Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: gwEm on June 03, 2010, 12:29:19 PM
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first of all - really apologies to Feline :( i was planning to have my faded cherry v refin'd by him, but this came up unexpectedly and its a real find. we had a good time at the MSG gig last night, so hopefully he can forgive me.
its a block inlay edwards schenker V - as you can see the white isn't the right colour, but that hardly matters considering the rest of the guitar. i'm chuffed with the binding and block inlays, which is like a couple of his older vs.
the neck is a real players neck. its got ultra low action, but the feeling is closer to a fender v-profile neck i think. the profile is quite deep, and a touch angular, plus the width is a touch narrower than my other guitars. anyway, this weird combo works out and its good to play.
its got a duncan custom sh5 in the bridge, and a 59 sh1 in the neck... they sound... well, frankly very good (would prefer a duncan jazz in the neck) - apparantly schenker used this combo in the late 80s. the 59 is a bit like a riff raff neck - lots of bite but a bit cold, and the bridge is sort of halfway between a cold sweat and a miracle man.
quality-wise, its obviously a mass produced guitar, poly finish etc, but the fit and finish is to a high standard. maybe its not quite as good as gibson, which i think keep a bit of handfinished feel, but likely edwards is more consistent. the sounds from the duncans is much more to my taste than a 500t/496r set. the gig bag is not as good quality as the instrument, gibson does better here. the rosewood on the edwards is nicer than my faded. so gibson faded vs edwards are in a similar price range.. mmm - difficult choice.
i'll be ditching the duncans in favour of a BKP t-top set in a few weeks.
and yes, the first thing i played on it was 'armed and 'ready'! :)
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nice!
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You do know that guitars come in other shapes too? :lol:
Very nice guitar, even though it's not my cup of tea.
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Nice one gwEm! :D
Although I haven't tried a Schenker Edwards, I'm pretty sure it's exactly the same guitar as the white one I had. The neck's quite unusual, isn't it - very narrow but quite deep, I wouldn't really call it a V shape though, more of a U maybe?
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Cripes, you're giving Twinfan a run for his money on highest rate of guitar purchases in 2010...
!
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Nice one gwEm! :D
Although I haven't tried a Schenker Edwards, I'm pretty sure it's exactly the same guitar as the white one I had. The neck's quite unusual, isn't it - very narrow but quite deep, I wouldn't really call it a V shape though, more of a U maybe?
'U'? yeah, i'll take that.. its a comfortable shape anyway
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Cripes, you're giving Twinfan a run for his money on highest rate of guitar purchases in 2010...
!
i'm not certain, but i think this might be the first one this year..
there are at least 2 more on the way though!
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i think you are gonna need a bigger boat ;)
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Very nice.
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Congrats on the new guitar. Looks very nice. Are the other two that on the way v`s as well?
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ooh, nice! :D
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Congrats on the new guitar. Looks very nice. Are the other two that on the way v`s as well?
The planned 2 guitars are not Vs but are custom... i will say no more about them since the future is a scary undefined place where plans can fail ;)
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Congrats on the new guitar. Looks very nice. Are the other two that on the way v`s as well?
The planned 2 guitars are not Vs but are custom... i will say no more about them since the future is a scary undefined place where plans can fail ;)
Wise words!
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Nice! I'd rock that alright..... are you Arrrrmed Aaaand Readyyyyyyyyyy
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So you finally have your Schenker V! Sounds like you've found one you like.
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t-tops are on order!
apparently although the guys are happy to wind them they are not an official set, and it also sounded like theres no plans to make them as such. looking forward to getting them!
thinking about playing pickup merry-go-rounds and doing the following:
faded cherry V - T Tops
schenker V - A5 Mules
greco V - Riff Raffs
might just put the t-tops in the schenker V and have done with it though ;)
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t-tops are on order!
apparently although the guys are happy to wind them they are not an official set, and it also sounded like theres no plans to make them as such. looking forward to getting them!
That's interesting, I guess maybe Tim thinks there are already enough vintage models in the range?
