The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Makes it sound like a completely different guitar, very nice tone...

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
    Cheers, Fred. I'm embarrassed about my playing
    Rob, you know how to make a guitar sing, that’s for sure!

    Best to you and your music, always enjoyable.

  4. #28

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    Cheers, Fred. Appreciated.

  5. #29

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    Well, I did a hum test, and yes, there is hum. But it is at a low level. I don't have equipment to scientifically record the hum level, but it's not at a level that would bother me, which is why I never noticed it before.

    No sense of it overdriving the preamp either.

    I would just like to point out that I don't have any deal with Creamery. I paid full price, and was happy to do so.

  6. #30

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    That's all good and useful info, thanks ! I can live with low-level hum since I don't use my single-coil guitars with any overdrive etc. .
    I will contact the maker and see where this leads to ....

  7. #31

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    Nice playing, Rob! What a great tone! I wonder if I could finesse one of these into my CV Tele, since it’s routed for an HB, already.

  8. #32

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    Thanks. I don't see why not. I think it would sound great.

  9. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
    Thanks. I don't see why not. I think it would sound great.
    Agreed. This may scratch the CC itch just perfectly.

  10. #34

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    This is childish and style over substance, but......I don't like the look of it.Whoops!

  11. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by DMgolf66
    This is childish and style over substance, but......I don't like the look of it.Whoops!
    I didn't see a picture of the optional black cover...

    The other CC pickups with the hex shape do look cool (especially the tortoiseshell look), but they don't fit a humbucker slot, I hear.

  12. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by DMgolf66
    This is childish and style over substance, but......I don't like the look of it.Whoops!
    Agreed but I think it's sonic qualities are worth a try to overcome this , uhhhh , aesthetic deficit.
    I always aim to avoid hearing with my eyes ..... so hard, damn !

  13. #37

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    Rob -

    Just stumbled upon this October post. You might recall that we both bought AR371s about the same time, and replaced the pick-ups with P90s. I sold the guitar to a friend on my street and bought another 371 last week. I was thinking of putting another P90-like pick-up in but came across your review and recording - wow! Sounds amazing. I wondered, how would you describe the difference in tone, et al, between your CC and the P90? I might have asked you before I put in my order with Jaime at The Creamery ... but would still like to know.

    All the best and many thanks for the recco!

    David


    Quote Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
    First I must apologise, I've been so far away from jazz these last six months, exploring other things, as is my want. I'm really really rusty, as you will hear. But I got this Eastman 503CE to help fire me up for playing again, and from the outset decided I wanted to replace the humbucker with a Charlie Christian pickup.

    But which one?The best CC pickup is made in England by ccpickups Charlie Christian Pickups - CC Pickups - but they are very expensive.

    Also, I didn't want an exact replica, as I will not be specialising in Charlie Christian-style playing. But there is something about the large magnet that piqued my interest.

    So, I spoke to Jaime of Creamery Pickups in Manchester, England, who has made fantastic pickups for me before. Turns out he already makes his own version, which was a labour of love for him. He enthused so much I thought I'd give his CC pickup a try. It's a third of the price of those made by ccpickups.

    Once again, you have been forewarned - I apologise for being so rusty, but I am now enthused enough to get back into my jazz studies.



    From the Creamery website:

    Wound with much thicker coil wire to a seemingly lower output - don't let that fool you. With strong custom made Alnico 5 magnets the Charlie Christian Humbucker size is a fat, round jazzy sound that keeps clarity & string definition. Its a unique sound that works perfect in the neck position for those wanting vintage, jazzier sounds from a direct drop-in replacement Humbucker neck position pickup.

    A single plated steel blade sits at the heart of the design inside a scatterwound coil of much thicker 38awg coil wire, and I experimented with a variety of magnet grades and sizes until finally working on a duo of custom made Alnico 5s to get the sound I was after.

    Available in a custom chrome slit groove design cover, the new Dark Line pickups are direct drop-in replacements - I spent a long time getting the design of these just right, putting them aside, coming back to them - a real labour of love.

    Made with a seperate ground wire for the cover & baseplate to ensure it will work in-phase with other make bridge pickups.

    Creamery Charlie Christian:

    Gibson/Humbucker/PAF size
    Magnet Custom Alnico 5
    Coil Wire 38AWG
    Lead Wire Vintage Cloth Covered with separate ground wire for cover & baseplate
    Neck Output 2.9k

  14. #38

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    Hi David. Nice to hear from you again. I think the Creamery CC would sound great in the 371. It has more thunk, is fatter and warmer, and a nice punch too. You can hear every note of a chord clearly. I'm really sold on it. Best pickup I've had. Sadly, I'm not on commission!

  15. #39

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    Well, if it makes any difference, I let Jaime know who was impetus for my purchase. I am really looking forward to getting into the guitar. PS: this time, I bought it in blonde. It sounds darn good straight out of the box. The factory set up is perfect. It's a 2019 ... probably one of the last ones to be built, unfortunately, as I was told they've discontinued the 371.

