Bluesboy- good replacemt bridge pickup match for Seth Lover?

[fendertweed]

I'm considering options on possibly replacing the ceramic mfd stock pickup on my semihollow (no f hole) Bluesboy.

I realize the stock ceramic MFD bridge pickup's output is well matched to the Duncan Seth Lover in the neck position.

What other bridge pickups have folks tried and found to be good matches w/ the Seth Lover?

My first choices lean to something from Peter Florance (Voodoo) like the Broadcaster (a spectacular re-creation of real Broadcaster p'ups I've played & heard) or Lollars, for starters.

Thanks,
Jon

[pistolsteve]

I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you, but I'm interested in doing the same myself. I've never quite come to terms with the Bluesboy bridge position. I love the middle position, though, and have always been afraid changing the bridge pickup might adversely affect the mid position tone.

Would be interested to hear response to this question, and "fendertweed" if you end up swapping out your bridge pickup, I'd love to hear how it went.

[fendertweed]

I don't really mind the bridge pickup, though the ceramic smaller mfds are not my favorite, just a bit hotter & brighter than I usually like... but the mix of the two pickups is so good, as you said, that I hesitate to change anything so for now I'm leaving it alone.

Jon

[fendertweed]

Howdy:

This will be a difficult proposal as you've noted the sweetness of the middle position which is a favorite among Bluesboy players. To retain it, you'll want another high gain pickup like the MFD so they balance well. Certainly Jason Lollar makes some excellent pickups, as does Lindy Fralin and Seymour Duncan. Of course, Seymour would have the most experience with the '55 Seth Lover as it's their model AND they'd have a wide range of choices in bridge pickups to get the desired balance.

In designing the Bluesboy, I did experiment with a number of humbucker pickups, however not with different bridge pickups. It was a foregone conclusion on the MFD bridge pickup thus the search for a humbucker was paramount. With many years of experimenting with G&L pickups under the belt, along with other makes and subsequent combinations ~ I believe the main challenge for you will be figuring out what you want sonically. That, I should add, is not an easy task. Delineating what you want is the foremost starting point and the hardest to do.

But once you have it outlined, from there you can look to those pickups that fit your desire. However I would be remiss to not suggest that once you start swapping things out you may find what you need to do is replace the humbucker as well. I've not really found another combination that hits that same middle sweet spot as the Bluesboy.....and that's a tough thing to lose!

Regards,

Tim

Hi Tim,

Great summary there, that is almost worth being a permanent FAQ "sticky" IMO.

You capture exactly my thoughts on why it's a tough call. The Seth Lover works so well on its own & with the MFD (you get a gold star for choosing that, it sounds great and even has a 335-ish woody "squonk" at times on its own) it's tough to chance ruining that (esp. the middle position) while searching a diff. bridge tone.

If I were to describe what I'm looking for, it would be a slightly less gainy, slightly lower output and a bit more "woody" bridge tone (a small step in the direction of something like a Peter Florance Voodoo Broadcaster). I have always preferred the large MFDs (ASAT Special) to the smaller ones (Classic) in my G&Ls (and even have had 3 Joe Bardens in my S-500 for the past several yrs.).

BUT ... as you note, that could tip the scales away from the beauty of the middle position, and might not complement the neck alone as well.

So my planned approach is to leave it stock and dial back the tone a bit more than I usually do on a Tele/ASAT (usually about 10-20%, 20-25% seems to better here), and to dial the volume down just a tad to clean it up til I need to push it all the way for a solo, etc.

For now I'm leaving it in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" camp.

Thanks again.

Cheers,
Jon

[acjohnson77]

I was reading this thread and WOW, when you have the cat that designed the guitar chiming in... well, know you are in the right place. I had the same question regarding the Blues boy bridge pup...... I have decided to go with a Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue bridge pickup. It has alNIco II poles... the same as the seth lover and it is marketed as being modeled after Jerry Donahue's '52 tele's bridge pickup. Therefore, in theory, it should have more of a vintage vibe. It is wound to 7.8 k and the Seth is wound to 7.4, so they complement each other pretty well. It took me a minute to get them balanced (height), but now... good to go. The second position does not loose it's magic either. In fact, I think it sounds awesome. The only complaint is that when I go from the neck to the bridge, I have to roll off the tone just a little bit... but, that I can deal with.

