This is a recount of the challenges in changing the stock pickups of a 1981 Roland GR G-303 Guitar Synthesizer Controller.
I've used my GR for the past 20 years. Its original pickups were the Ibanez Super 88 type, with a cover which also acts as a mounting "ring". Although the neck pickup was ok, the bridge pickup was always nasally-sounding. I decided to replace them and chose Seymour Duncans.
There were two types of pickups used on the G-303s. The first generation had Super 88's, and the second generation had custom shaped plastic rings that would allow replacement of the humbuckers. On the Super 88's the coils are actually epoxied to the cover, and attempting to remove them would destroy them.
I managed to borrow one of the custom pickup rings from the second generation, persuading a local engineering/machining shop to reproduce a pair in aluminum. They were finished in black brushed aluminum. I had purchased in advance my Antiquity humbuckers; the bridge one was stock and the neck one was custom-wound to match the impedance of the bridge one. These Antiquities were installed. Nickel covers were powder-coated in black, and the whole new hardware looked gorgeous.
After trying them out, a buzzing appeared. I asked my technician to review grounding, and also to shield the cavities. I also thought it was my amp, a '71 Fender Vibrolux, so all tubes were changed. Still the buzz persisted.
My tech reviewed the GR thoroughly a second time. He would not understand why the pickups, being humbuckers, would not cancel out the buzz. Other guitars tried - a Gibson LP with uncovered '57 Classic humbuckers, and a custom Strat with a humbucker on the bridge, were noiseless on the Vibrolux - so it wasn't the amp either. I went back to the music store and grabbed a pair of Seymour Duncan '59s, SH-1n and SH-1b, asking the tech to remove the Antiquities and install the '59's instead. Replacing the pickups on the GR is no easy task, as the delicate wire ribbons have to be removed from the inner synth board, and taken all apart in order to reach the guitar pots.
Trying the GR with the '59s installed, noticed that the amount of buzz got reduced; but the sound was too trebly for my ears, especially on the bridge SH-1. The pickup did not have enough midrange. Reading reviews of the SH-1 realized that I had made a mistake.
I asked my tech if there was any buzz difference between the '59's and the Antiquities. He explained that while the buzzing level between the '59 neck and the Antiquity neck was rather the same, the level of buzzing from the Antiquity bridge was higher than the '59 bridge. He also mentioned than in straight comparison the buzzing from the Antiquity neck was way less than the Antiquity bridge.
At the music store the guys recommended the JB. After checking out demos on YouTube, I decided to grab it. Took it to my tech, indicating to install back the neck Antiquity, and install the JB instead of the '59 bridge.
In the middle of the install another problem happened.The JB had come with shorter "ears" in its bracket, the two "L" shaped angles where the height screws attach. Checked on the '59s and the Antiquities, all four humbuckers had longer bracket ears, even the ones for neck position. The bracket of the JB had to be swapped by the one from the noisy Antiquity bridge in order to make the JB to fit properly. When everything was finally installed I tested the guitar hoping for the best. Fortunately, everything worked; the JB sounded loud and clear with strong midrange, and the neck Antiquity was clear and sweet...... and the buzz was gone!
The adventure above raises a couple of questions. While it would have been that the lack of wax-potting on the bridge Antiquity was the main culprit for the unwanted buzz, the custom-wound neck Antiquity was wax-potted; we saw the wax coming out of the screws trying to fit it with the nickel cover. This custom pickup did not have the screw sensors on a single coil, but on both coils. While it was sold to me as a "custom-wound Antiquity humbucker" now I think that it was in fact not an Antiquity, but a custom neck pickup of some sort built to match the impedance requested. The pickup had Seymour's hand-written signature on the paper inside the plastic box. The positive outcome is that by sheer luck it happened to be a quieter pickup.
The second question is about the short ears bracket that the JB came with. On the website there is no explanation of any different size of ear brackets; it only states "Recommended for bridge position". I would assume that this JB is exclusively for bridge position only; and hope I'm correct. The box states clearly "SH-4 JB Model Blk 11102-13-B", and the sticker attached to the bracket at the back of the pickup reads "I5T32 SH-4 20090908".
