New Guild Day - T-400

Zelja

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I got my NS Franz's rewound for $40 + swapped magnets for $5 each - total $50 each. Well worth it. Actually, I had a coil tap on the bridge pickups for an extra $15, so I had a more vintage sound in one posn (the tap) & a fuller sound in the other (full coil). The minihums might be little more as there is two coils to wind but there is one less magnet if that needs to be changed (if necessary/desired).
 

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I installed a neck Li'l Bucker into the bridge position of the T-400 and it works perfectly. The balance is now perfect.
 

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The minihums have one coil wrapped around a bar, so a lot of the signal is being picked up by that coil.
 

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Last night I took the T-400 to rehearsal and put it through its paces. The pickup swap really set this guitar free. It now has a wonderful range of timbres available with nothing more than the three choices afforded by the pickup selector. The bridge pickup now has the strength to hold its own against the neck pickup.

With the pickup volume controls set evenly, the volume is even from pickup to pickup. If the bridge pickup control is set to 9 and the bridge pickup set at 8 there is an edge that makes for an interesting blend. It's a unique sound among all of my guitars.

The bridge pickup alone is strong and clear. It's definitely an improvement over the OEM bridge pickup. The result is a very clear treble sound that is not at all harsh.

The neck pickup alone definitely occupies Jazz guitar territory. I've always wanted a Byrdland, except that I prefer a longer scale, and this guitar comes pretty close to that ideal. The mini hums have a degree of clarity that exceeds the OEM pickups on a Byrdland, so you could say that I made out well on this transaction, I have the Byrdland of my dreams at a fraction of the price.

Acoustically the guitar is impressive. All in all this guitar is quite satisfactory, now that the pickups are of equal power.
 

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Last night I took the T-400 to rehearsal and put it through its paces. The pickup swap really set this guitar free. It now has a wonderful range of timbres available with nothing more than the three choices afforded by the pickup selector. The bridge pickup now has the strength to hold its own against the neck pickup.

With the pickup volume controls set evenly, the volume is even from pickup to pickup. If the bridge pickup control is set to 9 and the bridge pickup set at 8 there is an edge that makes for an interesting blend. It's a unique sound among all of my guitars.

The bridge pickup alone is strong and clear. It's definitely an improvement over the OEM bridge pickup. The result is a very clear treble sound that is not at all harsh.

The neck pickup alone definitely occupies Jazz guitar territory. I've always wanted a Byrdland, except that I prefer a longer scale, and this guitar comes pretty close to that ideal. The mini hums have a degree of clarity that exceeds the OEM pickups on a Byrdland, so you could say that I made out well on this transaction, I have the Byrdland of my dreams at a fraction of the price.

Acoustically the guitar is impressive. All in all this guitar is quite satisfactory, now that the pickups are of equal power.

I second for mine, except I didn't have to change the pickups. (maybe they did it already at fullers, where I bought it from?)
I played the hell out of it on the last open stage. she's so much more versatile and impressive than I'd expected, I love my T-400.
 

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I second for mine, except I didn't have to change the pickups. (maybe they did it already at fullers, where I bought it from?)
I played the hell out of it on the last open stage. she's so much more versatile and impressive than I'd expected, I love my T-400.
In retrospect, I probably could've just adjusted the neck pickup downward and accmplished the same thing. While I agree that the OEM bridge pickup could use a bit more oomph, experience with my Capri ( which has the same pickup set) has convinced me that the height adjustment of these pickups is critical.
 
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parker_knoll

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certainly with the mini hums height is very important and a bit of tweaking can yield huge differences. i got rid of bass boominess on the neck pickup with a little bit of that.

however, moving the neck pickup down would obviously give you less oomph all round and sometimes more oomph is what you need. The toaster pickup on my Ric was transformed when i gave it a bit more oomph. More percussive, more bass.
 

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In the case of my T-400 swapping pickups was probably the best solution, but on the Capri it would be a waste of money.
 

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I got to use the T-400 for another band practice last weekend. For some reason, every guitar I played sounded harsh last Saturday and, after going through several of my "regulars", I decided to grab the T, which saved the day. This is starting to fill the role of a dream axe in my collection. It's the Byrdland I've always lusted after, at a fraction of the price and it doesn't have the short scale neck of a Byrdland, which is a big plus for me.

Since the pickup swap, I've been tweaking the setup on an ongoing basis. For some reason, it's been a little tricky to dial in, but I'm getting close to the sweet spot.
 

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how do you mean tricky to dial in? you mean sonically? are we talking about pickup height adjustment?

I'm in the same process with the Duane. I basically just finally accepted the fact that the amp settings that worked for my Rickenbacker aren't working for the Duane so it's twiddling time again. I'm reluctant to start messing with speakers or anything else have spent a long time on that task a few years ago :)
 

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how do you mean tricky to dial in? you mean sonically? are we talking about pickup height adjustment?

I'm in the same process with the Duane. I basically just finally accepted the fact that the amp settings that worked for my Rickenbacker aren't working for the Duane so it's twiddling time again. I'm reluctant to start messing with speakers or anything else have spent a long time on that task a few years ago :)
In my case it's more a matter of basic instrument setup. I had the strings de-tensioned for quite a while so I loosened the truss rod to avoid a reverse bow in the neck. When I set it up again it took a while to dial in the relief of the neck and to get the intonation spot on. It may be that the almost new set of Thomastiks didn't take well to being re-tensioned.
 

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you're already beyond my skill level. i'm always a little scared to touch the truss rod. i think my neck could be straighter altho it plays ok.
 

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you're already beyond my skill level. i'm always a little scared to touch the truss rod. i think my neck could be straighter altho it plays ok.
I used to teach, so I did a lot of setup work on the fly when students brought in marginally playable guitars.
 
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I bought an X-500 new in 1976, and that thing would roar like crazy on the A on the 6th string at the 5th fret. Interestingly enough, it wasn't nearly as bad on the open A 5th string. Same note, but that 5th-fret A would just take off, even at quite low volume levels.
 

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that will be to do with resonant frequencies in the guitar itself that match that note
 

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I recently watched some Ted Greene videos and was pleasantly surprised to see him playing a DE-400. His comments led me to believe that the 400 was a favored instrument.

I find mine to be a surprisingly good Jazz guitar. The mini hums are capable of being very warm and mellow without becoming muddy. For my tastes the sound is perfect.

I bought an X-500 new in 1976, and that thing would roar like crazy on the A on the 6th string at the 5th fret. Interestingly enough, it wasn't nearly as bad on the open A 5th string. Same note, but that 5th-fret A would just take off, even at quite low volume levels.

that will be to do with resonant frequencies in the guitar itself that match that note

It's odd how some guitars can have resonances of this nature. The T-400 seems very resonant on A but is not a feedback monster. The Johnny Smith I used to own would howl on the Octave harmonic of the low E to the point that it was all but unplayable.
 
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