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Good morning. I have recently gone through quite a bit of purging and am dedicated you're trying to make the most out of a very small amount of stuff. While I used to have a lot of different guitars I am down now to one acoustic and one electric as well as one amp. What I'm looking for help with is my electric issue. I have developed some bad ear issues from my day job and constant exposure to loud noise and I can no longer handle loud volume amplifiers. So I am working now with only a 57 Fender Champ reissue. Electric guitar-wise what I am left with is a early '80s Yamaha SA-2000.
My very favorite guitar sound that I am really enjoying is Julian Lage's tone he's been getting out of the Ron Ellis dynasonic pickups in his Collings guitar.
Is there a way that I can do something with the stock humbucker neck pickup in this 335 style guitar that would actually make it sound more like that dynasonic sound? I heard somebody talking about actually changing out the pole pieces in the stock pickups but I don't even know if that would achieve the intended result and it just seems like I'm potentially messing up a vintage humbucker.
It does sound way better putting a little EQ and dropping the 400 Hertz band but I'm wondering if there's something else that could be done to get a better sound without putting a EQ pedal on it. I would like to not use the EQ pedal if I didn't have to. If this is a total pipe dream, I would be interested in suggestions for replacement dynasonic style pickups that are direct drop for a humbucker. I could just go get the Ellisonic pickups except for my understanding they are not compatible with 335 guitars.
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05-20-2023 10:32 AM
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Gabojo guitar pickups amplification
I am planing on buying some dyna type PUs from them eventually. I want to throw them into a Eastman Romeo LA, and see what happens.
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No. IMO, a completely different animal.
Last edited by Hammertone; 05-22-2023 at 03:13 AM.
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Does your SA2000 have splittable humbuckers ? My SA2200 has them. That plus playing with your onboard tone/volume circuit (cap, resistor and pot values etc) may be the only alternative to EQ pedal(s) or installing new pickups.
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No, it's stock electronics for original SA-2000 no split. And my amp only has a volume, no other tone shaping characteristics. The amp is perfectly voice for a Telecaster but I don't have one of those lol. I really like the feel of the SA-2000. It's looking like I may have to do a pickup swap. I probably should not let that bother me, but this guitar has made it since 1981 without someone bastardizing it and it kind of bothers me to alter it but it looks like my options are either alter it or let the thing go and get something different that covers what I'm after.
Originally Posted by medblues
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The good thing with PU changes, they are freely swapped if they are the same size. No need for any destructive alterations. Gabajo has HB sized dyna. You can also choose long or short magnets depending on what will fit into the guitar.
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Have you had any experience with the Gabajo yourself? Originally Posted by st.bede
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I have emailed back and forth a few times. The communication has been good. Originally Posted by Gtrmaestro
I have the PUs on my list. I have a couple of other mods, and fixes to do with other guitars first. Maybe this thread will inspire me to get some stuff … oh look a squirrel.
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As has been said, your guitar is kinda very different from Lage's style guitar: smaller body, different interior bracing, different pickups.
While Dynastic style pickups might help, you might be trying a square peg in a round hole. I'd be looking at something Gretsch-like for this application. Even a semi-hollow telecaster with the right pickups might get you closer. The guitar you have is very good for what it does. Especially if you like the sound for other tings.
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… the question is how close would make you happy. Somethings I can be very happy with closer then I have, other times not so much.
For example, the Universal Audio modeling pedals are very impressive. If I wanted a vox, or deluxe reverb tone, I could have happily live with one of the UA pedals. I wanted a tweed… I bought a amp. Part of the decision was, the cost of the pedal was high.. so I spent a chunk more for an amp.
Hammertone is right. I now believe that all the elements of a guitar has some impact on tone. There are a great bunch of Warmoth vids that convinced me of that… at the same time, the differences can be subtle.
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I do - I have the long magnet HB sized pickups in an early 1980s Epi Emperor F. Originally Posted by Gtrmaestro
They're beautifully made, but most importantly, sound like proper Dynasonics.
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+1 for the gabojo. I ultimately put the 57 classic back in this L5 Wes, but it was a really fun experiment.
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Another Gabojo user here - I've got both the HB- and the P90-sized versions, and they sound exactly like vintage Dynasonics. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
+1 for the gabojo. I ultimately put the 57 classic back in this L5 Wes, but it was a really fun experiment.
