Author Topic: Just Ordered Blackguards (Read 4341 times)

smudger123 · « **on:** September 17, 2007, 01:31:07 PM »

Having spoken to Tim this morning I have just ordered a set of blackguard pickups for my new AM Series Tele (alder body / rosewood fret board). I was thinking of yardbirds but having spoken to Tim he suggested the 50's Blackguards with the flat poles and as I've never been disappointed with his recommendations before I went with this.

He said he should be able to get them out today so I'll give an update soon on what they're like. Oh and I asked for the neck to be 3 conductor wiring for 4 way switching.

badgermark · « **Reply #1 on:** September 17, 2007, 02:00:41 PM »

Post clips! Not enough tele clips on this forum.

lulusg · « **Reply #2 on:** September 17, 2007, 03:38:39 PM »

Congratulations smudger123. Something wicked, to break new ground. I will be trying them pretty soon too. :)

hunter · « **Reply #3 on:** September 17, 2007, 04:34:06 PM »

Congrats!!!
Telecasters RAWK!
:twisted:

38thBeatle · « **Reply #4 on:** September 17, 2007, 05:11:17 PM »

Excellent, I am looking forward to hearing these pickups.

smudger123 · « **Reply #5 on:** September 21, 2007, 10:12:41 PM »

Not massivley impressed with the neck P/U..

Bridge is great but a little too hot for my tastes.

I wish I's gone with my gut which was for a set of Yardbirds as I've loved every Alnico IV set I've had from Tim. Anyone know if they still do the thing were they'll swap 'em if your not 100% happy. I've not cut the hook up wires and just touch soldered them in...

lulusg · « **Reply #6 on:** September 22, 2007, 12:20:57 AM »

Sorry to hear about that, by the way which pots do you have in your tele?. Thanks

smudger123 · « **Reply #7 on:** September 22, 2007, 01:22:19 AM »

Quote from: LULUSG

Sorry to hear about that, by the way which pots do you have in your tele?. Thanks

It's an AM Series so 250k in the vol and a 250k no load in the tone....

PhilKing · « **Reply #8 on:** September 22, 2007, 11:58:53 AM »

Sorry you didn't like the sound. A lot of people bought the Black Guard at LGS. We had the staggered pole in a tele on the stand. I have the black guard flat pole in my 57 tele and love the sound. The neck is more 'Stratish' than a standard tele, but I like that. The Yardbirds is more like my 62 Tele, which does have a nice neck tone, but I don't think has quite as much bite as the black guard.

smudger123 · « **Reply #9 on:** September 22, 2007, 06:55:16 PM »

Well I guess I'm just being a bit of an @rse. :o :o After many hours of adjustment I'm now getting a great tone out of the Blackguards. I had been trying them exclusively with my new Fender 600 Champ, but I have now tried them with my trusty Tech 21 Trademark 10 and they sound amazing, somehow with the Fender champ the neck gets all mushy. Don’t like the amp anyway to get a good sound you have to crank it and it then starts to fart. I guess it will go back to the shop now.

Kilby · « **Reply #10 on:** September 23, 2007, 01:22:45 AM »

Well I think the need for the champ 600 needing a better speaker to stop it from sounding more than a little farty (when pushed) is becoming a universal truth.

However just as some guitars sound better with cerain pickups, I firmly believe that the same thing is true of amps (especially those with under specced speakers).

Testing a rickenbacker with a AC30 is joyful, with a marshall less fun and with an ashdown downright depressing

Elliot · « **Reply #11 on:** September 23, 2007, 01:27:55 AM »

The Champ 600 is not a serious amp, it is also built to be clean - without modification its cant be pushed to OD. You can't make it do what it wasn't designed to do is somewhat unfair, even if you don't like it (in many ways its the opposite of the Epi VJ - bright and clean). I'm glad that the blackguards sound good through another amp- although I would have thought the Champ 600 would give you ultimate telecaster sounds

Prawnik · « **Reply #12 on:** September 24, 2007, 11:56:05 AM »

Quote from: Elliot

The Champ 600 is not a serious amp, it is also built to be clean - without modification its cant be pushed to OD. You can't make it do what it wasn't designed to do is somewhat unfair, even if you don't like it (in many ways its the opposite of the Epi VJ - bright and clean). I'm glad that the blackguards sound good through another amp- although I would have thought the Champ 600 would give you ultimate telecaster sounds

What do you mean by "not a serious amp"? I don't know anything about the Champ 600, but a BF Fender Twin is a serious amp and it doesn't really OD or distort much.

indysmith · « **Reply #13 on:** September 24, 2007, 02:30:56 PM »

Quote from: Elliot

it is also built to be clean - without modification its cant be pushed to OD.

This is also absolute bollucks - fender have modified the preamp from the original design to break up more, earlier.
The only real problem with the amp is the appalling tiny speaker, but otherwise it's a cracker!

Elliot · « **Reply #14 on:** September 24, 2007, 11:41:26 PM »

I am angry enough to reply to this as I am being misrepresented:

I mean it is not serious in the sense that it costs the same a Ibanez TS808 reissue (£120) and it has only one volume control, no tone control, and its main parts (i.e. the tubes, the 6" speaker and the components inside) are made in China for peanuts. It is not to be treated in the same category as a serious amp as often discussed on these boards: Certainly not a Twin Reverb.

Indy - its not bollocks, whatever the Fender marketing team say - I got one of the first of these in the UK - I have spent hours with it, I have changed the valves, the speaker and put switches in the circuit board - I know how this amp works. I like it very much, but I won't say what it aint.

This is what it is not:

A mini Fender Twin - although surf guitar is divine through it.
A mini Marshall stack - 6" of speaker and a Blackface/Silverface tone stack will not get you there - but a wearing in the speaker will allow a low powered OD like a Ibanez TS808 or a TS7 or a Bad Monkey to give a great OD sound.

However,- it has a tiny footprint and no weight at all, it has pure valve tone : and it sounds like, well like a Champ 600 - it is modelled on the 1949 Champ, which was a tiny, low powered, all valve student model - and that is what this is.

As to Fender's claim - well that's true, compared to a 1949 Champ 600 it has a hot pre-amp (i.e. its called a 12AX7 tube as opposed to the now unobtainable 6SJ7) so it breaks up earlier - but even through my Jensen C12N cab or a Eminence Texas Heat it doesn't break up like a Pro Junior or a Vox Ac15 - all I am saying is IT WILL NOT DO MARSHALL TONES AT BEDROOM VOLUME and that seems to be what people are snubbing it for.

I agree its a cracker - a 6" Jensen Mod spealer makes it more so and once the speaker breaks in (2-3 weeks of heavy playing) it can take OD wellish- but it is a Fender champ - and sounds like one (I love it).