Pickup swap with the Hamer, details inside

[budda]

And I must say... it was a bit of a let-down. I was hoping that these pickups would give the guitar the same tone as my les paul, but this just wasn't the case. I believe that I have a nice dense piece of mahogany, with a very thick and full tonal character. The bridge pickup is a bit higher output in comparison to the '59 bridge that was in there before, but it just seems like a different flavour of the '59 almost.

The '59 neck trumps the 490T IMO, and I want to put it back in already. It has a cleaner tone at 3 on the volume knob, and just provides a clean more appealing to my ears.

Overall: the gibson's sound ok, but the '59 set seems to suit the guitar a bit better for everything but metal. I didn't quite crank it - didnt plug in until 11:30pm... - and I will crank it up tomorrow, but overall I am thinking that these pickups won't stay long.

My friend who installed them is going to let me try out his JB, and he also has a Custom lying around as well. I suspect that I will end up with either the JB or the Custom, and I think I will be trying out the JB next friday.

I'll update this tomorrow after I turn up the amp a bit with the gibson's in there. Keep an eye on the classifieds!

and yes I took pics, which I will upload and post later.

[Josh]

I LOVE the 6-string JB. I really do. I think you'll like it.

[eleven59]

I love the JB in my Ibanez AX110XL. So...why did you sell the Les Paul if you're looking for a guitar that sounds exactly like the Les Paul?

[noodles]

I can't really say I'm surprised: most Gibson pickups are a bit of a downer.

I love both the JB and Custom in guitars of that construction. The JB should give you a sweet midrange and a rude growl, while the custom is more hammer smash face, with massive low end and upper midrange roar.

I really like the '59 in LP type guitars, but I like the Jazz a lot, too. It depends on how much gain you plan on using.

[budda]

Dave, I don't run a ton of gain - I always aim for the initial "heavy" saturation and never go past it lol.

from what I've read, the JB will match really well with the '59 and provide what the bridge '59 was missing. Next friday, I hopefully get to find out!

Aaron - sold it for a thinner neck, better upper fret access and a lighter body. I got what I was looking for, now I have to get used to it

[eleven59]

Originally Posted by budda

Dave, I don't run a ton of gain - I always aim for the initial "heavy" saturation and never go past it lol.

from what I've read, the JB will match really well with the '59 and provide what the bridge '59 was missing. Next friday, I hopefully get to find out!

Aaron - sold it for a thinner neck, better upper fret access and a lighter body. I got what I was looking for, now I have to get used to it

That makes sense And I also think you'll probably like the JB.

[noodles]

Yeah, the JB should be right up your alley. The midrange on them just cannot be equaled: tons of growl and rude bite. It pairs equally well with the 59 or Jazz in the middle position, and they sound fantastic when tapped.

[eleven59]

Originally Posted by noodles

Yeah, the JB should be right up your alley. The midrange on them just cannot be equaled: tons of growl and rude bite. It pairs equally well with the 59 or Jazz in the middle position, and they sound fantastic when tapped.

Hmm...I think I need to add a coil-tap/split/whateveryoucallit to my AX baritone...I never use that tone knob anyways.

Definitely, growl and rude bite is exactly how I'd describe the sound I get out of that guitar. It's very raw and edgy, while still managing some really smooth lead tones.

[noodles]

Why not have both?



I like having a tone control in the circuit. I rarely ever use it, but I like the slight treble bleed that imparts on my tone.

[budda]

Update time:

so i've spent roughly an hour playing and changing settings and all that fun stuff.

my old amp settings for the ultra channel:
resonance: 6.5
presence: 2
treble: 6.5
mids: 7
bass: 6
gain: 4
FAT: off
master: wherever
TS
drive: 2
tone: 5
level: 6

NEW SETTINGS:
Resonance: 2
presence: 0
treble: 4.2
mids: 8.2
bass: 4.7
gain: 4
FAT: off
TS:
drive: 0
tone: 7
level: 6

Away from the amp it sounds full of mids without a whole heck of a lot of clarity behind them. I found that with my previous settings, the sound was rather harsh. It's also worth mentioning that I EQ'd the amp with the master on 5. The neck '59 sounded better then the 490T does, and i'm looking forward to putting it back in.

I am going to be trying out the JB next friday with any luck, as well as putting the other '59 back in there. I suspect that these pickups will be for sale as of next week.

I jam on thursday, so we'll see how the new settings hold up with drums. I was just looking to get moderate saturation with great clarity for the heavy stuff, and all I'm really after at this point is more articulation.

I just hope that John prefers his Custom over his JB! or even my '59 bridge over his JB