Looking forward to your review, I'm certainly considering a set for my Tokai SG.
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t-tops are on order!
apparently although the guys are happy to wind them they are not an official set, and it also sounded like theres no plans to make them as such. looking forward to getting them!
That's interesting, I guess maybe Tim thinks there are already enough vintage models in the range?
Looking forward to your review, I'm certainly considering a set for my Tokai SG.
The other thing to say here is that they are made to the exact specs of the originals t-tops - same wire, same symmetric wind, same materials - BKP bobbins though of course.
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Cool stuff! Though I would be afraid to play that guitar at a gig and NOT be able to throw down like Schenker (nor can I).
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Cool stuff! Though I would be afraid to play that guitar at a gig and NOT be able to throw down like Schenker (nor can I).
few of us can - and certainly not me ;)
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The T-Tops arrived - one day sooner than expected :)
Still haven't decided wether to go for the easy options, or swap everything around. It will partly depend if I can find my wax potting kit.
edit: magnets are Alinco V of course.
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argghhhH!!!
stayed up to 4am trying to switch all these pickups around. it turns out the a5/4 mule set in my greco were double creme!!! :/
this scuppers my plans. no idea what to do now - but clearly anyone who thinks tim puts in double black coils under coves by default is wrong.
the t-tops are in my faded cherry v anyway - will test tomorrow.
what a pain though
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stayed up to 4am trying to switch all these pickups around. it turns out the a5/4 mule set in my greco were double creme!!! :/
this scuppers my plans. no idea what to do now - but clearly anyone who thinks tim puts in double black coils under coves by default is wrong.
I assume you're still in the land of Nod as I type this. :lol:
But did you get the Mules new? If not, maybe they were bought as a creme set then covered later?
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stayed up to 4am trying to switch all these pickups around. it turns out the a5/4 mule set in my greco were double creme!!! :/
this scuppers my plans. no idea what to do now - but clearly anyone who thinks tim puts in double black coils under coves by default is wrong.
I assume you're still in the land of Nod as I type this. :lol:
But did you get the Mules new? If not, maybe they were bought as a creme set then covered later?
yes, new brought by me.
i guess i will just have to warm up my wax bath and put everything back as it was.. ball ache :?
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Very brave of you doing potting! I wouldn't dare.
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Very brave of you doing potting! I wouldn't dare.
its pretty straight forward - reckon you'd be fine!!
anyway - the t-tops in my faded cherry V sound frankly awesome. that classic V tone is right there: it nails rudolf's rhythm tone on 'tokyo tapes', his brother 'strangers in the night' tone, early judas priest. its simply 'wow'... really uncanny likeness to all these tones, this is how a vintage V should sound.
i always wondered how rudolf managed to keep up with uli's funky strat riffs and cut through.. the truth is, it was no problem for him. really good high end cut, very spangly. detailed tone, very reactive.. just like i remember from philking's set.
i have no hesitation in recommending these! the thing is, i don't want to take them out the faded V now, since its the exact tone for the look of this guitar :/
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i have no hesitation in recommending these! the thing is, i don't want to take them out the faded V now, since its the exact tone for the look of this guitar :/
Keep 'em there, then! :)
So no "issues" with the bridge pickup being (on paper) very low output? And will the neck give that nice sweet, singing tone or is it a bit brighter than (say) a Mule or SM? (I'm assuming they're both AV?)
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AGH!
"frankly awesome"
"that classic V tone"
"early Judas Priest"
What are you doing to me??? :lol:
I'm sat here with Mrs R, the coffee and the donuts, and we're looking at pictures of Faded Vs in another window.
I'm also explaining who the Schenker brothers are, etc, etc... (she's been listening to one of them for the last three or four nights! :roll:)
Hmmmm... I suspect these buggers would sound equally awesome in an Explorer? But then where do I put the MQs? Dear-oh-dear, looks like I might have to buy another guitar anyway... oh the problems that can appear out of nowhere on a quiet saturday morning...
