X150 / new upgrades

[bradk]

Just got this back from my tech with new med-jumbo frets and a Fralin P92 pickup installed. Wow! what a player it is now. The Fralin is a fantastic p/u for this guitar. Fat and warm like a humbucker but note clarity like a single coil.

 

[yettoblaster]

VERY interesting looking pickup. It reminds me of the first series humbucker pickups Seth Lover designed for Fender, after he left Gibson. I always liked those for their sweet balanced tone.

I had a single pu X-150 (sunburst) and kind of miss it. My present ride has two, but I hardly ever use the bridge pu.

 

[bradk]

Real happy with the P92 in there. It's actually a split-single coil that does a good P90 tone. Great for vintage jazz/blues tones.

 

[jazzrat]

Nice,
That's the only complaint with my X-170. I like a bigger fret.
I love the tone of the pickups so no changes there but I sure
might consider a similar refret.

 

[bradk]

Mine had been re-fretted at some point before I bought it. A top notch fret job but they used a very low fret wire which really hurt the tone. Much improved now.

 

[twocorgis]

Beautiful git bradk! I'd love to have a blonde archtop, ideally an X700! :twisted:

 

[yettoblaster]

Real happy with the P92 in there. It's actually a split-single coil that does a good P90 tone. Great for vintage jazz/blues tones.

I'm intrigued by that Fralin P92 pickup.

Is it setup like a P-bass pickup, to cancel hum?

 

[Walter Broes]

Very nice! I can never make humbuckers work for me, especially on archtops, they're just too muffled sounding for what I want to hear, so any kind of single coil conversion gets the thumbs up from me!

 

[krysh]

Very nice!...

+1

 

[bradk]

Real happy with the P92 in there. It's actually a split-single coil that does a good P90 tone. Great for vintage jazz/blues tones.

I'm intrigued by that Fralin P92 pickup.

Is it setup like a P-bass pickup, to cancel hum?

Yes, exactly.

 

[bradk]

Here are some before and after clips. Using 2 different amps and the recording levels don't match but should still give a general idea of the difference....... excuse my weak attempt at being a jazzer

Stock Guild Pickup

With Fralin P92

 

[krysh]

cool, +1 for the fralin again!

 

[Chris Metcalfe]

Brad
never mind about the pickups for a minute.....if this version of 'round midnight' is a 'pathetic attempt at being a jazzer' then a lot of other jazzers should get pretty worried. A really nice version, and with the coda too. My guess is you only said that 'cos your version's in E and not Eb like the real book says....
chris
ok, back to the pickups now........

 

[bradk]

Thanks Chris, I do appreciate it but I can not take credit for that one...that is 99.9% Barry Galbraith's arrangement that I got out of his book. I will agree that Mr. Galbraith is a complete genius though

 

[krysh]

but performed great. :wink:

 

[Chris Metcalfe]

krysh, you said it! I have been working on/ playing that tune for years and can't beat that performance ( and yes, what an arrangement, I agree). Brad, you're a modest guy
Just to throw a slight spanner in the pickup discussion - and I love swapping pups etc as much as anyone - but I have got to say that Brad's clips - and others, of course- just really do make the point that 99.999% of it is in the hands, not the hardware. My feeling is that having a great guitar that feels right, sounds right whatever one's preference is, and is set up right just releases the hands to do their best thing without anything else getting in the way.
I almost added ''that looks right'', but that can't be true....could it?..... :lol:
chris

 

[bradk]

You speak the truth ..finding a guitar that inspires you to play it and doesn't feel like it's fighting you is half the battle. Funny how some of us guitar players can get our "tone" 90% there and spend years driving ourselves nuts (and spending lots of $$!) trying to get that last 10% where we want it. The cruelty of it all is that the last 10% is probably not obtainable and most would not even notice the difference if you found it! :lol:

 

[yettoblaster]

...The cruelty of it all is that the last 10% is probably not obtainable and most would not even notice the difference if you found it! :lol:

The room you play in and volume you find "works" changes too.

Stuff that sounds great in my living room, with all the nuances I want, can just not work at all somewhere else, and vica versa.
Sometimes I'm not happy with my rig at home, but it sounds great on a job.

 

[krysh]

You speak the truth ..finding a guitar that inspires you to play it and doesn't feel like it's fighting you is half the battle. Funny how some of us guitar players can get our "tone" 90% there and spend years driving ourselves nuts (and spending lots of $$!) trying to get that last 10% where we want it. The cruelty of it all is that the last 10% is probably not obtainable and most would not even notice the difference if you found it! :lol:

thank god I am up to 99% 8)

:lol: :lol: :lol:


edit: for now. :roll:
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[AlohaJoe]

I love the P92... it was a tough decision between that and the blade from Pete Biltoft for mine. I eventually went with the blade and I love it but I'm sure the P92 sounds great as well. This guitar has become my first grab for practice and pretty much everything except acoustic jamming. VERY nice playing!