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I’m looking for a pickup to get me close to this sound. Anyone know what he was using back then?
Mark Whitfield - The Marksman (Full Album) - YouTube
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06-19-2025 06:38 PM
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Well, in those days he was using a Johnny Smith type pickup. Lollar makes a very good one.
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No offence to anyone but, I don't think you can get that sound from just a p-up change...
Originally Posted by LJP
The Marksman used a combination of live miking (the acoustic sound) and electric as well as Mark's strings and pick choice to achieve that, not mentioning Mark's tremendous abilities..By his own admission he's a hard picker, you can hear that snap of the strings on that fingerboard.
My fav sound from him is this live YT
S
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Yup I totally agree. Just figured I’d start with the pickup. That video is sweet! Thanks for that! Also cool to see he’s using a Mesa Boogie amp of some sort too.
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In those days and on that debut album he had an Ibanez Johnny Smith lawsuit guitar and they came stock with their own propriatary pickup. Frankly, they weren't the best pickups out there but his playing, on the other hand, could make just about anything sound great.
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Wow the local shop has an Ibanez Johnny Smith from 75 I think. Everything was great about it except that it weighs 8lbs. I though my leg was going to fall asleep!
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[Mark was a kid on that album - and already so good!]
No offense, either, but chasing the tone on a studio album (or even a "live" album) is going down a deep, dark, and likely endless rabbit hole! Abandon all hope!!
That being said, there are many players/recordings where I listen and think, "Oh, man, I would love to sound like that!!" and yet, with lessons, practicing, gear (picks, strings, pickups, cables, guitar [wood, hollow, semi-], amp [tube, ss], speaker, cab [materials, open-/closed-back], et al., ad nauseam), and I still kinda sound like me (which sometimes I like, and other times maybe not -- based on the gig, the room, the vibe, the other players, house gear or my gear, did I eat, how am I feeling today ...).
Happy hunting!
FWIW, one of my fave guitar sounds is Kevin Eubanks' playing on Dave Holland's "Extensions" album: he goes from "sweet and pretty" to "screaming" throughout the album! [and I sound nothing like him!]
Marc
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Yup. And it was a laminate (spruce laminate) and they hadn't really figured out how to make low mass laminate tops yet. That would wait 'til the Joe Pass a few years later. Originally Posted by LJP
I had one because it'd ALWAYS been a fantasy to have a D'Angelico, and the Gibson Johnny Smith was my dream guitar. Since I couldn't afford that, I got an Ibanez back in the day. I loved having it, looking at it, thinking about it, but it was not a joy to play. When a local shop did get a Gibson JS, I gathered every penny I had and traded the Ibanez for a Gibson.
I learned a lot from those purchases, and I really appreciated the value of a good Ibanez when they eventually had their hay day in the early 80's.
I look at the era before that as their journeyman time. They may have been a threat to Gibson's sales, but they were never a serious threat to the niche of Gibson's quality and materials, even during Norlin... until the 80's. Then Ibanez earned their place.
If Ibanez had ever gone into production with a solid top lacquer archtop, the world would be a different place.
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Thanks for the Tom Holland clip! Just bought the CD.
Originally Posted by marcwhy
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Originally Posted by Fear the Reaper
Cool! [they have a newer "version" of the band, too!]
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