Jivin

I'll bet if you did a thread search you wouldn't have needed to bother posting this

Im not sure if its the same problem, but I know Stevie Ray Vaughan used to have trouble with strings breaking at the bridge and it was a contact issue with something... (perhaps it was a bit further up, a smidge behind the saddles), but either way, his tech used these little rubber casings (almost like wire insulation on the where the contact was happening on the higher strings to stop the breakage. Useless to you perhaps, but I thought id say it anyway. Its amazing what you learn from a Dan Erlewine book I beleive he described it as a "labour of love" - Dan

http://www.blackburncustomguitars.com

Still, with the lack of reviews and things i'm finding it hard to decide on a combination. Id like if you could recommend a H-S-H combination which would be used primarily for rock/metal applications (currently EMG 81/SA/85), however if the pickups could geared to that sort of thing and still be split to S-S-S and have nice clean tone in both Humbucker and Single Coil modes I would DEFINITELY give them a go, especially at those prices. I was thinking the ZBF-70 in the bridge, but from there im lost.... suggestions? Is there also someone at Bartolini who could help me with this sort of question? Perhaps Ron Armstrong that David spoke of?

To my knowledge they ZBF and PBF pickups on starspickups are legitimate Bartolini's, and i think they are passive, but now that ive typed that, i must admit I don't have any evidence to back it up!

Hey Greg, i've been doing some research on Bartolini guitar pickups, and I decided if I end up going for them ill be getting the ZBS-70 and the ZBS-50 or 75. The reviews and info I had read are all glowing, so I am keen to try them. Some sites: http://www.starspickups.com/ http://www.pickupcentral.com/bartolini.html Ive been meaning to email bartolini or a reseller so I can find oot if the ZBS-70 is available F-spaced, but actually I dont think I will be getting them really soon in the end, cause after the latest Dimebucker/500XL thread, ive ordered an L-500XL (and I also asked becky to recommend me a neck pickups so we'll see), so i'll probably use that instead Pleeeassee be sure to give us all the details if you buy some Bartolini pickups Greg Cheers, - Dan

Maybe its just me, but I think i'd rather my ultra metal pedal wasnt pink

That would be the scale length of the guitar (eg: a strat is 25-1/2" and a Les Paul is 24-3/4"). This would have to be one of the most common questions though, so do yourself a favour and use the search function on this forum for things like "scale length" and things like that. You should find all the information you need if you do some research, but if your still at a loss after that, then do yourself another favour and buy a book on guitar building.

I agree with that wholeheartedly. - Dan

Looks nice dude! and of course if you put in the effort and did it properly and yourself, then it deserves respect - Dan

ive tried a metalhead amp before... through a kustom 4x12 cabinet. I thought it sounded quite nice, but I really didn't play it long enough to give a meaningful review.

In that case, you absolutely MUST drop by http://www.mosercustomshop.com/main.html

You never actually mentioned what "the price" was you were working to If your just looking around for ideas, then you cant go wrong starting your search at: http://www.jacksonguitars.com (pretty well anything? lol) http://www.espguitars.com (especially the M and H series) and B.C. Rich as SlainAngel mentioned would make a good pitstop. If your willing to spend a decent amount of money on a guitar, make sure you check out the likes of Warmoth and USA Custom Guitars and considering buying stuff from them and assembling your own guitar. Its not like building one, but it still entails a bit of self satisfaction, and you know your getting quality and its all custom from the outset. Seriously, I know a lot of people here are dead set builders, and I respect that a LOT, but I still hope you yanks appreciate just how great you have it having companies like Warmoth and USACG operating locally Sure its great they offer their products internationally and still represent remarkable value when your comparing to the price guitars are here in Australia, but the shipping and all the other fees are a real pain Still, I will use this oppurtunity to pimp my order from warmoth again: http://www.funkyshack.com/crap/guitars/koadaddy/index.htm Isn't she sexy I doub't I could get that sort of quality of guitar and parts for $1500AU here, let alone the fact its exactly the parts I want, chosen by me. Good luck, keep us up to date on your search! - Dan

Where are you located? So potential buyers can figure out possible postage costs. Cheers, - Dan

tut tut... http://www.dreamlandguitars.com although I think its down at the moment? - Dan

Ok really, you should have at least quickly browsed this thread before posting that. No-one in this thread has said that Dime didn't use the L500XL. I even acknowledged that he probably used it the majority of the time. Regardless of their stance on the subject, pretty well everyone on this forum knows that he used the L500XL. Forget it anyway... I've made my point, I don't any need to have to repeat myself. And for the record after having a quick look at a couple of pantera message boards, I've decided I think I know where a lot of the "I have nfi 500xl" sheep have come from. And just before I finish, I should just make it clear, if you've played both and prefer the L500XL (or the Dimebucker for that matter), then thats all good, I can respect that, i'm not bagging either.

