software

Just a quick thanks to the posters here, I never asked questions, only read post after post (I believe you call it lurking).

I have been reading and searching and researching about a new set of pickups for my guitar.

I am a newer player, late in life. I have been playing about 1 1/2 years. My first and only electric guitar (which is cool to me) came with a set of quot;Duncan Designedquot; pickups (last night found to be HB102s).

I replaced them with an SH-2 Jazz humbucker in the neck and a JB SH-4 humbucker in the bridge position. The install was easy, took about 2 hours, including setup and playing

First: Let me say that I was not unhappy with the Duncan Designed pickups, just that I found them to be muddy. (My setup is a straight wire into a Marshall AVT20). I wanted a brighter/sharper tone, but also wanted to keep some of the warm bluesy tones, just with less mud. I found it difficult to get a good setting on my amp, especially overdriven.

Second: I was rather impressed with the quality of the Duncan Designed pickups that I replaced. The wiring seemed good quality, comparable to the new SD pickups.

Third: I am so glad that I made this change. I first replaced the neck pu and then reassembled the guitar. I spent some time going back and forth between the new Jazz neck pu and the old DD pu in the bridge. I know this is not an accurate or fair comparison, but wow what a difference. With the new SH-2 Jazz pu I had to dial the volume back to setting 6 or so to quot;balancequot; it with the output of the DD pickup. I liked the warm tones I was getting from it, but I was thrilled that the sounds where distinct and not muddy.

Fourth: I couldn't wait to get the JB SH-4 in the bridge position, so back to the workshop I went. Short time later, I was strumming, picking and crunching the new new pu.

All I can say is that I have a different guitar now, and I like the sound, alot!

Thanks again, for all the advice on this forum.

Zac

Welcome to the forum

Glad you're happy with the swap. Just bear in mind that you'll NEVER be satisfied with stock pickups again.

Welcome to the Forum! Gald you found what you wanted. Stick around, you'll like it.


Originally Posted by JB_From_HellWelcome to the forum

Glad you're happy with the swap. Just bear in mind that you'll NEVER be satisfied with stock pickups again.

This is so ridiculously true!!!

Welcome to the forum man!Luke


Originally Posted by Luke DukeThis is so ridiculously true!!!

Welcome to the forum man!Luke

ONLY IF THEY ARE DUNCANS

Welcome !! I can promise you that you will find answers to just about ANY guitar related question on these pages....I know I have. Great people.

Awesome man, glad you're enjoying the new tones. Welcome to the boards!

Glad you found what you were looking for, and welcome. What kind of a guitar did you put them in?


Originally Posted by Jeff_HGlad you found what you were looking for, and welcome. What kind of a guitar did you put them in?

If you promise not to laugh. It is a Squier M77. Somewhat of a Les Paul style body with a flame maple sunburst body. It is a very nice looking guitar, and now it sounds great too.

I have learned that people don't have a very high opinion of Squiers, but for the life of me I don't know why. I purchased this guitar as a showroom demo, for short money, from a small music store (At the time I didn't know too much about guitars, I was going for inexpensive, yet good looking.). The action is very tight, (it was professionally set up) and I have tweaked the bridge height to my preference since then. The tuners are dead on, stay in tune and have absolutely no play in them. The body is solid mahogany with a beautiful flame maple top. The fret board is rosewood and while the inlays are a bit much, they are nicely done. The tone and volume knobs are solid and not scratchy at all. All the binding is nicely done. The only thing I felt was quot;inartfullyquot; done was the pickguard mounting. I have since removed that, and filled the holes.

I have since played with a few Gibson Les Pauls, and maybe it was because the LPs were not setup yet, but I still like my Squire.

(Funny my music instructor, when I first started taking instruction, commented a few times on how he doesn't like LP style guitars. As I have progressed, though, and we jam a little sometimes, he has picked up my guitar...and his comments were: Wow, this plays real nice.)

I guess I just lucked out and got a good one. Sorry for the ramble. Its funny though, I paid more for the new pickups then I did for the guitar to begin with.

Zac



I use Fender DH 1 im my Am.Fender Fat Strat de luxe, but the sound of this pickup is very sharp.Which one HB do you recommend me to smoother and lower sound? Could I add JB or Custom Custom to Fender SC Noiseless pickups? Thank You.

What ever guitar you've got go for tone, if the guitar quot;fitsquot; you can always get a good tone with new and/or upgraded PUP'S. I learnt this over TWENTY years ago, with PUP'S and I was still at High School with a Pro Muso as my music teacher, (All of my guitars were cheap and nasty but set up to the nth degree and I still have them and they ROCK!)
Now I can just afford quality guitars and played a Relic '61 Strat and I've played a few real ones and they have the same feel, but at AUS$5100 it doesn't do it for me as it still has a C/fat neck and is Maple Fret board. Just a bit TOO glassy, like the difference between dropping a beer bottle on cement and an a empty Wild Turkey bottle, more Thunk/mid for me!
I suppose it comes down to the old quot;Run what you brungquot;, play what you've got and enjoy!

welcome, welcome

that's awesome news man...

and as far as the guitar...if it sings it sings...who cares what's on the headstock!!!!!!


Originally Posted by zatloukal

I use Fender DH 1 im my Am.Fender Fat Strat de luxe, but the sound of this pickup is very sharp.Which one HB do you recommend me to smoother and lower sound? Could I add JB or Custom Custom to Fender SC Noiseless pickups? Thank You.

the JB has quite a bit of quot;bitequot; to it...i haven't heard my Custom Custom yet in my project guitar...but i specifically picked it out for it's rumored smoother low end...i also got it with a nickel cover which takes a bit of the highs out too!


