Today I backed up some guy named Eric Clapton who was doing a cover of Lay Down Sally. He’s pretty rough but I’m pretty sure he’ll get there.
I feel for ya…I just lost out on a guitar on Ebay that was bidding up beyond my own GAS budget, I nearly had to explain to Mrs Gargoyle what that $500 ding in the Paypal account was for 
The GAS of the other guy outbidding me saved me from a difficult story to tell.
Tell me about it, the guy just runs all over the place. “E-A-D Eric, E-A-D…stay in the box dammit”. 
I finally got all the parts together and I’m starting the rewire on my Les Paul. All new everything except the switch. For pots, caps etc. I’m using this prewired kit from Mojotone. I’ve got a Duncan '59 for the neck, and a Duncan Pearly Gates for the bridge; I had these two in a couple of lesser guitars I own, so I pulled them out and put chrome covers on them. I’ll likely get more boutiquish pickups later if I’m happy w the LP. I’ve got all the old components out of the LP now, so next I’m going to shield the control cavity with copper tape then start soldering the rest. Wish me luck!
Cool - looks good. Your Duncan pickups are good ones - if you get the better tone via all of this upgrading, I doubt you’d want to change them except for the fun of it. The real issue will be how you think the guitar sounds when you set the Volume and Tone controls the way you typically have them - and also whether the upgrades lead you to using the V and T more.
For a great hard rock rhythm tone, try the Bridge pickup, Volume rolled off to 8.5 or lower to 7, and the Tone control down to about 6-7. Play a few classic rock riffs through an amp dialed up to its sweet spot and your favorite dirtbox set the way you like, and then slip into a lead, reaching down and dialing up the Volume to 10 to get more overdrive on the signal. I will be interested to hear what you think…
Maybe. But have you been on the Bare Knuckle site and listened to the sound samples? I’m drooling a bit for a pair of Mules. Pricey suckers, though: $300/pair. A friend ordered one for his neck pickup, and is beyond happy with it. I’m in no hurry, but I may keep half an eye on EBay for a used set sometime later. But, yeah, the these Duncans sound damned good.
Yup, I hear you. I’ve not had these “PAF” style pickups in a guitar with proper caps and vintage wiring setup, I’m really interested to play with the real deal. Interestingly, the Mojotone comes wired with a volume kit mod, and I’m wondering what that’s going to be like. The good news is that it’s easily removed – it’s just a resistor and cap across the volume lugs – but let’s see if I like it. Have you used that mod?
I haven’t but have heard about them. My initial thought would be to start without and add it if there is a perceived need for more highs. I don’t know if that mod was used by the folks you are trying to sound like…
What’s the guitar played by Tom Waits in this YouTube video?
In his autobiography, IIRC, in his Blind Faith days, Winwood talked him into trying out a strat. It wasn’t the first Fender he played as I’ve seen a youtube video of him playing a Tele on TV with the Yardbirds. And he was playing a Tele custom (binding around the top) for the Hyde Park Blind Faith concert. Why he made the big switch from G to F, I don’t know. I know on both the EC signature Fenders and Martins he prefers a triangular neck. Maybe the circa 59 used strats he found had those and he liked the feel?
Looks like a Gibson ES-100 or 125 with a Charlie Christian. But I think he also liked some of the various Epiphone brands (not gibson back then).
IIRC the “Gretsch New Yorker” was his favorite guitar in that era.
They were cheap plywood guitars and the ES-1xx was an entry level guitar, I think that fit his style at the time.
But I may be wrong
Dear Guys
My Takamine Jasmine accoustic electric was one of those you have to loosen all the strings to change the battery, and recently the housing internally has come loose, plus with the arthritis in my right hand, I can’t manage going into the sound hole to fix it.
For this reason I want to change to a microphone-type pickup likethis one.
However, since y’all are my “go-to” guys for anything relating to guitars, I’d like your recommendations first. Do you play your accoustics this way, and if so what’s your preference?
I do have the little “pocket rocket” amp (graciously presented to me by E-Sabbath, but you need headphones for that and I really prefer the live sound.
So what say my bestest guitar-buds?
Thanks!
Quasi
Add’tl info: Although it has a volume control and EQ on the body, I won’t be using a preamp, so it would just be the pickup (a pop-in?) and straight to the 1/4’ receiving plug on its bottom.
