# The Great Ongoing Guitar Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172 "2010-01-31T23:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 125
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2483 "2012-04-13T01:16:26Z")
> [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](#): > > I feel all responsible now. > > I’ll cross my fingers and hope you don’t hate them. 🙂 I just got the 59 Duncans yesterday and soldered them in, and the tone of my Dot is very much improved. Much more balanced, doesn’t have the boomy/thuddy bass that always bothered me, and overall just more musical sounding. I’m very happy with these pickups. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2484 "2012-04-15T04:26:11Z")
I didn’t get the Gibson. It turned out to have a cracked neck that had been poorly repaired. But I’m still feeling some GAS pains. Has anyone owned or played a Reverend? They look interesting. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2485 "2012-04-15T05:54:05Z")
> [@CBEscapee](#): > > I didn’t get the Gibson. It turned out to have a cracked neck that had been poorly repaired. For folks watching at home, I assume you’re referring to your [earlier posts about this guitar](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14875955#post14875955). Sorry things didn’t work out. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2486 "2012-04-15T23:21:31Z")
> [@CBEscapee](#): > > I didn’t get the Gibson. It turned out to have a cracked neck that had been poorly repaired. But I’m still feeling some GAS pains. Has anyone owned or played a Reverend? They look interesting. Here’s what an acquaintance of mine says. He sold me an amp a few years ago so he could by a Reverend guitar: > [@](#): > > I have owned four Reverend guitars over the years: two original USA-made models and then two of the newer Korean ones. Great guitars. The most significant feature on all of them has been great-playing, comfortable necks. The bass contour control is a very useful feature, taking the guitar from punchy to fat. In my experience, workmanship has been top notch and tones rich. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2487 "2012-04-16T11:21:21Z")
Reverends tend to get positive buzz on web, but I haven’t had the chance to play one. Would like to - I like their basic designs; cool and retro without aping Tele’s, Strats or Jazzmasters - and their layouts look good and playable. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2488 "2012-04-24T23:59:50Z")
So I’ve been playing my Dot with the new Duncan 59’s in it, and I’m really enjoying the bridge pickup. But I think I’ve decided that the neck pickup is still a little dark for me. It’s not a lot too dark, but I wish it were brighter. I think the semi-hollowness is mellowing it a bit more than I’d like. So I’m thinking maybe I could move the neck '59 to another guitar of mine and get something else for the Dot. But it doesn’t seem there’s not much that’s brighter out there, that this is as good as it gets. Suggestions? Maybe a Duncan 59 bridge pickup in the neck position of the Dot? Or would that make much difference, or worse be darker? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2489 "2012-04-25T01:16:59Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > So I’ve been playing my Dot with the new Duncan 59’s in it, and I’m really enjoying the bridge pickup. But I think I’ve decided that the neck pickup is still a little dark for me. It’s not a lot too dark, but I wish it were brighter. I think the semi-hollowness is mellowing it a bit more than I’d like. > > So I’m thinking maybe I could move the neck '59 to another guitar of mine and get something else for the Dot. But it doesn’t seem there’s not much that’s brighter out there, that this is as good as it gets. Suggestions? Maybe a Duncan 59 bridge pickup in the neck position of the Dot? Or would that make much difference, or worse be darker? Two things: try lowering the pole pieces/whole pickup a bit off the strings? Reduces the level of signal the strings impart - can translate to brightness. Otherwise try a lower output humbucker…or a 'Buckner-sized P-90 like a Duncan phat cat…single coil is a bit brighter… ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2490 "2012-04-25T01:50:29Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Two things: try lowering the pole pieces/whole pickup a bit off the strings? Reduces the level of signal the strings impart - can translate to brightness. Thanks, I’ll try that. I’d set the pickup distance to be loudness equivalent to the bridge, maybe I’ll back the neck off a touch. > [@](#): > > Otherwise try a lower output humbucker…or a 'Buckner-sized P-90 like a Duncan phat cat…single coil is a bit brighter… Yeah, I was mulling that. But wouldn’t that be higher output than 59 == dark? Or would I just back the pickup way the heck away from the strings? And if so, wouldn’t that make the s/n ratio a bit tough? Also re phat cat, the Duncan description is a bit odd: “Works especially well in balanced instruments with rosewood, ebony or maple fingerboards.” Um, isn’t that almost every guitar? What does “balanced” mean, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2491 "2012-04-25T01:58:58Z")
Also, are Gibson P94T’s well regarded? I was wishing the Phat Cat came in black, and the Gibson is not all black, but close. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2492 "2012-04-25T03:34:33Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Also, are Gibson P94T’s well regarded? I was wishing the Phat Cat came in black, and the Gibson is not all black, but close. No clue; sorry. Dude, improvise: you like the phat cat when you try it? Paint it, black. ETA: as far as output, here’s what I can say - even though a P-90 type pickup is high output, it is single coil, so it has a brightness or edge that a humbucker sampling two cross-sections of the string don’t seem to have. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2493 "2012-04-25T04:21:29Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Dude, improvise: you like the phat cat when you try it? Paint it, black. Spoken like a true Stones fan. 🙂 Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2494 "2012-04-25T06:07:45Z")
