I saw a while back that Gibson was offering a Billy Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior with a hum-cancelling P90. Are your guitars fitted with that, or do you get some 60-cycle hum?
I don’t know what the BJ has - the description is just as you describe, but Gibson has had P-100’s which are hum-cancelling soapbars for over a decade, which is exactly what that description sounds like.
A quiet P-90 is kinda like Angelina Jolie without the psycho-danger stuff - maybe you can engineer it, but you cut out something essential to the appeal. P-100’s are slagged pretty consistently by most players - they just don’t sound the same as real soapbars. I wonder if they call them something different on the BJ to avoid the stigma.
There are a number of soapbar and made-to-fit-into-a-humbucker rout noiseless P-90’s out there: DiMarzio Virtual Vintage, Duncan Phat Cat, Harmonic Designs, the Fralin P-92. They all sound different - some sound good, but different. And, frankly, just like a Tele is it’s own beast and you are better off learning what it likes, a P-90’s noise is part of the learning process - now, when I am done with a song, I immediately roll down the volume to avoid the big hum - you get used to it.
By the way, I got a noise gate - a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor - and it cleans up a P-90 very quietly during quiet bits - some situations can still cause noise, so it is not truly noiseless, but in this case, I would prefer a pretty good pedal vs. changing pickups…
By the way - I have a Duncan Phat Cat in my Parts-o-Tele in the neck position - it is really good and for now I am keeping it - but it doesn’t sound like a P-90…
Oh - one other thing: this thread is getting a few views, so I guess there are some other curious folks. If any of you have other questions, there are a few Dopers who can supply thoughtful answers - don’t sweat worrying if you sound silly or ignorant - we all had to go through that. I still get razzed by a professional musician friend of mine who I met as a teenager - right when I was starting to get into guitar we ran into each other at the local guitar store (Gelb Music in Redwood City, CA, btw). He still remembers my pointing out the “humdinger” pickups on a Gibson… :smack:
Alex Lifeson of Rush has been using a Tele quite a bit lately, on some pretty heavy rockers.
Huh, I guessed I was missing something obvious, but wasn’t sure what. I’ll probably be gobsmacked at how obvious it was when I go back to the store. Thanks. I’m also really surprised that I couldn’t google up something that said as much, but maybe its so obvious that nobody would bother.
Well… sure! That’d be great! Don’t make a special trip for me, though, although my guess is you probably feel pretty at home in a GC. I find GC quite intimidating, always have. There’s always someone playing nearby who kicks your ass at everything, and you’re probably that guy. 
Wow, that’d be awesome, you’d be more than welcome, WordMan! I’m not far off the beaten path, maybe 5 minutes from 101, so hopefully its on your way to someplace.
Re the pickup geekiness discussed above – is this something I should be thinking about while looking at new guitars – the practicality of being able to swap out the pickups if I want something hotter? That DuluxeTele, for example, would only accept single-coil sized pickups (and I think it’d break my heart to take a router to it, no matter how good a job it was in the end). But maybe there are hotter stacked pickups that would fit. Yeah, I know, its lipstick, and I’ve modified guitars before and really regretted it, so I don’t want to get crazy. Maybe I’d save the heavy modding for some other instrument. I have been using “humdingers” for a very long time, so I was surprised at how much I loved the single coils; I haven’t played a single coil since I owned a 70’s Fender Mustang in my teens. I’m just worried I might miss the double coils. OTOH, there’s always the next guitar.
No kidding? Wow, I thought Alex would take a Les Paul to his grave. I guess it helps to mix things up once in a while. I’ll check that out, thanks.
Okay - I can’t promise anything, but if I can get to a GC this week, would that be soon enough, timing-wise? What specifically do you want me to look for - just give the basic model a once-over and see how versatile I think it is? Kinda like having a mechanic check out a car before you buy it? Are you that serious - what would you want me to comment on that would be a deal closer vs. a deal breaker?
And as for being “that guy” in GC - honestly, I am not that good of a player. Certainly not much of a lead player - kid shredders can out-dweedle me all day. I am, however, comfortable in my skin and have the “I can seal out the noise” mindset at a GC to where I can play what I want and hear what I need to hear. Whether anyone considers it good or not…
So let me know about timing for a GC driveby and we can figure things out from there…
I see your later post about pickups - you can get Tele’s with humbuckers at the bridge - there is the MIJ Tele Custom (I never remember the model name) that is a '72 replica with two humbuckers. Play one and see if you like it. Staying with a straight-up single coil is no big deal - you can explore stock Tele goodness and also there are a bunch of pickups which are humbuckers designed to fit into single coil routs - I think Seymour Duncan has one called a Little 59’er…
Well, gosh, it was your idea! If I knew what to ask, I wouldn’t need advice. But, yes, I am pretty serious, I think I may buy a guitar (or two?) and an amp this week. I’m going to go over there on Tuesday and noodle some more, and then again on Thursday. Then probably buy a thing or two. But, really, any impressions you could share, mechanic-wise, are good if you have the time. And if you don’t, that’s fine as well. You’ve been more than helpful in this thread and others, and I very much appreciate it.
