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komodo

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It's basically a Sunn amp in a box, with an added clean boost and an octave up switch. The most unholy a fuzz pedal can get really. You can hit a chord and it'll ring for minutes. with layers and layers of texture to the gain.

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On 9/26/2020 at 11:22 AM, komodo said:

It's basically a Sunn amp in a box, with an added clean boost and an octave up switch. The most unholy a fuzz pedal can get really. You can hit a chord and it'll ring for minutes. with layers and layers of texture to the gain.

oh ok, right on.  unholy + fuzz = just-my-style.  sounds like a lot of fun.  looks great too.  it's the perfect crime!!

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks @mistermikev. I probably shoulda waited to build or finish my last two for when I really needed the distraction from the dumpster fire. Now I've got health, family and work issues throw on top and reaaaaaally need  a diversion. 

@Prostheta I've also been playing a lot, and now with new guitars comes a round of reevaluating amps, pedals, pickups, and everything else. I've got some serious shop editing, and cleaning to do before I start another, but there are two builds already knocking on the door in my head.

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16 minutes ago, komodo said:

Thanks @mistermikev. I probably shoulda waited to build or finish my last two for when I really needed the distraction from the dumpster fire. Now I've got health, family and work issues throw on top and reaaaaaally need  a diversion. 

@Prostheta I've also been playing a lot, and now with new guitars comes a round of reevaluating amps, pedals, pickups, and everything else. I've got some serious shop editing, and cleaning to do before I start another, but there are two builds already knocking on the door in my head.

well now... do tell... gear upgrades sounds nice!  

sorry to hear of health/family/work issues... I've been blessed with pretty steady work and family... but health is more and more a big part of my life.  I guess they call this getting old.  Gotta really capitalize when I get a string of good days, but then gotta remember to slow down and not do anything stupid!

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21 hours ago, mistermikev said:

well now... do tell... gear upgrades sounds nice!  

I've been going down pickup rabbit holes. I'm of the mind that there isn't a ton of difference in most pickups, it's a pretty rudimentary device. You've got the quality of the materials, and build quality, but as far as the recipes there is WAY too much marketing. If you take a GFS, a Duncan and a Lollar and did a double blind, I bet they'd be much closer than most think. People are going into tailspins comparing the marketing copy of sound descriptions and it's just not that complicated.

The Korina metal tele is going to get a pair of Giovanni GVH1 8k to test this theory. They're using all the right parts down to nickel silver baseplates, and were 75 for the pair. Exploring the old idea of EVH using lower output pups for more dynamics. I get that dc resistance isn't output, so hard to find consistent manufacturer data there.

On my Dragon, I'm swapping out the Duncan Jazz/Alt8 pups for an old pair of Rocksongs which will also test this theory, These are 14k - 10k and less expensive parts but they have good reputations.

I'll save the Duncan Jazz/Alt8 for a new build, but I'm thinking of swapping out the A8 mag for an UOA5 mag I've got. New build in my head is a straight up superstrat, laminated neck through koa or mappa burl top, Hannes bridge. Think Black Machine. I'll probably dismantle my partscaster if that one goes well.

Pedals are constantly rotating like a merry-go-round but I've been taking some time to dig into each pedal to really explore it before I decide it's fate. Chain order, power, settings, different guitars, etc. I've been tweaking a few home builts, swapping transistors to dial in fuzz gain, etc. I just nailed a Skreddy P19 clone yesterday that was like night and day after the change. May be my fav fuzz ever and I'm not a fuzz guy!

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There's definitely variance in quality, but at the top end it's splitting hairs (and shedding dollars) over that last 1%. I mean, some people enjoy that sort of navel gazing, however I see it as time wasted when one could be playing and enjoying the things.

I'd like to do some time comparing similar pickups myself to get a feel for the real differences. Things like SD 59s and the Pearly Gates. I do love my PAF-y type of neck pickup. I've found myself gravitating towards lower DCR winds. I never have really dug the JB. The Custom Custom feels better to me, and I am sure that the Custom and A8 equivalent will be the same. Squishy A2 gives me more than enough to work with. On the other end of the table, I do think I need a guitar that is completely the opposite for a thrash monster. Before I go there, I've got my singlecut with Fishman Fluence Classics to learn from and likely even a Frankie. I agree about lower DCR pickups. I might still go for the Custom Custom there.

