Author Topic: Finally got my Cold Sweats fitted !! (Read 4607 times)

Custom79 · « **on:** September 07, 2005, 10:08:13 PM »

Well I finally got my guitar back from my local tech, a refret and some Cold Sweats were fitted to my '79 LP Custom.
The neck plays amazing now, the frets were so flat and stoned to death I was just playing on wood.
The pickups look great and totally fit the look of this aged guitar, Tim did a fine job of ageing the gold covers ...cheers mate !!
I was surprised at the sound of the pickups, not as modern sounding as I thought they were going to be but it may be the guitar not the pups themselves. I use a couple of PRS guitars so maybe I'm just so used to the sound of them ?? not sure as they are very modern sounding, very sweet but not much bite and very smooth. I like the smoothness but I miss the bite so that's why I bought the Custom in the first place, it's very gritty, plus I wanted a guitar to gig and not have to worry about dinging it so I think my SingleCut Trem will be sold on now.
I was explaining to my tech how the PRS sound big acoustically but the LP was quite dead and he reckons it doesn't make that much difference to the plugged in sound anyway and after going through my rack today I think I agree with him. When I play the LP unplugged it's very tight, snappy and a bit dead sounding but plug it in and it comes alive.

Anyway even though the pickups weren't what I was expecting they are awesome, 100% better than the originals and so quiet I can't wait to hear them in a band mix on Sunday.
My tech was well impressed with Tims attention to detail and he loves the sound of the Cold Sweats and has been recommending them to everyone.

I'll post some pics tomorrow if I get a chance.

Ainsley

steve · « **Reply #1 on:** September 08, 2005, 08:38:43 AM »

They are great pups,i didnt really appreciate them fully till i got to use them in anger with my band.These driving a valve amp are seriously fun.Enjoy.

Custom79 · « **Reply #2 on:** September 11, 2005, 10:22:24 PM »

Well I got them cranked up tonight and they were fine with my crunch rhythm sound but really feeding back with my solo sound, not as much sustain as I thought either but that may just be the guitar ?
Gonna have another tweak with my settings on Friday if I can't get it sorted then it's back to the PRS :(

steve · « **Reply #3 on:** September 12, 2005, 09:45:51 AM »

Quote from: Custom79

Well I got them cranked up tonight and they were fine with my crunch rhythm sound but really feeding back with my solo sound, not as much sustain as I thought either but that may just be the guitar ?
Gonna have another tweak with my settings on Friday if I can't get it sorted then it's back to the PRS :(

Strange,in my Les Paul the sustain is great and they are very quiet pickups.You may want to try lowering the pickups a little and see if that helps.I set my pickups quite low which seems to help the sustain and warms the tone a little.All the best.

Tim · « **Reply #4 on:** September 12, 2005, 10:07:42 AM »

Ditto, no probs in my LP, they sing all night and quiet as a mouse.
Your LP is the triple pickup Custom which may well effect the tone as the guts of the guitar have been removed.
If it really is not right for the job I'll swap it, maybe an Alnico V based humbucker would suit better.
PRS and LPs are two totally different beasts sonically and behave very differently, the focus on a LP isn't in the highs but the bass and low mid.To get a LP to cut you have to go for alot lower output pickups.PRS conversely have a lot smaller body mass and are more lively because of it although their presence in the mix isn't so dominant in the mids because of this.

The microphony I really can't understand as the pickups are double potted :?
The only way they'll develop microphony is if they've had a 'serious' knock somehow.Anyway I can always repot if necessary.

HJM · « **Reply #5 on:** September 12, 2005, 10:39:40 AM »

What's the amp/fx and pedals, what are the settings?

Custom79 · « **Reply #6 on:** September 12, 2005, 07:41:07 PM »

Cheers for all the info andd comments guys !!

STEVE
How does lowering the pickup help with sustain and warmth ? My bridge one is set quite high so it could be worth a try lowering it. I thought higher the better but then again that is just guessing, I know nothing about these things.

TIM
Hi again Tim and cheers for your kind offers.
I really need to do some more amp tweaking etc but last night we were pushed for time, gig in two weeks and the second set isn't ready yet :( :(
I think you're right about the three pickup guitar having a big chunk missing and I didn't even want one but the neck was so good.

HJM
I'm using a Marshall JMP-1, Marshall EL34 100/100, Rocktron Intellifex into two Marshall 1936 2x12 cabs.
As for settings ................ pass ........... I never write them down but I know I should. I took a bit of presence and treble of and tweaked abit but I hate the way the JMP-1 has minus and plus values, why can't it just go from 1 to 10 ?

Also discovered last night that I have a dodgey pot so they are all being replaced this week, I felt that this was sucking a bit of tone too.

steve · « **Reply #7 on:** September 12, 2005, 08:47:07 PM »

Quote

STEVE
How does lowering the pickup help with sustain and warmth ? My bridge one is set quite high so it could be worth a try lowering it. I thought higher the better but then again that is just guessing, I know nothing about these things.

If a pickup is set too near the strings the tone will be bright and due to the magnets pull it will stop the strings vibrating as freely.Just try bringing the pickup down little by little and find a point you like the sound of.
Also the lower you have them the harder you can drive the amp.Well it works for me,all the best.

Custom79 · « **Reply #8 on:** September 12, 2005, 09:41:53 PM »

Quote from: steve

Quote
STEVE
How does lowering the pickup help with sustain and warmth ? My bridge one is set quite high so it could be worth a try lowering it. I thought higher the better but then again that is just guessing, I know nothing about these things.

If a pickup is set too near the strings the tone will be bright and due to the magnets pull it will stop the strings vibrating as freely.Just try bringing the pickup down little by little and find a point you like the sound of.
Also the lower you have them the harder you can drive the amp.Well it works for me,all the best.

Makes sense to me Steve I'll give it a try !
Cheers mate

HJM · « **Reply #9 on:** September 12, 2005, 09:54:15 PM »

That's almost my old rig!

The only thing it could be is lots of gain and standing close to the amp, as well as old preamp valves and driver valves in the rack. Also, don't cut the mids and be careful with the bass shift.

Duff pots never help!

Tim · « **Reply #10 on:** September 12, 2005, 09:57:41 PM »

The CS set, bridge in particular is very powerful.It sits on a fair size ceramic magnet and will throw out a serious amount of juice.If you have got a valve on the go, this will push it over the edge.All that extra power will make the whole rig a tad lively!