I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

I

ibmorjamn

New member
First off I read the old Michael Schenker pickups thread . I know about most of his pickups , amps and gear setups . I read SH5 but I want to build a better pickup I hope. So Micheal Schenker early UFO. I started with a alnico 4 magnet for the build.

I had a JB before and it has pretty good lead tones but not what I want exactly.
Organic clean , not bassy , defined notes but most of all when wide open it should ring like a bell .
I did not specify different coils , should I ?

I contacted Dimarzio a while back. They said the Super Distortion 3 was as close as I could get with their production pickups.
Medallion T -Top is not something I want to pay a “vintage” price for.
 
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Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

i am no expert on Schenker but i read alot about T-Tops and his name always poped up.
some stated that his Guitar was stock which would mean T-Top humbuckers.
You're description of tone also would fit a t-top.
It's a very bright Pickup with not a lot of bass.

T-top is not a PAF. it's it's his sucessor.
Gibson made them from AROUND 1968 to 1980?
DCR around 7.5 k up to about 7.8k with short ALnico 5 Magnet.
They are supposed to have matched/even coils.

it's the pickup that started the whole aftermarket pickup thing. a ton of them must have been replaced in guitars. but noe they are kind of vintage so the prices went up.
you can buy an original (up to 300 $) or go replica. there are alot of t-top clones available.
 
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Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

ToneFiddler said:
i am no expert on Schenker but i read alot about T-Tops and his name always poped up.
some stated that his Guitar was stock which would mean T-Top humbuckers.
You're description of tone also would fit a t-top.
It's a very bright Pickup with not a lot of bass.

T-top is not a PAF. it's it's his sucessor.
Gibson made them from AROUND 1968 to 1980?
DCR around 7.5 k up to about 7.8k with short ALnico 5 Magnet.
They are supposed to have matched/even coils.

it's the pickup that started the whole aftermarket pickup thing. a ton of them must have been replaced in guitars. but noe they are kind of vintage so the prices went up.
you can buy an original (up to 300 $) or go replica. there are alot of t-top clones available.
Click to expand...
Thanks tonefiddler , I read something about the T Top having a ceramic magnet and being like a hotter PAF . I don’t know what happened to Gibson but the magic in the pickups they used to make is gone . I could have gone to several builders , MJ works in the custom shop. I always her her name.
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

ibmorjamn said:
Thanks tonefiddler , I read something about the T Top having a ceramic magnet and being like a hotter PAF . I don’t know what happened to Gibson but the magic in the pickups they used to make is gone . I could have gone to several builders , MJ works in the custom shop. I always her her name.
Click to expand...

Dirty Fingers was Gibson's hot ceramic magnet humbucker, T-Tops had Alnico.
Al
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

OK - everyone relax and take a deep breathe! First - STOP reading around the internet. Nothing there but rumors and mis-information if you don't know what they are talking about. Based on what little I have read here I now actually know less about this topic than before I started reading!

ibmorjamn - My personal recommendation to you is to just go and buy a pair of Dean "Lights Out" pickups. These are Dean pickups, made by Pat Baker (who I know) in conjunction with Michael Schenker. I think based on all of dis and mis information you are grabbing onto, this is your best/easiest options. Schenker used and approved. They are a little hotter than the T-Tops, but far less hot than the Custom. People seem to really like them. Available from Dean $79 US. Available black, black/white, and black/cream I think

Next option - Another option is to get a Seymour Duncan Jazz set. The T-Top is often described as a weak version of the Jazz. I know, the T-Top came first, so in reality the Jazz is likely a better version of a T-Top. Based on the tone you want, they will be pretty close. You might need to use just a touch of tone control to get exactly where you want. $69 somewhere out there. Get a Jazz set - neck and bridge. Available in all sorts of colors, individually, used on eBay etc.

Finally - Get on eBay and order a set of T-Tops. It's what he used early on. Stop reading the Gibson T-Top mythology. They are Alnico 5 pickups around 7.5k or so. I have a set around here from a 70's Les Paul. I wouldn't use them and I actually have Dean Schenker Retro. And, they will be ridiculously expensive for what they are, but they are what he used. If you want old Schenker tone, get old pickups. They will be black, old, and cost $200+ per pickup.

And yes - MJ can build you a set "just like Schenker" and I suspect she would wind a set of T-Tops to spec, and still charge you $200. I don't know that they would sound as good, or work any better than options 1 and 2. Personally, kind of an over-the-top solution in my opinion.

A good Wah and Vintage Marshall would be better ways to spend the money to get his tone if you want it that close to his old sound.
 
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Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

SD Jazz sh-2 should be close, yes.

gibson 490R with a mag swap is also pretty close and dirt cheap used
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

Aceman said:
OK - everyone relax and take a deep breathe! First - STOP reading around the internet. Nothing there but rumors and mis-information if you don't know what they are talking about. Based on what little I have read here I now actually know less about this topic than before I started reading!

ibmorjamn - My personal recommendation to you is to just go and buy a pair of Dean "Lights Out" pickups. These are Dean pickups, made by Pat Baker (who I know) in conjunction with Michael Schenker. I think based on all of dis and mis information you are grabbing onto, this is your best/easiest options. Schenker used and approved. They are a little hotter than the T-Tops, but far less hot than the Custom. People seem to really like them. Available from Dean $79 US. Available black, black/white, and black/cream I think

Next option - Another option is to get a Seymour Duncan Jazz set. The T-Top is often described as a weak version of the Jazz. I know, the T-Top came first, so in reality the Jazz is likely a better version of a T-Top. Based on the tone you want, they will be pretty close. You might need to use just a touch of tone control to get exactly where you want. $69 somewhere out there. Get a Jazz set - neck and bridge. Available in all sorts of colors, individually, used on eBay etc.

