Pickup info and Q&A

[Administrator]

All --

We get a lot of questions about pickups. John decided he wanted a dedicated board on the Forum to catalog these interactions.

Therefore, here it is....check back for information on the GuitarAttack pickup journey.

Admin

[dnic]

Good idea this should be fun.

[Tom]

Hi, John, I'd like to explore having custom pickups made for for my 3-pickup Nashville Tele. The problem is I get confused with verbal/written descriptions of how the pickup will sound.   I'll know it when I hear it. How will the process work?   Thank you.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Jul 28, 2018 5:52:48 GMT -6 Tom said:

Hi, John, I'd like to explore having custom pickups made for for my 3-pickup Nashville Tele. The problem is I get confused with verbal/written descriptions of how the pickup will sound.   I'll know it when I hear it. How will the process work?   Thank you.

Thanks -- It is confusing, and watching those demos on YouTube makes it even more confusing. You always get the feeling that the players doing the demo can make any guitar sound killer!

I handle Teles from all eras on a nearly daily basis. One thing I can say is that they all sound different.

Step 1 in trying to find the right pickup is evaluating the instrument they are going into. This includes taking a look at the neck (maple or rosewood), bridge (brass, steel, other), string gauges and brand, and body wood.

Step 2 is evaluating the kind of music you play. Country? Soul? Old Zep? Everything in between? Do you have any recordings available?

Based on this starting point we will enter into a discussion about what you are looking for.

One last thing -- I always encourage players to get a professional setup on their guitar prior to changing pickups. Pickups won't fix a bad guitar, and a setup may expose something that you particularly hate, or love, about your guitar.

More to follow,
John

[Tom]

Step 1 in trying to find the right pickup is evaluating the instrument they are going into. This includes taking a look at the neck (maple or rosewood), bridge (brass, steel, other), string gauges and brand, and body wood.

- Neck: Maple neck, bocote fingerboard, bone nut
- Bridge: Ashtray bridge (3 brass saddles)
- Strings: Typically D'Addario 10's (recently I've moved towards 9's on my other instruments and I favor 9's more)
- Body: Hollow ash body, western cedar-bound top

Step 2 is evaluating the kind of music you play. Country? Soul? Old Zep? Everything in between? Do you have any recordings available?

- Kind of music: Even after several lifetimes, I'll never be able to play a single style convincingly; a hodgepodge best describes it.
- Recordings that inspire me are:
- Mike Stern, ex: Mood Swings: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvG_ik2mEnI&feature=share
- Roy Buchanan, ex: Hey Joe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMcjPZgK9GM&feature=share
- Erich Avinger, ex: Voodoo Chile: m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Vi9ky9ljz4g

Based on this starting point we will enter into a discussion about what you are looking for.

One last thing -- I always encourage players to get a professional setup on their guitar prior to changing pickups. Pickups won't fix a bad guitar, and a setup may expose something that you particularly hate, or love, about your guitar.

- Understood (and I'm ready when you are)

[dnic]

I agree with John. For sure do a good set up. Pick up height has a huge effect on overall balance and tone. But if John builds you some pups you will not be disappointed.

[Tom]

Jul 29, 2018 8:03:50 GMT -6 GuitarAttack Forum said:

One last thing -- I always encourage players to get a professional setup on their guitar prior to changing pickups. Pickups won't fix a bad guitar, and a setup may expose something that you particularly hate, or love, about your guitar.

I wanted to check in on this to document my journey and to share my experience on this forum.   Being in this area for a few years, I'm always on the lookout for really good techs to add to the Rolodex.  

I dropped off my instrument with John on Tuesday.   On Thursday, I got it back.

I believe John is more interested in making sure you can identify what is going on with your instrument (and consequently, sound) rather than making a quick buck.   While I appreciate that, I'm now faced with the reality that my tone falls back to me (and not the instrument.)   It may be a quick fix but buying away your problem isn't a long-term solution.   (In other words, had I won the lotto, would I be destitute and on an episode of, "Lottery Changed My Life?")

After fixing the string-spacing issue, too-high nut issue, too-quick volume drop-off issue and learning my guitar neck is fractions-thinner-than-standard-at-the-22nd-fret issue, I will now play it for awhile before deciding if it is worthwhile to invest in custom pickups.

For now, I've learned that honesty and integrity is harder to come by than custom pickups.   John is gracious, extremely skilled and knowledgeable about guitar repair and helpful.   (In an almost Yoda-like way) he has educated me and given me the information needed to save money and to see which steps to take next.

Thank you, John.

[dnic]

Very cool.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Tom --

Thank you for the kind words and I enjoyed meeting and talking with you. I do appreciate the compliments and look forward to seeing you soon.

As the real Yoda reportedly once said, “Once you start down the path of guitar obsession, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.”

John

[Tom]

Hi, John. Wow, one year! Don't take this the wrong way, but I need to ask: How much do you charge for a good hot wax... for 2 humbuckers? Please PM me when you have a moment. Thank you.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Aug 19, 2019 16:04:31 GMT -6 Tom said:

Hi, John. Wow, one year! Don't take this the wrong way, but I need to ask: How much do you charge for a good hot wax... for 2 humbuckers? Please PM me when you have a moment. Thank you.

Ha! Will PM you on this.

John