apparently, mickie had one left over from the debacle earlier this year. i'd been kicking around the idea of buying one off him after the first of the year if i could swing it, so he suggested to my lovely bride the santa idea. yay!
so, of course, i've decided to mod the thing with parts i've had for a while. in the bridge, i've installed a seymour duncan lil screamin' demon that i bought for an ill-fated bronco project. in the neck, there is now a texas special given to me (along with it's middle and bridge position counterparts) by ultratwin cos he's such a sweet, secksi guy.
and here are before & after sound sample done for posterity. it's metallica's "ain't my bitch" for our good buddy, fran.
the screamin' demons are a bit hotter and have an edgier lower mid. i should have said i used identical settings between the two demo samples: bridge position for rhythm, neck for lead. it was the orange gain level on the od1 channel from my jvm. bass was set at noon, mids at 1 o'clock, and treb at 11am. . . gain at noon as well.
i'm taking this guitar to rehearsal tomorrow to give a full workout. will report back my final verdict, but from what i've heard tonight, this will probably be an alternately tuned guitar for live situations with the hh jag remaining my main guitar.
what i like about the demons is they're so hot that they lend themselves to splitting, pick dynamics, and volume swells. really expressive and versatile buggers.
mickie08 wrote:awesome job Dots. Hwo do you lie the maple neck (since most of your other guitars are rosewood...)
getting used to it again, that's for sure. my black strat is maple, too, and i played that for years. i think, though, i'm definitely a rosewood guy in the end. just feels nicer. . . this neck is so heavily lacquered, though, it almost doesn't play like a maple. it's very strange.
Mike wrote:That looks hot shit with the humbucker actually. Nice.
i'm toying with the idea of taking the robroe off the neck pickup and putting the strat pickup cover back on it. it's the same color (aged white/cream), so the color would be the same, though it would still sorta clash with the bridge. . . so i might end up getting a white one? i dunno. i'm also considering a gold or black comp stripe. it's been a while since i've done a proper project (the hh mods i did last month i consider more of a repair! =]), and i've got knobs, pots, and just plain ideas kicking about for this guitar that i may or may not follow through on. should be fun.
i think it really depends on the settings and setting. as recorded here, the original single cuts better. however, it's got a little too much single coil "TING" to it for my tastes, and that's with the treb knocked back more than half way. the humbucker sounds a little muddy with those settings, but there's also quite a lot of room to adjust (plus, i haven't gotten the pickup height dialed in yet), so that could go either way as well.
but yeah, after i A/B'd the samples, i was like, "damn, the stock setup doesn't sound BAD at all." i just already have a jag for a two-single sound. i also have a habit of bringing things back to factory setup after i've had my fun, so who knows? i have to admit, though, i'm way more confident in my soldering and wiring abilities after hanging around these dudes for 4 years. i guess some of that stuff can rub off.
sweet setup man!!! I have been looking at picking up one of the cv's. I actually found one at guitar center that was some what playable off the shelf so i am really digging it now... How does the texas special sound in the neck?
newplayerkc wrote:sweet setup man!!! I have been looking at picking up one of the cv's. I actually found one at guitar center that was some what playable off the shelf so i am really digging it now... How does the texas special sound in the neck?
didn't get a chance to really dig in on the neck setting, but i'll have more info on both pickups after tonight. can't wait!
Nice, both clips are great, however I prefer the s/c's for some reason. I was looking at the same guitar yest. but didnt plug it in to try it. Looks like a great little axe to mod. Price is a bit on the high side IMO.