Congrats on the new pups :D
(and the guitar that started this thread, I guess, though that look never really grabbed me so much...)
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I'm sensing another "Andy day" on the horizon....
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Yeah :lol:, especially as the missus is going away for a couple of weeks. I'll be lonely, bored, in need of some comfort-shopping...
And added to that, she was making approving sounds just now...
:roll:
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Any comparisons between the Riff Raffs, A5 mules and T tops then gwEm?
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Any comparisons between the Riff Raffs, A5 mules and T tops then gwEm?
+1
That's kinda what I'm thinking as well :)
Oh, and Philly, the moment of "uh-oh, another guitar perhaps..." has passed. I struggled to get the Explorer case out from behind the sofa, had a good ole blast on it, and Faded V GAS has evaporated :lol:
If only I could sort out why my skin/whatever makes Gibson nitro go sticky whenever I touch it. The Fadeds are fine, the stuff on the Fender Roadworn bodies is fine, but the stuff on the Explorer reacts with me everytime. If I was gigging it I'd live with it happily - I sweat so much that the krud would build up in song one and be washed off by song three! - but playing in a living room for enjoyment, where one does not tend to sweat like Rory, one is kind of drawn to one of the many other guitars instead :lol:
Anyway, I'm particularly interested in how these T-Tops compare to Riff Raffs gwem :D
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Keep 'em there, then! :)
what about the zebra set of riff raffs and the double creme mules? i just have a white greco V and a schenker V to put them in - very difficult to get it looking right at this point..
So no "issues" with the bridge pickup being (on paper) very low output? And will the neck give that nice sweet, singing tone or is it a bit brighter than (say) a Mule or SM? (I'm assuming they're both AV?)
no issues with the bridge being low-ish output. it drives my amp into overdrive with no issues. both pickups are AV. the neck is brighter than a mule or SM, but they respond to the tone control very well, and its an excellent neck tone.
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Hmmmm... I suspect these buggers would sound equally awesome in an Explorer?
I reckon they would. i never had a set of pickups which made a V sound so much like a V. in Phil's Les Paul they sounded like a really nice Les Paul - clearly the "lowish" output lets the guitar breathe a bit.
on the output level, i can get a more than respectable amount of drive into my marshall 2204
But then where do I put the MQs?
in an SG??
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Any comparisons between the Riff Raffs, A5 mules and T tops then gwEm?
its hard to say, since I only have the T-Tops fitted to a guitar at the moment ;) I was planning some sort of back to back comparsion for you.. however (on to the next post)
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Anyway, I'm particularly interested in how these T-Tops compare to Riff Raffs gwem :D
the t-tops are more neutral sounding that the riff raffs. both are bright sets, but the riff raff has more bite to the tone. the riff raff bridge has a bit more hair on it, and colours the sound a bit more. speaking about the neck models, they have similar output i would say, maybe the t-top is sweeter sounding, works a bit better clean - though both are a touch cold in the faded V, the t-top is a bit warmer with less bite, though as i say they are both bright.
from that it all sounds like they are very similar, and in certain respects they are, but the actual character of the tone is quite different. the t-tops sounds more classic - like the tones on your favourite 70s hard rock records. the riff raffs have more dry bite than that, a slight exaggeration of that 1970s sound perhaps.
the t-tops are a little bit more funky sounding too, i can see why the schenker brothers bring that side into their chordal work having tried these. those funky barre chords really come out, maybe with a simidgeon of fender character... or at least the ability to have a really good stab at what a strat can do.
phil and I compared the t-tops to A5 mules, and the A5 mules are meatier with more mids, and a smoother neck (tim keeps the neck a4 in the a5 mule set - a wise decision)
anyway - if anyone has an idea about moving the pickups around, i would appreciate to hear it ;) zebra's in the schenker might look cool, but they might look weird as well. at least in the greco i still have covers to put on whatever goes in there.
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Thanks for that gwem. :D
But...
But then where do I put the MQs?
in an SG??
