Lunch Report -- Tuesday 07/17/13

Lunch - I don't know yet. It's a co- workers last day before he goes off for a couple weeks and he was wanting to get something offsite... We will see what happens. Probably pizza...

G&L Topic -- pickups. I really like my Legacy alnicos. In my experience, G&L is like Gibson in the fact that it seems like people don't swap out their pickups immediately... Again, that's my experience after talking to others about G&Ls. Is that the case for you?

Non-G&L Topic -- pickups. Have you ever tried the Fralin Blues Special tele pickups? Ohhhhh man... Such sweetness right there. If I were a Tele guy feel and stuff wise, I'd prob have to change out a G&Ls pickups haha... What are your favorite pickups?

I'm posting from my phone but ill get a video up soon. Lots of good stuff yesterday! Thanks again for posting your replies.
Pat

G&L Topic -- pickups. I really like my Legacy alnicos. In my experience, G&L is like Gibson in the fact that it seems like people don't swap out their pickups immediately... Again, that's my experience after talking to others about G&Ls. Is that the case for you?

I have replaced a few G&L pickups. I replaced the pickups in my JB-2 with Sadowsky pickups. I recently bought a 2000 Legacy with a saddle lock bridge. It still has the G&L pickup covers on the pickups but I'm 90% sure they've been replaced. I've never been a fan of the G&L made Legacy pickups. The Legacy I bought has a well rounded tone and plenty of output.

Non-G&L Topic -- pickups. Have you ever tried the Fralin Blues Special tele pickups? Ohhhhh man... Such sweetness right there. If I were a Tele guy feel and stuff wise, I'd prob have to change out a G&Ls pickups haha... What are your favorite pickups?

I've never tried Fralin pickups. I have Don Mare, Hayride pickups in my '78 Telecaster and Bare Knuckle, Flat 50 pickups in my '74 Telecaster. Both are great sounding pickups.

Pat, I don't mess with pickups and am happy with them all. I do have a Legacy that the original owner installed Kinman Blues in. They are very nice.-- Darwin

I am with Darwin, I tend not to mess with pickups to much. I learned my lesson long ago when i had an american strat.... Never happy with the tone and was never happy with the pickups i tried. Then i heard an s-500 and was hooked on the MFD's. I can never imagine swapping one of those out.

Which kinda also answers the 2nd question - Never tried the Fralins and almost everything i play these days is MFD

Scott

I try to take pickups at face value, but have changed them in the past if the guitar just isn't jiving where I need it. The Legacy pickups are something that I haven't enjoyed though, so I just didn't buy one. A little too back seat for my liking.

Never played the Fralins, but I can get tele tone out of whatever I pick up if I want. I tend to adjust how I play to get the character I want, not wait on a pickup. The problem with 'that tele tone' or 'that strat tone' is we invariably give too much credit to the pickups, the amp, etc, and not the player. Most of what distinguishes a persons sound is not their signal chain, but the personal nuances of their playing. Seeing as people want to instant gratification, they would rather buy their amp and pickups then wonder why they don't sound like them.

i have the fralin blues specials in one tele, and i have a fralin bridge and a bare knuckle p90 in my g&l bb. i also have fralin real 54's with a steelpole 43 bridge in my srv strat. they are very nice pups indeed.

For moi, I've found the MFDs in the G&L ASATs I've had, to be fine - I like hot, darker sounding single coils. I'm not a big twang fan, nor am I blues tone fan. So, sorry to say, I probably wouldn't get into the Fralin Blues Specials. When I was younger, I swapped out pickups very often. Nowadays, I prefer to buy guitars that sound good to me from the get-go. I got tired of replacing pickups, and as I learned, while a pickup swap can get rid tone that's due to a pickup that sounds weak/underwhelming to me (which is why I changed to the pickup in my Esquire, to a Don Mare tWangzilla [a VERY overwound Broadcaster based pickup] it made my Esquire aggressive sounding enough [without sounding like a P90 in disguise], that it turned the guitar into a rock 'n roll junkyard dog), it will not necessarily transform a guitar that's just plain dead sounding, into a tone machine.

