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Author Topic: Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?  (Read 9944 times)

sambo

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« on: January 08, 2007, 12:09:39 AM »
just put my laney, H&K, and ESP on ebay, which may be followed by the POD as well in a few days. after ive got the cash from all this, ill be on the lookout for a new guitar. (or at least that was the plan anyway)

but now, after really thinking about what it is i want, im not so sure thats a good option for me.

In my band i play pretty much all rhythm parts, ranging from total clean through to classic rock semi-crunch to all out hard-rock metal. And whilst my p-90 is doing great for half the stuff, the slightly heavier material is just lacking that little bit of punch, and ive been on the look out for a humbucker-equipped guitar for aaages now. So i thought id look for a new axe in the £300-400+  with the intention of BKP-ing it in the future.

However; Im so used to playing my Gibson that i hate playing other peoples guitars, even my mates brand spanking new USA fender strat, (which i admit plays wonderfully), just doesnt seem right to me. So im just not sure whether a new guitar is what i really need/want. Another reason for this is that I dont like switching between guitars a lot, and really dont want to be having to re-adjust from a Gibson--> 2nd guitar in the middle of gigs. (i realise this may be odd but thats just me).

AND ive never desired to be able to switch between neck+bridge pickups at all really.

SO- getting a 2nd guitar and fitting it with BKPs would be a waste of money really (as id likely end up just playing one of the guitars and one of the pickups for pretty much all of the time)... but the catch is... i NEED a h/b.... i really do need that little bit extra as im craving it when playing other peoples axes. so my idea was- instead of spending the cash on an entirely new guitar, why not pay a luthier to route another pickup into my Gibson and BKP it. Therefore being able to have all the P-90 sounds im using at the moment, as well as all the h/b tone i would ever need, in the same guitar that im used to and love.

stupid idea?

ANY thoughts much appreciated.

cheers in advance.

dave_mc

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2007, 12:30:41 AM »
^ you're thinking of putting a humbucker in the neck? bear in mind that'll sound different to a bridge humbucker...


alternatively, you could get a £300-£400 guitar that's similar in style and feel to yours... Gordon Smith GS1's are pretty nice... the single humbucker, natural-finished versions are about £400...

sambo

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2007, 12:32:59 AM »
yer that was one of the issues that came to mind. could a BK not be compensated (similarly to how Tim solves the covered/non-covered situation) to sound similar to a bridge humbucker? or is that just not possible?

and yer thats true. ive looked a tiny bit a GS's but not much. Is that theyre retail price your talking about?

dave_mc

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2007, 12:37:10 AM »
^ think so, you can get a gs1 for about £394, far as I'm aware.

i'm sure tim could sompensate a bit, but at the end of the day it'll probably still sound like a neck pickup.

best bet is to try a few guitars with neck pickups to see what you think of them- a few gibbos or gordon smiths. The yamaha aes620 and washburn wi65/66 pro idols are nice too. EDIT: all in a vaguely similar style to yours.

sambo

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2007, 12:41:14 AM »
right, ill look into the GS's a bit more soon then.

and yer thats probably the likelihood.


ive always liked the look of the AES series... so ill check them out a bit more as well.

mmm its a tough one. Id just love to be able to have everything i need in the one package really, but i guess that might be asking too much.

What do Gordon Smiths play like, and do you know where you can try them in the UK?

cheers as always dave.

HTH AMPS

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2007, 12:41:51 AM »
Sambo, you can get SG juniors (the ones with P90s in both positions) for £600 - why not upgrade your existing guitar and get something 'better' rather than sink money into a guitar that's never gonna get you your investment back if you ever sell it.

Just a thought - routing the guitar and fitting another p/up aint gonna be cheap.

 :twisted:

sambo

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2007, 12:45:35 AM »
damn why did i never think of that? excellent idea mate.

i cant believe i hadnt ever considered that!!! agh!

and yer i guessed it would be an expensive job, but then surely no more than an entire new guitar? or would it?

also, what do the SG Juniors play like? Just how similar are they feel-wise to a standard SG?

cheers.

dave_mc

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2007, 01:00:14 AM »
Quote from: sambo
right, ill look into the GS's a bit more soon then.

and yer thats probably the likelihood.


ive always liked the look of the AES series... so ill check them out a bit more as well.

mmm its a tough one. Id just love to be able to have everything i need in the one package really, but i guess that might be asking too much.

