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Last night I visited a friend who has a nice collection of guitars. He told me about dynasonic pickups before and I was hooked when we saw Julian Lage in Dortmund. So I played his Gretsch (Jet? roughly shaped like a Les Paul guitar) and was amazed.
What a tone! Like there would be no pickup, no amp. Very acoustic, exact tone.
I will definitely investigate this type of pickups and guitars that have it more.
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06-16-2022 12:31 AM
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I have a set in a 1980s MIJ Epiphone Emperor. They're great sounding pickups. Personally I really love how they have a fat/warm single coil sound, but at the same time have this lovely hi-fi clarity, especially noticeable in the low register. I've noticed they seem less prone to 60 cycle hum than my other guitars with single coils. Dynasonics are one of my favourite pickups for jazz guitar.
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That was probably a Gretsch Duo Jet (6128). It's been in the line since the early '50s, and I think it was their first solid body guitar. I've never played a reissue, but the originals were very nice guitars. With chambered bodies, they were more resonant and significantly lighter than LPs.
Originally Posted by guavajelly
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I've got a pair on my Gretsch 3156 Historic Series Streamliner from 1999. Obviously reissues, but the piston-type magnets protruding to the guitar's cavity are there. Used the guitar on a couple of dance gigs around 2012-2014. Haven't seen much of it since, as it resides at my younger son's studio and has been used on a number of indie recordings. The sound is glorious: why aren't these PU's mass made today?
Last edited by Gitterbug; 06-16-2022 at 07:31 PM.
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Huge fan of these pickups and they look cool too. I don't like the tone certain modern players get with them (very pinched, nasal sound), but these are capable of some of the BEST tone in the right hands.
To my ears, the DeArmond 2000s are similar in tone and dynamic range to the famous Oscar Moore pickup (I think some people know it as a Charlie Christian pickup).
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Julian plays a collings signature model based heavily on the gretsch jets. Has ron ellis pickups.
Collings 470 JL | Julian Lage Signature Model
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Love them in my 1961 Guild Starfire III. Tone for days!
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Since I played my friend's Gretsch Duo Jet and hearing JL twice this year I keep searching for this model. But they seem to build very few, so it virtually never pops up in Europe. Visually I like this simpler model better than the Gretsch. I just wonder why they opted for the Bigsby. JL seems to never use it. Originally Posted by Sjajazz
???
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I also like the sound of DeArmond 2000's aka "Dynasonics" via Gretsch.
Have a mismatched pair in a drawer somewhere waiting for the right guitar to put them in, but had a '61 Guild Starfire that gave me a good introduction to what they can do.
Here's a photo of another '61 Starfire II that has a pair of DeArmond "beveled" pickups which were either a predecessor to the 2000 design or just a variant. They resemble the 210 sound hole pickups of the day but mounted in bezel for body mounting.
I got this guitar minus the pickups long ago, but found this pair from a '60 Starfire, where they were often used when the Starfire was first introduced.
They have a similar voice but are a tad warmer....hard to express.
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Z: You have the coolest guitars. This one is so beautiful!! Originally Posted by zizala
Can't believe the stuff you pull out of the front room.
MD
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Bigsby is for the weight. Julian said the guitar was too light without it on there. Originally Posted by guavajelly
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I believe Cornell Dupree had one in his Telecaster as well. Very sweet sounding pickup for sure.
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Lindy Fralin makes them: DynaSonic Pickups by Lindy Fralin: P90 and Fender DynaSonic Tone Originally Posted by Gitterbug
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He does use it, but very sparingly, which is the best way to use it. I have Bigsby's on both of my Gretsch arch tops, and it's really nice every once in a while. Not that big Gretsches need more weight, mind you. Originally Posted by Sjajazz
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…and that special kind of tone only a Bigsby adds, even if only used as a tailpiece. By the way, those fantastic Ron Ellis Dyna-types („Ellisonics“) are available worldwide, 850$/pair Originally Posted by Sjajazz
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Or just get a set of TV Jones T-Armond pickups for a lot less. Originally Posted by Stefan Eff
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To add another option, for European Dynasonic-lovers:
Pickups - Dyna Style - Page 1 - Gabojo
These Dynasonics are made in Athens, Greece, sound very much like vintage DeArmond-made ones, and come in various form factors, so that you can enjoy that clear, but full Dynasonic tone even if your guitar originally came with P90,s, HBs, etc.
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Both gretsch and guild sell replacement dynasonics at moderate prices
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The Guild ones are not vintage spec Dynasonics - they are reissues of the pickups used on the Gretsch Historoc series guitars, and a few other models, from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Guild reissues have shorter magnets (vintage Dynasonics have really long ones, which makes it difficult to mount them on solidbody guitars), abd they are wound with 43AWG wire (vintage Dynas are wound with 44AWG, that results in a tone with more mids).
I have owned (and own) guitars with all different kinds of Dynasonic type pickups (as those are my favorite kind) - including the Guild reissues; those aren't bad, just a bit leaner and brighter than vintage ones, a bit more Strat-like.
The current Gretsch ones are pretty close to vintage Dynas, just wound on the lower side.
The long magnet Gabojos are VERY close to vintage spec and tone, with the added bonus of being able to mount them on guitars that didn't originally come with Dynas; also, at least for us Europeans, the price is exactly the same as for new Gretsch ones (both around 130€ per pickup), lower than T-Armonds, only slightly more than the Guilds...
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I can buy the guild dearmond dynasonics for 72.50 eur, but the gabajos looks nice Originally Posted by RomanS
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Ah, when I bought mine, they were still around 100€, but that was a while ago (just when Guild started making them again).Not bad pickups at all, just a bit more twangy and thin than real Dynasonics - I use a Guild neck pickup in combination with a Gabojo bridge pickup in a Gretsch Pro Jet, the leaner Guild tone works well in the neck spot, prevents it from getting too boomy...
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I am contemplating putting one in the middle of a telecaster ala cornell dupree, so a bit thinner could work for my purposes. Compressor and delay is a bit of a tone suck anyhow so… Originally Posted by RomanS
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One more: a special guitar for sure.
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They’re not for everyone… nice in a sold/semi… total hollow… meh
ask me in 20 years
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Hello,
Does anyone tried these Ellisonic pickups on archtop ? I'd like to try this, but the main problem is the size of the pickup, that is different from a humbucker.
I really love my archtop and its acoustic presence (all massive woods), and I'm wondering if this could be a great choice.
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