from what I heard of them possibly the JB in the bridge and Jazz in the neck? I'm not sure about the Jazz in the neck, but the bridge pickup was quite bright and crunchy considering its an all mahogany guitar, which sounds like a JB. Your call would be as good as mine though, afterall you own one

Hey Lovekraft - Don't worry, no disrespect taken, im sure we can all discuss this sort of thing maturely. Firstly, from what i've seen, the Dimebucker is about $90+P&H and the L500XL is $50+P&H, so its not quite 3x as much I suppose your right - if your going to look at it very closely, a large number of people arent necessarily bagging the Dimebucker, and I suppose I will have to admit they are more talking up the L500XL than bagging the dimebucker (if that made any sense ), but I think my point still stands. On forums and around my local area, it seems almost every time the Dimebucker comes into conversation, there always seems to be at -least- one bloke who has to chime in with "duhh dime never used the SEYMORE (sheesh) pickup, its just a crap copy of the one he really used, which was like a Bill Lorrence or something". And most of the time that person doesn't have a clue what they are talking about, and is just regurgitating 2nd,3rd,4th et al hand information. Maybe I just notice it more than other people, or maybe im just hearing things, but it just irks me Cheers, - Dan

I've read a couple of fairly indepth interviews with Dime in magazines where he went into decent detail about how as time has gone on, he has found himself a little unhappy with the sound of the 500XL for some applications, and that was what drove him to start talkng with SD since they had been hounding him for some time. Now not actually owning either myself, I can't comment too much, but I have tried both on a number of occasions, and im getting pretty sick of people just bagging the Dimebucker just because they've heard some know-it-all claim the Dimebucker sucks and the 500XL is the ONLY thing dime EVER uses as if its gospel or something. From what ive read, dime uses the dimebucker in some guitars (and obviously the guitars he uses for photo shoots...), and the 500XL in others (probably most of them). I've seen one or two videos that I cant remember the name of now, where on closeups, it was obvious he was using a dimebucker, and it sounded great, and a few local acts ive seen have used dimebuckers and some of the most awesome, crushing metal live tone that ive heard. Im certainly not pointing fingers at anyone in particular on this forum, im realy just venting. I'm not for or against either of the pickups particularily, im just sick of people around the place in general (music shop guys, other forums ect) bagging the dimebucker for reasons they dont actually know are true, and then spreading the word, creating this army of people who dont really know anythign and haven't actually heard the pickups claiming that one is better than the other the moral? dont take too much notice of any opinion that isnt objective about what they are saying, and just listen to both for yourself (if you have that option). *takes a deep breath*

I've owned a Kustom Quad 100 DFX (http://www.kustom.com/products/guitar_amps/quad100dfx.asp) for quite some time now and I am very happy with it. I use my Boss GT-6 for all my sounds, so all I was after was a good usable EQ and some quality powerful speakers. The 2x12" Celestion Super 65's deliver for me and it sounds great. One thing I will say about it though is that the amp distortion is pretty damn weak - I would never be able to rely on it to get the sounds I am after, but I have the GT-6 so for the money I wasn't bothered. It sounds lovely clean and for mild distortion its brilliant. Sometimes if im just playing bluesy stuff I will skip the GT-6 and just use the amp. Basically I have no problems recommending the Kustom stuff, especially the model I have, but from what ive seen I am one of the few people whoe dont knock them... but that is probably because I seem to be part of the minority who cant afford an all tube marshall stack or whatever. It's solid and it does what I want - I couldn't ask for more

Ohh man this stuff is sexy! I love it! Good Job!

I have a set of Don Lace S-100 single coils in my strat, and I love them. I got them for about $100US i think? It was a good deal thats for sure, maybe it was like 150 though... I cant recall. As I understand they are discontinued now, but do a search on ebay, you should still find them - I've seen them around since I bought mine, and as I remember they were even cheaper I don't think I would say they are high output single coils, but they sound nice, whether its clean, fuzz, mild distortion, or full saturation. Goes without saying probably, but I did need to perform the full shielding dowacky on my strat in order to tame the beast under heavy distortion though. Cheers, - Dan

I saw a video of The Trooper at Rock in Rio some time ago and during the solo which I love, Janick, who looked REALLY messed up was playing all out of time and it wasn't very pleasant If I was adrian smith I would have just gone over there and pushed him off the stage!

How does it jump £500 in one bid?

Yeah RGGR, Warmoth parts really does seem to be quite a good option. I just ordered my stuff, which was a Alder/Koa strat body HXH with recessed OFR routing. The neck was a Maple/Rosewood with 10-16"radius, jumbo frets and a reverse KWS headstock with a koa veneer. I'm looking forward to it heaps, especially the koa body: embellished by me a touch perhaps, but hey, im excited I plan on putting a Seymour Duncan Custom in the Bridge and Alnico II Pro in the neck. I cant wait! Edit: Thanks Dave