For moi, I've found the MFDs in the G&L ASATs I've had, to be fine - I like hot, darker sounding single coils. I'm not a big twang fan, nor am I blues tone fan. So, sorry to say, I probably wouldn't get into the Fralin Blues Specials. When I was younger, I swapped out pickups very often. Nowadays, I prefer to buy guitars that sound good to me from the get-go. I got tired of replacing pickups, and as I learned, while a pickup swap can get rid tone that's due to a pickup that sounds weak/underwhelming to me (which is why I changed to the pickup in my Esquire, to a Don Mare tWangzilla [a VERY overwound Broadcaster based pickup] it made my Esquire aggressive sounding enough [without sounding like a P90 in disguise], that it turned the guitar into a rock 'n roll junkyard dog), it will not necessarily transform a guitar that's just plain dead sounding, into a tone machine.

i am yet to find a guitar that sound and play the way i want from the get go. you'd be surprised by the blues specials though, the tele i have with them is a metal tone monster. i agree that pups won't fix a dead sounding guitar. i know, i tried with ibanez rg's for 10 years before i gave up. whatever pup was in my 83 squier, it always sounded better. swap them and it still sounded better.

Yea the Blues Specials can rock hard... We were shocked with my dad's MIM Thinline Tele through a Pro Sonic. WIsh we had a real Marshall... haha

The first and last time I swapped pickups was on my mid-70s Fender Jazz. I put a set of DiMarzio J-Bass pickups on it back around '82. They really improved the sound, and I'm still happy with them.

I would never swap pickups in any of my G&Ls. Here are some of my favorites:

Large MFD in an '82 SC-1 - this single pickup goes from soft to crunchy, and does it all wonderfully:



Large MFDs in an '82 SC-2 - double the fun:



"Large hex" bass MFD in an '80 L-1000 - some bassists rave about the "slot" pole pieces from the early '80s, but I think these first ones were even better:



Slanted MFD humbucker in an '84 Cavalier-E - crisp, clear, and zero hum:



Single coil bass MFDs in an '83 SB-2 - these are to upper mids what the large hex or slots were to the bottom end - tons of punch, with incredible tone:



I don't have any pics of my Skyhawk, Nighthawk or '82 S-500, but the pickups in each of those really sing. All three of them beat the mid-70s Strat I used to own, hands down! I would also include the small bass MFD humbuckers from the El Toro and Interceptor, which sound to me like a fuller version of the original SB/Lynx single coils.

Ken

I'm happy with all my G & L PU's , love the legacy and it blows my fender with Custum shop PU's away , the ASAT Classic has its own sound , my SC 2 sounds great along with my Comanche , none of these guitars will really replace the other guitars as the all have there own sound

I bought G&L for the MFDs and the sound they make, it matches the sound I want in my head.

My other electric is a mid 70's Framus Junior 6, it has one PuP and I rather like the sound of it as well.

So, no PuP switching for me.

Never tried the Fralins and almost everything i play these days is MFD

Scott

Exactly, I could add, everything I play

actually, I just bought some MFD to put back in my ASAT classic S that had the original ones swapped by the previous owner (see my avatar). Couldn't be happier with it !

I put an old set of EMG SA's in a legacy to better match the guitar I mainly play .*

I put an MFD in an Alembic guitar...I had to trim the ears on the cover a bit.
( The folks on the Alembic board would probably drag me over the coals )

The newer small MFDs (last I tried) still have a brittleness to the top end that I can't get along with.
I sold a pristine '91 S-500 because I was very tempted to play with the caps, I just couldn't bring myself to mess with the masters work.
Today I might have come to a different solution ( changing out the whole pickguard, or just tapping a couple little caps that could be removed easily ).

