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mad dog

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OK. Update on this green beauty. Just had it set up, loose jack replaced. Bill (the tech) worked his subtle magic. Got the trem loosened up, lowered the action, most important, shaved down the too-high nut. Lubed everything up for trem operation.

There's little to criticize, so I'll start there. This odd Rickenbacker bridge is a little frustrating. Has a cover on it. Have to remove that, so I can properly damp strings. Perhaps related ... wish the strings were 1/32" closer to the edge of the fretboard on the bass side. I wrap my thumb around to grab bass notes. It's a little harder to do that here than on my old strat (my standard for perfect playability.)

That's it for negatives. This thing is so much better than the 400.00 I paid for it. Instant bonding, mojo like superglue. Chris Dipinto deserves props for this design. It rings out everywhere even unplugged. I'd expected little sustain given the bridge, but that's not true. I'm hesitant now to mess with the bridge, as the sustain and balance are so good. The 25.5 scale really helps, as do these pickups. My fave positions are neck only, bridge only. Neck only is somewhat like strat neck only, similar clarity and depth, a wider sound somehow. Bridge only is unlike anything I've heard. It really cuts, as surf and spaghetti western twang as you'd want, at the same time, very bluesy sounds. Loud, can really drive the amp. This one has lots of tone tricks. Seems very versatile. So far has loved every amp I've tried it with, especially the Ampeg Gemini II and low power tweed twin ... not to mention an otherworldly tone through the Twilighter 260 with vibrato on.

If you ever get the chance, try one of these. Very cool guitars.
 

mad dog

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Correcto, default. Not new however. Serial number points to 2000. The owner clearly led a calm, quiet life. Zero fret ware, not a scratch on it. So new as it could be w/o being new. I had to spring 30 bucks for the gigbag.

New these are 579 or somewhere in there, less gigbag. All the new ones have a tunomatic type bridge, and individual on/off buttons for each p/u. The 5 way switch option, as on mine, and transparent green finish are no longer available.

New, used, well worth a look. As is the "Mach II", which uses these same p/us, 3 of them, two together to form a splittable humbucking bridge p/u, one in neck position. Looks rather like a Mosrite. Of course now I have to try one of those too ...
 

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The first thing I thought when I saw a Mach II is "I wonder what it would sound like with lipsticks."

I wish someone would do a Moseley vibrato knock-off. I wouldn't be surprised if someone was making them in Japan where the Ventures were monsters. Those where supposed to be great trems.
 

Walter Broes

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Default, take a look at Hallmark guitars - they have a great Mosrite vibrato copy, and actually a very affordable Ventures guitar copy!
$135 in chrome
tremelo.jpg
 

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Nopenopenopenope, I stay far, far away from Burns Vibratos. Anyone who's depressed the handle too far and had it slip off the internal post knows what I'm talking about.

Nothing like having 300 lbs of string pressure crush your fingers.
 

mad dog

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JerryR said:
Wow - a thread about vibrators :D

OK, just so the last word here won't be "vibrators" ... I'll beat this dead horse one more time.

Took my new green DiPinto to a long rehearsal last night. First time I got to hear it in a band context, plugged into the Ampeg Gemini II. What worked at home worked even better much louder. What a rocking guitar! I could live with neck only and bridge only, but the in-betweens are very cool as well. Especially when you roll tone full off on one of those positions. Far from calming the sound down, the rolloff pumps up gain and volume, gets a nasty, nasal, surf-approved version of Claptons "woman tone".

First time ever the band asked me to take a particular guitar to a gig. So off we go tonight, to a lower east side grindhouse freak-out for two sets. Great fun, these cheapies.
 

Walter Broes

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Cool! Funny you should say that about "just neck and bridge pickups would have been enough" - like I said before, I briefly pawed Eddie's own Dipinto, and both middle pickups were lowered all the way down - which made me suspect he's not using them.
 

capnjuan

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Man ... every time you start yakking about that Gemini II, I start Googling/eBay-searching Gems ... gotta stop, yer killing me! Good luck ... you guys ever record your stuff? ... You know what the next question is ... Best, CJ
 

mad dog

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Capn: The Gem II is now in our rehearsal space. I look forward to rehearsals because it's there. Turned out so well, taking that old modified dog and getting it put right. It looks tired and whupped, sounds anything but. The other guitarist plays out of Matchless Chieftan head/cab, which has long been a favorite of mine too. I would not switch with him.

Walter: I think of Eddie Angel every time I play the green guitar. Never once saw him switch from the bridge only setting. The bridge really is one of those do-it-all kind of pickups, and he sure knows how to play it. But it's the neck only setting that gets me. It's a cousin of the strat neck only sound, a 400 pound cousin ...

MD
 
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