Move a Yammie Towards a Gibson ... ?

[pickinstrings]

OK, I know it will never be the same, but here's the story.

I have a Yamaha Pacifica 604w - alder body,maple bolt on neck, rosewood fretboard, 25-1/2" scale, humbucker-single-single (Strat style?)

I've just started learning, and my teacher has a 1957 Gibson Gold Top. I love the tone of his guitar, it seems a full and rich tone. In comparison, my guitar sounds very thin. He uses the neck pickup when I am there. Obviously, the fact he can play and I can't has a lot to do with it, (and the fact that it is a totally differnt guitar style might matter too!!) but I want to change the pickups to move closer to that tone.

I'm thinking of a DiMarzio AirTone bridge, DiMarzio Virtual 2 middle and a DiMarzio ToneZone S neck. Is this a good mix, and will it move towards what I want. Alternately, should I use a Virtual 2 neck? Or is something else good?

Thanks for any thoughts

pickinstrings

 

[tone4days]

Re: Move a Yammie Towards a Gibson ... ?

welcome to the forum

as for your questions ... well, hard to say without knowing which pickups he has in his 57 GT - i'll assume they are stock ... as for getting your guitar to sound closer to his .. you have a few options ... and note, i said closER ... you're never really going to get in the same exact tonal spectrum given your guitar's construction/materials differences ... you could try a lil59 in the neck ... will definitely beef up ... as for the bridge, you might want to try an AIIP or a CC (if you want higher output - which his is probably NOT) ... i have found that A2 magnets can really warm up the sound of thin sounding guitars (like my 540s) ... another lil 59 in the middle would be doable too

i dont know anything about those DMZ pickups, so i wont comment .. maybe try over on the dimarzio forum for more expert opinions on those ...

of course with duncans, you get the 21 day return policy ..so if the ones you choose dont quite 'do it' for ya, you can send em back and try something else until you nail the tone you are hoping for!

and you might want to consider if his sound is really right for the kind of music you hope to play ... just becuase his sound is good for what he plays doesnt mean it is necessarily a match for what you are hoping for

good luck with lessons .. keep practicing!!

cheers,
t4d

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Move a Yammie Towards a Gibson ... ?

I have an old Yamaha strat that I refinished and converted, and it sounds fantastic. It definately has a fatter sound after the modifications.

I use a CC in the bridge. It's warm, full, smooth, and it helps offest the thinness inherent in trem equipped guitars. The added compression you get from it being 14k in output helps too, but don't think of it as too hot, because it's not. The other pickup I would suggest is the Original Parallel Axis Trembucker. I put this pup in a very light Basswood guitar (H/S/S) and it really cranks also. Tighter, punchier and more in your face than the CC. That's the difference between the A2 mag in the CC and the A5 in the PATB primarily.

My strat was a H/H, so I put an APH in the neck, and couldn't be happier. I would suggest for your strat a set of the flat pole piece APS's for a nice warm vintage sound. The vintage flats would also be nice if you wanted a little chimier sound.

Will you strat ever sound like a Les Paul...no. But you can beef it up a lot. Click on my soundclips below in my sig. Heavens door was recorded using this converted Yamaha Strat...CC for distorted rythym, APH for clean and solo's. Also, All Right Now is just the CC in the same strat. The CC does nice cleans to classic rock to 80's rock/metal very well.

Good luck.

 

[Reckless Abandon]

Re: Move a Yammie Towards a Gibson ... ?

I have that guitar. I put a JB in the bridge. PERFECTION for me! OF course a les paul is almost always going to sound fatter than a strat style. Jeff's suggestion about a Custom Custom would fatten it up. BUt if your bridge pickup sounde dbetter than the stock one then you may not worry so much about it sounding like a les paul. I ordered a Virtual 2 for the neck and middle. I will wait and see. You will not get Les paul neck tone out of a single coil!

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Move a Yammie Towards a Gibson ... ?

I had a couple of those guitars, they're great. I was planning on putting a JB in the bridge and a lil '59 in the neck, both coil tappable. Then I sold them both and bought my Legacy. Thats what I would do anyway.

 

[pickinstrings]

Re: Move a Yammie Towards a Gibson ... ?

Hey blokes, thanks for the comments - I will look at the various pickups mentioned and see if they read like they'll do what I want.

re:-

maybe try over on the dimarzio forum for more expert opinions on those

I wasn't trying to be rude or insulting asking the question here (and I think from the tone of your reply you didn't take it that way), but I had seen various DMZ pickups referenced here and presumed it would be OK. But I had looked around on the DiMarzio site and not seen any reference to a forum there. Do you know where a DiMarzio forum is?

 

[tone4days]

Re: Move a Yammie Towards a Gibson ... ?

... I wasn't trying to be rude or insulting asking the question here (and I think from the tone of your reply you didn't take it that way), but I had seen various DMZ pickups referenced here and presumed it would be OK. But I had looked around on the DiMarzio site and not seen any reference to a forum there. Do you know where a DiMarzio forum is?

no worries, mate ... wasnt a problem at all, i was just trying to let you know why i couldnt answer your question more directly .. and yeah, there are some DMZ users on this board .. folks here use lotsa different pup mfrs products and its all good .. this board is just proof that SD and company want people to have 'their' perfect tone - no matter where they find it ...

as for a dmz board, i dont have a link .. i guess i just assumed they'd have one too ...

good luck
t4d