responsive to volume and tone adjustments, even more so in parallel. And coil tapped is in the telecaster realm.
If you are considering a Duncan P-Rails, then you should also consider a Bluesbucker. I have a P-Rails in the neck of one guitar, set up for switching between series, parallel, P90, and single coil. If you set up the Bluesbucker to switch between series, parallel, and single coil, it definitely covers the same ground as the P-Rails, with the only exception being the full series humbucker mode of the P-Rails. The P-Rails is a hot, beefy humbucker with a considerable amount more balls than I would have expected. But if you can do without the humbucker balls, then Bluesbucker is the ticket.
I think the Bluesbucker just sounds sweeter than the P-Rails, though. I know that's a completely subjective thing, but I don't know how else to put it. If you're one of those guys who doesn't believe that volume and tone knobs are necessary, then either the Bluesbucker will teach you that they ARE, or you will probably not be crazy about it. Also, personally speaking, having a Bluesbucker in the neck completely solves my previous need for a strat, because it will do absolutely everything I'd want (and more) from a strat.
I don't have extensive experience with P90's but I have played my share. Bluesbucker to me sounds like a sweet, delicious P90. Maybe not quite as gritty as some. In parallel it sounds a *LOT* like position 4 or 5 in a strat and is quite a bit brighter than in series. This pickup is very sensitive and responsive to volume and tone adjustments, even more so in parallel. And coil tapped is in the telecaster realm.
If you are considering a Duncan P-Rails, then you should also consider a Bluesbucker. I have a P-Rails in the neck of one guitar, set up for switching between series, parallel, P90, and single coil. If you set up the Bluesbucker to switch between series, parallel, and single coil, it definitely covers the same ground as the P-Rails, with the only exception being the full series humbucker mode of the P-Rails. The P-Rails is a hot, beefy humbucker with a considerable amount more balls than I would have expected. But if you can do without the humbucker balls, then Bluesbucker is the ticket.
I think the Bluesbucker just sounds sweeter than the P-Rails, though. I know that's a completely subjective thing, but I don't know how else to put it. If you're one of those guys who doesn't believe that volume and tone knobs are necessary, then either the Bluesbucker will teach you that they ARE, or you will probably not be crazy about it. Also, personally speaking, having a Bluesbucker in the neck completely solves my previous need for a strat, because it will do absolutely everything I'd want (and more) from a strat.
119
Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Tone Zone
« on: November 05, 2009, 07:35:24 AM »If I'm not mistaken Buckethead makes considerable use of the tz as a neck pickup in his white les paul if not more guitars. Meaty, meaty
It's true. Tone Zone in the neck, Air Norton in the bridge. He used that combo between 2005 and 2008, during which time he put out some really great work with GREAT tone. To hear this combo just check out the millions of Buckethead videos on Youtube from that time period.