So now inside of my GR guitar, there is an "all custom" set of pickups, forced by adversities which by luck sound well.
I've used my GR for the past 20 years. Its original pickups were the Ibanez Super 88 type, with a cover which also acts as a mounting "ring". Although the neck pickup was ok, the bridge pickup was always nasally-sounding. I decided to replace them and chose Seymour Duncans.
There were two types of pickups used on the G-303s. The first generation had Super 88's, and the second generation had custom shaped plastic rings that would allow replacement of the humbuckers. On the Super 88's the coils are actually epoxied to the cover, and attempting to remove them would destroy them.
I managed to borrow one of the custom pickup rings from the second generation, persuading a local engineering/machining shop to reproduce a pair in aluminum. They were finished in black brushed aluminum. I had purchased in advance my Antiquity humbuckers; the bridge one was stock and the neck one was custom-wound to match the impedance of the bridge one. These Antiquities were installed. Nickel covers were powder-coated in black, and the whole new hardware looked gorgeous.
After trying them out, a buzzing appeared. I asked my technician to review grounding, and also to shield the cavities. I also thought it was my amp, a '71 Fender Vibrolux, so all tubes were changed. Still the buzz persisted.
My tech reviewed the GR thoroughly a second time. He would not understand why the pickups, being humbuckers, would not cancel out the buzz. Other guitars tried - a Gibson LP with uncovered '57 Classic humbuckers, and a custom Strat with a humbucker on the bridge, were noiseless on the Vibrolux - so it wasn't the amp either. I went back to the music store and grabbed a pair of Seymour Duncan '59s, SH-1n and SH-1b, asking the tech to remove the Antiquities and install the '59's instead. Replacing the pickups on the GR is no easy task, as the delicate wire ribbons have to be removed from the inner synth board, and taken all apart in order to reach the guitar pots.
Trying the GR with the '59s installed, noticed that the amount of buzz got reduced; but the sound was too trebly for my ears, especially on the bridge SH-1. The pickup did not have enough midrange. Reading reviews of the SH-1 realized that I had made a mistake.
I asked my tech if there was any buzz difference between the '59's and the Antiquities. He explained that while the buzzing level between the '59 neck and the Antiquity neck was rather the same, the level of buzzing from the Antiquity bridge was higher than the '59 bridge. He also mentioned than in straight comparison the buzzing from the Antiquity neck was way less than the Antiquity bridge.
At the music store the guys recommended the JB. After checking out demos on YouTube, I decided to grab it. Took it to my tech, indicating to install back the neck Antiquity, and install the JB instead of the '59 bridge.
In the middle of the install another problem happened.The JB had come with shorter "ears" in its bracket, the two "L" shaped angles where the height screws attach. Checked on the '59s and the Antiquities, all four humbuckers had longer bracket ears, even the ones for neck position. The bracket of the JB had to be swapped by the one from the noisy Antiquity bridge in order to make the JB to fit properly. When everything was finally installed I tested the guitar hoping for the best. Fortunately, everything worked; the JB sounded loud and clear with strong midrange, and the neck Antiquity was clear and sweet...... and the buzz was gone!
The adventure above raises a couple of questions. While it would have been that the lack of wax-potting on the bridge Antiquity was the main culprit for the unwanted buzz, the custom-wound neck Antiquity was wax-potted; we saw the wax coming out of the screws trying to fit it with the nickel cover. This custom pickup did not have the screw sensors on a single coil, but on both coils. While it was sold to me as a "custom-wound Antiquity humbucker" now I think that it was in fact not an Antiquity, but a custom neck pickup of some sort built to match the impedance requested. The pickup had Seymour's hand-written signature on the paper inside the plastic box. The positive outcome is that by sheer luck it happened to be a quieter pickup.
The second question is about the short ears bracket that the JB came with. On the website there is no explanation of any different size of ear brackets; it only states "Recommended for bridge position". I would assume that this JB is exclusively for bridge position only; and hope I'm correct. The box states clearly "SH-4 JB Model Blk 11102-13-B", and the sticker attached to the bracket at the back of the pickup reads "I5T32 SH-4 20090908".
So now inside of my GR guitar, there is an "all custom" set of pickups, forced by adversities which by luck sound well.
Last edited:
