Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: edgie on November 10, 2009, 02:28:28 PM
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Looking at the BKP vintage output pu's, I'm trying to choose among the Blackguard Flat 50's, Country boy, and Yardbirds. I know that the Blackguard is the closest to a real Esquire's pu based on the description but I want to know how does it compare to the other 2.
I must admit that i've never ever tried an esquire and i'm just basing my impression of what it should be on youtube clips and forum soundclips. The yardbirds are also described as hot enough to drive an amp yet still has that beautiful clean Tele twang. Does it mean it can also cover what the country boy can do? Can it also be as detailed? How does the alnico III differ from alnico IV in sound?
I have a set of Apaches with alnico III in my strat for two years now and I'm still loving it. I dont know though if alnico III would work on an esquire as I'm concerned it might be too bright because of the brass saddles.
For the type of music that I want to play with the esquire project, it would range from the 60's to at early 90's as I 've got 3 bands now.
Thanks in advance to those who will reply. :)
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Welcome to the forum!
What sort of tones are you after? You say 60s to early 90s, but blues/rock/metal/jazz? Any particular band/song tones you can identify? Mainly clean, or mainly dirty?
We need a bit more info before we can suggest something :)
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Alnico III has a very nice midrange that's great for clean and mildly overdriven sounds. Might get a bit mushy with more overdrive.
I had a bit of a struggle between the Yardbird and Blackguard for my Esquire. The tones Jeff Beck got from his Esquire are quite awesome. But I'm also into rockabilly and I wanted the tones of Johnny Cash and old Sun recordings too. So I went for a Blackguard. It also seemed the right thing to do with a pine body, maple neck and brass saddles.
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Thanks for the replies. Sorry I wasn't too specific, it was past midnight when I made the post. Anyways, I would be building an esquire with an ash body, wilkinson bridge with 3 brass saddles, and a maple neck.
For tones, I tend to lean more on classic rock side(the modern rock tones that I need can be had with pedals anyway :)) so I'm looking for rhythm tones like The Who's The Seeker and lead tones similar to ZZ Top, Black Crowes, and early Jeff Beck and Led Zep.
For semi-clean tones, this is how I would want it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXxkUQBGWk0
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Listening to that clip, and thinking of some of the rockier tones you want, I'd go with something with a powerful magnet and some bite.
So I'd go Blackguard.
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Ok, thanks twinfan. You're right, i would need that extra snarl which I might not get with the Country Boy.
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Hi, and welcome.
Another vote for Blackguard Flat 50 for what you describe. In my hands, at least, it's capable of thicker, "hairy-er", and more bite than the Yardbird.
Both clean up really nice (can't get at clips while I'm at work, but I'm guessing from what Twinfan says that I'd agree with him).
I've got both. I choose the the BG teles when I'm playing in a situation that wants one, or possibly two, guitar parts that involve blues licks or similar that are going to be "featured" as "hey that's a great guitar part" in the mix.
I choose the Yardbird tele if I want a nice 60s pop rhythm guitar, for example, or if I'm doing classic rock stuff where I'm layering lots of parts and I want them to blend without getting too muddy, or if the tele part has to cut through some other parts with humbuckers...
I choose either for an actual lead/solo part.
If I'm playing ZZ Top or Black Crowes I definitely pick up a BG guitar. Something like The Seeker, either could do, early Page/Beck, the same, but I'd lean towards BGs with my amp settings (even though I think the Yardbird tele would be more "authentic"!!)
I do actually find the Yardbird set more versatile than the BG set, but I prefer the Blackguard Flat 50 bridge pickup. It just seems a bit more "in-your-face" and responds very well to vol/tone control fiddling, which I'm guessing is what you'd need on an Esquire.
I've not tried Country Boys, but I kid myself that I've got enough overlap with the BGs and Yardbirds (to save me getting another set and a tele to put them in!), so I can't really comment on those.
Hope that helps some! :D
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Yet another Blackguard 50 vote.
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Brief hijack to ask Andy a question (which I've almost certainly asked before):
Which NECK pickup has a warmer tone, BG or Yardbird?
