thanks for the replies, I phoned Tim and he recommended Manhatten and for a humbucker Mule A11. So I guess before I take the plunge , I'm feelin' the fourth feline for the Manhatten but has anyone got experience with the mule in a jazzbox-maple?
thanks, esp to fourth feline- that was a very descriptive piece - I'm only concerned that my guitar has not enough bass end- do you reckon the manhatten can bring it out over the mule?
Yes the Manhattans over the Mules for sure - and over the Stormys , now I have heard what they can do.
I have the Mules in a Les Paul, and have tried the Mississipi Queens, AII and AIV Stormy Mondays in a semi-acoustic 335 copy. The irony being, that the single coil/ P90
type M.Qs were actually fatter sounding than the Humbuckers for me.
The Manhattans are very rich and plummy sounding, despite having tremendous clarity and articulation at the same time. I use Thomastik 'Jazz Swing' 12-50 tapewound strings, and the bass / mids are very full, rich and rounded -
again achieving clarity without thin-ness at the same time.
The web site for the shop 'Foulds Of Derby' - where they have a dedicated Jazz guitar section, describe the Manhattans by listing players of yesteryear such as Grant Green e.t.c. I feel this verifies Tim's success in getting a truly authentic Alnico III, 1950s style Jazz pickup. I am not one for home recording ; but just so a friend could check out my novice Jazz arrangements - I recorded the Manahattans straight into a cheap Tapco interface - with very basic 'Traction' software with no amplifier or speaker simulation e.t.c. It came out very rich, despite being recorded very dryly and in such a perfunctory manner. One of my pieces was a self arranged version of 'Autumn Leaves' - in which I deliberately leant on the low 'E' and 'A' strings for timbral effect. The resulting sound was cavernously deep, even on
relatively light .037 & .050 tapewound strings.
The only reason I did not try and promote the Manhattan in my opening reply, being that I respected your wish for a Humbucker - and as you already had P90s in your solid body guitar, might not have wanted what you percieved as a P90 -
ish second set. The truth is that ( compared to P90s I have heard - and my own hotter sounding Mississipi Queens ) the Manahattans have a character all their own. The clarity of Stormy Mondays, but with what I percieve to be a much lusher bass end and richer lower mids.
They have a creamy yet almost acoustic quality, revealing that my favourite amp for these is a Phil Jones AAD 'Cub' 100 - which ( one gathers ) is equally at home with a violin and other such instruments that need 'magnifying' - not masking. Other folk on here seem to have enjoyed the Manhattans in a solid body too, but their 'fingerprints' are all over an archtop in my book.
Unfortunately, ( or fortunately :lol: ) - I have not posted my fledgeling efforts on a hosting site for you to hear - as of course, doing Jazz covers breaks all their copyright laws e.t.c. I still have a copy of that rather rough ( both sonically and skill wise ) collection of my first five arrangements on CD though - should you wish a copy to be posted to a 'neutral' address to further respect your internet security. The fact that the tone of Manhattans blooms and shines even on a poor quality medium says a lot ( for me ) about the Manhattans.
I feel that the Manhattans are a unique pickup , not " Like this B.K.P. pickup or that B.K.P pickup " - but a voice all to themselves. As with all these things, it does end up a personal gamble of course, but one I felt payed dividends.
