The · W e s t o n e · Forums
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Pickup musings...

+2
Westbone
Barry
6 posters

Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Barry Mon Mar 31, 2014 6:09 pm

I was A-B'ing my DX (with new Wilkinsons) versus the ST (with used 45's from eBay) and although the Wilkies are quite good, the 45's are a notch above.

MMK45's rule baby!  Twisted Evil  Metal Head

_________________
"A little song. A little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Pickup musings... Guitar10
GUITARS : https://legend.barryeames.com
MUSIC/PIX/VIDEOS: https://getback.barryeames.com (including Spectrum ST)
Barry
Barry
Hero, Legend, and all round good guy

Number of posts : 8796
Age : 79
Location : Port Weller, St. Catharines, Canada
Registration date : 2009-05-01

https://legend.barryeames.com

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Westbone Mon Mar 31, 2014 6:26 pm

Taken all the brass away from a Thunder I with MMk45's
Bone nut, steel bridge/saddles.
Sounds very good indeedy. Obviously slightly brighter but brings the 45's to life.
The reason for doing it,,, older strings sound real dead on brass.
Westbone
Westbone
Financial supporter

Number of posts : 5918
Location : Redbridge
Registration date : 2008-12-28

http://www.chruler.com/

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Barry Mon Mar 31, 2014 6:55 pm

You may recall I put steel saddles on my recently restored Thunder IA (mainly 'cuz I was too cheap to buy brass ones!). And yup, brighter, and it really rattled the windows! Lots o' balls.

_________________
"A little song. A little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Pickup musings... Guitar10
GUITARS : https://legend.barryeames.com
MUSIC/PIX/VIDEOS: https://getback.barryeames.com (including Spectrum ST)
Barry
Barry
Hero, Legend, and all round good guy

Number of posts : 8796
Age : 79
Location : Port Weller, St. Catharines, Canada
Registration date : 2009-05-01

https://legend.barryeames.com

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Genetic Miscreant Tue Apr 01, 2014 2:43 am

MMK45's rule baby!  Twisted Evil  Metal Head
 Is it true they were based on Dimarzio super distortions from the same era??
-never owned an example of either. (yet)
Genetic Miscreant
Genetic Miscreant
Westone Nut

Number of posts : 24
Registration date : 2014-03-28

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Westbone Tue Apr 01, 2014 10:52 am

Very similar.

You thinking of replacing the crap one's already... scratch 
What year is your awaited one? Do you know?
Westbone
Westbone
Financial supporter

Number of posts : 5918
Location : Redbridge
Registration date : 2008-12-28

http://www.chruler.com/

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Genetic Miscreant Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:58 pm

I don't know the year, I'll try and find that out when it arrives. If I like the pups I'll keep them and have them wax potted. If it's a ubc I will probably replace the humbucker, if not all the pups. I have a question though... I just watched a video with a guy showcasing a white spectrum fx on youtube. It has ubc pickups with rail/blade style pole pieces on one end and regular poles on the other of each pup... These seemed to sound pretty good in the vid and were referred to as " the last generation ubc's." Did westone actually fix the ubc design in the end and make good ones right before they went out of business??? I'd love to know the story of those things, they look super cool.
Genetic Miscreant
Genetic Miscreant
Westone Nut

Number of posts : 24
Registration date : 2014-03-28

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Barry Wed Apr 02, 2014 10:31 pm

Click Here to read about the UBC humbucker.

_________________
"A little song. A little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Pickup musings... Guitar10
GUITARS : https://legend.barryeames.com
MUSIC/PIX/VIDEOS: https://getback.barryeames.com (including Spectrum ST)
Barry
Barry
Hero, Legend, and all round good guy

Number of posts : 8796
Age : 79
Location : Port Weller, St. Catharines, Canada
Registration date : 2009-05-01

https://legend.barryeames.com

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by mortarman120gang11c Thu Apr 03, 2014 12:46 am

Welcome and that is a beauty. Congratulations
mortarman120gang11c
mortarman120gang11c
Financial supporter

Number of posts : 740
Location : Georgia USA
Registration date : 2011-04-09

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by corsair Thu Apr 03, 2014 3:31 am

.... and I think you'll find that the 'blade' is just a cover, not an actual blade!! However, as already noted, it IS an MMK45 and theregore avery good pick up.