If anyone cares, I’m intrigued by [these](http://www.bg-pups.com/h90.html). There are good reviews at the guitar sites where some poo-poo the though of Duncan Phat Cats as not the Real Deal. $80, I may take the plunge as a learning experience if naught else. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2495 "2012-04-25T07:44:40Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > If anyone cares, I’m intrigued by [these](http://www.bg-pups.com/h90.html). There are good reviews at the guitar sites where some poo-poo the though of Duncan Phat Cats as not the Real Deal. $80, I may take the plunge as a learning experience if naught else. If you want a humbucker sized P-90, they look like a good choice. In terms of construction, Duncan Phat Cats are no more or less of a “real deal” than these or any other humbucker sized P-90 that uses an AlNiCo bar magnet, such as the AlNiCo version of the [GFS Mean 90](http://www.guitarfetish.com/Mean-90-Gloss-Black-TRUE-Alnico-P90-FAT-and-Loud-_c_132.html), which would be a much cheaper option if you just want to experiment. Each of those pickups will sound a little different to the others, but which you prefer is a matter of taste. Don’t assume that more money means better sound. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2496 "2012-04-27T13:43:56Z")
The Mean 90s and Dream 180s were what GFS made their pickup-name on, too. They’re specifically the pickups of GFS’ you’ll find pros using. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2497 "2012-04-28T02:03:07Z")
> [@](#): > > such as the AlNiCo version of the [GFS Mean 90](http://www.guitarfetish.com/Mean-90-Gloss-Black-TRUE-Alnico-P90-FAT-and-Loud-_c_132.html), which would be a much cheaper option if you just want to experiment. Any reason to choose a Mean 90 vs a Dream 90? Or you just using that one as an example? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2498 "2012-04-28T04:40:23Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Any reason to choose a Mean 90 vs a Dream 90? Or you just using that one as an example? I specified that particular GFS pickup because it has an AlNiCo magnet. In guitar pickups, there are two main kinds of magnets commonly used; [ceramic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrite_%28magnet%29) and [AlNiCo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alnico). As a general rule of thumb, ceramic magnets are cheaper and AlNiCo magnets sound better. Now, that’s a general rule, and there certainly are well-made ceramic magnet pickups that sound great, but at the less expensive end of the guitar pickup world, AlNiCo magnets are reliably nicer sounding than their ceramic competitors. Why? Don’t know. I am **extremely** sceptical of most of the things claimed about guitar hardware on internet forums, but I have personally observed that, to my ears, AlNiCo magnet pickups do reliably sound nicer than ceramic magnet pickups in the cheap-to-medium price ranges. Since the difference in prices isn’t all that great, I recommend **only** buying AlNiCo-magnet pickups. Because it’s well-known in the guitar world (and of the few examples where sceptical me agrees with the majority “wisdom” of the guitar world) you can safely assume that if the pickup seller doesn’t specify a magnet type, it’s ceramic. If it’s AlNiCo, they’ll tell you it is because that’s a selling point. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2499 "2012-04-28T23:57:57Z")
Really, it depends on the sound you want, though. The entire Metal era ran on ceramics stuffed in where AlNiCos once were. That was called ‘hot-rodding’ the pickup. In fact, if you look at the Mean’s description, which I just did, it pretty much says just that. > [@](#): > > How do they differ from the Dreams?? We’ve gone to a different Magnet structure, different coil size, added an expensive German Silver baseplate, and completely revamped to output level. We slightly “age” Alnico V magnets, and wrap the coils with Formvar 42 gauge wire. The result is a pickup that is FAR more aggressive in the lower mids, yet still has a crisp and clear high end. Think of the Mean 90’s as a 4-10 Tweed Bassman and the Dream 90’s as a Tweed Deluxe. The Dreams are more modern sounding and overdrive an amp with a decided CRUNCH- The Means are smoother- warmer, fuller and a tad louder. If you like Vintage Tones and really want to FEEL your pick attack on the strings- I think the mean 90 may be the best pickup currently available. I just swapped a ceramic minihumbucker for an alnico minihumbucker, both GFS, roughly equivalent to the dream vs mean in their differences, and I can say I went ‘wow, that’s… warm’ when I tested it out. [http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?1826799-Mean-90s-vs.-BG-Pure-90s-in-a-Sheraton-an-honest-opinion](http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?1826799-Mean-90s-vs.-BG-Pure-90s-in-a-Sheraton-an-honest-opinion). [http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-885258.html](http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-885258.html) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB3uowITfg8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB3uowITfg8) (What they sound like) Seems like a 60-40 split, more or less, with the Pure90s getting slightly better marks. But at twice the price each they should be. Some people say the Means sound better than the Pures but the Pures are more ‘authentic’. Either way, it’s bucketloads better than the cheap pickups the guitar came with. At that point, it’s your call. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2500 "2012-04-30T16:41:05Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I just got the 59 Duncans yesterday and soldered them in, and the tone of my Dot is very much improved. Much more balanced, doesn’t have the boomy/thuddy bass that always bothered me, and overall just more musical sounding. I’m very happy with these pickups. Those Duncan 59s are great. I have one in my Gibson, in the neck slot. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2501 "2012-05-02T20:38:40Z")
Les Paul’s guitars and gear are going up for auction - drool. [http://www.juliensauctions.com/images/auctions/2012/les-paul/flipbook/icatalog.html](http://www.juliensauctions.com/images/auctions/2012/les-paul/flipbook/icatalog.html) I only got part way through it. There is a mid '20’s Gibson L-5 I would die for…oh, and one or two Les Pauls 😉 Dude had a LOT of gear. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2502 "2012-05-03T02:21:01Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Les Paul’s guitars and gear are going up for auction - drool. > > [http://www.juliensauctions.com/images/auctions/2012/les-paul/flipbook/icatalog.html](http://www.juliensauctions.com/images/auctions/2012/les-paul/flipbook/icatalog.html) > > I only got part way through it. There is a mid '20’s Gibson L-5 I would die for…oh, and one or two Les Pauls 😉 > > Dude had a LOT of gear. Wow, you’re not kidding. And they seem to be selling every last thing. You do enjoy torturing us with this stuff, don’t you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=124) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=126)