Floating Pickup Advice
robteejr<remove to
I would appreciate advice/recommendations regarding floating
humbucking pickups. I currently own a 77' Aria Pro II Johnny Smith
copy that currently has a no name Johhny Smith copy without adjustable
pole pieces. Besides the fact that my current pickup is not potted and
even at relatively low volumes it is very microphonic I'm not
satisfied with the tone in general. The only floating pickups that
I'm aware of (aftermarket available) are made by Bartolini, Kent
Armstong (who I also believe makes the Benedetto's) , Benedetto and
EMG. I've checked the reviews for the Bartolini, Benedetto and
Armstrong on the Harmony Central website and due to the mixed reviews
and very small number of reviews its hard to draw a definitive
conclusion. l'm looking for a warm, articulate tone that is not overly
bright. I will be (soon as I get it back from the shop) playing
through my old Polytone megabrute. Thanks rob taft
robteejr<remove to reply>@worldnet.att.net
David C. Stephens
adjustable pole pieces. It's used by leading luthiers, such as Ted Megas,
Jimmy Foster, John Buscarino, etc. It can also be wired up as a split coil,
so that you can operate in either single coil or humbucker mode. The old
Benedetto pickups were made by Armstrong and receive consistent strong
reviews. I think I read where the new Benedetto pickups are made by Seymour
Duncan.
I wouldn't worry about the opinions over at Harmony Central. I've found them
basically worthless.
The Tuck Andress model by Bertolini is very bright. Tuck plays fingerstyle
with no nails and runs the signal through a buffer preamp and equalizer to
get his signature sound. Unless your a fingerstyle player, it probably won't
be your cup of tea.
Seymour Duncan makes some nice humbuckers that often favorably mentioned
here. Strangely, the "jazz" model seems to be least liked for being too hot
and treblely. More favorable reviews come in for the Seth Lover model and
the Antiquity PAF. I think there's another well liked SD model, but I can't
recall. Oh, and not all of those are available as floaters (sorry 'bout
that, I got carried away).
Dave
robteejr @worldnet.att.net (rob taft) <remove to reply> wrote in message
news:3937f053...@netnews.worldnet.att.net...
Chip Zempel
<dcs...@ibm.net> wrote:
[snip]
>Seymour Duncan makes some nice humbuckers that often favorably mentioned
>here. Strangely, the "jazz" model seems to be least liked for being too hot
>and treblely.
[snip]
I've always assumed the name is a reference to the Fender Jazzmaster
guitar, which is a hot, trebly rock and roll solid-body deal. (Didn't the
Ventures play Jazzmasters?)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Chip Zempel, bass
Delta Breeze a cappella quartet
If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind,
what does an empty desk signify?
Mark Kleinhaut
> The old
> Benedetto pickups were made by Armstrong and receive consistent strong
> reviews. I think I read where the new Benedetto pickups are made by
Seymour Duncan.
Dave, are you sure about this? I got a Benedetto for my Bourgeois six
months ago and was told it was an Armstrong. I think it's great, by
the way, but its hard to imagine Seymour Duncan being able to replicate
it, nor would I expect Bob Benedetto to suddenly change his entire
model line.
--
Mark Kleinhaut
Info and soundclips available at
www.invisiblemusicrecords.com/Resources/Amphora.html
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Tom Jaffe
David C. Stephens
JJG (NO. 23), on page 149 there's a picture of Bob B. and Evan Skopp with
the caption, "Evan Skopp and Bob Benedetto at the Seymour Duncan booth
introducing the 'Benedetto pickups'".
I haven't heard the new Benedetto pu's, but I liked the old ones. I can't
imagine that with some design work and a lot trial and error, that SD
couldn't also come up with some great sounding designs.
Oh, here, the new Benedetto pickups website makes it clear at
http://www.benedettopickups.com/ Among other things, it says, "Benedetto is
a trademark of Robert Benedetto and is used under license by Seymour Duncan.
© 2000 Seymour Duncan. "
So, now your pickup may be a collector's item.
Dave
Mark Kleinhaut <markkl...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8h96gt$8sb$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Willie K. Yee, M.D.
pickup on my Artist Award. The pickup is sold by Manzer, and made by
Armstrong. It is called the "Jazz Cat", is black, has two rows of pole
pieces, and "PAF" stamped in the back.
