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They are fairly costly, but Sadowsky deserves his reputation as a maker of exquisitely constructed and set-up instruments. Congrats on your keeper!
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11-20-2013 06:45 PM
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Yesterday I got my Sadowsky Jim Hall in the mail.
Needless to say I was thrilled.
Today I had the time to try it amplified and I was really disappointed with the muddy sound.
Since I haven't heard a single bad thing about this guitar anywhere I got curious.
Somebody switched the original Dimarzio pickup to a Seymour Duncan SH-4.
This guitar sounds nothing like any of the Jim Halls I've heard online.
So my question is:
Which Pickup would you recommend for a transparent sound that brings out the full potential of this beautiful guitar.
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Congrats on the guitar!
You've kinda answered your own question: if they typically sound a certain way, and they typically have a different pickup than yours, than try the original pickup.
Call Roger: see if he has one laying around!
Enjoy the guitar!
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Thanks for your reply!
I already emailed Roger (I'm from Austria so calling unfortunately isn't an option)
Sorry, I didn't phrase my question properly.
I was looking for a pickup that possibly might have a similar sound to the one used on the Jim Hall.
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Was it delivered in a...brown paper envelope? Does it have durty pitchurs of nekkid ladies in it?
Originally Posted by ggjay
Congrats on the Sadowsky Jim Hall. Just kidding about the durty pitchurs although you do sound about as chuffed about it as the kid who just received his first lad's magazine in a brown paper envelope...
Sorry to read about the swapped-out pickup. How about the Benedetto A6 or B6? The Sadowsky archtops have always had that acoustic stringy sound to it, like strings amplified.
Your safest bet is to get a replacement from Roger Sadowsky. I read that it is a minimally wax-potted DiMarzio. Or have Kent Armstrong's son, Aaron Armstrong, who lives in the UK, to wind one for you Armstrong Pickups .
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I have a Sadowsky JH too and love it. Great guitar.
Sadowsky's customer service is quite responsive via email. Definitely try that first. Even if they don't supply a pickup, they should give you good advice, or maybe a spec.
If that fails, your want a relatively low output humbucker, like a Duncan SH-1 or a Lollar Imperial, which is available in a low-wind version.
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get the original pickup....
Sounds like it is suppose to on my JH...
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I believe they use Di Marzio 36th on all other guitars so it might be a good choice.
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SH-4!?!?!? That is the "JB" model and is intended as a bridge pickup (16.4K ohms resistance)! No wonder it sounds muddy. Originally Posted by ggjay
maggles
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A Guild HB1, if you can find one. The HB1 was on JH's D'Aquisto, and which apparently DiMarzio copied for the Sadowsky. Originally Posted by ggjay
They are very transparent, with less midrange than a typical Paf.
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Here is Lage Lund playing the Sadowsky JH
This will give you a good idea of what it could sound like..............
http://www.amazon.com/Marcus-Gilmore...club+lage+lund
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Good suggestions above,
The Guild humbucker has a close association with JH.
The Benedetto B6 is also very good for a modern JH type tone, with the tone rolled back. I have one (a B7) in an Ibanez AF207.
As another option, check out the Shadow Electronics Attila Zoller model. The SH AZ 49 is the top mounted one.
Attila Zoller jazz guitar ring mount humbucker
Incidentally, the floating version of the AZ pickup was also used by Jimmy Raney, on his later recordings, fitted to his Hofner.
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Yeah, you're right!SH-4!?!?!? That is the "JB" model and is intended as a bridge pickup (16.4K ohms resistance)! No wonder it sounds muddy.
maggles
I considered this a possibility in the back of my head, but i didn't check because I really didn't think someone would do this.
The funny thing is the wrong Humbucker went unnoticed by the two previous owners...Last edited by ggjay; 09-02-2015 at 02:45 PM.
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Yes, good advice, but..... be careful, later HB1s were made by Fender and/or Seymour Duncan. I think the Duncan ones are exactly the same as their SH-1 (59') Model except for the cover. Not a bad pickup, but not an original Guild HB1. Originally Posted by Franz 1997
I am not sure when Guild stopped making the original but it was quite a while ago. Perhaps some online research would help. Actually, the original ones are very hard to find (unless you buy the whole Guild along with it).
maggles
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Good points made above. I have a couple of 70s original HB1s, and they are around 6.5K, with very strong magnets. Some other HB1 pickups and specs are on this site: Guild HB1 Pickups Originally Posted by maggles55
It might be possible for a knowledgeable pickup maker who knows these specs to wind a pickup to approximate the HB1 sound at a modest cost.They certainly sound quite different to the SD versions. I suspect an A8 magnet may have been used, or at least strong A5's, whereas PAFs typically use A2 or A3 magnets for a softer, fatter sound.
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I have a 2010 JH, and, while I really like how it plays, I do struggle with the somewhat middy tone and lack of lower frequencies. I swapped out a high wind Lollar imperial in my L5 a few years back and love it. Just about to do the same with this one, I think. Plus, something in the harness and pots creates a significantly lower output than any other humbucker guitar I have, so I may swap the pots at some point, as well, to see what's holding things back.
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I just put a Kinman extra vintage into my Jim Hall.
A guy was selling one in my neighbourhood and I thought what the heck.
I also should get a Lollar Imperial in the mail in the next couple of days.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions!!!
This is what it sounds like:
The tone knob is turned halfway down. (otherwise the sound is way too bright)
Jim hall>Fender Deluxe>SM57>Garage Band (no FX EQ or anything)
What do you guys think?
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Sounds good to me!
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Yeah, the clip sounds good.
But just FYI, when I play through my Deluxe I usually set bass and treble to zero, and the tone knob on the guitar is maxed. Those amp settings are pretty close to flat frequency response, as opposed to the bass and treble boosts at settings greater than zero. How do you have your amp set?
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Thanks for the hint! I'll try that.
I have Bass and Treble set to 5.
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Did you buy yours new or is there also a chance of someone having messed with the electronics? Originally Posted by yebdox
I've only played my Jim Hall with a really high output Humbucker (SD SH-4 16 kOhm) and the very low output Kinman with around 5 kOhm so I don't really know what its regular output is.
If you should decide to swap PU's I'd love to hear your guitar if you get the chance to make a clip.
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Hi! Originally Posted by kamlapati
I just recorded this with Deluxe with the Bass and Treble set to zero.
Had to roll down the tone knob just a little bit though.
Sounds better than the first version. But I think when I first recorded it the input level was set too high.
Thanks a lot again for the hint!
I usually don't try the eq setting on zero because some amps go silent when you do that.
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Today I got my Lollar in the mail.
Maybe this is a really stupid question but isn't the Pickup supposed to have two wires?
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The metal jacket on the wire is the ground.
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Thanks a lot! Originally Posted by jasonc
So I'll just solder the outer metal shielding to the backside of the pot.
This is my first single wire pickup...
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