| Author | Message | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 626 Registered: 6-2002 |
Last night got hold of the Alembic pickups I bought on ebay, surrounded by a Model 1 Jackson Charvel guitar :-) . I tried the the guitar out quickly last night side by side with my other maple neck USA Strat and it just sounded different. More powerful and meaty across the spectrum of the low pass filter. The mellow end does a very good big box Jazz guitar sound but less variation across pickups. At the sharp end of the filter, the sound is crisp but not sparkly and thin which is what the USA Maple neck strat is known for. the variety across the sweep of the filter is interesting. I've never been particulary taken by Jackson Charvel guitars but I only got this one for the Alembic pickups. Today I plan to get another strat pickguard and transfer these pickups to that and try them out in my 1992 Strat Ultra which currently has stock Fender lace pickups and in my Vigier Surfretter fretless guitar to see if I can get a more lively tone out of it, then decide where their permanent home should be. :-)  Close up of the pickups  This is the same model fretless guitar that I hope to try them out in. Am I right in thinking that these are still Alembics hum cancelling pickups and not single coils?  If you are interested in the Jackson guitar. I plan to rewire with some vintage dimarzio's I have at home and resell either on ebay or privately. Jazzyvee ps: link to my previous post on this subject http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/24402.html?1162729228 (Message edited by jazzyvee on November 05, 2006) | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 1756 Registered: 7-2004 |
Jazzyvee: You are correct sir, humcancellers. The only single coil Alembics are found on Series instruments. I will soon be installing Alembic "Strat" pickups on my MIJ Strat XII. I suspect the clarity of the Alembic electronics will work well with the 12 string. Let us know how your mods turn out. By the way, do you really play a fretless guitar? Just lead lines, or chords too? I once saw Tom Fogerty's Les Paul fretless wonder, but that's the only fretless guitar I've ever seen in person. Bill, tgo | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 628 Registered: 6-2002 |
i have just finished installing them into my ultra strat. And if I'm honest. I prefer the sound of the strat with the stock fender lace pickups than the alembic pickups. they do sound good and change the sound of the guitar unlike the lace pickups which basically remove some of the top end to make it sound mellow or bright. the filter seems to have a wah wah sound when swept back and forth with a sort of notch in the middle then it sounds like it goes bright if you turn clockwise ( away from you) and mellow if you go anti clockwise until about the last 1/8th when it goes slightly brighter and more strat like in tone. At the bassier end of the tone there doesn't seem to be much difference betweeen the sound when switched between the pickups but at the brighter end its very noticeable. I'm gonna leave them in for a couple of weeks and see how the tone grows on me. If I'm not happy then I'll move them to the Fretless. here is a photo.  As for the fretless guitar. Yes I do play it but not a lot recently, actually hardly at all this year been too busy touring. I've only played reggae chords on it as the chop style can be played more percussively on the guitar with out a strong sense of key. I have played it on a couple of gigs but mainly for lead and melody stuff. Chords are more challenging as finger position is more crucial since they have to be where the fret was and not between. Therefore chord that you would bar within a fret or play with two fingers in the same fret tend to be slightly off key due to the slight difference in the part of your finger that is making the note. I aim to use it more but need to do more practice on it first. I do find the sound a little dull which is another reason why I'd like to try these pickups on it to try to get a crisper sound. | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 633 Registered: 6-2002 |
Phase 2. I decided to remove the pickups from the Ultra strat and put the lace pickups back. Now I have the pickups in my USA Maple neck strat. I think it's the right home for it. The sound is crisper in this strat and much more powerful sound that the stock pickups.  I do find the bassy end of the filter is very bassy and the volume is significantly lower than at the bright end. Any idea's as to how I can adjust that? | ||
| tbrannon
Advanced Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 240 Registered: 11-2004 |
Jazzy- I'm not a guitar player, but I've been following your experiment from the beginning. Your project interests me and when you get the chance, please post an update on your experiences with the new pickups. | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 645 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hi tbrannon, i've decided to keep the pickups on the strat. However that means I will have to get a cavity routed in the back to hold the battery. I'd hate to find it go flat on a gig and have to remove the pickguard to change it. I do have a bit of a concern about the way the filter is working as the sweep of it does not seem very linear or logical, ( see my rough interpretation below), and the fact that the volume drops off very significantly as I filter out the top end by turning it counter clockwise. That doesn't happen on my bass so I presume something is wrong somewhere. Any idea's as to what the problem could be. The pickups seem fine and are very quiet. The 5 position switch works but at the low frequency end, there is very little difference in sound between pickups. The guitar is useable as it stands but I'd have to be constantly changing volume as I use the filter. I hope someone here can point me in the direction of what to check for in order for me to realise the real potential of the pickups. Jazzyvee  | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 732 Registered: 6-2002 |
