Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: CaffeineJunkie on April 21, 2007, 08:04:36 PM
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hey guys
was looking at getting one of these....
(http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/5/3/0/480530.jpg)
has anybody owned/own/played one of these (thoughts??) and are the pickups on this a weird shape/size or are they just standard tele/strat pups??
cheers
CJ
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my monitors terrible, i can't see that at all, but don't they have P90's in them?
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nope, they released some recent ones with a single p90/p100 at the bridge, but this is the reissue (i think), with two single-coils
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I don't know what the new pickups are like, but the originals are great. They have a pickup which sits somewhere between a strat and P-90 in tone, a really great sound.
These are 2 originals that I have at home at the moment (sounds a bit Blue Peterish!). I am selling them for my friend's family.
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I don't know what the new pickups are like, but the originals are great. They have a pickup which sits somewhere between a strat and P-90 in tone, a really great sound.
These are 2 originals that I have at home at the moment (sounds a bit Blue Peterish!). I am selling them for my friend's family.
kool, so would you recommend leaving the stock pickups in there?? or do you know if tim could rewind them to have a BKP twist to the original tone???
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When he says Originals - He means ORIGINALS.
The last generation with the single P90 were cr@p imo.
Sambo has one and loves his though.
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When he says Originals - He means ORIGINALS.
The last generation with the single P90 were cr@p imo.
Sambo has one and loves his though.
yeh i spose, but dya think tim would be able to recreate such a distinctive sound??
and sambo does seem too... but then he also loves his hat .... nuff said
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When he says Originals - He means ORIGINALS.
The last generation with the single P90 were cr@p imo.
Sambo has one and loves his though.
yeh i spose, but dya think tim would be able to recreate such a distinctive sound??
and sambo does seem too... but then he also loves his hat .... nuff said
Never mind the sound - I think the build quality on all these cheap Gibsons are plain terrible.
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Never mind the sound - I think the build quality on all these cheap Gibsons are plain terrible.
yeh but i can't find anybody else who makes the melody maker
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Going back to the original question, from the video on the Gibson site it looks like the pickups on the new Melody Maker are made from one coil of a humbucker. So it should be easy enough to get them rewound or get new ones custom made.
The original 50s/60s Melody Maker pickups had a bar magnet as a "blade" polepiece under a solid cover. They're not the same size as any conventional single-coil. Here's mine :D :
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/phillyq/melody02.jpg)
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Going back to the original question, from the video on the Gibson site it looks like the pickups on the new Melody Maker are made from one coil of a humbucker. So it should be easy enough to get them rewound or get new ones custom made.
The original 50s/60s Melody Maker pickups had a bar magnet as a "blade" polepiece under a solid cover. They're not the same size as any conventional single-coil. Here's mine :D :
very nice
wouldn't it be less 'single-coil sounding' with one coil of a humbucker?? kind of like a split humbucker??
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wouldn't it be less 'single-coil sounding' with one coil of a humbucker?? kind of like a split humbucker??
Exactly, assuming it has steel polepieces and flat bar magnet(s) at the bottom of the pickup. In that case, it'll probably sound like a "P90 lite".
Or they might have used individual alnico magnet polepieces, in which case it'll sound more like a typical single-coil.
Either way, I'd guess it's overwound for a bit of extra power.
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wouldn't it be less 'single-coil sounding' with one coil of a humbucker?? kind of like a split humbucker??
Exactly, assuming it has steel polepieces and flat bar magnet(s) at the bottom of the pickup. In that case, it'll probably sound like a "P90 lite".
Or they might have used individual alnico magnet polepieces, in which case it'll sound more like a typical single-coil.
Either way, I'd guess it's overwound for a bit of extra power.
hmmm sounds interesting... as long as it sounds ridiculously indie i don't really mind what it consists of :D
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just get an Orange and playing a tin can with 6 pieces of dental floss tied to twigs at each end will sound indie. thats my advice anyway.
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Never mind the sound - I think the build quality on all these cheap Gibsons are plain terrible.
yeh but i can't find anybody else who makes the melody maker
does it have to be a melody maker? i mean you could look into gordon smith or something along those lines...
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^ precisely.
what is it thats attracting you to it anyway? just the look/sound? (havent read the rest of the topic)
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^ precisely.
what is it thats attracting you to it anyway? just the look/sound? (havent read the rest of the topic)
yeh the sound, and the fact that it's not in everybody's hands these days, unlike the telecaster (which i was looking at before this)
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indeed, fair play.
i cant think of anything thats obviously equivalent... except maybe like Dave suggested- Gordon Smiths... never played them... but reputation and looks wise.... they look pretty promising.
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I don't attempt to follow the vintage market, but you might be able to pick up a real 60s Melody Maker for a resonable price.
Mine was only £600 (admittedly about 10 years ago). It had some replacement parts, but original finish, no neck breaks, no major (or even minor) surgery. If you get a refin or something that's been hacked about a bit, I'm sure it wouldn't be expensive. I think the cheapest ones are the late-60s models, by which time it was an SG shape:
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/phillyq/68melodymaker.jpg)
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yeh i spose, although i'm not a fan of the SG shape or the other DC melody makers
the gordon smith idea does seem a bit nice though, might have to look into that
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My own is a batwing Epiphone Double Olympic. Epiphone also made one like the DC melody maker. Gordon Smith make a guitar a lot like the Melody Maker, but I think with humbuckers.
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My own is a batwing Epiphone Double Olympic. Epiphone also made one like the DC melody maker. Gordon Smith make a guitar a lot like the Melody Maker, but I think with humbuckers.
yeah... depends which meody maker you mean, i guess ( i didn't realise how many shapes there were!)... you can get the gs1 (or 2) with p90's too, for an upcharge. i think they're slightly more like LP juniors... though i guess they aren't exactly the same as either, being built of brazilian cedar, i think. their pickups are also tapped, which is nice (though that doesn't really matter if you were going to upgrade).
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are all gordon smith guitars made to order??
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^ no, they have some dealers, and also have a few special offer ones on their website under "accessories", i think.
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but if i wanted them to, could they make a dual single-coil version of their GS1??
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Yeah, they do custom orders to some extent. I can't remember if you can order direct or if you have to go through a dealer. They won't do BC Rich body shapes or exactly copy the neck shape of your '57 Strat, but they'll do variations on their own designs. And they'll also discount the price if you want to supply your own pickups or hardware.
I reckon they'd do a dual single-coil version of the GS1 (presumably in the single-cutaway "60" shape?). And you can choose a thin body too, which would be more Melody Maker like.
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Yeah, they do custom orders to some extent. I can't remember if you can order direct or if you have to go through a dealer. They won't do BC Rich body shapes or exactly copy the neck shape of your '57 Strat, but they'll do variations on their own designs. And they'll also discount the price if you want to supply your own pickups or hardware.
I reckon they'd do a dual single-coil version of the GS1 (presumably in the single-cutaway "60" shape?). And you can choose a thin body too, which would be more Melody Maker like.
hmm... so i could get them to put BKPs straight in?? sounds better everytime i think about it
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but if i wanted them to, could they make a dual single-coil version of their GS1??
yeah, sure. you might have to wait a while, though (4-6 months, though it depends on the model). they'll also subtract the cost of their pickups if you want to specify BKP's...
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I'd get the Gordon Smith. Great neck, good sounds but the build quality can be a bit "variable". Just like Gibson ;)
If you buy or order one, check it out very thoroughly before you hand over your cash. If you get a good one, they're great :D