That's the problem... the SG has the Riff Raffs! :lol:
It's starting to sound like I might actually prefer the T-Tops to the Riff Raffs. RRs have been in three guitars here, and I like them in all three - but I suspect the extra touch of "hair" is what's troubling me slightly...
I've been doing several things on the SG to "refine" the sound a bit when it's going through a valve amp (AC4TV). PIO capacitors went in a while back, which smoothed things out a bit. And then the other day I decided to "reset" the pickup heights - originally they were set through a modellor. Basically I screwed them right in and levelled the bass and treble sides, then I started from scratch. I ended up with the pups slightly lower than before and a much more "classic" or "vintage" sort of tone, but with the bite I like to have in reserve on the tone pots.
I thought I was happy - but these T-Tops sound like they might be closer to what I'm after from a humbucker (my A4 Mules in a Love Rock, last time I used it, are fine, does what I'm expecting - but I am about to get her out and restring her, so who knows!!).
So, unless I get another guitar (:roll:), it's looking like trying T-Tops would retire either my RRs or MQs. (And if I really love them, possibly both... And maybe even the Mules! :lol:)
My favourite humbucker sounds are the mid-late 70s rock tones - like you say, the earlier Scorpions, Michael Schenker's Strangers in the Night... and then Judas Priest's tone on Killing Machine and Unleashed in the East, Mott the Hoople, SAHB, etc, etc... it's starting to sound to me like I ought to be trying these things out...
I won't have the same pickup-swap problem as you though, I'm a confirmed "I want covers on my humbuckers" sort of guy :lol: (also explains why I don't have any meaningful advice for you there!)
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Keep 'em there, then! :)
what about the zebra set of riff raffs and the double creme mules? i just have a white greco V and a schenker V to put them in - very difficult to get it looking right at this point..
I see the dilemma. Personally I think creme on white tends to look wrong, unless it's a very yellowed vintage white. So you have a problem putting the Riff Raffs or Mules in the Edwards or Greco.
(But didn't Schenker have a zebra pickup on one of his Vs at some point?)
OK...
T-Tops in the Schenker Edwards.
Covers back on the Mules and back in the Greco.
Riff Raffs in the Faded (I know that's a bit of creme on a white scratchplate, but it'll be OK because the Faded looks a bit rough & ready). And put some black pickup rings on it too - you'll look like KK Downing or some NWOBHM chap. :wink:
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Riff Raffs in the Faded (I know that's a bit of creme on a white scratchplate, but it'll be OK because the Faded looks a bit rough & ready). And put some black pickup rings on it too - you'll look like KK Downing or some NWOBHM chap. :wink:
He'd need a blond wig and some nice shiny leather gear as well... and a beer-gut peeping out between the waistcoat and trousers :lol: (that's if he's going for the British Steel Tour look... KK seemed to lose a bit of weight after that)
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Riff Raffs in the Faded (I know that's a bit of creme on a white scratchplate, but it'll be OK because the Faded looks a bit rough & ready). And put some black pickup rings on it too - you'll look like KK Downing or some NWOBHM chap. :wink:
He'd need a blond wig and some nice shiny leather gear as well... and a beer-gut peeping out between the waistcoat and trousers :lol: (that's if he's going for the British Steel Tour look... KK seemed to lose a bit of weight after that)
I remember that look well! :lol:
I was about 15 then and thought he looked a right fat bar-steward. Now I see those same pictures and he looks quite slim.... which shows how much I've (...ahem...) grown in the intervening 30 years. :|
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Keep 'em there, then! :)
what about the zebra set of riff raffs and the double creme mules? i just have a white greco V and a schenker V to put them in - very difficult to get it looking right at this point..
I see the dilemma. Personally I think creme on white tends to look wrong, unless it's a very yellowed vintage white. So you have a problem putting the Riff Raffs or Mules in the Edwards or Greco.
(But didn't Schenker have a zebra pickup on one of his Vs at some point?)
OK...