I do like the mfd, and if i start playing in a more modern style group, I'll reinstall it. So far so good on the JD bridge pup though... If i go another route it will be the Fralin blues special... stay tuned

[Jimmy Joe]

apologies if there are necroposting rules in here but I'm considering replacing both pickups in my '04 G&L BB (no f holes)
I've been trying to get a heaver tone out of this axe and I'm running through a Marshall JCM, distortion and Wha, apologies again if this is sacrilegious for this guitar, I started out on Fenders (flipping righties over) and never had a tele and being lefty I never tired many, most shops dont carry them, decades of playing it has only been recently I began to see more than two or three in a big box music store hanging on the wall that were not a step up from one of those guitars with a cowboy painted on the front and a crank on the side for the clown to jump out of the sound hole. So I bought this without being able to try something out to hear what it sounded like beforehand. It's a great guitar and it's a great sound but it's not "my" sound, it's not a guitar that appears to behave well when faced with a fuzzy or distorted tone. I'm looking for options. Also the guitar was wired "oddly" when I got it repaired by G&L (sent back to CA). The volume rolls off left to right, the tone rolls off right to left and the cover on the seth is discolored and will not clean up despite some suggestions made by owners years ago on these forums. Does the BB have a cavity cut under the pick guard for only a single coil at the bridge or is it cut to fit a standard full sized double coil? Can I put 3 pickups in there without having to route? Again I understand this guitar is a work of art and it really is a beauty but a guitar is also a tool, and I'm not collecting art so much as I'm expressing myself with it. Has anyone done any kind of frankensteining to this model guitars pickups?

[fendertweed]

Since I just played my BB Monday night at my regular sit-in with friends at their Monday gig (blues and R&B primarily) I thought I'd add to my earlier post by noting how perfect the stock BB setup sound each time I play it. The combination in the middle position is sublime and the neck tone is just right Woody. Yes, the bridge is a bit hot but I use it accordingly. The BB has its own tonal signature and it's a great one IMO.

As to Frankensteining my only thought is to not hack it up doing so, just try what works with the stock configuration (I can't answer re what's underneath, I haven't needed to go there). If you feel the mods you may want require more extensive surgery I might suggest that a different guit would be s better platform. For Rx., I'd rather see a Tribute be the subject of extensive modding (cutting) if that's what's needed.

I don't have any suggestion on pickups to get what you seek but am interested to hear more about what you try and how it works.

Also curious how the Donohue bridge worked for you, acjohnson77...

[SouthpawGuy]

apologies if there are necroposting rules in here but I'm considering replacing both pickups in my '04 G&L BB (no f holes)
I've been trying to get a heaver tone out of this axe and I'm running through a Marshall JCM, distortion and Wha, apologies again if this is sacrilegious for this guitar, I started out on Fenders (flipping righties over) and never had a tele and being lefty I never tired many, most shops dont carry them, decades of playing it has only been recently I began to see more than two or three in a big box music store hanging on the wall that were not a step up from one of those guitars with a cowboy painted on the front and a crank on the side for the clown to jump out of the sound hole. So I bought this without being able to try something out to hear what it sounded like beforehand. It's a great guitar and it's a great sound but it's not "my" sound, it's not a guitar that appears to behave well when faced with a fuzzy or distorted tone. I'm looking for options. Also the guitar was wired "oddly" when I got it repaired by G&L (sent back to CA). The volume rolls off left to right, the tone rolls off right to left and the cover on the seth is discolored and will not clean up despite some suggestions made by owners years ago on these forums. Does the BB have a cavity cut under the pick guard for only a single coil at the bridge or is it cut to fit a standard full sized double coil? Can I put 3 pickups in there without having to route? Again I understand this guitar is a work of art and it really is a beauty but a guitar is also a tool, and I'm not collecting art so much as I'm expressing myself with it. Has anyone done any kind of frankensteining to this model guitars pickups?

