Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: gwEm on December 27, 2009, 05:49:32 PM
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New John Birch Day!
here we are - in very good shape another 70s axe :) its got Hyperflux G pickups, and they sound very Sabbath, unique sound and feel!!
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cool 8)
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Good score for you and I'm sure you'll love it. I am not a fan.
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That's more knobs than your average boy band. What do they all do?
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cool 8)
I just detuned it 3 semitones and am playing Sabotage riffs through my treble booster :twisted: cool indeed!!
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That's more knobs than your average boy band. What do they all do?
The cluster of four knobs are les paul 2xvol 2xtone. The knob which next to the bridge pickup is master volume - its in a very good position for violin-ing effects. The large switch is neck/bridge selector as you would expect. Not exactly sure what the mini-toggle does. It just works in the middle position which leads me to believe it might be a phase switch for the neck pickup, though I am by no means sure of that at this stage.
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cool 8)
I just detuned it 3 semitones and am playing Sabotage riffs through my treble booster :twisted: cool indeed!!
What treble booster would that be? Kinda thinking about one...
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badass
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looks mean and nasty as hell.
S#$%t, now suffering from this ages old, chronic Vee-GAS attack - I WANT A VEE !!! :mrgreen:
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Wow, very you. What woods?
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Well it's not the kind of guitar I'd buy personally - but John Birch was THE MAN a few years back when it came to custom guitars. Didn't he make that HUGE flying V for the guitarist from Budgie?
Good purchasing there, how's about a sound clip or two?
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That is a seriously cool guitar. White Vs rock.
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ooh, you utter cun.... :lol:
great score, gwEm - we need some clips of that baby playing some Sabbath asap.
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cool 8)
I just detuned it 3 semitones and am playing Sabotage riffs through my treble booster :twisted: cool indeed!!
What treble booster would that be? Kinda thinking about one...
the thundertomate phil hilbourne signature, you order it from the the phil hilbourne website. its kind of expensive, but its been worth it. works best with single coils and low output humbuckers. demin'n'leather on this very forum suggested it to me. the 'cut' knob makes it versatile ampwise, even working great with my bright marshall master volume.
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Wow, very you. What woods?
no idea, i assume maple through neck with mahogany wings, but the truth is...???
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Well it's not the kind of guitar I'd buy personally - but John Birch was THE MAN a few years back when it came to custom guitars. Didn't he make that HUGE flying V for the guitarist from Budgie?
Good purchasing there, how's about a sound clip or two?
philking, who pointed me in the direction of this particular axe, told me the first Vs John Birch made were made from memories of a V in a picture, and were indeed huge. this one has the right sized body, but the 24 fret necked body is an inch or so longer overall than a regular Gibson V
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ooh, you utter cun.... :lol:
great score, gwEm - we need some clips of that baby playing some Sabbath asap.
:lol:
it needs a proper setup really, but i am tempted more than any other guitar to record a clip..
edit: its a very special sound, all the electricity of the last few sabbath ozzy albums. (plus the clean is fantastic, but i'm still in the sabbath playing honeymoon phase)
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Read the thread title as New "BJ" Day and thought, well good for you but a little random....
Then I saw the great guitar... congrats!
BTW - When you do get a new BJ don't forget to keep us informed. Mrs Santa didn't bring me one this year :(
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It has the same pickups as my JB, so I'm sure the sound through your Marshall will be incredible. It will be so different to your other V's as it is neck through (and also has a maple fingerboard!). It will probably be all maple (as that's what all he John Birch's I know about were [used to be a John Birch dealer in the 70's]).
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a little update - i just changed the strings and had a little look under the pickguard
the build quality is workman like - similar to a Gordon Smith, it has a swimming pool rout, and its not particularly well done. one of the pickguard screw holes is actually directly over the cavity, which made me laugh ;)
the mini-toggle is indeed a phase switch for the neck pickup.
interestingly the guitar is wired for stereo sound!
some of the pots probably need changing, they are the originals and the crackle and cutout sometimes.
i took out the plastic washers mounting the bridge pickup so i could get it closer to the strings and balance better with the neck which was far louder - this worked well and the volume levels of each pickup mostly balance now.
not sure about the design of the bridge regarding tuning, but its alot more stable with the 11s I just put on there! might look into change the saddles if it continues to bother me.
hyperflux pickups still sound fantastic :)
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Read the thread title as New "BJ" Day and thought, well good for you but a little random....
i was expecting you to post that dave :lol:
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Looks funny but I bet it's amazing! Can you get that amazing Sabbath Bloddy Sabbath tone?
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Looks great gwEm! Awaiting clips here too :)
(Has got me looking at Vs again.... I really shouldn't)
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Looks funny but I bet it's amazing! Can you get that amazing Sabbath Bloddy Sabbath tone?
absolutely :)
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This S.B.S. has some of the niciest guitar tone ever!
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This S.B.S. has some of the niciest guitar tone ever!
its not quite the same, but very close anyway. my favourite sabbath tone is the first album, which of course was P90s into a Rangemaster boosted Laney Supergroup... you can hear the difference with the next album where the Rangemaster was modded. Anyway, I think he kept using the P90s for some time and switched to a John Birch from Technical Ecstacy onwards.. Nevertheless I also understand his earlier Gibsons were heavily modded by John Birch, and theres a pictures of his 'monkey' Gibson SG retrofitted with John Birch pickups. No idea when this would have been done.
Whatever he used in the early period, theres no doubt these Hyperflux pickups get that tone instantly, you can get within spitting distance of anything from Master Of Reality tone onwards with it. I'm not even using a Laney amp, but a Marshall. A treble booster does help get closer, but even plugged straight in its practically there.
On the Never Say Die tour, which you can get many clips of on you tube, you can clearly see his playing a John Birch for the whole gig.
Sabbath had an amazing run of albums - six utter classics in a row!! (even if I don't so much like Volume 4) Few bands, if any, can boast that (maybe Kraftwerk is the only other)! When I started playing I was a massive Iommi fan, and picked up the guitar because of him. In the last couple of years I forgot my Iommi and Black Sabbath love, listening more to Judas Priest and The Scorpions. Let me tell you I'm straight back there now with this axe!!
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when you do get a new BJ don't forget to keep us informed. Mrs Santa didn't bring me one this year :(
thats what marriage does mate. you might as well cut it off now :lol:
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Any idea which P90 would be the best for Iommi tone? P90, P91 or P92?
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Not a big V fan, but that does look kinda righteous :D
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Only just seen this, been away for Christmas.
gwEm, that is totally $%&#ing awesome! :D
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And its 'goodbye' to this particular guitar..
It played its first and last gig with me last weekend. I even got a comment from a punter about how I got a great Black Sabbath tone.
(https://p.twimg.com/ArnteqtCIAA6rg5.jpg)
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about letting it go. I'll probably never find another one if I wanted one, but the truth is I only played it if I wanted that Sabbath sound, which wasn't that often. Generally I was a bit too scared to play it live.
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have you sold it? it is a very cool guitar
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have you sold it? it is a very cool guitar
I've done a swap for something. Shes gone to a good home.
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I've done a swap for something. Shes gone to a good home.
And won't be lonely :)