T-Tops in the Schenker Edwards.
Covers back on the Mules and back in the Greco.
Riff Raffs in the Faded (I know that's a bit of creme on a white scratchplate, but it'll be OK because the Faded looks a bit rough & ready). And put some black pickup rings on it too - you'll look like KK Downing or some NWOBHM chap. :wink:
well, it is a fairly yellowed vintage white that greco...
also there are some covers to throw into the mix - some BKP chrome covers, and the original aged chrome/brass covers from the greco.
i like the idea of the pickup rings on one of the guitars, might toughen up the look a bit.
i don't mind if my humbuckers have covers or not, it depends on the look of the guitar :)
uncovering the t-tops and slinging them in the schenker V, and putting the chrome covers back on the other pickups and put them where they were is the logical move lookwise... i'm not happy with that sound-wise though. i'm taking all these thoughts on board though. could uncovered creme pickups work in the greco, and then the uncovered zebras in the schenker... maybe, maybe.. some playing around ahead i think.
at least all three Vs will sounds glorious with alnico V BKP vintage tone :)
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uncovering the t-tops and slinging them in the schenker V, and putting the chrome covers back on the other pickups and put them where they were is the logical move lookwise... i'm not happy with that sound-wise though.
I didn't realise you'd already covered the T-Tops! You don't mess around, gwEm! :lol:
I'd have left them in the box for a few months thinking I really out to get round to trying them (like my VHII in fact... :oops: ).
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schenker V looks quite good with the zebras:
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Schenker V looks great with the zebras! :D
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I concur, looks good :D
(I don't know why I'm posting in "V" threads! Why?!! I don't really want one... everytime I sit down and think about it logically, I just don't have a want, let alone a need for one... But reading/posting about them cons me into thinking that I do! :lol:)
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I don't know why I'm posting in "V" threads! Why?!! I don't really want one...
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Andy! :wink:
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I don't know why I'm posting in "V" threads! Why?!! I don't really want one...
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Andy! :wink:
well there might be another V thread soon where I decide what to do with the Greco.. I think its just the three of us left in this one(!)
the zebras are really growing on me in the Schenker. I thought they were OK to begin with, but now I really like them and think its a perfect look - better than the original.
edit 1: works well with the block inlays
edit 2: and its rare i like zebra coils in /anything/ :)
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It looks a lot better than I was expecting, I guess because (a) the "white" part of the body is quite close to cream and (b) BKP's cream bobbins always seem to be a bit lighter in colour than most.
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+1 - Great with zebras!!
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Here is a first peek at the Villa V
Will do a proper photo shoot for her tonight
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/felineguitars/CUSTOM%20BUILT/villav1-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/felineguitars/CUSTOM%20BUILT/villav2-1.jpg)
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so I took the Schenker V on tour with me in Germany a few weeks back. Originally I planned to take a strat, but I got a text from the promoter the night before I left asking me to bring a V :roll:
anyway, it worked out very well with the ESP. The tone is very cool with the Riff Raffs, the bridge in particular was great on stage. I could have done with a bit more cut on the neck pickup - might try parallel wiring. I still liked the neck shape, and I think the colour scheme with the zebras still works when used in anger too.
I'll have to play this one out a bit more I think! There were also a few tuning issues, I might take it down to Feline to have those looked at at some point, though they weren't too bad.
Lastly, Riff Raffs were my first BKP set that Tim recommended me. Over the years I must have tried most of the range by now ;) But i still think Tim got that first suggestion right. As Philly says: "Drink it now, don't put it in your wine cellar" ;) Lots of dry, open bite.
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Crikey, was this nearly two years ago? :o
A lot of water under the bridge since then. And a lot of guitars under the bed....
Still looking good, that V! :)
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Crikey, was this nearly two years ago? :o
A lot of water under the bridge since then. And a lot of guitars under the bed....
Still looking good, that V! :)
I didn't think it was that long ago either.. shamefully, before this recent tour, I only used the guitar in anger once and in the studio a couple of times.