Latest update on this project. I have sent the pickups and electronics back to Alembic who have had a look at them. Fortunately the pickups are fine, the electronics needed some tlc which has been done. Since the pickguard has a spare hole I'm having a 3-position q switch installed there which should give me a bit more tone options. Probably gonna stick with alembic knobs too. Will take some pics when it is all back to me and wired up and playable. I may then try it out on the road this year and see how it goes. Cheers Jazzyvee | ||
| keavin
Senior Member Username: keavin Post Number: 1034 Registered: 12-2002 |
Strum the shit out of it man! | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 734 Registered: 6-2002 |
LOL I'm hoping my sound doesn't have any sh*t to strum out.... :-) The alembic bits should purify the sound nicely :-) | ||
| made_a_rose
Junior Username: made_a_rose Post Number: 18 Registered: 5-2006 |
Jazzyvee Are your pickups wired directly to the 5way switch? My set needs to be re-attached to the 5way and I have no idea how that's done. I spoke with Alembic and they will attach them and check out the electronics as well. I'm interested in how the q-switch works out for you. I have been thinking about adding one but I have not heard one. Also if you haven't routed out the body of your strat you might want to try one of these http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/PMTXBAT9 I use one. It's very simple. I connect the power box to a 1spot plug and never worry about the battery. I will keep an eye out for your report on the pickups, electronics and q. Good luck with them. Rich | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 735 Registered: 6-2002 |
Thanks for the link, I've checked it out and It seems a good device. However another member of the forum passed me a tip he used with his strat for housing ghe battery to avoid routing a battery cavity. What he suggested is to invert the strat jack mounting plate so that rather than it being concave in the body it stands convex above. That way there is a bit more headroom underneath to fit the battery within the space where the jack used to be. I've gonna try that idea first and see how i get on. If its a problem, ( i can't see it being tho) I will look at another method. I have a 5 way strat switch for the pickups and I'm glad Alembic are wiring them up for me, that way I avoid any out of phase stuff. I will gladly take a photo of the back of the switch with the wiring if that would help you identify how to wire it all up. Also will let you know how the q-switch sounds on my new alembicised strat. Jazzyvee | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 2060 Registered: 7-2004 |
I'm the "another member of the forum" of whom Jazzyvee speaks. When I first installed the Alembics in my Strat 12, the battery died in one day. I think the back end of the input jack/on-off switch butted up against the shielding paint and shorted out. When I realized I had to unstring the 12 (yet again!) and remove the pickguard to get to the battery, I knew I had to figure out something else. Here's what I came up with - it works great and looks pretty cool, IMHO:  Jazzy: One thing you should talk to Mica about - the orientation of the Q. When I got my pickups, I received the pickups only - no Alembic electronics at all (they were hooked up to a Bartolini preamp). I had Alembic put together a set with 3 way Q for the third hole. It slapped right in, no problem, but after it was all put together, I realized the Q switch is oriented upside down, compared to my other Alembics. All the way down is "off" and all the way "up" is most boost. It's not too big a deal that I will take it apart and resolder, but if I knew then what I know now, I would specifically ask for up = off, down = most Q, like on my others. Bill, tgo (Message edited by lbpesq on February 03, 2007) | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 737 Registered: 6-2002 |
Thanks for that tip Bill, I will email them now and ask them to make sure the switch is the right way round. btw: the guitar looks great. Jazzyvee. | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 781 Registered: 6-2002 |
Ok here is the baby, I got the pickups back from Alembic today and wired them up right after I had eaten dinner. You are right Bill, the Q-switch is upside down. I'm gonna leave it as it is right now and the next time I have some free time I will look about turning it round so up is off. The strat now has 3 alembic Activators, 5 way pickup selector switch. Volume, Filter and 3 position q-switch. I put the jack mounting plate upside down like you advised and it's fine. I've had a quick blast on it and it sounds crisp indeed. Strat like in tone but crisper, mellower, cleaner. I can walk right up my regular crt television with it and only buzzes when its almost touching the screen. (thats my way of checking for interference.) Here are some photo's  and a longer view  | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 2191 Registered: 7-2004 |
