Hello everybody,
I completed the copy of a Tony Zemaitis Metal Front guitar (see the photo odyssey on http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/elteye1/album?.dir=/7232&.src=ph ) and the local music store (Strait Music, Austin Texas) was so kind to let me try various pickups on it. I tried the Seth Lover model (sounded "constipated" on this specific guitar) and then the Custom Custom in the bridge, and it lacked all clarity.
You know how the first impression is usually the final word too? As in: "If there is doubt, there IS no doubt".
Well at 3AM, when I finally fired up with Jazz in both neck and bridge positions, it was an instant "YEAH!". Perfect combination of smoothness, twang, overdrive, definition, clarity, punch...
Both my original Zemaitis guitars have Gibson 57 PAF re-issues in them and frankly, this new guitar, although a copy and still totally "green" sounds even better than the original Zemaitis guitars I have (who sounded so good that I sold my 1957 Gibson Goldtop cause it never left the case anymore...)
Please remember: the Zemaitis is a bit of a different animal with the smaller body (mahogany) and the larger headstock and all that aluminium all over it and aluminium bridge and tail and pickup rings, the aluminium adds a lot of clarity and definition to the guitar.
Still, these so-wrongly named "Jazz" pickups should be DEFINITELY given a try if you like that PAF type sound. A sort of super defined PAF's, ideal to get that British early 70's sound, as well as many other sounds.
And the output is high enough to drive my amps (Boogie and VOX all tube) into crank mode. Then we have pedals...
One more detail: I've put the coil tap on a pot instead of switch. Very interesting...
I completed the copy of a Tony Zemaitis Metal Front guitar (see the photo odyssey on http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/elteye1/album?.dir=/7232&.src=ph ) and the local music store (Strait Music, Austin Texas) was so kind to let me try various pickups on it. I tried the Seth Lover model (sounded "constipated" on this specific guitar) and then the Custom Custom in the bridge, and it lacked all clarity.
You know how the first impression is usually the final word too? As in: "If there is doubt, there IS no doubt".
Well at 3AM, when I finally fired up with Jazz in both neck and bridge positions, it was an instant "YEAH!". Perfect combination of smoothness, twang, overdrive, definition, clarity, punch...
Both my original Zemaitis guitars have Gibson 57 PAF re-issues in them and frankly, this new guitar, although a copy and still totally "green" sounds even better than the original Zemaitis guitars I have (who sounded so good that I sold my 1957 Gibson Goldtop cause it never left the case anymore...)
Please remember: the Zemaitis is a bit of a different animal with the smaller body (mahogany) and the larger headstock and all that aluminium all over it and aluminium bridge and tail and pickup rings, the aluminium adds a lot of clarity and definition to the guitar.
Still, these so-wrongly named "Jazz" pickups should be DEFINITELY given a try if you like that PAF type sound. A sort of super defined PAF's, ideal to get that British early 70's sound, as well as many other sounds.
And the output is high enough to drive my amps (Boogie and VOX all tube) into crank mode. Then we have pedals...
One more detail: I've put the coil tap on a pot instead of switch. Very interesting...
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