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25 minutes ago, komodo said:

I've been going down pickup rabbit holes. I'm of the mind that there isn't a ton of difference in most pickups, it's a pretty rudimentary device. You've got the quality of the materials, and build quality, but as far as the recipes there is WAY too much marketing. If you take a GFS, a Duncan and a Lollar and did a double blind, I bet they'd be much closer than most think. People are going into tailspins comparing the marketing copy of sound descriptions and it's just not that complicated.

The Korina metal tele is going to get a pair of Giovanni GVH1 8k to test this theory. They're using all the right parts down to nickel silver baseplates, and were 75 for the pair. Exploring the old idea of EVH using lower output pups for more dynamics. I get that dc resistance isn't output, so hard to find consistent manufacturer data there.

On my Dragon, I'm swapping out the Duncan Jazz/Alt8 pups for an old pair of Rocksongs which will also test this theory, These are 14k - 10k and less expensive parts but they have good reputations.

I'll save the Duncan Jazz/Alt8 for a new build, but I'm thinking of swapping out the A8 mag for an UOA5 mag I've got. New build in my head is a straight up superstrat, laminated neck through koa or mappa burl top, Hannes bridge. Think Black Machine. I'll probably dismantle my partscaster if that one goes well.

Pedals are constantly rotating like a merry-go-round but I've been taking some time to dig into each pedal to really explore it before I decide it's fate. Chain order, power, settings, different guitars, etc. I've been tweaking a few home builts, swapping transistors to dial in fuzz gain, etc. I just nailed a Skreddy P19 clone yesterday that was like night and day after the change. May be my fav fuzz ever and I'm not a fuzz guy!

right on, for me... it is really hard to beat seymour because they have done the research and generally have zeroed in on right dcr/freq response/wire/magnet combos in most cases, and do a good job (for the most part) of potting w/o overdoing it.  I feel like I can reliably anticipate what I'll get.  On the other hand I've been really blown away by some relatively inexpensive and decent pickups.  I still believe the 'greatest pickups ever' can still sound bad in the wrong context, but you just have to go with your gut.  my motto has become "if you think it sounds amazing don't touch it... but if it sounds ok experimentation will almost always improve"!

recently read a thread dedicated to disproving that magnets matter... and the conclusion was: magnets matter.  starting out to disprove but finding your conclusion wrong adds a lot of credibility for me!  While I think you can't just blindly swap mags... I think you can def improve the sound of 'that pickup' in 'that guitar' with a little experimentation.  def keep us posted on how your swaps go!!

pedals... I miss, but also loath that insanity!  love me some fuzz... specially those russian ge transistors!  they are the 'franks red hot' of transistors!!

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@Prostheta@mistermikev

Just a little deeper...
So most of my pups have been Duncan, and most (all?) of my bridge pups are 14k-17k. As mentioned you don't find a lot of consistent data on the actual Henries of output though. It'll be very interesting to see what these Giovannis do. I've also got that Black Winter, which is a 16-17k ceramic, and wondered how that one would respond with an A2 mag in it? I mean just for the hell of it. I like to blow stuff up.

Not exactly related but you guys will be interested in this: as I was assessing The Dragon, which I haven't played for awhile, I was struck by it's resonance. Most of my guitars feel great, and have a typical resonant quality to them, but this one is different. It's a swamp ash core, with maple top and maple back, and set rosewood neck. When you strum it unplugged, it's so loud it almost sounds acoustic. I would strum as I was holding it up in the air out in front of me, and when you rotated the guitar along the axis of the neck, the back would project the sound in an almost beaming way as well as the front. It has a very strong doppler effect. The quality of the sound projecting from the front/back was very similar to how a guitar sounds when you rest and edge on a table and strum, or when you rest your jaw on the top. It's extremely lively. My guess is that the sandwiched, porous swamp ash is vibrating and energizing the top and back plates. IDK but it's really cool.

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31 minutes ago, komodo said:

@Prostheta@mistermikev

Just a little deeper...
So most of my pups have been Duncan, and most (all?) of my bridge pups are 14k-17k. As mentioned you don't find a lot of consistent data on the actual Henries of output though. It'll be very interesting to see what these Giovannis do. I've also got that Black Winter, which is a 16-17k ceramic, and wondered how that one would respond with an A2 mag in it? I mean just for the hell of it. I like to blow stuff up.