Maybe they just need to be annealed with age and playing...as Ken says...those old big ones just do it all amazingly well.

elwood

* My mainplayer has an older MFD in the middle ,SA up front, and a champ lap pup for the bridge...so it's 2/3 Leo and friends. I get a great sound blending the SA with the old Fender...who'da thought )

Last edited by Elwood on Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

Three of my G&L guitars have replacement pickups. My first S-500 that I bought used back in 1995 has a Duncan JB, Jr. in the bridge that the prevous owner installed. Nice thick humbucking tone, but it does not have the output of the MFDs. It would be a better match for the Legacy's alnicos.

I have another Legacy with Duncan Texas Hot Antiquitys, installed by a previous owner. I replaced the standard Antiquity in the bridge with theirCustom Hot version in the bridge and the replaced the middle with a RW/RP Antiquity. Great set--I'm going to do two more of my Legacys with these sets.

Another Legacy came to me with an Antiquity neck and what I think is a Duncan Lil' 59 or JB, Jr. The bridge and stock middle are coming out to make an complete Ant set.

I've changed out some Gibson pickups on four of my Pauls, for Duncan Antiquitys, Seth Lovers, Custom Shop Seths and Pearly Gates humbuckers. All good.

Bill

Three of my G&L guitars have replacement pickups. My first S-500 that I bought used back in 1995 has a Duncan JB, Jr. in the bridge that the prevous owner installed. Nice thick humbucking tone, but it does not have the output of the MFDs. It would be a better match for the Legacy's alnicos.

I have another Legacy with Duncan Texas Hot Antiquitys, installed by a previous owner. I replaced the standard Antiquity in the bridge with theirCustom Hot version in the bridge and the replaced the middle with a RW/RP Antiquity. Great set--I'm going to do two more of my Legacys with these sets.

Another Legacy came to me with an Antiquity neck and what I think is a Duncan Lil' 59 or JB, Jr. The bridge and stock middle are coming out to make an complete Ant set.

I've changed out some Gibson pickups on four of my Pauls, for Duncan Antiquitys, Seth Lovers, Custom Shop Seths and Pearly Gates humbuckers. All good.

Bill

bill, i have that exact same set, and i would seriously recommend the fralin blues specials with a fralin sp42 or sp43 in the bridge instead.

Ken

Love black hardware on G & L's be nice if we had that option on all custom planks.have cerebrally concocted some pretty gnarly beasts tinkering with the builder in the past dare to dream as they say..

I am extremely happy using my Will Ray for just about everything.
So much so that I'm getting another one, with an extra-wide neck, after which my current one will stay on until I take a decision on its future.
Everything about my present WR is excellent, apart from my physiology and the 1 5/8 nut!

BUT if there is one other solid electric that I believe I could realy make good use of, that is different in nature from the WR, it would be.......
An Asat Classic with Fralin Blues Specials in. No 4 neck. Perhaps one day.

Does someone knows if L2000 pickups are coiled the same.
I want to say : are the neck and bridge pickups coiled the same or is there a difference ? ( for example : less wire on the neck pickup )

Does someone knows if L2000 pickups are coiled the same.
I want to say : are the neck and bridge pickups coiled the same or is there a difference ? ( for example : less wire on the neck pickup )

They are identical pickups.

Thank you.

Does someone knows if L2000 pickups are coiled the same.
I want to say : are the neck and bridge pickups coiled the same or is there a difference ? ( for example : less wire on the neck pickup )

They are identical pickups.

Those pickups are very sensitive to placement. The L-1500 sounds very different from either the front or rear positions on the L-2000, even though the pickups are all identical.

Ken

That's right.
I have a L 1500 ( defretted now ) and had L 2000 so i could compare.

That's right.
I have a L 1500 ( defretted now ) and had L 2000 so i could compare.

What do you think of the L-1500 since defretting it? I've been wanting a fretless G&L with a #8 neck, and keep thinking about an L-1500 being the best platform.