As an aside in this off-topic UBC musing, my ST - an 87 - has a plastic bottomed pick up and according to either TP or David Blair may well be one of the UBCs they got right; it certainly sounds the goods!! I must dig it out and run it past a meter....
avatar
corsair
Senior Member

Number of posts : 6352
Age : 65
Location : Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia
Registration date : 2008-04-08

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Westbone Thu Apr 03, 2014 4:06 am

Afraid not John... Evil or Very Mad 
Westbone
Westbone
Financial supporter

Number of posts : 5918
Location : Redbridge
Registration date : 2008-12-28

http://www.chruler.com/

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by corsair Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:16 am

Wink  I'm not too bothered by the whole UBC issue, to be honest; whatever the ST has sound alright to my ears, and lets face it, once the signal is compressed and EQed then has echo, reverb and whatever other FX applied, I defy anyone to pick the difference between the humbucker signal from the ST and the LX/MX or X300.
avatar
corsair
Senior Member

Number of posts : 6352
Age : 65
Location : Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia
Registration date : 2008-04-08

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Westbone Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:21 am

Too true...
Can take an Affinity Strat and make it sound OK with all the effects you can get these days. So Happy 
Westbone
Westbone
Financial supporter

Number of posts : 5918
Location : Redbridge
Registration date : 2008-12-28

http://www.chruler.com/

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Barry Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:01 am

Yeah, but if you have to invest all that dough on effects and electronic do-dads why not get a decent pup in the first place?

_________________
"A little song. A little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Pickup musings... Guitar10
GUITARS : https://legend.barryeames.com
MUSIC/PIX/VIDEOS: https://getback.barryeames.com (including Spectrum ST)
Barry
Barry
Hero, Legend, and all round good guy

Number of posts : 8796
Age : 79
Location : Port Weller, St. Catharines, Canada
Registration date : 2009-05-01

https://legend.barryeames.com

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by corsair Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:22 pm

In my case because I was always a 'colourist', not primarily a player of lead lines, in that I would try to match sounds to the songs/tunes, e.g. trying to cop Andy Summers sound for Police numbers, or even as simple as Hank Marvins sound for Shads covers.

I've been through the "fingers-guitar-cable-amp" thing a couple of times and found it exhilarating in the short-term but ultimately frustrating as the sound palette thus is necessarily quite limited!
avatar
corsair
Senior Member

Number of posts : 6352
Age : 65
Location : Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia
Registration date : 2008-04-08

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by corsair Thu Apr 03, 2014 8:19 pm

corsair wrote:Wink  I'm not too bothered by the whole UBC issue, to be honest; whatever the ST has sound alright to my ears, and lets face it, once the signal is compressed and EQed then has echo, reverb and whatever other FX applied, I defy anyone to pick the difference between the humbucker signal from the ST and the LX/MX or X300.

OK... I've been and measured the pickups in the ST by Barrys' quick'n'dirty method...

Spectrum ST

Bridge (humbucking mode) - 20.1KΩ
  "       ( coil split mode)      - 17.1KΩ

Neck (h/b)                         - 20.0KΩ
Neck (s/c)                          - 17.0KΩ

Middle on 3 way                  - 17.1KΩ

By way of comparison,

Raider II (MMK45 equipped)

Bridge (h/b) - 10.7KΩ
Bridge (s/c)  -  5.2KΩ

Middle (3 way) - 5.4KΩ (3.5 split)

Neck (h/b) - 10.8KΩ
Neck (s/c)  -  5.4KΩ

Vantage VA900 (MMK53 equipped)

Bridge (h/b) - 11.4KΩ
Bridge (s/c)  -  5.8KΩ

Middle (3 way) - 5.7KΩ (3.9 split)

Neck (h/b) - 11.0KΩ
Neck (s/c)  -  5.6KΩ       

Now, those values seem awfully high
for the ST to me, but is IS very powerful sound; quite articulate so I don't know what to make of that!

I tried measuring the LX and GT as well but the meter went nuts and was giving values in the hundreds of KΩ; was I holding my mouth wrong??! Laughing
avatar
corsair
Senior Member

Number of posts : 6352
Age : 65
Location : Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia
Registration date : 2008-04-08

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Barry Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:48 pm

Wowser!! You could jump start your tank with that ST pickup!!   Shocked  No wonder you're not bothered by the UBC controversy.
 What are you feeding it anyway?  Razz 

I must say though, that split reading  is very odd and might (dare I say it?) indicate that you have a true UBC??

_________________
"A little song. A little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Pickup musings... Guitar10
GUITARS : https://legend.barryeames.com
MUSIC/PIX/VIDEOS: https://getback.barryeames.com (including Spectrum ST)
Barry
Barry
Hero, Legend, and all round good guy

Number of posts : 8796
Age : 79
Location : Port Weller, St. Catharines, Canada
Registration date : 2009-05-01

https://legend.barryeames.com

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by corsair Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:19 pm

I don't know, Barry, and therein lies my confusion...
avatar
corsair
Senior Member

Number of posts : 6352
Age : 65
Location : Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia
Registration date : 2008-04-08

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Westbone Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:51 am

HOW MUCH... affraid 

I'd measure those from the control cavity. Might be wired wrong??

That's extremely high.
Westbone
Westbone
Financial supporter

Number of posts : 5918
Location : Redbridge
Registration date : 2008-12-28

http://www.chruler.com/

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Pickup musings...

Post by The Chad Fri Apr 04, 2014 11:57 am

Whoa Nelly they be some HIGH numbers on that ST!!!!   Shocked  affraid
The Chad
The Chad
Financial supporter

Number of posts : 2773
Location : Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Registration date : 2011-02-01

Back to top Go down

Pickup musings... Empty Re: Pickup musings...

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum