Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

[darthphineas]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

I think there was some recent photos of him in the Custom Shop doing some winding, like from a few weeks ago. I don't remember what thread that was in, though.

I think it was out on social media as a sort of reply to the "thread that should not be named". IIRC, one was Seymour holding some flat work and another was Seymour at a drill press. Maybe I didn't see the ones of him actually winding.

 

[bloomfieldriffs]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

Think there was a picture of Seymour Duncan walking down Mentor Drive in the Santa Barbara Independent. Can't remember the date.

 

[KNUCKLHEAD]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

bloomfieldriffs ~ it Wasn't Inappropriate , I just try to help Folks understand things because that's why I'm here . there isn't a super Lot I can learn here myself except maybe an occasional innovation in gear or a circuit I haven't wired exactly.

p.s. --> i'm not one of those Insecure Attacksters Ya commonly see here

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

Frank , Me, Roger Mayer , Eddie , etc. what Frank points out is something the others may not have caught or Payed attention to. The different experiences and Insights are Exactly Why there are so many great pickups and gear these days ( along with natural evolution in technology and aspiring...

And so are Gibson, Dimarzio and Myself at what we do . <-- Oh + most likely Frank at what he does with Fishman

...that's why I'm here. there isn't a super Lot I can learn here myself except maybe an occasional innovation in gear or a circuit I haven't wired exactly.

Are you in the music gear business???

I'm curious too, you mentioned what you do multiple times, but I can't recall ever seeing your affiliation anywhere. What do you do in the music industry?

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

I am on unfamiliar ground regarding resonant peak so I am purely speculating here. I don't understand the cable length point, live would have longer cables, studio shorter cables. It seems that Roger Mayer would have taken into consideration pickups, pots, cable, and amp input resistance when setting up the Hendrix rig for live and studio performances. This is supported in my opinion by the largely consistent "Hendrix tone."

^^-- Correct , it is pure speculation...what Frank points out is something the others may not have caught or Payed attention to...The different experiences and Insights are Exactly Why there are so many great pickups and gear these days ( along with natural evolution in technology and aspiring.

So (bloomfieldriffs) if you're unfamiliar with resonant peaks of pickups, the basics are as follows: The pickup has an inherent resonant peak. With capacitance (in this case cable capacitance) the peak lowers in frequency. With resistance, the peak lowers in amplitude. Hendrix used cables and pedals that were high in both. Think about a coily cord...All that coil is extra cable length. Even if the cable "occupies" 10 feet of distance when it's coiled up, if you stretched it out, it would be much longer. So coily cords are higher in capacitance, as the signal travels a longer distance. There are photos of Jimi in the studio with coily cords. So rather than assuming they chose a shorter cable for studio work, it's equally valid speculation that they used the coily cord for recording since that produced the sound they were used to getting live. That coily cord was making the single coils resonate at a frequency that is closer to humbuckers, when used through a shorter cable. Incidentally this is the same theory behind the Duncan Pickup Booster, which has 2 capacitor settings to lower the resonant frequency of the pickup. It's also the same as when some wireless units have a selector for simulating cable length.

The resistive loading of the Fuzz Face is where it gets interesting. That smashes the resonant peak, so that differences from one pickup to the next become less apparent. The pronounced resonant frequency is flattened out.

But all that speculation aside, when I said "recorded Jimi tone" I was referring to any/all archives, including live video and live recordings. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. My point still stands. These are probably really good sounding single coils. If someone wanted to use them to get a Hendrix-y tone, they need a coily cord, a Fuzz Face circuit, etc. not just because of the sounds they produce in isolation, but because both have a heavy influence over the sound of the pickups. So when you get a demo video like the one posted (which sounds very good by the way) I think it's important to note whether that's a demo with a long cord and a Fuzz Face, or whether it was made with a Kemper, or a Friedman, straight into the amp. I think it helps the listener know what they're hearing.

 

[bloomfieldriffs]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

bloomfieldriffs ~ it Wasn't Inappropriate , I just try to help Folks understand things because that's why I'm here . there isn't a super Lot I can learn here myself except maybe an occasional innovation in gear or a circuit I haven't wired exactly.

p.s. --> i'm not one of those Insecure Attacksters Ya commonly see here

Cool. Quick off thread topic question. In an active pickup is the coil or the preamp most responsible for the tone of the pickup?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

yes

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

In an active pickup is the coil or the preamp most responsible for the tone of the pickup?

IME, the active p'up's low impedance output going into the high impedance load of the preamp's input is what produces the most significant impact in tone, specially when plugging into a hardware modeler or a sound card using a software modeler for recording.

Using an amp live, the impact is not so big as the result of the inherent guitar speaker's frequency response, acting as a low-pass filter cutting abot 4.5Khz with a 18/24db/octave slope or higher, generally speaking.