I know Tim recommended the YB neck with a Piledriver for someone recently. The guy wanted a very versatile setup but I wasn't clear what exactly it was about the YB that made it the ideal choice.
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I do actually find the Yardbird set more versatile than the BG set, but I prefer the Blackguard Flat 50 bridge pickup. It just seems a bit more "in-your-face" and responds very well to vol/tone control fiddling, which I'm guessing is what you'd need on an Esquire.
I second that. I've done a custom Eldred mod on mine. Instead of the 'bassy tone' circuit I installed a . 001 cap making it a honky tone setting, like a half closed wah. Middle position is normal and I have the tone knob backed off a little. Bridge position is tone bypass.
This really gets the most out of that one pickup.
And now I have to show off and give you a link to my Esquire: http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=17525.0 (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=17525.0)
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Both of my Esquires have the same wiring as Ratrod's. Superb setup with the half closed wah option.
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Thanks for all the replies guys. Andy, your mini-review of the 2 pu's really clarified it for me, really helpful stuff. :)
Ratrod, that's one awesome-looking graphics. I didn't know before that they are called pinstripes when I saw a guitar from Southern Ill Guitars at the TGP forums having the same theme. I'd like to ask though, what kind of songs would the honky tone setting in your esquire apply to?
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I'd like to ask though, what kind of songs would the honky tone setting in your esquire apply to?
It's perfect for Cheap Sunglasses by ZZ Top 8)
I use it for a lot of solos in general, as it helps the sound cut through.
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Both of your Esquires, Dave? I thought you'd sold the Squier CV?
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I'm talking about "La Cabronita", which is essentially an Esquire, but Edgie probably doesn't know what that is :)
I was trying to keep it simple ;)
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Ah! I didn't realise The Little Bitch had Esquire wiring, I though it was just vol and tone with no switch. :)
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vol and tone with a push/pull switch for the tone preset ;)
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Ah-ha! :)
I suppose I could've gone back and read that thread, but it was 20-odd pages wasn't it?! :wink:
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Just for Edgie's benefit... ;)
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r267/junkacct/Cabronita/TF4.jpg)
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Just for Edgie's benefit... ;)
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r267/junkacct/Cabronita/TF4.jpg)
Twinfan, thanks for the pic, so this is La Cabronita..what a great-looking guitar that is! Probably the best degree of blue I've ever seen on a guitar.
You won't believe this but the color that I was thinking for my esquire project is also blue. But mine would be whale blue(like the PRS cu24 models) and it would have a matte finish with the grains still showing. Like a mary kaye finish but it's blue and not glossy. I'm not really sure how it would turn out but the luthier says it can be done. I'll also have a tummy cut and forearm contour to go with it since I'm really a strat guy.
I also requested with an almost unfinished neck, where the finish is just there to prevent dirt and dust from seeping in to the wood grain upon use. I hate glossy necks. And also just like yours, I'm planning to install a half pickguard if i can find one or it it can be made by the luthier, something that I saw from Southern Ill Guitars(His works actually triggered my desire for an esquire).
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Sounds like a great guitar Edgie - there's quite a lot of folks producing similar things. If Fender made a reasonably priced version, they'd make a killing!
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Philly, neck pickup warmth:
I'd say Blackguard is warmer. The Yardbird neck is sweeter and more bell-like. I can even use the YB neck for crunchy rhythm parts if I want, usually I find a neck pickup (tele, strat, humbuckers, whatever) a bit lacking in definition for that sort of thing... The YB neck still sounds like my idea of a tele neck, just more usable.
Having said that, my favourite "middle" tone is the BG Flat 50 neck and bridge together. I don't tend to use middle on my YB set that much - might be that I haven't fiddled with relative heights enough yet though.
Twinfan - that blue beastie is really growing on me. The whole look of the CS shop ones etc didn't grab me at first. And when you started out on the project for this one it was "yeah, each to his own, it'll be lovely I'm sure..."