OK, its not just me, that’s good to know. Actually, there was some shredder kid playing jacked-up metal distortion for a while when I was there (he was pretty good, but that tone/style isn’t my cup of tea usually), but he left. There was also an older guy noodling on a Strat, and he was [del]godawful[/del] a little rusty, which wouldn’t matter much but he was playing really loud! Actually, he started playing little blues riffs, and I started answering on my side of the amp stack, but he stopped; I’m afraid he thought I was making fun of him, oh well. Anyway, I work at home, so I can just go to GC when its dead (and less intimidating) and I can hear the intruments better. Its good you’re comfortable in your skin, I’m still getting there.
OK, thanks. I’m just trying to plan ahead (and probably overanalyzing, a strong talent of mine) But that Deluxe is my new sweetheart, and its single coil. I’ll see if a humbucker Tele catches my fancy when I go again this week, but I think I really am in love. Time to drive it around the block a few more times and see if the relationship has legs.
I’ve talked about this with a friend, and I think my ideal guitar would be a telecaster with a humbucker just behind the neck pickup. I really love the sound of the Tele neck pickup, but I also love the humbucker sound at the neck. I’m expecting someone to pop up and say “just get a humbucker with the coil split option,” but I won’t be swayed.
Cool - if there’s one in my local store, I will give it a solid once-over during the next couple of days and report back.
When you go back to your GC, ask what small tube amps they have - e.g., a Champ, but they should have a couple of others. There will be plenty of small amps there - but 99% will suck, suck, suck. If the amp has much more than a Volume and a Tone Control or two, assume it will suck - and who knows, maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised. But if you want to play a small amp at home, that’s what you should use to try them out…
11811, there are some single/hum tele options out there. Here’s one (and one of my dream pickup configurations): Vintage Hot Rod '52. It has a tele pickup in the bridge, and a Seymour Duncan mini humbucker in the neck.
And also the '72 Classic. It has a regular bucker in the neck.
Also, squeegee, you may want to check out the new Fender Super Champ XD amps. Very small tube amps with some different voicing and effects options. I haven’t gotten to spend a WHOLE lot of time on one, but it sounded pretty good.
And while I’m on a posting roll, squeegee, play one of those Champ 600 amps while you’re there. If you end up liking it, I’ll give you a good deal on one. I’ll sell you the amp plus a TS-9 Tubescreamer at a great price.
You know, I’ll think about that. Thanks. I already have a TS-9 from like 1980ish, so I guess I’m covered there (though I should probably see if the things still works).
Hey, another guitar shopping question: what kind of deal, or how much off list, should I expect to get at GC?
For example, I see in my Musician’s Friend guitar porn catalog that MF sells a Super Champ XD for $299, where it lists for $399, so 25% off. That’s a good data point – I can see if GC had the same amp, and for how much to get an idea of their leeway (especially if I mention the MF price to someone). I see that that American Deluxe Tele lists for $1785, and MF has it for $1274, and my memory is that GC had it for a very similar price. So 29% off. My guess would be that, especially for a premium instrument, the markup is close to 100% for list, so the store would make around $300-$350 on that $1785 Tele if they let if go for $1300ish. Does that seem about right?
I was told GC had a “sale” on, but it wasn’t clear (even after asking multiple questions) what was on sale, or for how long. I was gathering data about instruments, not negotiating, so I didn’t pursue it, but I suspect that every day is a “sale” there, and it was a negotiating ploy, but I haven’t been in the gutter with a GC salesperson in a very long time.
Jimmy Page used a '58 Tele with the Yardbirds, for some of Led Zep I, and for the solo on ‘Stairway’.
Musician’s Friend and Guitar Center are different faces of the same company. GC should always have the exact same price on their gear as MF does (which is MAP, or street price.) If they do not, you should point out the discrepancy, and GC should fall in line pretty quickly.
And you’re right. GC has a sale every other day. It’s nothing more than a way to gt bodies through the doors. They’ll drop prices by 5-10% on select items (and Fender is always one of the brands that does not get discounted) and call it their super-duper Greek Orthodox Easter Sale. One Day Only!
Meh.
Sure. It’ll end up on FleaBay otherwise.
Now don’t I feel foolish. OK, so what would I compare GC’s prices against, online or offline? Or have they driven everything else out of business? Is there any place to get an idea of what store expects/gets in profit from a sale? Like what you can do with buying a car?
Yeah, that was about what I expected, especially how I’d ask about a price and someone would immediately tell me “we’re having a sale!” (close the deal, close the deal!). Thanks.