I have a solid body Bluesboy with a Fender Vintage Noiseless in the bridge. It mates up fairly well with the neck Seth Lover. It doesn't have as much attitude as the stock MFD and the middle position does suffer a bit, it lacks the character of the stock pickup combo, but it is hum free and handles gain fairly well.

On the non G&L front I also have a LAG Louisiane, a strat / tele hybrid with a tele bridge and pickup with a humbucker in the neck. The pickups in that one are a Duncan Hot Rails for tele in the bridge with a Duncan Jazz in the neck. The Jazz is better suited to high gain than the Seth Lover with less bass, more clarity and a little more output. The Hot Rails is pure mud, loads of power with little tone or clarity. Overall the LAG is better suited to rock, even metal, but it lacks tone especially in the bridge.

Both are lefties btw. Gratuitous shots ...

BB before the pickup swap


LAG Louisiane


Another option would be Wilde pickups, my only experience with those is the L200T, which I have in the bridge of an ASAT Classic Custom. Lots of tone and lots of gain, it probably wouldn't do the uber gain thing too well but there are lots of different Wilde pickup models.

More gratuitous pics .




.

[Craig]

apologies if there are necroposting rules in here but I'm considering replacing both pickups in my '04 G&L BB (no f holes)
I've been trying to get a heaver tone out of this axe and I'm running through a Marshall JCM, distortion and Wha, apologies again if this is sacrilegious for this guitar, I started out on Fenders (flipping righties over) and never had a tele and being lefty I never tired many, most shops dont carry them, decades of playing it has only been recently I began to see more than two or three in a big box music store hanging on the wall that were not a step up from one of those guitars with a cowboy painted on the front and a crank on the side for the clown to jump out of the sound hole. So I bought this without being able to try something out to hear what it sounded like beforehand. It's a great guitar and it's a great sound but it's not "my" sound, it's not a guitar that appears to behave well when faced with a fuzzy or distorted tone. I'm looking for options. Also the guitar was wired "oddly" when I got it repaired by G&L (sent back to CA). The volume rolls off left to right, the tone rolls off right to left and the cover on the seth is discolored and will not clean up despite some suggestions made by owners years ago on these forums. Does the BB have a cavity cut under the pick guard for only a single coil at the bridge or is it cut to fit a standard full sized double coil? Can I put 3 pickups in there without having to route? Again I understand this guitar is a work of art and it really is a beauty but a guitar is also a tool, and I'm not collecting art so much as I'm expressing myself with it. Has anyone done any kind of frankensteining to this model guitars pickups?

See these posts in the G&L Knowledgebase: Which G&L guitar models have the body with a bathtub route? and Which ASATs have "Swimming Pool" rout? (my preference).

[Jimmy Joe]

Craig,
thanks of the link but I have a few questions if you don't mind trying to smarter up my brains.

Bathtub route is a route that encases the pickup and is separate from the electronics (tone, vol) cavity?
swimming pool is a single route that connects them?

I didn't see Bluesboy in the list, is it considered an ASAT Classic?
If so and it has a bathtub is it cut for a single coil or will it fill a full size doubt coil in the bridge if I had something like this?
http://www.warmoth.com/Gotoh-Humbucker- ... 4C709.aspx

If ANY work is getting done this caffine cowboy is not going near this guitar, there are not shortage of luthiers in my neck of the woods. I just don't want to have to cut the body up if I want to drop a full size double in the trunk.

thanks!

[Craig]

Craig,
thanks of the link but I have a few questions if you don't mind trying to smarter up my brains.

Bathtub route is a route that encases the pickup and is separate from the electronics (tone, vol) cavity?
swimming pool is a single route that connects them?

