Garcia tone

[Deadhead]

I'm planning on building a Warmoth WGD guitar and was wondering if any of the BKP pickups would be a good choice? I'm not really out to imitate anything exactly nor would I be able to, but something in the proxomity of Jerry Garcias sound would be nice.

[indysmith]

If I'm not mistaken i think the man used Alembic's active humbuckers, which are designed by alembic just to produce the clear, clean sound of the strings of the guitar vibrating, and not to colour the tone in any way. Sounds like a cr@ppy idea to me.
I guess to approximate this you should go with something very low output such as the BKP mother's milk...
Welcome to the forum

[Tim]

Welcome :D , is there a paeticular type of pickup you'd prefer, ie humbucker, single coil etc?

[Searcher]

I only have one Dead album, but based on the sound from that, I'd go for P90 pickups.

[Deadhead]

Welcome :D , is there a paeticular type of pickup you'd prefer, ie humbucker, single coil etc?

The body will be routed for 2 humbuckers and will look something like this:

[HJM]

Mississippi Queens?

[carlaz]

I'm a not particularly closet Dead fan :) and am very interested to know how your project turns out!  I've long had it in mind to someday get a guitar intended to focus on those Jerryesque tones.


I had long been thinking of doing something HSS or HHS to aim between the "Alligator" strat (and '57 Fender, I believe), Jerry used a lot around '72/'73 and the HHS guitars he used a lot later on: "the Alembic through-neck "Wolf" he used a lot in the later '70s and the cocobolo/maple bodied "Tiger" of the 80s.  Both those latter two used Dimarzio pups, if you can believe it! DiMarzio Super IIs humbuckers and then an SDS-1 in the neck.

Jerry used some Gibsons, though, at the end of the '60s: P90-equipped LPs and also an SG with humbuckers (on Live/Dead, for example).

So if you've got routing for humbuckers ... perhaps, yeah a Mississippi Queen would be good. especially in the neck.  You could then do either another MQ in the bridge, or ....  Well, I've never thought the Dimarzio pickups were that great, but anyway, the Super II is not incredibly hot and reasonably bright?  I'm going to suggest the Riff Raff for the bridge, actually!  Anyone have any thoughts on how that would go with a MQ in the neck?  What kind of wood(s) are you using?

(If I were picking single-coils for Jerry tones ... the SDS-1 is kind of hot and ceramic, I think, but despite that I'd have to suggest Apaches or Sultans!)

[indysmith]

gotta love that body man - it's gorgeous. However i can't help thinkin i'd like a set neck one...
Does anyone else think that warmoth should sell set neck model guitars with inbuilt necks?

[gwEm]

i read sometime ago that scott loved dimarzio super II in all positions... as carlaz noted already.

i've replied as i have a modern super2 in the neck position of my steinberger. its a ceramic pickup - particularly clinical, high-endy and lacking in bass... it sounds 'not bad' in the neck postion but to be honest its not exactly my favourite pickup.

so i'd guess you'd want a ceramic pickup with a strong cut... cold sweat? i have no strong idea to be honest, so maybe let the more experienced members stand forward.

[carlaz]

so i'd guess you'd want a ceramic pickup with a strong cut... cold sweat?

Though I think the CS might be too hot.  I know DC readings don't equal output, but the Super 2s are 8.somethingk and the Cold Sweats around 14k.  On the other hand, Dimarzio's own literature describes the Super 2s as "high power" ....  

I guess a fairly bright humbucker -- that my gut tells me shouldn't be too hot -- is basically what's called for.  I guess Tim will have the best sense of how the different voicings will work out. Maybe the CS is OK after all?  How would it sit with the MQ?

[moewspfan]

that guitar is beautiful man!  Good luck with it!

I found this, and thought you might like to look at it:
it says this was his "supposed" setup in 1979

[carlaz]

I'm increasingly thinking body wood is a factor to consider here.  Tiger, for example, was very dense, weighing something like 14 lbs. Super 2s are supposed to be very bright; if you're using a somewhat less dense wood, well, you might still want a reasonably bright pup, but might not need something quite so bright as the Super 2.

(There are, BTW, some decent web sites outlining Jerry's guitars, particularly http://www.nii.net/~obie1/deadcd/garcia_guitars.htm and http://dozin.com/jers/guitars.html.)

[carlaz]

Appropo of nothing, I was watching The Grateful Dead movie last night, which shows Jerry playing the "Wolf" guitar with an basically strat-style SSS configuration.  This was in October 1974, but I remember other later pix of Wolf as an HSS or HHS, so I guess things were being changed around.  

A little online research revealed that Wolf started out with straight-up Strat pups, which must be what I was seeing/hearing in the film.  I guess those would be like BKP Apaches or Mother's Milks.  As far as I could tell on the songs I watched, Jer was playing a lot of middle position on a 5-position selector.  

But the guitar was fitted with a "plate system for mounting pickups" (which you can see  here http://www.dozin.com/jers/guitars/wolf/wolf74.jpg and here http://www.dozin.com/jers/guitars/wolf/wolfe.jpg), which I guess means you make up some plates with different pups and swap them around.  Heh, I could use a guitar configured to use different plates of BKPs; that would be cool. :)