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Tal would use that pickup with a frequency divider for an octave effect.
That's what I've heard anyway.
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11-22-2017 06:56 PM
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Nice job Meggy ...
Any chance of a demo of the different sounds ?
Also while you're there . can you see any problem
with moving the standard humbucker on a jp20
Closer to the neck , bracing problems etc
One day I might do that ...
Don't own a jp20 yet but
I played one acoustically in a shop and
Absolutely Loved the neck and feel ...
When back to try it plugged in and it was gone ....
One day maybe
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Now you mention it, that does ring a faint bell, that will be it - cheers entresz.
Originally Posted by entresz
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Of course people always want a demo! and I've a terrible track record of not doing them. I do have friends with decent recording/video setups, so I'll perhaps ask for help - it would be best to capture the sound through a proper amp with a good mic, rather than through some modelling stuff into a computer. I am taking the guitar to show to a friend who is a very fine pro jazz guitarist next week - I might cheat and ask him to play some stuff... Originally Posted by pingu
Re the sounds, I would say when you get a pickup in the right spot, like the new CC, it then becomes very apparent that the stock pickup is in the wrong place. Despite being a single coil, the new pickup gives a fatter, bigger, warmer tone for sure. That's not to say the humbucker sounds bad - it's a good, useable tone, but not the traditional archtop jazz kind of sound - at least not quite. It's useable, not awful, but for my taste, just not quite there, even with a nice jazz amp like my Polytone. If I combine both pickups together though, that is a pretty good tone - retains a lot of the CC pickup's warmth and character, but with some of the stridency taken out and with a little more open kind of vibe - more of a modern tone maybe. And it is potentially useful to be able to switch to just the humbucker if I'm ever in a venue where single coil noise is a real issue.
Re moving the humbucker - yes, it looks like it could be done - the braces are parallel and obviously spaced to facilitate mounting a humbucker. I've thought along those lines in the past, and believe I did see a guitar on the web some years ago where the owner had had that done by a luthier. They had also fitted some sort of bridge piezo setup and modified the controls to volume and a blend to set the mix of magnetic pickup/piezo, rather than a tone control. And there was a plate/cover made to cover the exposed hole where the pickup used to sit, which they used to mount the battery holder on the inside of the guitar. New pickguard also of course... A nice job IIRC, but somehow not to my taste. You might well be knocking a fair bit off the guitar's value doing that too, which is ironic, because the guitars sell for a bit less due to the original pickup placement, but change it and...
Going to use the JP20 at a gig this evening, so that will be a useful test.
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Thanks Meggy , have a great gig ....
I'm aesthetically challenged
I'd probably move the humbucker and just leave the hole
or cover with black gaffa tape
(Hey it worked for Pat Metheny !)
Thanks for the Info's man
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Cheers pingu - heading off to the gig in about an hour, should be good. The tape did work for Metheny but a JP20 is a good-looking guitar with nice inlays and stuff - it does seem a shame to me to have a gaping hole with gaffer tape over it...
But each to his or her own really.
Took some better pics today anyhow, while I had the light - it is a handsome, dashing looking beast in my humble opinion. I wasn't sure about using the Art Deco style pickguard I made some years earlier (thought about making a new one) but now I liking that again, I think the pinstripe/black look and Deco style works with the CC pickup. A successful guitar modification anyhow, I'm very happy.
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Hugh Cornwell. Solo from 'Walk on by' is tasteful. Originally Posted by Meggy
Modding is the way to go to get what you want out of everything. Currently modding a 500cc single cylinder motorcycle and havind a blast.
As all my spare time is taken up with suspension and performance mods my guitar practice has suffered. But the funny thing is when I do play my (limited) soloing is more fluid and enjoyable to listen to.
There's my tip, improve your improv, ride a bike!
Lol
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Yes I do ride a motorcycle .... a 600 Bandit , goes like stink fabulous
What thumper you got there , Yam xt500 ?
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A DYI thread doesn’t get better than that!
Very nice and neatly done. Enjoy!
Joe D
Originally Posted by Meggy
You had me fooled @jazzbow - thought that was your guitar, it is a beauty. And cheers for the excellent and timely advice chaps! I got the pickguard cutting done, and the pickup fixed to said pickguard with epoxy, yesterday. Had to make a small shim to get the pickup height right, but it is sitting nicely in place now, as I suspected, the base rest lightly on the guitar top - I will add a little sticky pad or something on the non pickguard side, just to give a little extra support. Used a 15 minute epoxy, and did the final gluing with everything actually on the guitar to ensure everything lined up just so, and indeed with the pickup placed centrally to the strings. You can also see I had to cut a little from the pickup tab and make a similar shaped shim to match.
Planning to get things finished today - going to give the frets a polish, do the wiring, and a new set of strings. More later...
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Nah mate, Royal Enfield. Originally Posted by pingu
Bof bof bof. ...
Wah! 65mph. Urban warrior 74mpg and pennies to insure as I'm an old git.
This thread has enabled me to post up a picture of a punk guitarist, a mellow motorcycle and this.....
And this is joyful...
