i recently bought a Guild X-175 Manhattan from the actual production series.
I love the neck and all the other specs, but i can't get along with P-90s. Thats the hard lesson that I learned with this baby.
Now I have the question should i sell it or switch the pickups to Humbuckers. I know there are only a view manufactures out there who have a exactly fitting pickup of the type P-90s with dog Ears but Humbucker inside.
One more thing that could be better is the feedback. But I think thats just with what you have to live if you love bigger jazz boxes.
What is it about the p-90 pickups that you don't like? Some day I would like to get a p-90 equipped archtop. Every one that I have tried I have liked - very cool sounds.
I always look at playability and the acoustic sound of a guitar first because if I like those the electronics can always be changed/upgraded. So if the guitar pleases you unplugged I'd keep it and explore the options for pups. I believe there's a company that makes a P90 cover to hold a humbucker but I'm not sure if it's just their humbucker or not.
Your guitar does not have P90s, but Guild's own version of them. Soundwise perhaps very close, but I think dimensions are different, so a humbucker-in-P90-cover might not fit without modification.
But the Creamery makes P90-sized humbuckers: The Creamery
Last edited by Little Jay; 04-15-2017 at 11:55 AM.
P-90 pickups are allright for me, but I wish the covers were black instead of cream white. They don't merge quite well with the guitar, they look like an afterthought...and still, humbuckers would be a better choice, IMHO.
Sell it and get the guitar that works for you. Better than guessing how the other solutions might sound and then spending the money to find out if you were right.
All these options, but you will probably need to modify something to get them to fit. If it's just drilling new screw holes, you'll be OK, but be careful and do it correctly. You may also have to enlarge the opening for different p/ups. Again, use care. Maybe a custom made unit? is what's needed, as the photo above shows, there are no "dog ears", tabs for mounting the P/up.
Last edited by Jimmy Mack; 06-18-2017 at 10:01 PM.
¿Maybe the same pickup in different configuration and mounting system?
Mounting ring screwed directly to the body and then the pickup screwed to the ring.
Just be sure and consider resale before you start modifying the top. A lot of "upgrades" on less expensive guitars will reduce resale value. I tend to agree with Jim Soloway. If you're not just completely enamored with everything else about the guitar, I'd consider cutting your losses and trying something else.
Another option might be to have someone install new insides to the pickups that are on the guitar now. When the Tone Spectrum pickup died on my 1951 Epiphone Zephyr Regent, Lindy Fralin installed a new pickup inside it.
i recently bought a Guild X-175 Manhattan from the actual production series.
I love the neck and all the other specs, but i can't get along with P-90s. Thats the hard lesson that I learned with this baby.
Now I have the question should i sell it or switch the pickups to Humbuckers. I know there are only a view manufactures out there who have a exactly fitting pickup of the type P-90s with dog Ears but Humbucker inside.
One more thing that could be better is the feedback. But I think thats just with what you have to live if you love bigger jazz boxes.
2 things: The pickups are not exactly shaped like p-90's so I don't think you can retrofit without some work. Also: I have the same guitar, and in the beginning I had some feedback problems. Here's how I fixed them: I took off the covers and unscrewed the 4 screws that mount the coil to the top. Then I added about 2mm of rubber hose (like the kind used for bike valves) to the screws so the pickup is now no longer mounted directly to the top. Put the covers back on - no more feedback!
Idem; I got it into my head that the saddle lean (I thought I) observed couldn't be good for the tone, plus the slots were all quite deep to my taste (except for the 6th where the saddle had been...
That is what I have found too in other amps. EL34s do have a mid range focus and perhaps a tighter bass and later break up than a 6L6. Regardless it is fun to be able to swap power tubes without a...
Very true, but you could lose a fair amount of gain, and you mentioned that that is what you're going for. I've found that using the guitar's tone control takes the edge off very effectively while...
Well, "smoother" sounds good... sometimes a 5751 "takes the edge off" a 12AX7, which can be good for the high end part of the gain, making it less strident.
There was this thread at the Gear Page
Did Gibson make a mistake….. with Epiphones….. | Page 2 | The Gear Page
People seem quite pleased with those new Epis. What if they did a "new" Epi ES-175 ?
I didn’t think it was an improvement. The EL34 sounded fuller, punchier, livelier. I intend to try a 6L6 and a KT88 one day but am in no hurry because the EL34 sounds killer.
Some amps can take a few different power tubes without adjustment, because they are cathode-biased. My Swart AST can do this. I haven't tried it, as anything other than the stock 6V6s will be...
I concur. Your experience with the 12AT7 was pretty much the same as mine with the 4024 - it was just not crunchy enough for me. But what a sweet tone! As you suggest, it may be better to evaluate...
I wanted to point out that Monk's ballads are formidable af! Everyone knows Round Midnight, but he has a handful of others that are really good.
Crepuscule with Nellie
...
Reminds me of my beloved 66 Epi Howard Roberts Standard !
The neck was not a short scale, definitely longer that the one of the Byrdland I had at the same time, very similar to my teacher's ES175...
Playing live and getting the best sound from the...
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