Ken

I like it very much. It's a maple fretboard. Luthier made a great job.
i posted photos on bassbyleo.com, maybe have you seen it, if you're the Ken i think.
I don't know what to say about. The tone is sweet, soft and hot when playing parallel passive and can approach jaco's tone when playing active in series mode ( treble tone cut almost fully ) I wanted to give a second life to this bass and it was successful.
L 1500 fretless is gargoil's approved

I don't know what to say about. The tone is sweet, soft and hot when playing parallel passive and can approach jaco's tone when playing active in series mode ( treble tone cut almost fully )

Thanks! That was just what I was wondering about.

i posted photos on bassbyleo.com, maybe have you seen it, if you're the Ken i think.

You're probably thinking of Ken Baker, BbL's moderator. I'm KenC on both sites, but post a lot more on this site. I'll go check your photos out tonight.

Ken

Ok.

Last thing : i play with rounds strings.
Is there a place here where i could post soundclips ?

Last thing : i play with rounds strings.

My L-1500 came with a set of round wounds, and it does sound good. I'm more of a flat wound player, so I've been thinking about trying a set of quarter or half rounds on it to get plenty of overtones without as much finger noise.

Is there a place here where i could post soundclips ?

There's a section for audio and video clips. Right now we're in the Lunch Reports section. If you look in the upper left corner of the screen, you'll see a link for Board Index >> G&LDP. That will take you to the menu of different topic pages. There's also a page for G&L porn, where you can post photos of your bass. We have an unwritten law around here that instruments don't really exist without a photo to prove it.

Ken

Last thing : i play with rounds strings.

My L-1500 came with a set of round wounds, and it does sound good. I'm more of a flat wound player, so I've been thinking about trying a set of quarter or half rounds on it to get plenty of overtones without as much finger noise.

Is there a place here where i could post soundclips ?

There's a section for audio and video clips. Right now we're in the Lunch Reports section. If you look in the upper left corner of the screen, you'll see a link for Board Index >> G&LDP. That will take you to the menu of different topic pages. There's also a page for G&L porn, where you can post photos of your bass. We have an unwritten law around here that instruments don't really exist without a photo to prove it.

Ken

And, to learn more about our website, see: Welcome! Read This First

I have come to love the CLF 100 pickups in my Legacy. I don't buy a guitar unless I like the pickups. I'm probably in the minority here, but when I buy an instrument, the last thing I want to do upon getting is to start to modify it.

I love large MFDs. I like the small ones in my early SC-3, and have come to really appreciate the more modern one in the bridge of my Bluesboy.

My favorite humbucker is Tom Anderson's H-3 (bridge position), and (don't kill me), Fender's reissued "wide range" humbuckers - which have a different alloy than the original '72/73 pickups and are featured in my (Japanese) '72 Thinline reissue. Those are a unique joy to me. Fantastic guitar, btw....

And no, I have not tried Fralin's Blues Special Tele pickups. But Fralin makes my favorite P-90s - and I've tried Lollar's. To each his or her own.

Oh, lunch was leftover mac and cheese and taco meat that I made the night previous. I'd like to think I invented the dish, but was just happy that both kids liked it. Thanks Pat! -ed

I have come to love the CLF 100 pickups in my Legacy. I don't buy a guitar unless I like the pickups. I'm probably in the minority here, but when I buy an instrument, the last thing I want to do upon getting is to start to modify it.

I love large MFDs. I like the small ones in my early SC-3, and have come to really appreciate the more modern one in the bridge of my Bluesboy.

My favorite humbucker is Tom Anderson's H-3 (bridge position), and (don't kill me), Fender's reissued "wide range" humbuckers - which have a different alloy than the original '72/73 pickups and are featured in my (Japanese) '72 Thinline reissue. Those are a unique joy to me. Fantastic guitar, btw....

And no, I have not tried Fralin's Blues Special Tele pickups. But Fralin makes my favorite P-90s - and I've tried Lollar's. To each his or her own.

Oh, lunch was leftover mac and cheese and taco meat that I made the night previous. I'd like to think I invented the dish, but was just happy that both kids liked it. Thanks Pat! -ed

i have to agree with the tom anderson h3, my favorite as well, along with the dallen alley cats. the h3 is more aggressive, but works really nice.

KenC violated decency laws with that display of nude G&L SC + Bass MFD awesomeness. Oh my.