I didn’t see any shots where I could make out any more than your suggestions above. Those entry-level Gibsons can be cool.
As for Clapton - yeah, the Yardbirds had a “band” Tele that Clapton used. As for neck profiles, maybe - Blackie was made up of a few different 50’s Strats, and '56’s and '57’s where known for having a soft V shape ('59’s has little/no V and 59 was when they introduced the rosewood fingerboard).
Per a thread I started when I was assembling my own Tele, I rambled for a while about what I was looking for tone-wise, when An Arky summarized my rambling with “it is easier to get a Fender to sound like a Gibson than to get a Gibson to sound like a Fender.” So Clapton can get a Lay Down Sally Strat tone, then dial up the Mid-Boost on his signature Strat and get more of a Gibson-y tone.
Quasi - I don’t think there are any tricks with pickups/mic’s you fasten to the top of an acoustic. Buy if there is a Guitar Center or other shop nearby, why not take the guitar to them, have them fix the box and when you need a new battery, get them to install it. Shouldn’t be that pricey…seems more practical and less expensive vs. leaving a non-functioning pickup in the guitar and installing a second one…
Well, I can’t get my hand into the sound hole to change the battery. I have to get someone else to do it, and it isn’t always practical. The nearest music shop is in the next town. They make snap-in pickups, don’t they? I just wanted to get an opinion as to the best quality and price. having said that, I guess I can get a music shop to do the whole thing for me, but then I wouldn’t have your opinions.
Thanks
Q
Quasi - cool; got it. As for soundhole pickups, they got all kinds - spring-loaded to “clamp” into the soundhole, snap in’s, clip-ins…I am sure you will find something that works and is easier to change batteries on…
Quasi - I have one of these: LR Baggs M1. Mine is an M1, because I just run it into a preamp, so I don’t need/want an active pickup.
Anyway, I researched it a bit and asked on guitar forums - these Baggs pickups are pretty widely liked and recommended, and my own personal take is that it sounds way nicer than any other magnetic soundhole pickup I’ve heard.
Quasi,
That pickup in your link might be the way to go if you want to just get some more volume. If it doesn’t give you want you want then the mistake would be less painful on your wallet than a +$50 model. I saw another pickup (Cherub) on amazon that looked similar to yours and priced under $7.00. At that price it probably isn’t stage performance quality but it looks like you can clip it in different positions on the soundhole and experiment with what comes out. Years ago I experimented with PU’s that looked similar to those. Sometimes it took some fiddling (and tape) to get the PU exactly located in a sonic sweet spot but, if you can succeed, the bang for buck ratio is pretty high.
The problem I seem to see with acoustic pickups is that they have a wide range of gain among different brands so I don’t know if you would be happy with the sound level.
I use a soundhole model, an LR Baggs (M1 Active). I bought it based on a thread about favorite and best sound hole pickups in an Acoustic Guitar forum. It’s a hybrid style that works both as a magnetic and an acoustic pickup. The two tones are blended into one output.
Problem is these pickups run in the $140-$200 range so you have to really love the sound of the guitar you’re using them on and be willing to reach deep into the wallet. I put the pickup on a blemished Recording King Acoustic that I got cheap. The blended sound is great and since the pickup converts it to a signal I can add small amounts of reverb and chorus into the signal and get a very luscious tone. The pickup cost almost as much as the guitar but the result has me reconsidering my latest GAS attack - a carbon fiber acoustic model.
Took me so long to reply that I was ninja’d by Shakester
Thanks to both of you and it looks like you both have the same great taste in those pickups! 
I listened to the sound sample, and it sounds just like what I’m looking for. I have a couple of boxes (chorus and flange) and I believe I can add them with no trouble.
With me sound level has never been a problem, so I’ll check into that one.
Thanks again!
Q
Just wanted to add that I looked at the cherub, but it looks like it’s “Quasi-prohibitive” as far as installation goes so either one would have to go into a shop, i think. I REALLY like the Baggs one for $139.00. Pre-Amp? I don’t know, guys? I’ll never play for anyone but myself so do I really need it?
Many thanks!
Q
Looks like you’re thinking of the M1 passive which Shakester uses.
I have the active model which requires a battery. It’s about $30 more.
You may want to verify that you can get a loud enough signal out of the passive pu before you buy it. Otherwise you may have to either buy a pre-amp or drive your amp so high that it gets too noisy to enjoy.