mad dog
Silver Supporting Member
- Messages
- 11,209
Hey all:
I recently picked up a very nice old Guild, a '74 S-100. Quite the resonant guitar, but lacking the stock (excellent) old Guild pickups, and the stock phase switch. What was in there was undistinguished, so off to David Plummer ([email protected]). I've been appreciating his P-90s, so time to explorer his take on humbucker tone.
David suggested his "pagey" set. Available in regular and "pure handwound" flavors. I choose the pure handwound. A3 mags on the neck, A2 on the bridge. 7.5k neck, 8.8k on the bridge. Here they are installed:
I had my guitar tech restore the phase switch too. Got it back the other night, plugged into the tweed twin for a quick shakedown.
Bottom line:
I've never heard anything like these pure handwounds. They might be the best humbuckers I've ever played. The Guild is transformed.
Suprises:
- The out-of-phase setting is OUTSTANDING. What an amazing twangy sound, especially on the low end. I'll use it often.
- The bridge only setting is a revelation. Has warmth and resonance I did not expect. Big fat sound here, nothing tinny or harsh.
- No mud in the neck. It holds up even good and loud.
- At higher volumes, just hold the note a little longer ... it swells into the prettiest edge of feedback. Sweet!
Took the S-100 to rehearsal last night. With similar results from the beat old Ampeg Gemini. Plenty of volume in these pickups. They have the power of hotter winds, but the clarity and warmth I associate only with lower output HBs.
I didn't try these with anything high gain. Just some TIM clean boost, a little delay and reverb. And for sure this excellent S-100 itself is a big part of why everything sounds so good. So of course YMMV.
If you ever have the chance to try these, do it. Thank you David, for the beautiful sounds.
I recently picked up a very nice old Guild, a '74 S-100. Quite the resonant guitar, but lacking the stock (excellent) old Guild pickups, and the stock phase switch. What was in there was undistinguished, so off to David Plummer ([email protected]). I've been appreciating his P-90s, so time to explorer his take on humbucker tone.
David suggested his "pagey" set. Available in regular and "pure handwound" flavors. I choose the pure handwound. A3 mags on the neck, A2 on the bridge. 7.5k neck, 8.8k on the bridge. Here they are installed:
I had my guitar tech restore the phase switch too. Got it back the other night, plugged into the tweed twin for a quick shakedown.
Bottom line:
I've never heard anything like these pure handwounds. They might be the best humbuckers I've ever played. The Guild is transformed.
Suprises:
- The out-of-phase setting is OUTSTANDING. What an amazing twangy sound, especially on the low end. I'll use it often.
- The bridge only setting is a revelation. Has warmth and resonance I did not expect. Big fat sound here, nothing tinny or harsh.
- No mud in the neck. It holds up even good and loud.
- At higher volumes, just hold the note a little longer ... it swells into the prettiest edge of feedback. Sweet!
Took the S-100 to rehearsal last night. With similar results from the beat old Ampeg Gemini. Plenty of volume in these pickups. They have the power of hotter winds, but the clarity and warmth I associate only with lower output HBs.
I didn't try these with anything high gain. Just some TIM clean boost, a little delay and reverb. And for sure this excellent S-100 itself is a big part of why everything sounds so good. So of course YMMV.
If you ever have the chance to try these, do it. Thank you David, for the beautiful sounds.