I didn't see Bluesboy in the list, is it considered an ASAT Classic?
If so and it has a bathtub is it cut for a single coil or will it fill a full size doubt coil in the bridge if I had something like this?
http://www.warmoth.com/Gotoh-Humbucker- ... 4C709.aspx

If ANY work is getting done this caffine cowboy is not going near this guitar, there are not shortage of luthiers in my neck of the woods. I just don't want to have to cut the body up if I want to drop a full size double in the trunk.

thanks!

Swimming pool route and bathtub route are the same thing.

The ASAT Classic Bluesboy and ASAT Classic Bluesboy 90 have individual pickup routes.
ASAT Classic Bluesboy body:


The ASAT Classic 'S' has a bathtub route for the neck and middle pickup:


I have updated the post in the G&L Knowledgebase: Which G&L guitar models have the body with a bathtub route?.

Hope this helps.

[NickHorne]

A quick thought re the back pickup in the Bluesboy:

I've found that I hardly ever use the tone control on the Seth or the mixture but often on the bridge pup alone.
My tone control is now wired at the switch so that the cap is only in circuit (the pot itself stays connected always) when bridge-only is selected, and this works really well. I just preset the tone setting that I'll want for the bridge, and the other positions have no tone cap. Removing the whole pot would brighten the Seth and middle, while my scheme just sounds like tone on 10 in those positions.
Wired like this, I really enjoy the Classic bridge MFD, a great pickup!
I now have no tone control in the neck or middle positions, though I don't miss it at all. If I ever wanted the option to have it back, I could just substitute a push-pull tone pot to switch the cap back in again.

[fendertweed]

apologies if there are necroposting rules in here but I'm considering replacing both pickups in my '04 G&L BB (no f holes)
I've been trying to get a heaver tone out of this axe and I'm running through a Marshall JCM, distortion and Wha, apologies again if this is sacrilegious for this guitar, I started out on Fenders (flipping righties over) and never had a tele and being lefty I never tired many, most shops dont carry them, decades of playing it has only been recently I began to see more than two or three in a big box music store hanging on the wall that were not a step up from one of those guitars with a cowboy painted on the front and a crank on the side for the clown to jump out of the sound hole. So I bought this without being able to try something out to hear what it sounded like beforehand. It's a great guitar and it's a great sound but it's not "my" sound, it's not a guitar that appears to behave well when faced with a fuzzy or distorted tone. I'm looking for options. Also the guitar was wired "oddly" when I got it repaired by G&L (sent back to CA). The volume rolls off left to right, the tone rolls off right to left and the cover on the seth is discolored and will not clean up despite some suggestions made by owners years ago on these forums. Does the BB have a cavity cut under the pick guard for only a single coil at the bridge or is it cut to fit a standard full sized double coil? Can I put 3 pickups in there without having to route? Again I understand this guitar is a work of art and it really is a beauty but a guitar is also a tool, and I'm not collecting art so much as I'm expressing myself with it. Has anyone done any kind of frankensteining to this model guitars pickups?

I have a solid body Bluesboy with a Fender Vintage Noiseless in the bridge. It mates up fairly well with the neck Seth Lover. It doesn't have as much attitude as the stock MFD and the middle position does suffer a bit, it lacks the character of the stock pickup combo, [...]

IMHO your last point quoted above illustrates that (consistent with the conversations I had with Tim Page (Buffalo Bros., who originated the Bluesboy w/ G&L)) changing the bridge pickup and losing the magical chime of the middle position cripples (erases) the magic of the Bluesboy tone spectrum recipe (woody, beautiful PAF neck tone; clear, chimey middle position; and a bit of attitude in the bridge position).

That's what (IMO and TIm's as related to me) makes a Bluesboy a Bluesboy (and special). So by making that change (IMO) you lose 2/3 of the goodness that is inherent in the Bluesboy design.

If that's the tone you seek that's fine, but it's not "the" Bluesboy tone.