What do Gordon Smiths play like, and do you know where you can try them in the UK?

cheers as always dave.


Gordon Smiths are very, very nice. To tell the truth, I prefer them to Gibson (though they use Cedar instead of Gibson's mahogany, so they don't sound exactly the same). The finishes aren't always just as nice as the Gibsons, but the playability/tone is at least as good, IMO, and they're normally quite a bit cheaper- you can get something similar in quality (at least) to a studio for about £500.

You'd need to try it, though, just in case you hate it.

I tried several in Denmark Street, there's a dealer there- there's a list of dealers on the Gordon Smith website, too. http://www.fairplay.demon.co.uk/

You'd ideally want to try them head to head with Gibbos, of course- and those other ones I suggested too. Another nice touch is that if you order one direct from them, they'll subtract the cost of their pickups, which basically amounts to you getting BKP's half-price (depending on model), and fitted too- though that would most likely involve a wait of at least 4 months.

At the end of the day, though, it's all down to what you like best- with you being used to Gibbos, you may still like them better. Doesn't hurt to try, though!

:drink:

Philly Q

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2007, 01:00:20 AM »
Quote from: sambo
also, what do the SG Juniors play like? Just how similar are they feel-wise to a standard SG?

The SG Classic (which is the one with 2 P-90s, I'm being pedantic again  :roll:  :oops: ) feels exactly the same as a current SG Standard.  I think the neck is a little thicker than your Melody Maker, which has the slim-taper neck.  Better get one quick though, I think they're going out of production.

You're still left with your original problem of wanting a humbucker though, unless you swap one of the P-90s which, again, would mean routing the guitar.
BKPs I've Got:  RR, BKP-91, ITs, VHII, CS set, Emeralds
BKPs I Had:  RY+Abraxas, Crawlers, BD+SM

sambo

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2007, 01:03:45 AM »
thanks for the info dave, they sound tempting, and the whole pickup thing seems useful.

and Philly- yup your dead right. unless of course i 'solved' the h/b thing by just getting a pig-90 or similarly higher output p-90... but then it still wouldnt really be the same as a h/b so i would still (as you say) need the guitar routing....

AND i pretty much despise SGs playing-wise... i just dont get on with them at all....

Gordon Smiths are looking more and more appealing.

sambo

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2007, 01:06:45 AM »
^thanks for the tip-off about the SG btw Philly.

Philly Q

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2007, 01:18:32 AM »
No problem!  Actually, I thought the SG Classic had been discontinued a while ago but I've seen a couple around recently.

Quote
AND i pretty much despise SGs playing-wise... i just dont get on with them at all....

Surprised by that!  Since you play a MM I'd have thought the SG would feel OK.  Is it the neck shape, or the way the guitar balances?  A lot of people moan about SGs being neck-heavy, but they're so lightweight overall I've never found it a problem, in fact I actually like the way they balance on a strap.  I love my SGs!  :D
BKPs I've Got:  RR, BKP-91, ITs, VHII, CS set, Emeralds
BKPs I Had:  RY+Abraxas, Crawlers, BD+SM

sambo

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #12 on: January 08, 2007, 01:22:56 AM »
yup its to do with the neck and the overall balance. it also feels to me like the angle of the neck is quite odd... but then thats just my strange taste/hands i guess... lol

personal preference of course!

Twinfan

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #13 on: January 08, 2007, 09:09:08 AM »
Sambo - I'd go for a Gordon Smith.  Cheaper than the equivalent Gibson and they have the Gibson 60s Slim Taper neck (or a very close relation).  The new low end Gibsons I've played recently had the clubby '59 profile neck.  Fine if you like that sort of thing, but I don't.

If I was having a custom guitar built, I'd have the neck on my GS-1 copied it's that good.

Philly Q

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Extra pickup to Gibson Melody Maker- stupid idea?
« Reply #14 on: January 08, 2007, 10:01:56 AM »
I've got an old (mid-80s) GS-1 and the neck is like a toothpick, but I think they've beefed them up a bit since then.  

Gordon Smiths are certainly good value-for-money guitars, I'd probably have owned more if they let you specify a thicker neck.  :wink:
BKPs I've Got:  RR, BKP-91, ITs, VHII, CS set, Emeralds
BKPs I Had:  RY+Abraxas, Crawlers, BD+SM