OP
Pickup Pole Heigth
- Thread starter Inspector #20
- Start date
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
That's cos T-Tops are the greatest pickups ever made.
As for pickup/pole height, I just muck around with them until I like what I hear. If it sounds good it is good, I never really refer to factory specs or anything like that. On some of my guitars the pickups end up surprisingly high and on others surprisingly low.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Robert, you need to head on down to your local Mesa/Boogie dealer if that's your tone ideal. A Mark 5 with a DD in the loop and you are there. It's tough to get that kind of note separation with so much gain but the Boogies do it like no other amps.
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Gball, thanks for the encouragement about the T Tops. I know some may not like em, but my first ever Les Paul from the 70's had em, now my 2010 Epi LP does and it sounds better than ever.
OP
Tell me more!
Goldmember
Ambassador of Golden Yoo-Hoos
:dood:
RVA
Ambassador
Thanks!
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Start with checking out some of the online demos and other videos. Listen to any Dream Theater record made while Petrucci was still using the Mark 5's. But really, you have to check them out in person. That's a type of tone I can cop all day with my Mark 5:25, even using an analog delay. With a digital delay you could nail it easy with any Mark 4 or Mark 5 Boogie.
They have a smoother gain structure than the typical Marshall "grainy" gain, and there is a midrange presence that very few other amps have, even other Mesas. I've never played an amp that has as much note definition - you can hear every string and note in a chord even with the gain maxed out, and the way the notes bloom from the initial strike has an edge without ever sounding harsh.
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Gball speaks the truth about Mesa. My former guitar teacher had a Mesa Lonestar 2x12. It was a killer-sounding amp.
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OP
I'm open to a change. I don't want MIDI boxes...
OP
I may have to go check them out.
OP
Trying to figure out everything that's going on in this tone...
OP
"Strauss plugs into one loud and proud Blackstar Series One 104EL34 and keeps a second as a backup. She chose this amp over others for it’s heavy tone and because of the ability to switch channels using MIDI. The head runs into a Blackstar Series One 412 PRO B cabinet.
Strauss’ pedal board is about as minimal as it gets. A Rocktron Prophesy II lives provides all her effects and lives in a rack with a Shure UR4D+ wireless unit. She controls her effects with her Rocktron All Access MIDI foot controller and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus provides the juice..."
Strauss’ pedal board is about as minimal as it gets. A Rocktron Prophesy II lives provides all her effects and lives in a rack with a Shure UR4D+ wireless unit. She controls her effects with her Rocktron All Access MIDI foot controller and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus provides the juice..."
mdubya
Well-Known Member
A couple of thoughts:
Setting heights, with a clean, clear tone, pickup tone and volume all the way up, pluck the high E string. Adjust the treble side pickup height until the note decays into a 2nd harmonic (double tone) while sustaining. It is subtle and the pickup shouldn't be at any sort of extreme height (close or far from the string). Do the same for the low E to adjust the bass side of the pickup. I would start with the pickup slightly low, so the magnets and poles will be less likely to interfere while setting the height.
I did this set up with an Epi Sheraton with 57 Classic/57 + . The neck pickup is unreal set this way. The 57 + was too over the top, too scream-y, set this way. So I lowered the 57 + which mellowed the tone, gave it more girth, and balanced with the neck better. So we are still in compromise territory, but getting that double tone is a good way to judge an optimal starting point, anyway.
I tend to prefer a little room for my pickups to breathe. Too close to the strings causes problems and bad tone, IME.
I also like my pole screws flat, not radiused. Maybe because I like mid-rangey pickups? Whatever the reason, I like flat pole screws, whether P-90, or PAF style humbuckers.
I have a Duncan Phat Cat which gives very low output (comparatively) and I can't get it close enough to the strings. It sounds good and proves exception to the rule. It will probably get changed out in the future, though.
The more output, the stronger the magnet, the more room I like to have for the pickup to breathe.
With my AX8 (digital modeler) it seems to sound better with pickups lowered even more than usual.
With my "real" amps (Champ, Marshall JMP 2204) more traditional p/u heights work best.
Setting heights, with a clean, clear tone, pickup tone and volume all the way up, pluck the high E string. Adjust the treble side pickup height until the note decays into a 2nd harmonic (double tone) while sustaining. It is subtle and the pickup shouldn't be at any sort of extreme height (close or far from the string). Do the same for the low E to adjust the bass side of the pickup. I would start with the pickup slightly low, so the magnets and poles will be less likely to interfere while setting the height.
