Linda asks…
guitar pickups can any body recommend?
so im buying a cheap epiphone les paul jr, but i want to replace the pick up. im looking for a classic rock, country kind of sound (i dont want anything that would sound metalish cause i already have a guitar for that). so hers my problem iv got a budget of 60 bucks or less so i know its going to be harder to find. can anybody suggest a good pickup for me?
JasminCahill answers:
Go for a Seymour Duncan bridge pickup.
Http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/antiquity/humbuckers/
if you like the Led Zep sound. Get a Super DiMarzio brdige pickup. It has high output and you can get a dirty sound when you crank the volume. Otherwise, it is smooth, bluesy, rock and jazzy. Very very versatile. I use them on my old 1963 Gibson Les Paul. Awesome pickups.
Robert asks…
Guitar help needed, mini-humbucker P90 sound?
is there a mini-humbucker that sounds like P90 pickups
JasminCahill answers:
Seymour-Duncan Co. Make excellent ‘modified’ style pick-ups. Maybe check their:
‘Antiquity II mini-humbucker’ (neck and bridge)
‘Vintage mini-humbucker SM-1′, ‘Seymourized SM-3, (‘SM-2′ is higher output)
‘Phatcat SPH-90′/ (They also make seven other kinds of ‘hot-rodded’ P-90 pick-ups).
Carol asks…
What type of guitar do you recommend?
Hi,
I’m new to all this but I’ve decided I wanna learn guitar. I’m interested in playing mainly rock specifically Red Hot Chili Peppers. I also enjoy a bit of blues. What type of guitar should I get for learning purposes. I want a cheap one, I can buy a more expensive premium quality one if i stick with playing. Thanks
JasminCahill answers:
If you want to play Chili Pepper’s John Frusciante sound, get a Stratocaster and put in Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups. If you want a decently priced, but good Stratocaster, get a Mexican made Stratocaster, not a Squier Stratocaster. Most squiers I’ve played sound terrible and feels cheap (because it’s made with cheap materials).
Squiers go for about $100+ used, or $200 new.
Mexican Stratocasters go for about $250+ used or $400 new.
Save yourself the cash and get a Mexican Strat or even an American one! Don’t bother wasting your money with a Squier.
My philosophy towards people who’ve just begun learning guitar is to get a guitar that sounds and feels good, not a cheap crappy guitar that sounds and feels terrible(it’ll only make you not want to play it). Maybe the extra money investment will make you keep wanting to play guitar.
Best of luck!
John asks…
SX SMJ-62 Guitar, looking to upgrade hardware. Bridge,Pickups,etc…?
Awhile back i bought a sx sjm-62 style guitar from rondomusic.com. Plan was to work on it overtime and rebuild it. Bought it because of the looks and had decent reviews. The body is great just need some suggestions on what hardware i should get. Original idea was to build me a cheap man’s Jaguar.
JasminCahill answers:
That guitar has P90′s in it… There are a few companies that make great P90′s.
I put a DiMarzio P90 with ceramic magnets in the bridge of my Strat and I love it. It’s got more power than a standard alnico P90, better attack too, but it’s not so hot that it turns it into a metal guitar. Great twang. I have it going through 1 meg pots that I got through stewmac.com and it sounds GREAT. You can get anything from classic rock/rockabilly, blues, country, all the way up to hard rock with it.
You may also want to look at a Seymour Duncan Antiquity P90, or a TV Jones minihum if you want to go upmarket and maintain that 50′s/60′s sort of vibe.
The SMJ-62 is more like a Jazzmaster than a Jag; the body is inspired by both, but the Jag had REALLY hot single coils that focused more on high-end, and the Jazzmaster had fatter coils that were more centric to mid and lows.
The bridge is probably just fine on it, and getting different saddles won’t make that much of a difference. The elctronics are where you’re going to improve on it.
Paul asks…
what is a better guitar for playing surf rock?
im trying to decide between a fender jaguar and a strat. which is better?
JasminCahill answers:
Hello there,
While there are many Jaguar players in surf, I prefer the Stratocaster. I like the sound of the pickups better than with a Jaguar for most songs (but not all). For those who play surf and only use one guitar, I see far more Stratocaster players than Jaguar players. But many surf players have both.
If you are going to use only one guitar for surf, a Stratocaster with a set of Fender Custom Shop 57/62 picukps is a very good guitar. The Seymour Duncan Antiquity surf pickups being my second choice.
