rebel yell - yet another gwem review

[gwEm]

I ordered a Rebel Yell from Tim for my Flying V90 which I wrote about in the guitar and gear part of the forum.

The construction of the guitar is 25.5" scale length, ebony finger board, maple neck, light mahogany body, single volume control. Based on this I would say the guitar is quite bright for a Flying V - though it retains the characteristic bark.

Except for the lifelessness and bad clean tone I quite liked the pickup which was installed - a Gibson/Bill Lawrence designed symetrically wound A5 14k pickup. Tim suggested a Rebel Yell would be closish to this design, and hes recommended me Rebel Yells for Vs in the past. In addition I felt the look of the guitar suited the spirit of the song Rebel Yell. Furthermore, I tried a Rebel Yell loaded PRS of Phils which I liked the sound of.

Unquestionably the pickup works in my V90, and furthermore I would suggest it would more than likely work in all but the darkest and muddiest of Vs.

The most notable aspect of the pickup is its strong upper-mid prescence, and I would think it cuts through a busy studio mix or electronic-heavy band like butter.

The low end response is not particularly strong, and it remains very controlled, even with my 2204 Marshall. This is exactly how I like my bass response :)

High end is quite extended, in the V90 I reached for the tone control which wasn't there ;) So I rolled a bit of treble off on the amp. Perhaps a 350k pot would fix this.

Generally I found the tone to be in the vintage hot ballpark. The Rebel Yell is an excellent choice for V owners wanting something vintage hot. In a way it sounds a bit like an A5 Mule at times, but the bass is much more controlled in the Rebel Yell, despite being a bit thicker sounding and of course more compressed. Pinch harmonics on this guitar are the easiest to find in any instrument I've even played.

Unlike the standard pickup it cleans up well, the tone is very nice and very usable, its quite soulful though I wouldn't pick this guitar first for a bluesy tone.

So it works well, and gives a tone which would be great and entirely usable in a band or studio situation. Am I satisfied? Not entirely... To suit my perception of the guitar it would be nice to roll some of that top end off, and have some more lower or mid mids. The top end is surely as aspect of this relatively bright V. I'm considering putting the Rebel Yell in my Feline and trying a VH2 or Holy Diver in the V90.

The pickup doesn't sound 80s in the way I was expecting, though I'll probably keep the Rebel Yell in it for a while and use it for my electronic music where it will give great perfromance and the best cut of any of my humbucker guitars.

[Roobubba]

As ever, very informative and helpful post. Thanks for that!

Roo

[PhilKing]

Did you try my Holy Diver ever?  It is a bit like a Rebel Yell with more bass and less high mid.  The VHII have more bass but not a much punch as the Rebel Yell or Holy Diver.  You could always put in a push-pull pot with a 'sweet switch' for the Rebel Yell (I did this for Ben with one of his guitars).  Basically I made it like a tone at 9 to roll of a bit of the top end.  I set 2 settings for Ben, one was like a Fender rolloff and the other like a Gibson (different resistors and caps).

[gwEm]

Is your Holy Diver loaded in an HSS Strat with gold hardware? If so I tried it shortly, but I don't have a strong rememberance of it.

As you say the Rebel Yell is nice and punchy, and I don't want to lose that. So maybe a Holy Diver would get the sound I'm looking for. Thanks alot for the wiring ideas, I'll give them a shot!

[PhilKing]

That's the guitar - a totally OTT 80's look with a half scalloped fingerboard (done by Feline).  It also has a pair of Trilogies in it.

[Philly Q]

In a way it sounds a bit like an A5 Mule at times, but the bass is much more controlled in the Rebel Yell, despite being a bit thicker sounding and of course more compressed.

That's interesting, you're definitely starting to sell me on the A5 Mule!  I find the RY a bit too tight and bordering on harsh at times, I'd like something a little looser and more vintagey.

[lulusg]

They excel on a Les Paul, I think that gwem did an excellent review, going as far as trying RYs on a V . You never know what might come out of it.

[gwEm]

i was playing it again last night, and the rebel yell really does sound good in it! i think it will be perfect in the feline.

called tim up just now and explained i wanted something similar to the rebel yell but with more over the top mids, he suggested the holy diver or possibly nailbomb. so i've gone for the holy diver. lets see how that compares in a week or so when it comes.

bkps do work out expensive once you get all the ones you're interested in. its only VH2s left on my list.

That's interesting, you're definitely starting to sell me on the A5 Mule! I find the RY a bit too tight and bordering on harsh at times, I'd like something a little looser and more vintagey.

I do enjoy the A5 Mule. You could indeed describe it as a looser more vintagey rebel yell... I wouldn't do that though, as its still a mule :)

[IntenseJim]

I was able to get the Rebel Yells and VH II into my Les Paul standard tonight.
 
Regarding only the bridge position into a Soldano SLO for blues like old Fleetwood Mad to Robben Ford, hard rock, 80s-90s like Motley Crue, White Snake, and Billy Idol  but not thrash metal or late era Judas Priest
 
Changing the hot gave me the Peter Green sound perfectly! So....after about an 1 hour with each pickup my initial thoughts are:
 
Gibson 57 Classic (stock):
Pretty good bridge but just a bit stifled on single note solos lacking is sustain and singing quality....not bad but not killer

Rebel Yell:
fantastic, great hi gain rhythm, tight chunky ...love it for chords & double-stops....BUT.....

not transparent enough on solos; too compressed on leads; not singing or soulful...it's almost like the amp and pickup are fighting each other??

VH II: the opposite of the RY...in a way
singing, transparent solos, with great sustain on solos more so than RY pups

would like more gain and compression on rhythm... like Rebel Yells



I asked Tim if there a pickup that can get me these two worlds of the VHII soloing and RY rhythm and he suggested the Black Dog.  I'll mess around with the RY and stock Gibby tonight.

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