I did this set up with an Epi Sheraton with 57 Classic/57 + . The neck pickup is unreal set this way. The 57 + was too over the top, too scream-y, set this way. So I lowered the 57 + which mellowed the tone, gave it more girth, and balanced with the neck better. So we are still in compromise territory, but getting that double tone is a good way to judge an optimal starting point, anyway.
I tend to prefer a little room for my pickups to breathe. Too close to the strings causes problems and bad tone, IME.
I also like my pole screws flat, not radiused. Maybe because I like mid-rangey pickups? Whatever the reason, I like flat pole screws, whether P-90, or PAF style humbuckers.
I have a Duncan Phat Cat which gives very low output (comparatively) and I can't get it close enough to the strings. It sounds good and proves exception to the rule. It will probably get changed out in the future, though.
The more output, the stronger the magnet, the more room I like to have for the pickup to breathe.
With my AX8 (digital modeler) it seems to sound better with pickups lowered even more than usual.
With my "real" amps (Champ, Marshall JMP 2204) more traditional p/u heights work best.
OP
OP
On the road, Strauss uses a modest Blackstar practice amp an Rocktron Utopia G100 pedal. This is likely the rig used in the video. I'm getting in touch with Strauss through management to find out exactly what was used in that hotel room video...
OP
Tell you what...these settings right here, played through my Gibson SG, totally nails the "Long Way To The Top" tone....as one-trick-pony as that tone is, its astounding that it duplicates it so perfectly...
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Robert, who's tone? Malcolm's or Angus'?
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Strauss?
mdubya
Well-Known Member
I like Nita. I follow her on Instagram.
Between Nita, Jared James Nichols (check out his IG page - killer player!), and Phil X, there is a lot of hotel room love for small digital Blackstar amps; ID Core 20 and Fly. These amps are cheap and produce really good low volume tones. They might be worth looking into for very little $$$ investment.
The 90's American Metal model on my $100 Fender Mustang 1 was/is one of my favorite models for low volume lead playing. Huge amounts of drive and sustain. I usually kept my pickup volumes low to reduce the gain but retain the drive. I would even use a TS (OD 808 or Bad Monkey) to boost the signal without adding more gain. Could play smooth, liquid-y lead all day on that model. I can simulate that, and better, now with the AX8, but there was nothing wrong with the Mustang. And the Mustang was 1/13th the price of the AX8.
The delays and reverbs on digital modelers are usually pretty awesome and they are almost infinitely tweakable if you plug in a laptop. I am OK with some vintage style reverb, but I don't like digital delay, at all. But even I can appreciate how good some of those are, on both the Mustang and the AX8. From the demos I have heard, the Blackstar Fly and ID Core have similar capabilities.
Jared Nichols gets such good tone out the the ID Core 20, I almost bought one (less than $100), even though the AX8 covers that territory and then some.
ETA: OK, just over $100
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Blackstar/IDCore-20W-2x10-Stereo-Guitar-Combo-Amp.gc
Between Nita, Jared James Nichols (check out his IG page - killer player!), and Phil X, there is a lot of hotel room love for small digital Blackstar amps; ID Core 20 and Fly. These amps are cheap and produce really good low volume tones. They might be worth looking into for very little $$$ investment.
The 90's American Metal model on my $100 Fender Mustang 1 was/is one of my favorite models for low volume lead playing. Huge amounts of drive and sustain. I usually kept my pickup volumes low to reduce the gain but retain the drive. I would even use a TS (OD 808 or Bad Monkey) to boost the signal without adding more gain. Could play smooth, liquid-y lead all day on that model. I can simulate that, and better, now with the AX8, but there was nothing wrong with the Mustang. And the Mustang was 1/13th the price of the AX8.
The delays and reverbs on digital modelers are usually pretty awesome and they are almost infinitely tweakable if you plug in a laptop. I am OK with some vintage style reverb, but I don't like digital delay, at all. But even I can appreciate how good some of those are, on both the Mustang and the AX8. From the demos I have heard, the Blackstar Fly and ID Core have similar capabilities.
Jared Nichols gets such good tone out the the ID Core 20, I almost bought one (less than $100), even though the AX8 covers that territory and then some.
ETA: OK, just over $100
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Blackstar/IDCore-20W-2x10-Stereo-Guitar-Combo-Amp.gc