Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

[skids]

I've GOT to upgrade the electronics in this and i have to do it without routing or adding screws.

it's a '68 SG style Melody Maker, one piece mohog body, with the surprise of an SG special neck and headstock, also mohog.

it has the small single coils, they're slightly longer than strat pups. the cavity routing is not big enough for p90s.....mini-hums would fit, but i'm going to go for single coils (mostly to raise the ire of my SG brethren over at everythingsg.com) here's the routs...plenty of room for electronics....

I'm wanting a nice growly p90ish sound that i can clean up a bit by backing off some. my idea is to use some noiseless single coils with a clapton mid-boost and maybe a varitone thrown in for fun, but am really looking for suggestions here. (that wraparound bridge will be swapped out too...)

i gotta keep this so i can put it back stock later if i want....

ideas anyone?

 

[big_black]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

You're sure gonns raise some tail feathers over there! I'm a member too, they call me hambucker. Is this the "SG Melody Maker- To Mod Or Not" ? I'm not too keen on the fender singles, but a set of JB Jr. would sound SWEET! I'll look forward to ruckus.

 

[skids]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

ah yes i recognise your avatar big black!! ooooohhh i can hear it now, so don't say nothin!! yes one and the same melody maker you remember!!

i see you have a blueshawk. that guitar is part of the reason i'm considering a varitone, please tell me what you think of it!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

Hey bro...you could try a set of quater pounders...they have a pretty good P-90 vibe, they are the same size as a standard strat pup. if you got one of them RW/RP when you used them together they would be humbucking. You could also get one or both of them tapped...2 tapped quater pounders would give you a lot of different tonal options...then you could put the mid boost (if you still wanted it!!!) and really kick some ass.

good luck and wwelcome to the board

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

Since Seymour doesn't make a pickup in a single coil size that sounds like a P-90, I think it'd be cool with SD to suggest the the Lindy Fralin Steel Pole 43. I'd get a pair of those (I have them in stock if you're interested) and then get WD to make a new pickguard for the guitar to fit two Strat sized single coils.

Lew

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

Since Seymour doesn't make a pickup in a single coil size that sounds like a P-90, I think it'd be cool with SD to suggest the the Lindy Fralin Steel Pole 43. I'd get a pair of those (I have them in stock if you're interested) and then get WD to make a new pickguard for the guitar to fit two Strat sized single coils.

Lew

The Steel pole 43 would be a good choice too, but the tapped QP's would really have a lot of tonal options!

BTW, Lew if you keep talking about these Steel Pole 43, Im gonna have to break down and get one...or 2!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

The Steel pole 43 would be a good choice too, but the tapped QP's would really have a lot of tonal options!

BTW, Lew if you keep talking about these Steel Pole 43, Im gonna have to break down and get one...or 2!

I don't feel comfortable or feel it's appropriate to mention Lindy's pickups to often on Seymour's own website... :smack: :blackeye: ...but the Steel Pole 43 is one of the best Strat bridge pickups I've ever used. It actually has adjustable pole pieces like a real P-90 and has the magnets under the coil just like a P-90. That gives it a more authentic P-90ish tone than a Strat type pickup with non-adjustable poles that are the magnets themselves.

I don't feel to guilty mentioning the SP-43 now and then because SD really doesn't make anything quite like it. If they did, I'd suggest it instead.

I like the Quarter Pounders too, BTW, but they're differant and more Stratty sounding.

Lew

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

I don't feel comfortable or feel it's appropriate to mention Lindy's pickups to often on Seymour's own website... :smack: :blackeye: ...but the Steel Pole 43 is one of the best Strat bridge pickups I've ever used. It actually has adjustable pole pieces like a real P-90 and has the magnets under the coil just like a P-90. That gives it a more authentic P-90ish tone than a Strat type pickup with non-adjustable poles that are the magnets themselves.

I don't feel to guilty mentioning the SP-43 now and then because SD really doesn't make anything quite like it. If they did, I'd suggest it instead.

I like the Quarter Pounders too, BTW, but they're differant and more Stratty sounding.

Lew

True...the QP are more stratty that a Steel Pole but still more P-90'ish that say an SSL-1. Thats cool as hell, I didn't know that the SP43 has adjustible poles and a bar magnet. I know it is in the ultimate strat thread but Im gonna ask here anyway (That's prett lazy!!! )...how does the SP43 blend with a real Strat pup?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

True...the QP are more stratty that a Steel Pole but still more P-90'ish that say an SSL-1. Thats cool as hell, I didn't know that the SP43 has adjustible poles and a bar magnet. I know it is in the ultimate strat thread but Im gonna ask here anyway (That's prett lazy!!! )...how does the SP43 blend with a real Strat pup?

Beautifully. That's one of the great things about it. I use it as bridge pickup in one of my favorite Strats. By itself it sounds alot like a P-90 but combined with the middle pickup it gets that classic, bubbley Strat chime Strat players gotta have. John (STRATDELUXER) uses one too and feels the same way about it I do.

I've put whole sets of them in Strats too. I like them best as a bridge pickup with regular Strat type pickups like the Duncan SSL-1 as the neck and middle.

