13864 replies to this topic

[Ranger-X]

Wow that's awesome! Great idea, wonder how it'll sound?

I know my last post was about selling stuff (which I will probably still do), but I just sold a bunch of other things and find myself with excess funds. I've gotta remedy that somehow...so I'm thinking about buying a vintage guitar I've never owned a vintage instrument but it seems like a decent investment to me. They may not go up in value much, but they'll definitely go up, and they sure are nice to look at / talk about. No way am I shelling out $5000+ for a 60s Strat or LP, but there's plenty from that era I could afford. Currently got my eye on some nice 70s LP Deluxes, the ones with the mini humbuckers we were talking about before. An 80s PRS seems like a good choice too; those are only going to get more and more rare.

[LordMachino]

My advice with vintage instruments would be to get something that isn't all-original. I've had some guitars from the 60s and 70s that were completely stock, and it sucks because you'll most likely want to change things on them but won't want to touch a thing on the instrument for fear of ruining the value and disrespecting it. I always feel like the guitars have seniority over me.

Be prepared to want a re-fret, too. On all of my guitars that are pre-mid-80s-ish, some frets actually have dents in them making setting them up a real pain in the butt.

Old guitars smell nice though! Spend your money on a trip to Nashville and try a bunch out

[John MFer]

Sounds great! Have fun on the search!

In other news, I just found out that the PRS PTC isn't offering DGT pickups any more, as of April 1st. So, that makes my decision to buy the set I did that much better. They'll be here Monday, can't wait!

[Ranger-X]

Very good point LM. That has me considering that maybe I should get something new-but-used if that makes sense. Like this Gibson ES339 perhaps. It's a new model, but I'd bet it'll get discontinued in a couple years, so it can only go up in value.

Also, man, super jealous you got zebra DGTs. I'd love to have a set for pretty much any guitar.

Edit: I was wrong, the ES339 isn't new at all, it's been out for a few years. Oh well, it'd probably still be collectible as rare as they are.

[John MFer]

Very good point LM. That has me considering that maybe I should get something new-but-used if that makes sense. Like this Gibson ES339 perhaps. It's a new model, but I'd bet it'll get discontinued in a couple years, so it can only go up in value.

Also, man, super jealous you got zebra DGTs. I'd love to have a set for pretty much any guitar.

Edit: I was wrong, the ES339 isn't new at all, it's been out for a few years. Oh well, it'd probably still be collectible as rare as they are.

That's nice! The 339 has been around a while now, and has been successful enough that they now have an Epiphone version of it that just started shipping to dealers in the last month or two. That could be why you were thinking it was a newer model.

Gibson just also released in the last year the Midtown Custom and Standard, which is in between a 335 and a 339 in size, but has a flat top and is constructed more like a Tele Thinline with a chunk of wood routed out for a back, rather than the bent sides with purfling like an acoustic or 335.

That 339 is super nice looking. Very similar color to my LP.

[Ranger-X]

Yeah, that's part of why I liked it, love that color I don't know how much use I'd get out of a semi-hollow though.

So last night I was going to wire the Singlecut back up using push/pulls for coil taps, like I had it before. Then as I was browsing DiMarzio's website I came across this diagram:

http://www.dimarzio....iesparallel.pdf

Now, I'm not quite sure what "Dual Sound" means, I think it's for series / parallel which I've never actually tried. But I almost never use the tone pot, and I like the idea of having independent volumes, so I figured why not? It didn't work unfortunately, no output whatsoever...need to double check my outputs from the volume pots and to the jack.

[Josiah Tobin]

Just picked up a Boss DS-1 at Long & McQuade for $30. Guess they were having a big sale on all their pedals...

[John MFer]

Sweet deal. You going to do any mods to it? It seems like there are a shipload of different kits and such you can get for that pedal. I'd love to try that out, maybe on the blues driver I have.

[Josiah Tobin]

Sweet deal. You going to do any mods to it? It seems like there are a shipload of different kits and such you can get for that pedal. I'd love to try that out, maybe on the blues driver I have.

Maybe -- I'll probably keep it stock for a while though, as I've never owned one before and I want a chance to just use it as-is for a bit. Might look at doing some mods in the future, though.

[John MFer]

Finally, I'll be able to pick up those pickups today. They were sent signature required, and I wasn't home, so I had them rerouted to the UPS store near my house. I'll post some pics, since this thread is useless without pics.

[John MFer]

It's pretty exciting knowing this may be the only set of pickups like this on the planet - maybe, unconfirmed, etc.

I took 45 minutes last night and put them in the LP. Like a dumbass I wired the treble pickup to the bass volume and vice versa so it's all backwards. It's a quick fix. Tomorrow morning I'll have a few minutes before I get my blood sucked at the doctor. Tonally, they're definitely warmer but sound a lot different than the black guitar, still a lot brighter but not necessarily in a bad way. I won't know for sure until band practice.

[Ranger-X]

That's awesome! Glad you got something so unique.

I scrapped the idea of buying a vintage guitar. It's too expensive to get something really worthwhile, and there are other things I'd rather spend that money on. However I'm on the lookout for a nice CE22 or 24, or maybe a Swamp Ash Special...they're more affordable and I think I'd prefer a bolt neck anyway.

[Big Jilm]

Now, I'm not quite sure what "Dual Sound" means, I think it's for series / parallel which I've never actually tried.

The Dual Sound is simply a Super Distortion with 4 conductor wiring. Back in "the day" the concept of coil splitting and parallel coils was quite novel and most pickups were single conductor plus shield or two conductor plus shield. Dimarzio sold/sells the Dual Sound with a switch for the additional wiring options. Now, 4 conductor wiring is commonplace.

I wouldn't give up on the search for a vintage guitar. If you have the money, NOW is the time to buy. There are crazy good deals out there. Also, there's no need to blow stupid cash on a popular Fender or Gibson model. There are lots of oddball ones out there that are still affordable. Look at what Dave Grohl did for the Trini Lopez Standard. Those guitars used to be $1,200 to $1,600 all day long. Now they are priced up there with 335s. Try to find a cool "sleeper" guitar and get in before the rush, or find a good player while they're cheap. I saw a '63 SG Jr. on Craigslist this morning for $1,100. Might as well have been 11 grand because I don't have that lying around but some folk with regular jobs just might. I'm sure its gone by now!

[John MFer]

That's awesome! Glad you got something so unique.

I scrapped the idea of buying a vintage guitar. It's too expensive to get something really worthwhile, and there are other things I'd rather spend that money on. However I'm on the lookout for a nice CE22 or 24, or maybe a Swamp Ash Special...they're more affordable and I think I'd prefer a bolt neck anyway.

SAS studio on BAM:

http://forums.birdsa...ead.php?t=92594

That's a pretty sweet deal on a limited run instrument. They only took orders for those for a month last year.

Jim's got some good ideas too. I don't know man, just go check some out, see what speaks to you.

[Ranger-X]

Man, I love that SAS. And there are indeed plenty of "other" vintage instruments that I could look at...but I really think the money is going to go elsewhere unfortunately. Hmmm...buy one of my dream guitars, or refinance my home mortgage...tough choice

So, in that wiring diagram, Dual Sound just means coil tap on the neck and bridge volume pots, and series/parallel switching on the third pot (master volume)? That would be my guess from how it sounds. Yes, I forgot to mention that I got it working last weekend. One of the pots had solder that got inside the case, and one of the lugs was permanently grounded. It's incredibly versatile, almost too versatile in fact...kind of tough to dial in a specific sound.