I had it installed with a custom made pickguard by Carlo Greco. I use
Tomastik-Infield Swing 13s (round wound).
It sounds great. The high end lack the thinness that I did not like in
the AA pickup. The middle strings sound very woody, like the pickup is
picking up the sound of the archtop itself. The double pole pieces give
one a lot of leeway in adjusting each string, something else lacking in
the AA pickup. For some reason, maybe the particular set of strings,
this involved cranking both D poles all the way out, with the A and low
E most of the way in.
As I tweaked the sound though my various amps and processors, I found
that less is more. I undid all the tweaks I had added via the processor
for the AA pickup. The thing sounds fine plugged straight into a
Polytone, or a Roland JC 120 with the treble turned down ALL THE WAY.
I find that the pickup sounds best if the volume control on the guitar
is not turned up more than 1/3 of the way. It loses all its subtlety at
higher settings. I may have had the wrong pot size (250 K) installed.
"robteejr @worldnet.att.net (rob taft)" wrote:
>
> I would appreciate advice/recommendations regarding floating
> humbucking pickups.
--
Willie K. Yee, M.D. http://www.bestweb.net/~wyee
Developer of Problem Knowledge Couplers for Psychiatry
http://www.pkc.com
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http://www.bigbluebigband.com
Remove "DONTSPAM" from return address to reply.
Faizal Ali
"David C. Stephens" <dcs...@ibm.net> wrote in message
news:3937f...@news1.prserv.net...
>
> Seymour Duncan makes some nice humbuckers that often favorably mentioned
> here. Strangely, the "jazz" model seems to be least liked for being too
hot
> the Antiquity PAF. I think there's another well liked SD model, but I
can't
> recall.
You're probably thinking of the Seymour Duncan "59 model. Apparently, SD
also makes a Johnny Smith-type model. It's not in their regular catalog,
but they may sell it as a custom order.
rob taft
reply>@worldnet.att.net (rob taft) wrote:
>
>I would appreciate advice/recommendations regarding floating
>humbucking pickups....
Thanks to everyone who posted. I've been a frequent lurker and an
infrequent poster for about a year and a half and this group
demonstrates what's possible when people with similar interests
communicate in a no BS, cordial manner. I'm always learning something
new or a new way to look at a familiar issue.
I'll probably go with the Armstrong with the adjustable pole pieces
as I find string balance to be a problem with this guitar. Individual
string volume is also effected because I can't get my current
floating pickup level to the strings without shimming (placing felt
between base of pickup and body) which negates some of the benifits
of the floating pickup. rob taft
David C. Stephens
robteejr @worldnet.att.net (rob taft) <nospam> wrote in message
news:39391920....@netnews.worldnet.att.net...
Rob, shimming is used on almost every custom guitar with floating pickups
I've seen. You've got to keep the shim's size as compact as practical, but
there's really no other reliable way to level the pu that floats off the
pickguard or neck. The small contact area of a shim isn't really going to
deaden the top noticeably.
I wouldn't discourage you from improving your pu, but I'd urge you to level
the pu, relative to the strings, then adjust the pole pieces to balance with
the strings you use. You still may find need to thin or thicken the shim,
particularly if the low E string is problematic.
Dave
rob taft
Dave, Thanks, I realize light pressure on the top shouldn't cause any
noticable loss in volume etc., Unfortunately I've got other problems
(like improper sized volume pot, cold solder joints, pickguard that is
too small (base of bracket shows) etc.) that so frustrated me that I
decided to rip the whole mess out and do it myself. I recently started
playing after a long layoff and took the guitar to a local luthier
here in Savannah (with a very good rep)who just did a crappy job. Boy
I could write a column about some of the "experts" I been to over the
years. This last experience convinced me to buy the right
tools,books, and do some training on one of my beaters so that I
could avoid going to someone else for the minor stuff. Sorry getting
off track.,... rob
Willie K. Yee, M.D.
of the fingerboard. This was because my narrow design pickguard did not
have a brace, and could not support the pickup (or itself for that
matter) on its own.
"robteejr @worldnet.att.net (rob taft)" wrote:
>
>I can't get my current
> >> floating pickup level to the strings without shimming (placing felt
> >> between base of pickup and body) which negates some of the benifits
> >> of the floating pickup.
> >
> >Rob, shimming is used on almost every custom guitar with floating pickups