Along with the Duncan Antiquity Custom Bridge I and II it's one of my three favorite bridge pickups in a Strat.

So two out of three of my faves are still Duncans!

Lew

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

Beautifully. That's one of the great things about it. I use it as bridge pickup in one of my favorite Strats. By itself it sounds alot like a P-90 but combined with the middle pickup it gets that classic, bubbley Strat chime Strat players gotta have. John (STRATDELUXER) uses one too and feels the same way about it I do.

I've put whole sets of them in Strats too. I like them best as a bridge pickup with regular Strat type pickups like the Duncan SSL-1 as the neck and middle.

Along with the Duncan Antiquity Custom Bridge I and II it's one of my three favorite bridge pickups in a Strat.

So two out of three of my faves are still Duncans!

Lew

Thanks Lew!

 

[skids]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

well guys, now i have an SRV strat and love it, but this guit MUST not sound like a strat! am i right in presuming that if i use the mid boost it would be best to use noiseless pups? i've not used active electronics before....

Lew, i'd definately be interested in looking at some of those sp-43s,....i'll check out your website!

 

[skids]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

Lewguitar, those 43's sound great from your description on your site. how do you think they would react with the boost?

do you think 43's on bridge and neck? i want attitude for sure, but would like it to clean up some if i back off....

and thanks for your input guys, you're a big help!

 

[big_black]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

ah yes i recognise your avatar big black!! ooooohhh i can hear it now, so don't say nothin!! yes one and the same melody maker you remember!!

i see you have a blueshawk. that guitar is part of the reason i'm considering a varitone, please tell me what you think of it!

I've heard the Steel Pole 43's are similar to P-90s as well. Lew's a great guy and he knows his stuff. I really love my Blueshawk, it and my SG get the most playing time. I was a Fender man for so long, but I think I'm changing my tune. I really like the Blueshawk because if the dummy coil, you can throw some wicked gain on those '90s! I really only use 2 or 3 positions of the varitone, it makes the guitar very versitile. I like what it does with the Blues-90s. You can get really close to a P-90 on there with the bridge. The Blues-90s are similar to a fender style single in constuction, only fatter. Now that I think of it, some of the positions in the varitone may give you that raw sound with smaller singels too! I don't switch my sound up too much once I find something I like, but the Varitone does add alot of diversity to any guitar. I don't know what Gibson Varitones cost, but there is a guy who lives a few towns over from me that sells homemade Varitones on Ebay every week, $40. I picked up a number plate for my Varitone from him for $8. Are you going to put on a stoptail piece instead of the wrap around?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

Lewguitar, those 43's sound great from your description on your site. how do you think they would react with the boost?

do you think 43's on bridge and neck? i want attitude for sure, but would like it to clean up some if i back off....

and thanks for your input guys, you're a big help!

I don't know about the boost but there's no reason to think they wouldn't sound fine with it. I plug my Strat with the bridge SP43 into a Boss DS-1, TS-808 or Fulltone '69 and get a great tone.

STRATDELUXER heard me playing that particular Strat through the Fulltone '69 and bought a '69 just like mine soon afterwards! :laugh2:

If you're looking for P90 tone from a Strat size pickup I think the SP 43's are the best option I'm aware of.

They have genuinely great tone...very musical.

 

[flank]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

i bet a Twangbanger would sound cool somewhere in that equation.......

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

i bet a Twangbanger would sound cool somewhere in that equation.......

Not P-90ish in the least but an excellant pickup.

 

[skids]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

good to hear big black, am leaning towards those 43's. i wonder if i could throw a dummy coil in mine to offset the boost magnifying the 60 cycle hum? hmmmmm...

i've been keeping big D on ebay in mind on the varitone, it's just so hard to find people who actually use the varitone to decide if it's worth it!

i'm just gonna replace the bridge and keep the stock trem in place. the guits not in super shape, but i don't want to refin it...

Flank, i was actually thinking about tele pups at one time, as the pups i have are slightly longer than strat ones. (seems i remember the tele pups are a shade longer too...not sure on that one)

thanks for the direction Lew! most informative info!!

 

[big_black]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

You may be able to get the midrange boost from the Varitone itself. It seems to push the mids in my Blues-90 in a couple of positions. I can't say what it will do with smaller singles though and I haven't heard the Steel Pole 43. It would be good to keep it passive I think.

 

[skids]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

seems i remember those blues 90's are a bit underwound to brighten em up a bit big black, maybe with the mohog adding some darkness to the 43's we may meet in the middle some where! maybe i'll start with the 43's passive and the varitone and see what i think before wandering into battery-land....

 

[big_black]

Re: Vintage Gibson Mod...(no faint hearts please)

Sounds good, can't wait to hear how it turn s out. The Blues-90s are underwound compared to a P-90. They aso have magnetic pole pieces and an A5 magnet like the Strat pickup. I think one of the main considerations is if the Fralin has that rawness under gain and doesn't "fart out" like most singles, it sounds like that is what you want. Stick with Lew's advice, I don't think he's been wrong yet!