Ah, yes. Charlie Christian pickups. Ahem. Where were we?
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Meggy - the guitar looks great with the CC there. It actually looks like the CC pickup was the original and the humbucker was added later!
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A guy I know has an old RE with no baffles
Awesome racket ! incendiary ....
That band Knower is pretty incendiary too
loved that
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Max, thank you very much - I can go into "nerd mode" with guitar modding stuff, but was really hoping to just provide a bit of light entertainment, and show the guitar off (I admit), so glad if I've done that. Originally Posted by Max405
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Thanks very much entresz, that means a lot - it's a lovely, classy guitar, and I really didn't want it to end up looking like the result of a badly considered amateur bodge up. Originally Posted by entresz
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I know close to zero about motorcycles if honest! But yes, there are some things that do carry over from one field to another I would agree. To be honest I have tended to spend too much time modding guitars, trying different pickups and wiring, building partscasters, etc. etc. and not enough time practicing myself. I'm doing my best to rectify that lately (subscribed to Barry Greene's excellent website) but I still have a list of 3 or 4 more "final" guitar mods to get through, to get then all just how they should be. Originally Posted by jazzbow
I'll check out Hugh's solo on Walk On By, cheers for the tip!
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Cheers for the music tips too @jazzbow, both are really to my taste as it happens, will explore further in that direction.
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Just to add to this thread - last week a friend kindly recorded a couple of quick video demos playing my guitar. They're just quickly impromptu recorded using the built in mic on a tablet pc, so not brilliant recording quality, but I hope they give some idea - in "real life" they sounds are somewhat fuller and richer, also the differences between the pickups more obvious, but all the same...
The first video features just the new John Anthony Guitars floating Charlie Christian pickup (at least the first part, the second bit may also have the humbucker on in combination, but I'm not sure). The CC pickup does have this glorious kind of full, fruity tone, but also lovely clarity and string separation:
And then, out of interest I got him to use the pickups combined, followed by just the Fletcher Pickups humbucker (a low-wind 6.7K alnico 3 Paradise model) - although this in not in what I'd call the ideal location on the guitar, I still think it does a very nice job - to my ears it has a less full, more modern kind of tone, and does bring out good acoustic detail.
We are now thinking it would be good to try for a better demo with decent mics and proper recording setup, and I guess perhaps I could be braver and play something myself for that one...
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Meggy, nice chops!
The guitar came out sounding very pleasant for my ears, at least.
Good job!
Yours very truly,
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Maybe I missed it, but how do you switch between the pickups?
mark
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Nice chops indeed LtKojak - not mine, I'm afraid, but those of Lincolnshire, UK jazz guitarist Pat McCarthy, who kindly did the demo. He was interested in the CC pickup (and is now looking to get a humbucker size version for his own guitar) so I took the guitar to show him last week. But thank you! I will pass on your compliments to Pat, and I will at least take some credit for the job installing the pickup, which I do think came out very well. Originally Posted by LtKojak
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No worries Mark, there is a photo that shows it somewhere on page 1 of the thread, but under the scroll of the pickguard there's a hidden 3-way mini switch to select either pickup or both together. Originally Posted by Mbanach
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That guitar sounds beautiful. The CC sounds a lot like the one on my Gretsch - your description of "full, fruity" is exactly how I'd describe it. Lushness in spades, but unlike a humbucker it has 'stringyness' - as if you can hear the windings of the string.
The combination of the two pickups is very nice too.
I could imagine this guitar being a good big-band instrument - I'd have the CC pickup in the neck for lead playing, and for four -to-the bar comping, have some kind of very low impedance/hi-fi pickup for a more acoustic sound.
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Thank you very much @entresz ! Re the CC, it is that magic mix of the clarity and being able to hear the string windings, as you put it, with the full, fruity tone. Also a kind of voice-like responsiveness, and something subtle about the note attack - it's hard to describe, but very nice to use, and sounds fab. A rich fruit cake of a pickup, perfect for Christmas... Originally Posted by entresz
And I do like your thoughts re the big band guitar idea - I occasionally get to dep/rehearse with a big band, so will be able to try that one out at some point. The humbucker I've put in is, in my opinion, a very good pickup indeed - as I say, it's not in the right position for getting a classic jazz box tone, which is not it's fault, but it's great that it's providing something nice-sounding and usefully different from the CC.
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Nice demo ...thanks for doing that
Also I would love to hear a demo of the pickups with just a mic on the cab (or just a DI feed maybe)
Just to hear the electric sounds on their own ....
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It's a fair point pingu, and we are thinking to do a better demo with decent mics and recording setup. Having done a few gigs, the tone can have quite a contemporary, modern kind of vibe, with a fair bit of sustain - good for playing sustained chords and creating a bit of an atmospheric backdrop, if you will. I've yet to try it with effects, but you could do Metheny stuff (chops permitting Originally Posted by pingu
) for example.
Anyhow, that aspect isn't really brought out on the demo, and I wouldn't want to give the impression that the CC pickup, or the guitar in general, is a one-trick pony. It's really become a versatile tool, with a great basic tones that can be adapted and used in various ways.
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