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Slightly dumb question but...can anyone explain to me why the CC pickup is so special sonically? I've never heard one in person, just from videos and CC's recordings. It does sound very clear and round sounding but is it worth installing on a fifties ES125 like in the video in the previous post? P90's sound great as well!
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08-30-2017 09:18 AM
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Difficult question and you will find many answers around. I take seriously the explanations given by JP Bourgeois, a french physicist (http://www.jpbourgeois.org/guitar/cc.htm#theorie) who has deeply studied this kind of mic'. His site is in French but here is what he says about the origin of the CC PU sound :
Originally Posted by Iced Tea
"The microphone consists of two flat and long magnets fixed by three screws under the guitar table, the pole piece - in the form of a blade (bar) - passing through the table at right angles of the magnets, and supporting the coil through which it passes.
The main originality of the microphone, as well as its unmatched sonority, are due to me to the long length of strings that is surrounded by the magnetic field...
It seems that this ability to capture the string over a very long length, gives it an exceptional dynamic and a sound balance very appreciable.
The principle of the blade could also be important, reducing the unpleasant harmonics created by the discontinuous pole pieces used in other microphones."
The type of guitar that will support the CC mic' is also playing an important role in the tone. Carved vs. laminated, 16 vs. 17 inches width etc.
Finaly, I'd like to add that there is not a single CC PU sound. Listen to Charlie Christian, Jimmy Raney or René Thomas, all extensive users of CC PU (and Gibson ES 150 prewar model). Their tone is very distinct although René Thomas was close to Jimmy Raney, especially in his early years, since he was very much inspired by him.
Cheers.
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"...the cheapest way..."
Listen to recordings of Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel, and Jimmy Raney.
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...And don't forget Slim Gaillard and early-Tiny Grimes (with Cats and the Fiddle)! Originally Posted by Greentone
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I think much of the CC pickup charm comes from the musical style you are playing or trying to emulate. I wouldn't say it sounds better than a P-13, P-90, a humbucker, Dearmond RCs or etc., etc. It just seems to work well for that old-school 40's jazz thing. And why not? You probably wouldn't pick up a CC guitar to play Metallica or an Ibanez Iceman to play in an Allan Reuss tribute band... Originally Posted by Iced Tea
And the retro/nostalgia thing ways in here big time. You probably don't need a 40's fedora to play an ES-150CC, a pencil-lined mustache to play a Selmer, or scarves with your Strat to play like Jimi. but it doesn't seem to hurt. Just ask SRV or Ernie Isley.
Back to the question about the cheapest CC-type guitar. Possibly another choice is to get a late 30's electric Kay, Harmony, Old Kraftsman, etc., type guitar. They often had pickups and a sound similar to the CC. I'd say it's only because Charlie Christian mostly played a Gibson ES-150 or 250 and that the early guitarist often grabbed up this guitar in emulation of Charlie, that people today have forgot about some of the other electric guitar offered in the day. For that matter, even Charlie played other electric guitars (like a Vega). Give some of these other cheap non-Gibson electric guitars a try. You might be surprised.
Here's a picture of my 39' Old Kraftsman with original pickup that has that similar CC mojo. Cost? About 800 bucks.
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Just chiming in to agree with those saying the big-magnet design is crucial to the real CC tone.
I have a 1937 ES-150 with an original CC pickup.
I have compared it to my friends 1936 L-50 that he converted to an ES-150 with a UK-made CC-pickups rig. (We jokingly call it a "BS-150")
I have also compared it to another friend's Loar LH-600 with a UK CC pickup installed by Joe Vinikow.
I have also compared it to a Slaman DS-250, also with a UK CC pickup.
I have a weird 90's Washburn thinline that somebody made into an ES-150 clone with a repurposed old CC pickup (but not all the parts were original).
And I've played a bunch of guitars with the Lollar CC pickup. It's not even close.
The "magic" that I associate with the original CC pickup, was found in all of the examples with the big magnet designs.
The lollar one just didn't have that same magic.
That's not to say that a Lollar or VintageVibe might not have something worthwhile, or be your ideal sound. But make no mistake, it is not the same thing.
Lastly, to answer the OP's actual question: Have Joe V or somebody else put a UK-made CC pickup in a Loar. That is the cheapest way to get a true CC pickup guitar.
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Originally Posted by campusfive
/thread.
Well, that's it for me... when I finally get an ES-125/150, or one of the "knock-offs" lol, I will be spending the cash for a UKCC pickup. $ouch.
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