Not exactly related but you guys will be interested in this: as I was assessing The Dragon, which I haven't played for awhile, I was struck by it's resonance. Most of my guitars feel great, and have a typical resonant quality to them, but this one is different. It's a swamp ash core, with maple top and maple back, and set rosewood neck. When you strum it unplugged, it's so loud it almost sounds acoustic. I would strum as I was holding it up in the air out in front of me, and when you rotated the guitar along the axis of the neck, the back would project the sound in an almost beaming way as well as the front. It has a very strong doppler effect. The quality of the sound projecting from the front/back was very similar to how a guitar sounds when you rest and edge on a table and strum, or when you rest your jaw on the top. It's extremely lively. My guess is that the sandwiched, porous swamp ash is vibrating and energizing the top and back plates. IDK but it's really cool.

you'll have to let us know how it goes... but I'm a nut for A2.  I've replaced mags on some p90s... and a few humbuckers and I've really loved it every time... not so much with a5/a8.  you might find this (not authorative) interesting...

https://bedlamguitars.wordpress.com/technical-info/pickup-magnet-swapping/

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Pretty much "known" information, but good to link that in. Nicely done. The end mentions cable capacitance and the LPF filter that cable runs cause. I'm interested to see what happens when I take a guitar loaded with squishy low output A2 pickups and add a low output impedance unity buffer differential preamp to drive the cable run and kill the noise. If it doesn't feel the same with the pots being 20-25k (and the tone cap 10x its normal value) then the game is on, right? That's the fun times.

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2 hours ago, ADFinlayson said:

Congrats! well deserved.

Thanks Ash!

(I realized I'm calling you Ash, cause I work directly with two Ashleys and call them both that. Advise if you have a preferred drinking name. LOL We'll make it to the pubs before all of this is over, I promise.)

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3 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Pretty much "known" information, but good to link that in. Nicely done. The end mentions cable capacitance and the LPF filter that cable runs cause. I'm interested to see what happens when I take a guitar loaded with squishy low output A2 pickups and add a low output impedance unity buffer differential preamp to drive the cable run and kill the noise. If it doesn't feel the same with the pots being 20-25k (and the tone cap 10x its normal value) then the game is on, right? That's the fun times.

hehe, I like how he sets out sounding like he'll disprove it but then says "yep, they were pretty much right" hehe.  so... your a2 pickups would be single coils each... then into a differential preamp... similar to what emg does... but they ruin the idea with super low wind coils.  I have often thought about getting some lower wound coils and building the emg pre on a sep board... I bet it would sound pretty good with some filtertrons... but it'd be nice to be able to turn it off for just passive once in a while.  anywho, sorry for the derail!

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The preamp I like using is the one I've been making for years as a retrofit for old Aria Pro II basses and guitars. The only two downsides are the dual batteries it requires plus the DPDT switched jack socket. It works perfectly in all applications I've used it in so far, plus it has the option of adding in an active filter. My point is that there is interaction between the pickups and the passive circuitry within a guitar, and I'm wondering how much of that is a valid part of the character of the guitar as a whole. Essentially, the pickups being buffered will mean they are no longer operating in a loaded state with the passives being in parallel. I suspect that this may make say, a PAF, less sweet at the top and tighten the spongy bottom too much. Whether it does or not is part of the fun of experimentation and discovery, even though I know this isn't new ground being broken!

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7 hours ago, Prostheta said:

The preamp I like using is the one I've been making for years as a retrofit for old Aria Pro II basses and guitars. The only two downsides are the dual batteries it requires plus the DPDT switched jack socket. It works perfectly in all applications I've used it in so far, plus it has the option of adding in an active filter. My point is that there is interaction between the pickups and the passive circuitry within a guitar, and I'm wondering how much of that is a valid part of the character of the guitar as a whole. Essentially, the pickups being buffered will mean they are no longer operating in a loaded state with the passives being in parallel. I suspect that this may make say, a PAF, less sweet at the top and tighten the spongy bottom too much. Whether it does or not is part of the fun of experimentation and discovery, even though I know this isn't new ground being broken!

right... yeah actives or even passives with a preamp don't sound anything like the original passives imo.  I always put in a tb push/pull for that reason.  esp if you are going to a germanium fuzz or wah pedal - you loose that slight loading effect on the pickups that is half the reason to use either.  that said... active preamps/pickups certainly have their place - esp for slapp-a-da-bass or drive-a-the-jcm800.  u r right about it ruining a paf... or from another perspective changing it to something totally dif.  I suspect the dif in magnets would def be drowned out by any active circuit.

further - differential - I have this theory that what most of us really like about the single coils IS the noise.  at least it's there entwined in the noise.  it's like the noise from vinyl somehow makes a recording better.  just watched an srv video in the studio and sounded amazing... when he stopped playing I literally could not believe how much noise was there!  long story long: me + noise = srv

 

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