HTH,

 

[bloomfieldriffs]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

Thank you very much for the concise explanation. One thing that jumps out is "differences from one pickup to the next become less apparent." This leads one to think that the rig has the primary effect on tone. If so then why would spending $279 on this set make sense when you could buy a very good but much less expensive pickup and focus your expenditures on the rig rather than pickups?
And would this be true in general, i.e.: should expenditures on pickups be the lowest priority when putting a rig together to achieve "whatever" tone?

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

One thing that jumps out is "differences from one pickup to the next become less apparent."...And would this be true in general, i.e.: should expenditures on pickups be the lowest priority when putting a rig together to achieve "whatever" tone?

No, that's not what I said at all. I was specifically referring to a long, coily cord, plus the high resistive load of a Fuzz Face. But even then, turning the guitar's volume down for the cleaner tones still reveals subtle differences in the pickup. But that full-on dirty fuzz face sound with a coily cord is indeed masking the pickup's resonance.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

ill vouch for that. when my guitar volume is on 10 (i always run the fuzz full up with germanium fuzz faces) the difference between an ssl1, fralin vintage hot, and ssl6 are barely audible. as soon as you roll the volume back a crack you can start hearing more differences

 

[bloomfieldriffs]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

Are there any pedals or boxes out there that simulate the high resistance of a long cord? I have found that Fishman has a built in "HF TILT" circuit that supposedly does this but nothing else showed up in my searches.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

just use high capacitance cable

 

[thanaton]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

Thank you very much for the concise explanation. One thing that jumps out is "differences from one pickup to the next become less apparent." This leads one to think that the rig has the primary effect on tone. If so then why would spending $279 on this set make sense when you could buy a very good but much less expensive pickup and focus your expenditures on the rig rather than pickups?
And would this be true in general, i.e.: should expenditures on pickups be the lowest priority when putting a rig together to achieve "whatever" tone?

People do tend to place too much emphasis on pickups, because they cost less than a whole new amp and cab, or combo. That being said, different pickups do sound different, and the more transparent your rig is, the more you will hear those differences. High capacitance cables and pedals that dampen the pickup's resonance make for a less transparent rig, and some portion of the high end response that the pickups have to offer is eliminated. Some degree of high end attenuation is generally desirable, as guitarists tend to not like excessively bright pickups.

Are there any pedals or boxes out there that simulate the high resistance of a long cord? I have found that Fishman has a built in "HF TILT" circuit that supposedly does this but nothing else showed up in my searches.

The guitar cable increases capacitance, and the HF TILT circuit is probably just that, a parallel capacitor.

 

[bloomfieldriffs]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

People do tend to place too much emphasis on pickups, because they cost less than a whole new amp and cab, or combo. That being said, different pickups do sound different, and the more transparent your rig is, the more you will hear those differences. High capacitance cables and pedals that dampen the pickup's resonance make for a less transparent rig, and some portion of the high end response that the pickups have to offer is eliminated. Some degree of high end attenuation is generally desirable, as guitarists tend to not like excessively bright pickups.



The guitar cable increases capacitance, and the HF TILT circuit is probably just that, a parallel capacitor.

What value capacitor would you think?

 

[thanaton]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

A good, straight guitar cable has a capacitance of 30pF per foot, a bad one will be closer to 100pF per foot, and a coiled guitar cable will be some multiple of that, since it's not straight. Therefore, 500pF would be like adding a ten to fifteen feet of regular guitar cable, and so to duplicate Hendrix tones, I'd add anywhere from 1nF to 3nF (1000 - 3000pF). A capacitance that large is pretty much going to send any Fender style single coil into the 2kHz range, it would almost defeat the purpose of the subject of this thread. The use of a high capacitance coiled cable might have contributed to Hendrix's (or his tech's) apathy towards pickup swapping.

 

[bloomfieldriffs]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

Thank you "Frankfalbo". I think I finally got it:

Slow learner.

 

[KNUCKLHEAD]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

years ago , I was taught You could make a field resistor that looks similar to this . I guess the coily cord capacitance ( which i used to use 1 in the 70's) is similar to the 2nd item mentioned in the Description below ~ the Inductor ( when it reacts with Capacitance ?



The main difference between ideal resistors and ideal inductors is therefore that resistors dissipate electrical power as heat, while inductors turn electrical power into a magnetic field. Ideal resistors have zero reactance and as a result zero inductance. Unfortunately, electrical devices are not ideal in practice and even the simplest resistors have a slight parasitic inductive reactance.


/www.resistorguide.com/

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

"Hello Cleveland!!"

 

[thanaton]

Re: Introducing the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set

The degree of reactance is proportionate to the degree of magnetic coupling between the windings, and when the windings are as far apart as they are with a coil guitar cable, they would couple very poorly. The degree of reactance is also proportional to the number of winds, and even if you scrunched up a coiled cable, it would be a few dozen winds at best, compared to the thousands of winds in a pickup coil.

Pickups are considered high inductance in general, having values that routinely exceed two henries, going up to the ten henries and beyond. That's partly why a pickup's high end response is so sensitive to capacitance, because the resonance is determined by inductance times capacitance, and the inductance is already high to begin with.