Jazzyvee: Cool. I was just remembering this thread the other day and wondering if you used the same solution re: the inverted jack. I've had several people comment that they think it looks cool. It's nice to know my axe has a sort of twin across the pond. Enjoy. Bill, tgo | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 782 Registered: 6-2002 |
I'm really pleased with the sound so far it has all the classic strat sounds but they now sound more authoritative, if that makes sense. I think going for the 3 position switch was the right move too. Positions 2 3 4 on the strats 5 position switch have now come alive, previously they were nice but a bit weak. My only question would be, and it's not a criticism, is there anything I can tweak in the electronics to alter the sweep of the filter so that more of the sweep is in the brighter end of the spectrum and the bassy end made a little less say 3/4 in the higher end and only 1/4 in the bass end. I tend to use this maple neck strat for it's crispness and rarely for the mellow end of its range. I'll get my fender twin amp out at the weekend and give it a proper going over and let you know how it sounds. Thanks again for your input. Jazzyvee | ||
| made_a_rose
Junior Username: made_a_rose Post Number: 23 Registered: 5-2006 |
Jazzyvee, I just wanted to ask how the strat sounds now that you've had some time with the pickups and the q switch? My pickups are going out there tomorrow. Rick | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 832 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hi Rick, I've been playing the strat quite a lot of late as I have some music to learn for my next set of gigs. As above with the guitar now sounds very different to the previous strat sounds. I still find the bassy end of the filter sweep not very useable. Especially as compared to my orion guitar which is useable on any tone setting. Except when the filter is wide open ( fully clockwise) the volume changes quite dramatically when switching between pickups from bridge to neck. That is the volume increases as you switch from the bridge to the neck position. So you end up having to alter the volume or filter position slightly to adjust the volume if you need to move between pickups as you play. I have found the middle three positions on the selector switch to be the most useful for what I'm playing at the moment which is RnB, Funk and Reggae. The q-switch works a treat and when switched in with the filter wide open gives an amazingly clear open sound. Fantastic for reggae chops or james brown/Funkadelic style rhytmic grooves. All in all I'm happy with it although I would imagine they would sound much better on an alembic guitar. As for using it with overdrive/distortion. The jury is still out on that one. I think I'm gonna have similar problems to when I had the Orion. I've found it quite hard to get an overdriven/distortion sound I really like. These guitars don't really excel on distortion they are better for cleaner sounds. (In my opinion). I will probably have to work on that a bit more. Maybe I'll have to adjust the internal gain pot. But that is such a long winded operation since you have to remove the whole pickguard to adjust, then put the whole thing back together in order to try it out.... Very frustrating. ( not alembics fault, just the reality of a differently designed guitar). I can get a close creamy santana-esque sound but not got something that I feel represents me.. yet. Another thing I do notice is, and it maybe because I use a Jim Dunlop 3mm stubby. With the alembic pickups I can hear the whack of the pick hitting the strings more than with my strats when doing lead runs or when strumming. Still getting used to it at the moment. I plan to take it on my next tour in Slovenia this summer so will let you know how it fares. Thanks for your interest. Jazzyvee | ||
| made_a_rose
Junior Username: made_a_rose Post Number: 24 Registered: 5-2006 |
Jazzyvee, I really want to thank you. This will be a great help when the pickups return. Interesting to note about the "pick click". I had a pair of Alembic humbucker sized pickups in a carved top guitar and had the same thing. I was using a 2mm pick and thinned down to a .5 to get rid of the click. I changed out the pickups. I wonder since you don't have the problem with the orion, if mounting the pickups to a solid body is a factor? | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 834 Registered: 6-2002 |
I do still get the same situation with the Orion guitar as well. I wouldn't call it a problem just i think the pickups are very sensitive. However I don' really like the sound of thin picks so I guess I have to live with it. Jazzyvee | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 851 Registered: 6-2002 |
Just an update on the Alembicised strat. I took it out on a gig on Monday night. First one with the new pickups. They are roasting... fantastic sound. Nothing like they sound in the confines of my living room. At home I have the filters wide open to get that crispness. However in the concert theatre the sound was far more responsive. I could work the filter a bit more and get good tonal variation whilst still keep things bright and sparkly. Its a very wide open clear, crisp sound right down to a warm mellow comp for a couple of jazz numbers. The amp at the venue was a small marshall valvestate amp which wasn't really up to handling the guitar output at full volume. But backed off and bringing the sound up in the monitors was a great compromise. I deliberately played it clean no effects at all not even reverb just cable from guitar to amp. Nice.... :-) I'm now even happier to be taking it on tour this summer. Jazzyvee |
