The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Posts 1 to 24 of 24
  1. #1

    User Info Menu

    Okay, that's as good as any title right -

    Who among us has installed, or opted for a Biltoft CC pickup? How many of you did the install yourselves? Did you opt for 250k ohm pots, or remain with the 500k pots already in your guitar?

    Anything you can share from your experience will be a plus...thanks in advanced.

    Oh, and keeping with the rule that all threads do better with obligatory pix




  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

    User Info Menu

    Had one in the neck position of my G&L Asat. Really loved the tone especially w/ the ceramic magnet. I've since gone back to humbuckers due to hum issues w/ single coils.

  4. #3

    User Info Menu

    I've got a floating CC on my Gretsch G400 Synchromatic. It's a perfect match tonally and aesthetically for that guitar. When I ordered I asked for it to be voiced as close to an original CC pickup, well as close to as a compact floating design could permit. I have had the pleasure of comparing it to a guitar with a CC Pickups 'proper' pickup (giant cobalt magnets etc.) and it does sound remarkably similar. It's got a notch in the blade for the "B" string too.


    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-guitar-png

  5. #4

    User Info Menu

    Sounds perfect in my Jazzmaster/Tele hybrid. I started out with an Alnico II magnet, but found the Alnico III to be a bit less bassy with my particular setup. I've got a matched Biltoft humbucker-sized P90 in the bridge with both serial and parallel wiring between the two pups, 250k pots. The mahogany body is chambered to within an inch of its life, and with 12 gauge Rotosound Top Tapes or TI Jazz Swings and a thick pick I swear you can get a bit of thunk and hollowbody vibe.

    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-file-jun-30-9-27-25-pm-jpg
    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-file-jun-30-9-38-52-pm-jpg
    Last edited by wzpgsr; 07-01-2016 at 09:02 AM.

  6. #5

    User Info Menu

    I've got two from Pete. The first came with a Tele body that I bought from forum member Skip Ellis and built up. It sounded great; I decided I didn't like the hum and put a Classic 57 in the guitar in the place of the HCC, but that didn't last long. I went back to the HCC pretty quickly because I like the sound much, much more. I did find that the HCC is very sensitive to strings and currently have Pyramid Gold 13-52 flats on it, much happier with those than I was with D'Addario EPN 12s. Big, fat, clear, warm with the Pyramids whereas the D'Addarios were stringy and cutting (probably good in some situations, actually) but not fat sounding.

    Then Fred Archtop posted his clip of a floating HCC and I was quite enamored. I had Pete build me a neck-mounted version of the HCC and installed that on my archtop. I am in hog heaven with that. It replaced the modded Classic 57 floater that I had put on a few years ago. I've been using TI BB113s thus far, same set I had on the guitar with the Classic 57. Somewhere there is a clip on Soundcloud that I made with the HCC on the archtop:



    And, yep, they hum and buzz under some conditions. I have decided "so what." I turn the volume down between songs and with judicious positioning and keeping a hand on the strings at all times it's a minimal problem.

  7. #6

    User Info Menu

    Just perfect on my L5C. Way better than handwired Kent Armstrong that was intalled previously. Intallation job has been done by Michael, one of the very best guitar techs of our galaxy. Pete was very responsive since we had to decide the thickness of the microphone. 11mm is what the L5C needed



    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-pickguard-1-jpgThe Biltoft CC pickup thread-pickguard-2-jpg

    Cheers

  8. #7

    User Info Menu

    Kept the standard 250k pots in the Tele, but used 500k pots in the Casino Coupe. The Tele is hotter. Not sure if the pickups are identical though, Pete made the ones in the Casino especially for the dogear housings. Both guitars made a huge leap forwards in tone with the CCs compared to the stock pickups, the Tele even more so.

    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-cccc-jpgThe Biltoft CC pickup thread-cctele-jpg

  9. #8

    User Info Menu

    I've used the HCC a few times and like them. Two points that make them just right for me. First I like them better with 250k pots, just a little too much top end with 500k (for me) and he makes a little booster magnet assembly that allows you to add little tiny neo magnets behind any string you like. I put them behind the 3 lower wound strings. For me it seems to improve string balance across the guitar and seems to bring out some upper harmonics giving the lower strings an almost Tele like tone. Oh, and I like them a little more subtle looking, just black.