Here are a couple videos of one of my favorite players, Martin Cilia. He uses both a vintange Jaguar and a vintage Stratocaster. You can hear the difference for your self
1963 Jaguar
1961 Stratocaster
and another with the 61 Strat
Which ever you go with, you need a tremolo bridge. Many of the recent Jaguars have a fixed bridge with humbuckers. Those are not surf guitars. The 62 Jaguar reissues are good surf guitars. Most Stratocasters have a tremolo bridge so you don’t run into that problem as much.
I have seen Mosrite, vintage Danelectro, vintage Japanese Tiesco, and a host of other guitars used in surf over the years. I have tried about everything imaginable myself. You can play surf on any guitar. Surf is more technique that what guitar you have. It is just that surf grew out of southern California around Leo Fender. So Fender guitars and amps typify the surf sound.
Later,
Michael asks…
57/62 pickups and a Fender Super 5 switch with Fender pots wiring?
I got these because they were $79 and I like them more than my custom job ’54′s. I plan on putting them in a generic guitar I have with an alder body and maple with rosewood neck. I’m gonna have to do a fret job and nut job on the neck. I’ve redone nuts but never frets. Anyway, I’m asking about the wiring on the Super 5. I have soldered and installed pickups once before. I understand the pots can vary wildly 250k-288k, etc. Will this make a huge difference in sound? Most importantly I want to wire it so that the bridge pickup has tone control like my Eric Johnson Strat does. Does anyone have schematics for this or tips with a Super 5 switch? I was also thinking of putting the bridge pickup backwards (ala Hendrix) will this work right or do I need to have a special pick guard cut? One last thing: Are all 3 pickups the same? My brother’s meter reads that all are the same and the placement is key in obtaining the sound. Is this true? Thank you very much.
But my brother has the same pickups and has 5-way switch on his… are you certain they won’t work 5-way? Thanks!
Thank you for the advice on the CTS pots! I looked them up. Looks like they’re $10 each on Amazon?
JasminCahill answers:
Hello there,
Nice pickups. I really like the tone of them. I was thinking about a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity 60s surf pickups. But I thought I give the Fender 57/62s a try first. So far I am happy with them.
I don’t think these pickups are going to work for your project. I put a set in one of my surf green Strats. The middle pickup was not reverse wound. So I had to swap out the 5 way switch for a vintage 3 way. No humbucking positions 2 and 4 because there is no reverse wound pickup. So you are not going to be able to use the super 5 way. You could swap out the middle pickup for one that is reverse wound. But then you lose the sound of that pickup.
I use CTS pots on my projects. Better quality pots and worth the extra price. It is surprising the difference in pots. If you are going to go to all the work on a project guitar, put CTS pots in it.
You need a diagram for a bridge pickup tone control? I will see if I have one.
These are low output pickups. Not too sure they will give you a Hendrix tone. I think of Custom Shop 69s for that. Anyway, for the Hendrix sound, you need to get a pickguard that had the bridge pickup cut on a reverse slant. These are staggered poles. So reversing the pickup will simulate the Jimi effect. You can use it without the special pickguard, but that is just part of the tone. I see the reverse slant pickguards on ebay every now and then.
Yes, all 3 pickups are the same. No difference whatsoever. So you cannot get them in the wrong place!
Later,
Hello again,
CTs pots on ebay about $7. But there is a dealer who will sell 3 for about $13. I bought 4 sets from him. All were new unopened Fender packages.
Yep, There is no difference in the pickups. They all are identical. That means none of them are reverse wound. You use a 3 way with these. A 5 way is for a humbucker in positions 2 and 4. The mid pickup reverse wound played with either the neck or bridge. With these you cannot do that. They are like the originals. We did not have 5 way switches back in 57 or even in 62 yet. I think those came in around 64. You can wire these in with a 5 way. Positions 2 and 4 won’t be humbucking. Be sort of strange to in phase single coils together. Probably heavy on the hum would be my guess on that.
Here the pots
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-FENDER-CTS-250k-SPLIT-SHAFT-POT-3-PACK-NEW-/360426603466?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item53eb1983ca
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-FENDER-CTS-250k-split-shaft-potentiometer-/270851106612?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3f0ffbe734
You can test any pickups for polarity. Put them face to face. If they repel they are wound the same. If they attract they are opposite wound. Opposites attract.
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