Blue burst LP is basically done! Update - Better pics!

hannaugh

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I say "basically" because there are some issues with the pickups. 

I asked the Laces repeatedly (and by asked, I mean I showed them the wiring diagram) if the Jimmy Page wiring was possible with the Alumitone Humbuckers.  They said yes.  However, the ones they gave me are not splitable.  :doh:  So at the moment it's just functioning like a normal Les Paul, I just have 4 push/pulls that are not doing anything extra.

Here's the thing though.  The pots are 500K, because that's the only option I could find for the long shaft push/pulls.  500K is not the recommended pot to use with the pickups.  I also have caps that are not recommended for those pups.  :doh:

So it functions, it just has some insane treble bleed.  You pretty much have to have the tone pot to 11 ( :laughing7: I love those knobs) to even hear the high E, especially on the bridge.  In general they don't sound too great on clean settings.  On distortion they are kind of muddy too.

So I have decided they need to go.  I really like how they look, but I want the Jimmy Page wiring.  I probably won't get to it for a while, but I'm going to have to replace them. 

Another thing that needs to change: I bought a custom chrome truss rod cover.  I need to install that.  I'll get around to that in a week or two.  There is a little bit of fret buzz on the 7th and 8th fret that I also need to address.  But after that I fix that stuff and I change the pups, it's going to be freaking gold.  It's gorgeous and it feels amazing to play.  It's lightweight too.

Other than that, it's in it's finished state.  Here are the pics:

Sorry for the flash on the first pic.


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I'm open to suggestions for pickups.  I'm thinking Seymour Duncan, but I don't know.  I'm looking for versatility, and I play mostly rock and bluesy stuff, with a little exerimental stuff thrown in.  Let me know what you guys think. 



Update - Okay, I have some waaaaayyy better pictures now.

I recently inherited a digital SLR - a Canon Rebel XTi.  It's a few years old, but still by far the nicest camera I've ever had.  Thanks to the photography tips in Freekmagnet's surf green Jazz bass thread http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=21803.msg322429#msg322429 (check it out if you haven't seen it, it's good... it's real good - both the tips/photography and the gorgeous classic style bass), I've been able to put it to good use taking decent pictures of my builds.  I'll be updating the Strat pics too. 

I should also note that I got a screwless pickguard just to see what it would look like with a pickguard.  So I took pics with and without. 

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The Rio Grande Tx/BBQ set is well-taken by a few members. Me and Doc like our Dimarzio DP103 36th Anniversary PAFs. I've heard good things about the JB/Jazz set. The Duncan 59 set should work too.

Is there a separate splittable set of the Alumitones? I'm sure Don wouldn't mind.
 
Awesome! :eek:


Bare Knuckles for the pickups maybe?  Heard excellent things about them.  And with the lower value of the pound right now you can get them for $130 USD a piece.  Which is a lot less than usual.

EDIT:  I have the BBQ in my strat, its a good pickup if you want to spend a little less, it's really powerful and a little hotter than a vintage style PAF.
 
Max said:
Is there a separate splittable set of the Alumitones? I'm sure Don wouldn't mind.

I kind of don't want to bring it up with him.  There is some sort of family problem going with them right now.  And if they aren't going to sound good with the push pulls, then there is really no point. 
 
Very nice!


- to bad about the pickups.  In the short term I'd just disconnect the tone caps and see where that lands me for tone. 
 
Get the RG TX/BBQ.  Believe the hype, these pickups are sweet.  *jammin on LP*
 
Looks fantastic, I'm still drooling over this one. About the pickups - yeah the pot and cap values really won't radically transform the sound as long as you're roughly within the Fender / Gibson range of specs (250k to 1 meg pot and .022 to .1 uf cap). I would also disconnect the tones completely for the time being, or at least head down to radio shack and get caps of some standard value.  Have you spent time working with the pickup heights?  I would stick them right up under the strings and see if they sound better or if they do funny stuff. But I would also say that if you want classic tones you should get classic pickups - that's where the sound gets translated from finger to amplifer-language, after all.
Plenty of good hb options out there once you know more about what you want - a high output bridge with clean neck, or both of them vintage wind, for instance? Ceramic magnet or alnico sounds?

Have you re-worked your nut yet or touched the frets? Once you get that in order you'll have an amazing instrument.
 
tfarny said:
Looks fantastic, I'm still drooling over this one. About the pickups - yeah the pot and cap values really won't radically transform the sound as long as you're roughly within the Fender / Gibson range of specs (250k to 1 meg pot and .022 to .1 uf cap). I would also disconnect the tones completely for the time being, or at least head down to radio shack and get caps of some standard value.  Have you spent time working with the pickup heights?  I would stick them right up under the strings and see if they sound better or if they do funny stuff. But I would also say that if you want classic tones you should get classic pickups - that's where the sound gets translated from finger to amplifer-language, after all.
Plenty of good hb options out there once you know more about what you want - a high output bridge with clean neck, or both of them vintage wind, for instance? Ceramic magnet or alnico sounds?