    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-grez-rc5-tight-jpgThe Biltoft CC pickup thread-grez-rc5-close-jpg

  10. #9

    User Info Menu

    I have the HCC in two guitars - a Warmoth partscaster and a Painter P-350T. It works very well in both. I have Alnico II magnets in both. I have Alnico V and ceramic magnets lying around but the Alnico II sounds so good that I have not felt any incentive to try the others. As I hear it, the HCC gives a clearer sound with much better note separation and much less bass mud than a HB. The sound to my ears is more spread and less midrangy and honky than a P90. It doesn't sound quite the same as my original 1938 Gibson CC (with its 78 years old cobalt magnets). Not better, not worse, just different. With its HB mount I find it much more practical than the original CC.

    Of course, most of - if not all - of the tone differencies between the HCC and the original CC can be levelled out by appropiate EQ settings.
    Last edited by oldane; 07-02-2016 at 11:46 AM.

  11. #10

    User Info Menu

    CC pickups are just brilliant.

    Removable magnets! How practical is that?

    I only ever had one, a humbucker sized one which has been in two separate guitars;

    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-dsc00190-480x640-jpg
    A Tanglewood Triggs I p/exed for a Tele. This had 500k CTS pots and a $2 PIO capacitor. Nice roll off of the highs.

    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-img_0342-640x478-jpg
    Then ironically it ended up in a Squier Tele. This has the original 250k alpha pots.


    I did have orange drop caps (one being a tone choke) but I now have a $4 PIO cap and I really dig the roll off of the highs (especially with the AlNiCo II bridge p/u).

    I bought the pickup with AlNiCo II's and V's thinking I'd prefer the V's but the II's sound so much like the Charlie Christian sound I keep them in.

  12. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by oldane
    I have the HCC in two guitars - a Warmoth partscaster and a Painter P-350T. It works very well in both. I have Alnico II magnets in both. I have Alnico V and ceramic magnets lying around but the Alnico II sounds so good that I have not felt any incentive to try the others. As I hear it, the HCC gives a clearer sound with much better note separation and much less bass mud than a HB. The sound to my ears is more spread and less midrangy and honky than a P90. It doesn't sound quite the same as my original 1938 Gibson CC (with its 78 years old cobalt magnets). Not better, not worse, just different. With its HB mount I find it much more practical than the original CC.

    Of course, most of - if not all - of the tone differencies between the HCC and the original CC can be levelled out by appropiate EQ settings.
    Any photos of the P-350? I wish I'd known of them while they were available.

    Zuckers videos and Painter's demo are hot!





    Last edited by 2bornot2bop; 07-02-2016 at 06:20 PM.

  13. #12

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
    Any photos of the P-350? I wish I'd known of them while they were available.
    Here it is:



    17" width, 25.5" scale, D neck shape, 1.75" nut width, 2.5" body depth. Since the photo was taken I have replaced the vol and tone knobs with black chicken head knobs (not as pretty as gold speed knobs but I can easily see AND feel where the knob settings are). I also replaced the slanted but straight bridge saddle with a custom compensated saddle that I had John Moriarty make. The guitar plays and sounds great and have been structurally very stable, even with LaBella 15-56's on it. I had to trim the fret ends a bit after the first winter in our central heated house (very comon with ebony fingerboards) but nothing since then. Tom didn't do bindings. Instead he bevelled the edges very accurately so the inner ply was revealed as a contrasting stripe. My sample has laminates made of a thicker ply of mahogany in the middle and thin cosmetic maple plies on both outsides. Also mahogany braces and mahogany neck. So for all practical purposes it's a mahogany guitar, not maple.
    Last edited by oldane; 07-03-2016 at 08:06 AM.

  14. #13

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Grez
    I've used the HCC a few times and like them. Two points that make them just right for me. First I like them better with 250k pots, just a little too much top end with 500k (for me) and he makes a little booster magnet assembly that allows you to add little tiny neo magnets behind any string you like. I put them behind the 3 lower wound strings. For me it seems to improve string balance across the guitar and seems to bring out some upper harmonics giving the lower strings an almost Tele like tone. Oh, and I like them a little more subtle looking, just black.