    Thanks, again, Rob.

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
    Hi David. Nice to hear from you again. I think the Creamery CC would sound great in the 371. It has more thunk, is fatter and warmer, and a nice punch too. You can hear every note of a chord clearly. I'm really sold on it. Best pickup I've had. Sadly, I'm not on commission!

  16. #40

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    Yes, please do mention me to him. Good luck!

  17. #41

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    Thanks for this post, Rob. I doubt I can go on without this pickup now.

    Back in October, you mentioned going to 12 or even 11 gauge strings on your 503. Have you done that and if so, are you still as enamored with the pickup as you were when using 14s? TIA!

  18. #42

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    Still on the 14s - I like to get my money's worth ;-)

    The guitar still sounds great, and I am delighted with it. If I ever put another set of strings on, 12s or otherwise, I'll report back.

  19. #43

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
    Cheers, Fred. I'm embarrassed about my playing in this video, but I wanted to share this sound. Jaime makes great pickups, and should be as well known as Jason Lollar or Kent Armstrong. This CC pickup is proof. You'll have to buy another guitar to fit one on :-)
    Rob, you should NEVER be embarrassed about your playing. Your worst day is what I strive for on my best.
    It’s always great to hear you bud. You are one of the gems around here.
    Love it man.
    Joe D.

  20. #44

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    Cheers, Joe, you old flatterer!

  21. #45

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    Thanks Rob
    that sounds great , nice and thick
    is the string to string balance good ?
    specifically ....do you get enough top E string volume
    it seemed fine on the video ......

    I see it has no notch on the blade for the b string
    (as was the case on most of the original CC pickups)
    I believe this was done to reduce the B string volume
    relative to the high E

    The Creamery guy didn't feel the need to offer this ...
    how's the balance for you anyway ?

  22. #46

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    Yes, great string balance across the range. The E sings beautifully, and the B does not overpower, at least not at the volumes I play at. I've never played a better pickup. And I feel the need to repeat that I have no deal going with the company - I wish I did

  23. #47

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    I have an Eastman 403 with it's stock KA Humbucker and I don't like the sound of this setup. It's strung with flat wound D'addarios, but for my taste it's too acoustic, no thunk at all and muddy in the bass area. Also, very little sustain. I'm thinking about selling it, but I might give your CC pickup a try and maybe try TI strings too. You think I could come close to your sound with that?

  24. #48

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    Definitely worth a try. The 403 and 503 are not so far apart. Even if you eventually sell the guitar, you'll want to hold on to this pickup.

  25. #49

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    I was mighty impressed with the tone that Rob MacKillop got from his Eastman 503 with The Creamery CC humbucker replacement (Another Charlie Christian pickup to consider), so decided to try it for myself. The idea was to replace the stock humbucker in my Godin 5th Ave Composer, about which I have always harboured some doubts as it is a Godin "in-house" pickup. It took a few months to get the pickup, due to (i) me stalling due to an imminent house move and (ii) Jaime's reduced production due to COVID-19. The pickup arrived last week and at the weekend I decided to make what I thought would be a simple swap.I removed the screws from the pickup mount on the Godin, expecting to see a nice humbucker-shaped cut-out into which I could insert my hand to do the necessary surgery. However, I found that this was the first archtop I have attempted to work on that does not have a pickup-sized cut-out. Instead there are two small cut-outs to provide clearance for the pickup adjustment screws and a small hole for the cable, which was very firmly anchored inside the body i.e. no slack. Although I could try to do the job by wrestling the volume pot out of an f-hole and setting to with a soldering iron (I've done it before on a semi-hollow), I really didn't want to take that risk this time. I certainly didn't want to take a router to the top of the Godin, as it is rather nicely put together and I don't want to ruin its integrity. Plus, I found that with a change of strings and spending a little more time dialling in a DV Little Jazz, the Godin was beginning to sound more like I was hoping it should. So I have abandoned making the change to the Godin.

    But now I find I have a spare CC pickup to experiment with. I am considering two options:

    (i) buy a moderately-price single pickup archtop and swap the CC for the humbucker - I currently have my eyes on a second-hand Ibanez PM35 on Reverb as a possible host,

    OR

    (ii) make use of a spare Tele body I have and put the CC the neck position. By the time I have bought a neck, and all the other parts, including some form of bridge pickup (a P90 for Tele ?) to complete the Tele, it may actually work out more expensive than the PM35, although price is not the key issue.

    What am I aiming for ? - well listen back to Rob's recording via the link above.

    What would you do ? Any thoughts, words of encouragement (or discouragement), or ideas for third options are very welcome.

  26. #50

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    I'd vote used Ibanez PM35. Nice laminated archie. I think you'd be happier.