Have you re-worked your nut yet or touched the frets? Once you get that in order you'll have an amazing instrument.

I just got it back from the shop today, so I haven't really played around with the setup yet.  I've been sitting here trying different settings on my amp with it, and it sounds fine if I just keep the trebel pretty high on the amp, which I've never had to do before.  I can definitely have some fun with these before I get around to changing them out for something splitable. 

I can tell already that this is the most amazing guitar I could have asked for, even with the bugs I have to work out.  Besides the buzz around the middle of the neck, it plays like buttah.  As soon as I get the little things taken care of, it's going to be perfect.
 
What a beautiful guitar!  :headbang:

For Seymour Duncans some good candidates are the '59 or Jazz for the neck, and the Custom 5 for the bridge.
 
I'm listening to stuff on the Rio Grande site, and I like what I hear. I'm leaning towards that. 

If I did go the Seymour Duncan route I think I'm definitely going to put a Jazz in the neck, but I'm not sure about the other one. 

Still shopping around. 
 
Looks great there, Hannaugh.  Totally class build.  Too bad the pups didn't deliver for you. 

Since I'm a DiMarzio guy, I'll plug for the PAF 36th Anniversary set, like Max said.  Alternatively, the Air Classics might be da bomb.  Also, Air Zone bridge with Air Norton neck is a great combo for the tone you describe.
 
The thing about those pickups is even though they're humbucker shaped they're isn't two coils, so there's nothing to split. They're not like normal single coil or humbucker pickups - they're quite different.

If it were me I'd get a set of '59's (with 4 conductor wires). It's pretty much impossible to go wrong with them.


btw - why no strap locks on that sweet guitar? I know you don't want to drop it.
 
Yeah, when I originally looked at them, I didn't think there was anything to split, but since the designer assured me they could be split, I believed him.  I think maybe he assumed they were giving me the splitable version (which does exist), but they gave me the wrong ones.  My tech looked at the diagrams for the splitable ones though, and he doesn't think the full JP wiring is possible with it, just the coil tap.  

I'm thinking of keeping these pups around for a future project though... like a black dye SG.  On the right settings they really have some growl.  

It's funny though, when I talked to CB (tech) and he told me he was having trouble with the wiring and he didn't think anything was going to work, I was almost relieved because I thought I just couldn't figure it out.  It was kind of nice to find out that someone with decades of experience also not only didn't get it, but found out it wasn't even possible.  I'm pretty new to the wiring stuff, so I'm glad I was understanding things correctly.  If I didn't get what I wanted, at least I learned something from it.  

Oh yeah, and the Grolsch gaskets are working just fine.  :icon_biggrin:
 
GoDrex said:
The thing about those pickups is even though they're humbucker shaped they're isn't two coils, so there's nothing to split. They're not like normal single coil or humbucker pickups - they're quite different.

I'm not sure which pickups you're talking about, Gary.  I'm pretty sure the ones I listed all have 4 conductor wiring.   :icon_scratch:
 
I'm talking about the Allumitones. They're not humbuckers since they're not designed at all like humbuckers. They're more like single coils, but they're noisless. They're made very differently from traditional pickups.

Don't worry Doc I'm not knocking your Dimarzios. I'm sure your stock in the company will be OK.  :laughing7:
 
GoDrex said:
I'm talking about the Allumitones. They're not humbuckers since they're not designed at all like humbuckers. They're more like single coils, but they're noisless. They're made very differently from traditional pickups.

Don't worry Doc I'm not knocking your Dimarzios. I'm sure your stock in the company will be OK.  :laughing7:

I wish I did have stock in the company.  Given the current state of the market, their blues pickups will likely lead the pack in sales.
 
hannauhg,
First let me say your guitar is a beauty!!!

I have a set of Duncan Zebra 59’s in my Gibson Les Paul.  The coil tap is on the tone pots and it works quite well.  I really had to work at learning how to use the pickups with this arrangement but it was well worth the effort.

There is a huge array of tonal options with this wiring set up.  The big thing I have to do is really roll off the treble when I tap the pickup or it is way to bright and thin.  It works well that the tap is on the tone pot so I just roll it off as soon as I pull it up to tap the coil. When I push it back in for the double coil I roll the treble back up.  In addition to this there is a lot of options when both pickups are in use by rolling off the volumes a little on either the neck or the bridge so you can blend the tones of the pickups.

It really is an amazing set up that I had to practice with quite a bit before I could get the full benefit of what it offered.  Then I had to get really comfortable with it so I could use it in a live situation and not have to think about what I was doing.

I think the Zebras would look beautiful on your guitar.  I have included pictures of the pickups and the wiring.

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