    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-grez-rc5-tight-jpgThe Biltoft CC pickup thread-grez-rc5-close-jpg
    Barry, that's a beautiful guitar. It's still amazing to me that someone could actually make something like that. Beautiful.
    JD

  15. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Cunamara
    I've got two from Pete. The first came with a Tele body that I bought from forum member Skip Ellis and built up. It sounded great; I decided I didn't like the hum and put a Classic 57 in the guitar in the place of the HCC, but that didn't last long. I went back to the HCC pretty quickly because I like the sound much, much more. I did find that the HCC is very sensitive to strings and currently have Pyramid Gold 13-52 flats on it, much happier with those than I was with D'Addario EPN 12s. Big, fat, clear, warm with the Pyramids whereas the D'Addarios were stringy and cutting (probably good in some situations, actually) but not fat sounding.

    Then Fred Archtop posted his clip of a floating HCC and I was quite enamored. I had Pete build me a neck-mounted version of the HCC and installed that on my archtop. I am in hog heaven with that. It replaced the modded Classic 57 floater that I had put on a few years ago. I've been using TI BB113s thus far, same set I had on the guitar with the Classic 57. Somewhere there is a clip on Soundcloud that I made with the HCC on the archtop:



    And, yep, they hum and buzz under some conditions. I have decided "so what." I turn the volume down between songs and with judicious positioning and keeping a hand on the strings at all times it's a minimal problem.
    Big fan of your playing Cunamara! I've repeated your demo several times.

    I'm just curious, what guitar is the HCC installed on? 16", 17"?

    You should do more demo's!

  16. #15

    User Info Menu

    Thanks, 2B! I appreciate the encouragement. I hope to do a few more, I have some more solo pieces and some originals. I need to get a better mic for my iPad than the built-in one (yet another slippery slope!).

    The guitar in question is my (forum member) Matt Cushman 17" carvetop. It was made in 2006 and I bought it from Matt via eBay that summer. I have had a mini-humbucker, a Kent Armstrong floating PAF, a modded Classic 57 and now the Biltoft HCC which to my ears is by far the best with this guitar. It has a fat transparency that the others didn't have.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  17. #16

    User Info Menu

    I replaced a decent humbucker in a Corona built X150 with Pete's HCC several years ago and a good guitar got a lot better IMO. I did not change the pots, and the sound is rich and creamy with Alnico 2 magnets. It also came with AL4s but I've never felt the need to swap them out. On a laminate maple body it works really well and sounds great with any amp, SS or tubes.
    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-p1000756-jpg

  18. #17

    User Info Menu

    Just received a note from Bryant Trenier that the floating CC pickup in his new Pasquale Grasso model was built by Pete Biltoft.

    Video: https://www.facebook.com/trenierguitar/videos/1142627772468777/

  19. #18

    User Info Menu

    Dear fellow jazz guitarists,

    Here is more tone from my Gibby L5-C equipped with Pete's CC pickup.



    Cheers.

  20. #19

    User Info Menu

    Jeez, Fred, that was even better than the first one! Whatta tone!

  21. #20

    User Info Menu

    Hi, long shot here as Google has not turned up anything... does anyone know of a Biltoft CC supplier in the UK,

    Cheers, Simon

  22. #21

    User Info Menu

    Hi,

    You can order it directly from Pete's website.


    Quote Originally Posted by jockster
    Hi, long shot here as Google has not turned up anything... does anyone know of a Biltoft CC supplier in the UK,

    Cheers, Simon
    Last edited by Fred Archtop; 03-19-2017 at 05:33 PM.

  23. #22

    User Info Menu

    Installed my Biltoft CC this morning. Love it.
    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-5ed7f084-7dbb-49a0-8467-b20407c56e46-jpg

  24. #23

    User Info Menu

    The Biltoft CC pickup thread-66c8732f-1e14-46a8-9bf4-7090173eb8aa-jpg

    Here’s mine. I’ve since moved the volume/tone knobs to the body.

  25. #24

    User Info Menu

    Attachment 86571
    Love the Biltoft CC on my SF. I’m thinking of getting one of Pete’s Tele pups for my Squier CV too, if I don’t go with a humbucker. The one on my Gibson is perfect.
    Attached Images Attached Images The Biltoft CC pickup thread-ba64f37e-5fe7-47a7-8d17-2b8bac81e4f2-jpeg