Originally Posted by zatloukal

I use Fender DH 1 im my Am.Fender Fat Strat de luxe, but the sound of this pickup is very sharp.Which one HB do you recommend me to smoother and lower sound? Could I add JB or Custom Custom to Fender SC Noiseless pickups? Thank You.Hey Man, welcome to the forum!

For a smoother sound I'd definitely recommend the Alnico 2 pro. It is a vintage-esque pup that has round lows, smooth highs, and plenty of mids. It will definitely warm up a guitar. The CC is another good choice for a bucker with lots of mids, it will also warm a guitar very well.

In my Am. Std. I have three Alnico 2 pro singles. They have a warmer smoother sound than fender stock pups, and much much warmer than Fender Noiseless. I found the Noiseless too gritty sounding, that works for some guys but it's kind of harsh to my ears. I also have an APS 2 in the bridge where I could get the pup closer to the strings.

Hope this helps!

Luke


Originally Posted by zacIf you promise not to laugh. It is a Squier M77. Somewhat of a Les Paul style body with a flame maple sunburst body. It is a very nice looking guitar, and now it sounds great too.

I have learned that people don't have a very high opinion of Squiers, but for the life of me I don't know why. I purchased this guitar as a showroom demo, for short money, from a small music store (At the time I didn't know too much about guitars, I was going for inexpensive, yet good looking.). The action is very tight, (it was professionally set up) and I have tweaked the bridge height to my preference since then. The tuners are dead on, stay in tune and have absolutely no play in them. The body is solid mahogany with a beautiful flame maple top. The fret board is rosewood and while the inlays are a bit much, they are nicely done. The tone and volume knobs are solid and not scratchy at all. All the binding is nicely done. The only thing I felt was quot;inartfullyquot; done was the pickguard mounting. I have since removed that, and filled the holes.

I have since played with a few Gibson Les Pauls, and maybe it was because the LPs were not setup yet, but I still like my Squire.

(Funny my music instructor, when I first started taking instruction, commented a few times on how he doesn't like LP style guitars. As I have progressed, though, and we jam a little sometimes, he has picked up my guitar...and his comments were: Wow, this plays real nice.)

I guess I just lucked out and got a good one. Sorry for the ramble. Its funny though, I paid more for the new pickups then I did for the guitar to begin with.

ZacI think that there are a lot of nice Squiers out there. I also think there is a kind of guitar snobbery about a lot of inexpensive guitars. I also happen to think that you can get a really decent new guitar for not a lot of cash today. That wasn't always true in my lifetime. I remember a lot of inexpensive guitars with strings that were about an inch above the fretboard 20- 25 years ago. That is simply not true anymore. They often sound decent too especially since many of them do have duncan designed pickups.

I started on a couple of really cheap guitars, (I'd have loved a Squier) and we've all gotta start somewhere. Fortunately the standard of even the entry level guitars is astoundingly good. If it feels right, and it now sounds right, it IS right. May you get many years of enjoyment from your Squier.


Originally Posted by zacIf you promise not to laugh. It is a Squier M77. Somewhat of a Les Paul style body with a flame maple sunburst body. It is a very nice looking guitar, and now it sounds great too.

I have learned that people don't have a very high opinion of Squiers, but for the life of me I don't know why. I purchased this guitar as a showroom demo, for short money, from a small music store (At the time I didn't know too much about guitars, I was going for inexpensive, yet good looking.). The action is very tight, (it was professionally set up) and I have tweaked the bridge height to my preference since then. The tuners are dead on, stay in tune and have absolutely no play in them. The body is solid mahogany with a beautiful flame maple top. The fret board is rosewood and while the inlays are a bit much, they are nicely done. The tone and volume knobs are solid and not scratchy at all. All the binding is nicely done. The only thing I felt was quot;inartfullyquot; done was the pickguard mounting. I have since removed that, and filled the holes.

I have since played with a few Gibson Les Pauls, and maybe it was because the LPs were not setup yet, but I still like my Squire.

(Funny my music instructor, when I first started taking instruction, commented a few times on how he doesn't like LP style guitars. As I have progressed, though, and we jam a little sometimes, he has picked up my guitar...and his comments were: Wow, this plays real nice.)

I guess I just lucked out and got a good one. Sorry for the ramble. Its funny though, I paid more for the new pickups then I did for the guitar to begin with.

Zac

Squier Rulez. Man

I have a squier also.. cheap guitar and rest money for the pickups..

Welcome to the board Zac. We all seem to get suckered into this forum in a very simlar manner as yourself.

On the subject of the Squier M77, what you are playing is what used to be the old DeArmond line of guitars that Fender rebranded as squier. Those we excellent budget guitars. They were well made. At one point, I had a DeArmond M72 and a S-73 (SG style). MF was selling them for $199 a piece. Too hard to pass up.

Thanks for the welcome.

And I wish I started playing 30 years ago. So I have lots of time to make up for!

BTW does anyone have a source for Dean Markley SLP strings. I have been experimenting with lots of different types, manufacturers, and sizes. I think I have settled on the DM SLP regulars (10s-46s). They have great tone and sustain on the tremolo side. However they are expensive (so I don't change them as frequently) and they are very hard to find. (I get them now online, as local stores don't stock them)

Zac