If you don't need the height adjustable individual poles, you might just as well get a HB-sized P90 with rod magnets.
The rod magnets make the biggest difference (vs bar magnets & screws, like on a HB or P90) - totally different attack and bass response, more snap and twang, just like a Fender-type single coil.
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I was talking to somebody else about this and they did bring up a good point that especially when I'm talking about very specific tones that you're hearing an audio example would be helpful. So this is an audio example of the exact kind of sound that I absolutely love. And while other people might not agree with me to me this is probably one of the best sounds I have ever heard of my life. And I actually know exactly what he used on this track. It was a borrowed 50's Gretsch and a little 5 watt Gibson amp that is owned by Jeff Tweedy. Not clean but there's just something about the quality of the way these notes bloom and I'm assuming that the best way to get this type of quality out of my guitar is with Dynasonic style pickups.
I know it's not going to be perfect but for the stuff that I personally do this type of sound is perfect.
Here's a link to an example of MY holy grail sound.
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I really dig Lage's tone on this album. Wikipedia says he played with a Duo Jet through a Gibson BR6 on the album - a departure from his usual tele / champ combo.
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Me too. There's something in the sound of the guitar on this record that reminds me of my next favorite guitar tone of all time, Kenny Burrell. Especially the Midnight Blue album. I hear common threads in Lage and Burrell sonically that I really dig. Originally Posted by LifeOnJazz
I have noticed that the vast majority of tones I like are some kind of single coil. Whether Charlie Christian or Dynasonic style. Just not sure what would work best for my particular guitar.
I will probably put in an order for something very shortly. Maybe those Gabajo. I wish I could A/B Gabajo and CC pickups in person but that's not a possibility.
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Totally agree. There is a common thread. Two master's of their instrument. Hard to put your finger on it but it has that pushed tweed sound. Keeps me coming back for more. For some time I was quite interested in the duo jet or even a PRS vela for its dynasonic. Have yet to play one though. Best of luck. Originally Posted by Gtrmaestro
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I don’t follow the Julian craze frankly but I agree dynas are great. My 1955 duo jet also agrees. Bill jennings also agrees too.
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TV Jones makes a Dyna clone in a PAF size case. I haven't heard it, I am into vintage Dynas, but I've got TVJ Classics, Ray Butts, and Supertrons that I think are great.
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I also love TV Jones. I have three different sets: classics, supertrons, and P90. They are great. Originally Posted by ombudsman
As I thought about what dynas to get, I went through many forums and as many vids or sound clips I could find.
My thoughts were that the TV Jones seemed to be a little brighter and are more expensive then the Gabajo ones.
Granted the tone conclusions I came up
with, are in the land of speculation.
I put the Gabajo pick ups on my list, because I do not mind saving a little money, they seem to be a bit more authentic, if it fits they have the long magnets in HB size, and also I like giving some one else a try.
The PUs, I have include TV Jones, Lollar, WCR, Fralin, SD, Wilde (Bill Lawrence), WD (company had problems and went out of business). I think that is it.
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Besides the totally difference of your guitar and the Collings JL model- no. A Dynasonic is a very special kind of pickup and to me the perfect opposite to a Humbucker. The „Ellisonic“ is a Dynasonic interpretation by Ron Ellis and something really special.
Afaik Julian played his vintage Duo Jet on the LOVE HURTS album.
There are special wound boutique Telecaster neck pickups with a similar tone, the Don Mare Big Box for example. I use a similar custom wound pickup in one of my Tvcaster guitars and it’s tone is pretty similar to the Dynasonic tone. But I know this information doesn’t help
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I really like Bill Jennings, how he makes the notes pop, sooo good! I didn't know he used Dynasonics on a Duo Jet. The picture on the cover of the Complete Bill Jennings has him playing what looks like a right-handed Gibson thinbody left handed. But his sound sounds Gretschian to me. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
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He didn't play a duo jet but he played a non cutaway right handed gretsch synchromatic with dynasonics. Originally Posted by supersoul
The interesting thing about his left handed technique is that he didn't reverse the strings. As a result he played a lot of idiosyncratic arpeggios. Hard to finger them but they sound so cool!
His picking hand technique is like no other. You're right to notice the note pop. He really knew how to make the guitar speak. Sometimes he sounds like he's playing with a wah pedal, but it's just his articulation.
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