Finally - Get on eBay and order a set of T-Tops. It's what he used early on. Stop reading the Gibson T-Top mythology. They are Alnico 5 pickups around 7.5k or so. I have a set around here from a 70's Les Paul. I wouldn't use them and I actually have Dean Schenker Retro. And, they will be ridiculously expensive for what they are, but they are what he used. If you want old Schenker tone, get old pickups. They will be black, old, and cost $200+ per pickup.

And yes - MJ can build you a set "just like Schenker" and I suspect she would wind a set of T-Tops to spec, and still charge you $200. I don't know that they would sound as good, or work any better than options 1 and 2. Personally, kind of an over-the-top solution in my opinion.

A good Wah and Vintage Marshall would be better ways to spend the money to get his tone if you want it that close to his old sound.
Click to expand...

Hmm , well the order is already in and the custom shop is $160 for whatever you want to build. Duncan has so many options it's overwhelming. I'm not buying vintage because I bet Duncan will find the tone I want. I might not be going after his exact tone but close. Amps and guitars are way more moneythan pickups. I have couple of tube amps , I even had a Marshall 2205 but he plays at volume so what I do is going to be a different approach. I might eventually get back to a Marshall (a JVM 205) I know it's not what he had a in UFO. I probably won't be buying the lights out pickups. I am aware of them. His tone now is very different than it was in UFO but no matter he sounds good still !
I am open but not to all options. Just trying to narrow down some.
 
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Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

I have a 490 set , they sound a little grainy to my ears , what mag ? I have swapped mags in the JB and it was better but not exactly what I need.
To me the sound is the sum of all parts , the pickups and speakers can be just as important as the wah , the amp is huge to( I don't like the CFH he uses ) His older wahs were modded by Jerry Blaha in Los Angeles R.I.P Jerry.
The wah I do like is the CAE mc404.
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

490R (490 Neck) with a SHORT Alnico 5 Magnet (google is your friend) is the cheapest t-top ballpark clone.
original t-top is not wax potted for example.

my manlius t-top replica (bought used) is bit more metallic sounding/more glas on the attack than the modded 490R. the fast crunchy attack is what i used it for, although i use it in the neck now. they are reasonable priced (also feat. a vinyl model).
try you're 490r with a short A5 and then see if it's anywhere near what you desire.
jazz NECK in the Bridge Position can also be an affordable test. maybe with an short alnico 5.
should try that myself. if you prefer the jazz bridge to the jazz neck in the bridge then maybe the t-top route is not the way to go...
 
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Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

Thanks for the reply , It seems this topic may be beaten far beyond recognition.
If I could give you some back ground info. I am a long time Schenker fan and nearly all my friends were back in high school ( i.e. very long time ago)
The first tube amp I had was around 1978ish , fender black face bassman. In 2012 I went on a amp quest that has been a very long road. Many Marshall's , including a few years back a 2205 that I returned , a JCM 900 dual reverb that I still miss , a DSL 40c I don't miss , a JMD 50wasbetter than the DSL , a jcm 2000 dsl 100 that I don't miss. Now I have just 2 amps a 515o lll lbx 15w and a cheapo Bugera V22. Bugera does more clean.
The song I am obsessed with is "Let It Roll " ***** of a song to play but not his most difficult. I have a Dean import "V" and a Gibson explorer
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

I have only one thing to add here: the Dimarzio 3 is absolutely nothing at all like what you seek. Either Dimarzio misunderstood what you were looking for or they meant to tell you Super 2, which is a bright pickup with fast attack. Super 3 is thick and muffled.
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

Let us know how they do with your pickup. I am looking forward to your impressions.
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

Well, if you are that much of a Schenker Tone-quester, ok.

But I find it really hard to believe that Even Seymour could beat an T-Top. Again, Schenker used what he used, it's no mystery, and it is available.

As for Duncan's "so many options" it shouldn't be hard if what you are doing is re-creating a T-Top. Again - the formula is not a mystery and available on the interwebz I'm sure. MJ probably has a 3x5 card with it laying around...

As Mincer said, let us know how the pups sound and the whole Custom Shop experience.
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

I will review it , I have never ordered a pickup and it is hard to describe what it should be. Fast pick attack is something I did not think about . I just hope to get something that is different . Some power but not to much . Dynamic .
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

Well, I was thinking about how it sounds vs what your idea of how it should sound.
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

ToneFiddler said:
490R (490 Neck) with a SHORT Alnico 5 Magnet (google is your friend) is the cheapest t-top ballpark clone.
Click to expand...
That would be true if "ballpark" actually meant the exact opposite. ;)

Man, this myth must be the oldest and hardest to die of 'em all... :banghead: This is proof that mindless hearsay simply works. As written in Joseph Goebble's book, if you repeat a lie enough times, it ends up becoming the accepted truth. *sigh*

/Peter
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

I agree Dis....

Not in the ballpark. Not even in the same zip code.
 
Re: I Am Having a Custom Built Bridge !

Myths can be dispelled if the people (said knowledge) would enlighten the less knowledgeable . I have lots of pickups laying around , the only one I have ever changed a magnet on was a JB to A2. I think I found the help here.
I am mechanically inclined but I still know very little about the inner workings of the pickup. Parts I know but what wire , winding and magnet combo's work for what I want is less apparent.
I went out and played the Les Paul special( Dimarzio 36th Anniversary bridge ) again , this time I stacked 2 different overdrives and used one to help the clean channel achieve the rhythm tone then kick in the SD-1(volume about 3/4 almost no overdrive on this one) to get the lead tone . By keeping the volume on the overdrive at 1/2 on the TC electronics "Cinders" I can get a decent rhythm tone . It works pretty well.
I did record it but this might not be the place to post and critics can be brutal. Lol
 
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