But a couple of months on, it's looking better and better :D
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Thanks Andy, it's looking ever more like the Blaggards for me, unless I go for something hotter. :)
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Sounds like a great guitar Edgie - there's quite a lot of folks producing similar things. If Fender made a reasonably priced version, they'd make a killing!
I agree. Given that Fender makes the MIM esquires in old, unexciting colors, I couldn't see paying that much for an Esquire. Custom shop prices are crazy. IMHO, the moment you reach the 1.2k usd plateau, things just get different, not necessarily better.
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I couldn't see paying that much for an Esquire. Custom shop prices are crazy. IMHO, the moment you reach the 1.2k usd plateau, things just get different, not necessarily better.
Oooh, controversial. I personally think the Team Built Custom Shop guitars are worth it for their tonal benefit when compared to USA/Mexican/Japanese models, and I love my two. Masterbuilts, however, are for the well heeled collector only.
This post is useless without pics, right? ;)
(http://www.doppelganger-rock.com/Twinfan/Top_Bound_Esquire.jpg)
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r267/junkacct/relic1-large.jpg)
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Oh, now he's just showing off! :wink:
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:oops: Sorry.
I do absolutely adore these guitars, and the Fender Custom Shop really does know what it's doing. The blue Esquire is an absolute belter of a guitar, and it really works in my rock covers band.
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Wow, so you really do love Esquires. Sorry about the Custom Shop comment, not really trying to stir up trouble, maybe it's just because I also tried a lot of boutique guitars that are quite hard to connect with and downright disappointing for what their price. For some reason, they just feel strange sometimes. Though there are some "perplexingly beautiful" ones like the Don Grosh strat I recently tried. It's so light(even lighter than a basswood Ibanez RG I suppose) and yet it rings out beautifully.
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:oops: Sorry.
I do absolutely adore these guitars, and the Fender Custom Shop really does know what it's doing. The blue Esquire is an absolute belter of a guitar, and it really works in my rock covers band.
I agree. I think Fender Custom Shop make the best Telecasters available. The few I have tried lately in Sounds Great have just made me grin when I've hit the first chord. The Vibe, the feel, the tone....I think Fender have really got their shop in order....
I think I'd always go far a partscaster rather than anything in the mid range but if I had the money I'd probably go for a CS Tele over any alternative....
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I have to agree with twin, the Fender CS does seem to churn out very good guitars from my experience of them. I think the next thing coming to live with me will be a CS strat of some description.
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That's some very nice looking guitars, Dave!
I wish I could afford a tele (and that my girl would let me buy one :oops:)
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I would like to get another Tele purely to get a set of Blaggards. I love the sound of my Tele (with the C Boys) and wouldn't change it. Cranked up through my VC30 she sounds brilliant :)
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Wow, so you really do love Esquires. Sorry about the Custom Shop comment, not really trying to stir up trouble, maybe it's just because I also tried a lot of boutique guitars that are quite hard to connect with and downright disappointing for what their price.
Hey, no problem matey. Opinions are like assholes, we all have them!
If you've not tried a CS Fender, you should give one a go if you get the chance :)
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I've managed to try some CS fenders, Groshes, Tylers, Suhrs, etc. since there is a shop here that sells boutique guitars(they're not an official dealer of any brand though, they more like very good condition 2nd hand units) but never did they have an Esquire which is quite a common phenomenon among guitar shops.
But honestly, a build like your La Cabronita looks a lot more customized(even with its simple motif) and inspiring than an official custom shop. I could imagine the thrill of building one guitar that's just exactly how you want it. :)
Btw, do you have a clip of it? I haven't played a guitar with filtertrons yet. I only heard them extensively on some Brian Setzer records.
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I've not done any clips I don't think? I'll check my YouTube account uploads when I get home....
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Just bumping this thread to thank you guys for the recommendations. I've chosen the blackguard flat 50's bridge for my esquire project and it is definitely as what you have described. I'm very happy with how it sounds whether clean, semi-dirty and with heavy crunch. :D
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Nice one, welcome to the BG50 club :D