Is a Charlie Christian pickup noisy?

[Petimar]

I've never been lucky enough to play any instrument with a CC pickup, but really LOVE that sound! Now that I have the amp to pair with it (Vintage 47 EH185 type) I am strongly considering having a 5 string mandolin built using a Lollar CC pickup. I'll use this as Jason lives next door to a close friend and I can talk to him about things.

I have heard these pickups are noisier, but was wondering how much? Enough to make recording a bit of a pain (I need to mic amps very close in my small room)? Noisy enough you have to play fairly loud at gigs to cover the noise?

I appreciate any answers. You folks are the best!

[neatomic]

lollar doesnt make a true cc repro...with huge cobalt magnets and tripod mounting

the originals are noisy...the lollars and the vintage vibes etc etc..are all going to be quieter by virtue of the differences from the original design ie smaller alnico 5 mags etc

cheers

[Cunamara]

But still as noisy or noisier than a Strat or Tele pickup or a P90. The CC as done by Lollar et al is still a single coil pickup with a big coil, a big bar polepiece and a fair amount of magnet.

[neatomic]

lollar/vv type reissues comparable to jazzmaster /p90 noise...which while not humbucking, is still far cry from original cc..the magnetic field of the original cc was massive..weak huge mags

cheers

[pingu]

have a look
Charlie Christian Pickups - CC Pickups
seem pretty authentic

they can't be that noisy Barney recorded
with his all the time ....

[neatomic]

yeah uk's cc pickups is real deal...the grail

cheers

[ESCC]

The Gibson CC in my 79 ES 175 CC is very noisy. At times it reminds me of an AM radio between stations, can't comment on Lollar's.

[Franz 1997]

They are one of, if not THE, noisiest pickups. In all ( I have had a few) versions, but especially the original 3-hole, 2 long magnet Gibson format.

If you want the sound, you live with the noise. NB class D amps induce less noise in CC pickups; turning the guitar at an angle to the amp ( any amp) seriously reduces the noise - snag is, you have to stay in that position.

They are giggable, so long as you don't try a distortion pedal

[HeyNow]

I have the Lollar CC in a Barncaster.

like others said, it's a single coil - you'll probably get hum depending on how your standing/the environment

I find single coil guitars are variable - some hum more than others. My Tele with Don Mare single Tele pickups doesn't really hum. My CC is pretty high up there in the hum.

[SamBooka]

Dont know about lollars but my VV is well shielded. You still get the single coil hum but that is more a function of the coil dimensions than the magnets

[Fred Archtop]

I am the fortunate owner of the 4 types of CC microphones mentioned above: original CC on my 1938 ES 150, modern Lollar CC mounted on my ES 300, UK CC on my DS 250 and the 70's/80's Gibson CC reissue on my ES175CC from 1980. Except Lollar all are noisy but it is mostly noticeble when you don't play while still plugged. No special issue when you play, never had problem when gigging on stage. Hey guys, after all, if you want a vintage sound you have to deal with some minor drawbacks.

You'll find videos on my YT channel where I am demoing these guitars and CC pickups. You'll hear the noise too which is very reasonable (no background noise treatment to the traks).

Cheers.

[Petimar]

Thanks Fred, that sounds great!!

[gabitelecaster]

Hi friends, I'm from Argentina, I have a problem with my CC pickup. I have a CC Lollar pickup in the NECK and DiMarzio Chopper in the bridge. When I use the bridge pickup (dimarzio) I dont hear noise, but when I use the CC lollar (NECK) I hear many noise. I have two ground wire and my Telecaster is Shielded. My luthier said me that the problem is in the CC lollar PICKUP. He said me that perhaps is neccesary put a capacitor for down the noise but really I dont know how is that and he doens't know too. .

Any have the same problem?
What do you recomend?

THANKS FRIENDS!!! My mail is [email protected]
I'm going crazy!

!

[mad dog]

The only CC pickup I've had was the stock pickup in a 1939 Gibson EH-185 lap steel. It did get noisy at times. Like some, but not all P-90s, can get pretty noisy. Was not an issue live, in louder settings. In quieter stuff, depended on the room. Any room with dimmer switches has the potential for noise disaster.
MD

[jads57]

I just had Peter Biltoft Vintage Vibe Pickups make a floating CC Rider that's humbucking and slimline as well. Under $200

[Greentone]

I used to gig with a '37 Gibson ES-150. I never recalled the pickup being more noisy than any other single coil pickup. OTOH, I believe the pickup and guitar to be the pinnacle of jazz electric guitar goodness. There is no other guitar/pickup guitar combination that I have played ever that is more impressive for jazz than the original Gibson ES-150. Gibson got the recipe right--right off the bat.

As the original pickups demagnetize they can get noisy. OTOH, they can easily be re-magnetized. The two bar magnets are easy to work with. Anyone with an understanding of how to make or restore a magnet can do this. (We have a great lab-tech in the Physics Department of the university where I work who can do this very efficiently.)

[David B]

From a recent interview with Pat Metheny:

"When did you first play a Gibson Charlie Christian?
In high school, there was a kid who had an ES-150. It’s a very particular sound and a great sound. We all love the sound of those Charlie Christian records. But there are some problems that come with it. It’s gonna buzz and hum, and the B string is too loud. A great guitar player here in New York is Miles Okazaki, and he turned me on to a box that Electro-Harmonix came out with called the Hum Debugger Hum Eliminator that completely defeats the hum issue without changing the sound. Works great."




A friend has one coming in for his L7.

[Jabberwocky]

Gonna give Masaki-san a plug. Channelling your inner Barney anyone? 290729

[Marty Grass]

I have a traditional CC pickup in a Super 400. I have no idea where Gibson got the pickup in the early 2000's.

The hum is no worse than a P-90. It is not really noticeable when I have the guitar oriented perpendicularly to the face of the amp.

The pickup is second or third generation CC since it has the rail notched under the B string.

The Humdebugger, thanks to Vinny, has really erased any single coil concern I have. It has two settings of hum reduction. I have only had to use the lower setting for great results.

Another consideration about the pup is that it is in its original form maybe the heaviest commercially made. Fortunately, one per guitar is generally enough.

On the plus side is its clarion tone.

[campusfive]

In the 3.5 years of playing my '37 ES-150, I've only played two venues where the pickup was problematic.
I had the Humdebugger handy at one of them.... The other one required me to pay rather particular attention to the angle of my guitar to the lights - it was pretty annoying.

Now, my pickup is almost certainly on the low end of the spectrum of vintage CC pickups to be found in the wild, so I can imagine that it's among the noisiest you'll find. And, even with that it's only come up at two places.

[David B]

Here's the tone of my friend's CC pickup live:

[Marty Grass]

Nice sound. He has a strong attack with some string slapping. Also, he looks a bit like Ryan Gosling, which I suppose is not a bad thing at all.

Here's the tone of my friend's CC pickup live: