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Have seen this range of CC pickups in the UK (John Anthony Guitars Pickups).
To install on my Ibanez JP20 Joe Pass guitar (in the gap between fingerboard and stock body-mounted humbucker). I have had a Korean made Kent Armstrong Slimbucker in there, which was actually decent, but just fancy the CC style pickup idea.
They are doing them to fit both tele neck and bridge slots, also strats, plus quite a range of other sizes as well, for what it's worth.
So just wondering if anyone's ever tried one of these? - they look nicely made to me, and the prices are certainly friendly. I don't think the specs are exact to an original CC pickup (probably couldn't be) but if it gives a good, "vintage" single coil type jazz tone, I'd be very happy.
Last edited by Meggy; 12-03-2017 at 03:01 PM.
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11-09-2017 04:28 AM
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Well, I guess maybe nobody here has tried them, which is fair enough. They do look good to me anyhow, so I will probably give one a try and report back. Interesting range of pickups from a UK maker anyhow, I hope worth bringing to the forum's notice.
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Attachment 47550They're probably similar to some of the Vintage Vibe/Pete Biltoft pickups. Looks like an impressive range. I particularly like the Tele version which apparently doesn't involve any modification to the guitar.
I have a VV floating CC on my Gretsch G-400 - asked Pete to wind it with 38 gauge wire instead of 42. It means the DC resistance is significantly lower - less than 3k but has a clearer/sweeter/sound- a bit closer to the original CC sound.
I would think something like this would be great on the Ibanez. You could have a sort of vintage (CC) and modern (HB) set up on the one guitar.
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That Gretsch looks very cool I must say! Cheers for that entresz - and yes, that is kind of my thinking to have the vintage and modern both available. Due to the pickup placement, I'm not a huge fan of the JP20's stock pickup tone, although it's far from terrible. But it would be nice to have a great CC vintage-ish tone, yet be able to switch to the humbucker if I'm playing somewhere where the lighting or whatever is causing hum through the single coil, or if I do want just a bit more modern tone for something I guess.
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Ordered one of these JAG CC pickups this morning anyhow - the maker is doing me a "custom" colour version in black on ivory - the ivory should tie in better with the ivory (and somewhat aged) binding on my Ibanez JP20. I will make myself a pickguard to use with the new pickup in the first instance, rather than cut into the nicely bound original. If I really like the pickup and absolutely always want to keep it then maybe I'll then go ahead and alter the stock pickguard, but perhaps even then it would be better to go to the expense of having a new bound one made. I do love the guitar though, so I doubt I'll ever be selling it.
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The pickup arrived today, looks very good, and (big relief) it just squeezes into the available gap on my Ibby JP20 - I had calculated it would, but good to have that confirmed. Can't wait to get it installed and wired up anyhow.
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Hi Meggy ,
That looks great man ....
I'm quite jealous !
I love a JP20 , and I love CC and Barney's Sounds ....
I think that gonna be fabulous ..
Please do let us know with pics how
the install goes ...
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Cool Meggy, can't wait to hear how you like it. You get the idea of putting a pickup in that gap from hanging out at ICW ???
Big
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Very nice, Meggy. Looks like a natural fit.
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I will keep you informed, cheers @pingu. I've had the JP20 since I bought it new in roughly 1983 or 84, but at the time did not know enough to realise the potential issue with pickup location. It's not awful, but if honest I've never been entirely happy with it either. But what I have come to appreciate is what a great guitar it is in every other respect - the neck profile is gorgeous, it has a surprising amount of volume for a small laminate top, yet resist feedback more than a lot of archtops, and just is lovely and responsive to play, with a crisp, lively sound. So hopefully this is the missing piece of the puzzle for me. I think I'm going to make a new scratchplate (I have the original unaltered in storage) and there will be a mini toggle hidden under that to select the humbucker or the CC - could be helpful occasionally if gigging where single coil noise is an issue.
Originally Posted by pingu
Barney Kessel was kind of my first jazz guitar hero when I started, and the first really great jazz player I ever saw live, so I do like the tribute aspect. But mostly, I admit to buying the pickup because I thought it would look cool as a cool thing...
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Thank you Big Mike - glad you approve, as an Ibanez aficionado. To be honest I think I first got the idea on my own - I did have a Korean made KA Slimbucker in the gap for a while, and that was a definite improvement for me, but when I realised I could have a CC style in there, I had to do it. But I have seen other people doing similar things over recent years. Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
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Cheers @Jabberwocky - it's a pretty exact fit to be honest, both width and depth. It will end up with the felt base just resting on the guitar body to get the right gap to the strings, and a mm wider and I don't think would have gone in... But happily, it seems to work. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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Megs, you beast...... Originally Posted by Meggy
The pickup arrived today, looks very good, and (big relief) it just squeezes into the available gap on my Ibby JP20 - I had calculated it would, but good to have that confirmed. Can't wait to get it installed and wired up anyhow.
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Thanks @jazzbow - I do feel a bit beastly! Originally Posted by jazzbow
Just starting to realise what a beast the pickup is as well - the blade alone is 65mm - more than the length of the entire stock humbucker. The coil is 85mm end to end, and the whole pickup length i.e point to point as it were, is 95mm.
With the best will in the world, I'm going to have to trim a little off the tab that goes under the scratchplate, or it will stick out the other side. Obviously compromises to the design do have to be made to get this floating version, but it seems otherwise the maker has done his level best to keep as much of the original specs as possible.
The pickup looks to be completely hand made too - possibly perspex or something similar for the bobbin top and base, and no pre-bought parts. It's a beautiful job anyhow - just a lovely thing to see something individually built with great care, in this mass production day and age.
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Megs, I say cut into the scratchplate to position the blade evenly across the strings... Originally Posted by Meggy
Thanks @jazzbow - I do feel a bit beastly! Just starting to realise what a beast the pickup is as well - the blade alone is 65mm - more than the length of the entire stock humbucker. The coil is 85mm end to end, and the whole pickup length i.e point to point as it were, is 95mm.
With the best will in the world, I'm going to have to trim a little off the tab that goes under the scratchplate, or it will stick out the other side. Obviously compromises to the design do have to be made to get this floating version, but it seems otherwise the maker has done his level best to keep as much of the original specs as possible.
The pickup looks to be completely hand made too - possibly perspex or something similar for the bobbin top and base, and no pre-bought parts. It's a beautiful job anyhow - just a lovely thing to see something individually built with great care, in this mass production day and age.
Make a permanent scratchplate fixing that you can swap out between archtops. I have three different pickup/scratchplate systems for my Epiphone Emp Reg. A simple wire connector block means I can swap pickups with scratchplates in minutes!
Remember, measure twice, cut once..... You beast!
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Is that an es150 ? Originally Posted by jazzbow
Megs, I say cut into the scratchplate to position the blade evenly across the strings...
Make a permanent scratchplate fixing that you can swap out between archtops. I have three different pickup/scratchplate systems for my Epiphone Emp Reg. A simple wire connector block means I can swap pickups with scratchplates in minutes!
Remember, measure twice, cut once..... You beast!
Its stunning !
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IME, twice isn't enough. I tend to measure at least 3 times, more if the measurements are critical.
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Ah pings, I grabbed the image from Google just to show the scratchplate cut. Originally Posted by pingu
Not sure what it is.
Actually I do, its damn fine .......
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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.
Some pics of progress to, I hope, entertain:
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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Forgot to say, but the pickguard is one I made some years ago when I tried fitted a Korean made KA slimbucker as an extra pickup. The original Ibanez pickguard is untouched and safely in storage.
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Megs, nice work. Good clean wholesome fun...
Now your guitar pickup placement reminds me of this.....
Sorted....
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Is that one of Tal's own guitars Jazzbow? Have to say I'm wondering what he (or whoever did that) was thinking, since there was already a nice humbucker in the right place, unlike my JP20.
Anyhow - it's finished, and a new set of Chromes 13s on, have only spent a half hour or so noodling through Polytone Minibrute 2 amp, but I think it sounds pretty lovely - it's a big, fat, strident, deep-voiced, single coil jazz tone (nothing like a strat pickup, happy to say!). I put a new humbucker in the guitar while I was at it - a nice low-wind alnico 3 made by the UK's Ben Fletcher - this was originally bought for my AS103 semi-acoustic, but didn't work out so well in that for my taste (long story) but it seems terrific for the JP20. Somehow the guitar does look happier with the gold cover on the humbucker I think. The combination of the new CC pickup and humbucker together is a distinct and very nice sound in it's own right also, which is a bonus.
Still a bit unsure about the flatwounds (i.e.maybe I should have stayed with my usual half-rounds) but possibly I'm warming to them - they seem to make more sense when the guitar is amplified than playing acoustically. I'll give them a fair trial anyhow. So some more pics for you...
Seems to be an extra pic I didn't want showing of the guitar before I did the modding, can't find a way to remove it from the post, oh well.
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I like strat pickups I hasten to add - have a strat or two myself, but not what I wanted for this guitar...
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Yup, that's Tal's guitar.
Some people like adding toaster top single coils to their guitars
Here's one such chap...
Name the guitarist......
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Chap out of The Stranglers? I can't disapprove of the guitar modding, since I've done quite a lot of it myself, but I really am curious as to what Tal was trying to achieve with that modded archtop... Originally Posted by jazzbow
Yup, that's Tal's guitar.
Some people like adding toaster top single coils to their guitars
Here's one such chap...
Name the guitarist......
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