Hi Pebber, I need your advice and I think others will want to weigh in and also see what you have to say. I have been using several guitars for practicing and I'm noticing something. I started out trying using heavy strings with a fairly high action on a couple of strats and it was great for building up my chops but I started to really get fatigued. I pulled out my jazz box which has an amazing action and is very fast and I noticed that my left hand was getting ahead of my right hand for the first time so the excersizes are paying off. I decided to practice on the jazz box for a couple of days and when I went back to the strat it still felt good but I'm my timing is getting screwed up on the faster stuff. I also have a better strat with a lower action but I like the jazz box because its 24 3/4 scale. Do you think it's of any value to practice with heavy strings on a high action? Should I focus on the best axe and setup until I get this timing down?

Thanks,
Rob

Tone talk...yeah!!!!!!

I use Seymour's SSL-1 in the neck and also the Quarter Pound. Amazing pickups.

I also have a "Lil Pearly Gates" that they custom wound for me. That's a single sized pickup but sounds more like a humbucker. They also make "JB Jr" to suit those purposes.

I have Fralin blues replacements in two of my low end strats, they are much warmer. I have an hss setup with an unbuckler in the bridge that I like alot I got the blender pot - check out pre-wired harnesses at http://www.guitar-mod.com/ he does very high quality work and stands behind it 100%.

I think my favorites though are the Fender Noiseless pickups in my Clapton signature and with the mid boost circuit I can get pretty much any tone - great for going directly into the amp but can be a bit of an issue with some effects due to the +25 db boost. The Noiseless have that great chime and can spank and also be warm and truely are noiseless.

Rob

I've been using the dunlop jazz II forever and now that I'm working on Pebbers picking stuff I find they slip so I'm trying cat's tounge http://imperialguitar.stores.yahoo.net/brainpick.html they are very grippy.

Have you tried Dunlop Ultex picks? They don't slip.

Also, V-picks, if you email the owner he will send you a free sample to try out! :)

Pebber: When I had my Strat, it had those Lace-Sensor Pick-ups, and I LOVED those! I think your Friend, Ed, has a video where he compares these to another kind of pick-up. I know somebody who recently installed DiMarzio Tone-Zone and Evolutions in a Squier, and it's like a totally different guitar!

Rob: As far as picks go, I use Jazz III's, both the regular and the Ultex. However, I am going to try a similar style in the V-Pick. I hear nothing but good things about those!

Well YES,,,Naturally, that should be your 1st stop! I meant to ask what, if anything came of that encounter. If I remember correctly, he still does CUSTOM jobs! How about a Seymour Duncan PB1? Or the PB&J (Pebber Brown Jazz)? How COOL would that be?

Dude, if they did a custom wound PB1 that would be killer!

I have used many pickups over the years, but I have always found Duncans to be the most toneful.

I think the JB humbucker is the greatest pickup ever!

Pebber, I would try a JB Jr in the bridge position of your strat. I believe Holdsworth used it for a long time. It's got a lot of mids so it really cuts through and gives a lot of note definition. He used the full size JB, but I'm sure the single sized version is equally killer.

Honest to God: If Seymour Duncan did a custom job for Pebber Brown, I would have to buy another Strat just to be able to install one! I should have NEVER parted with my other one, which was equipped with Lace-Sensor Pick-ups!Getting rid of that Strat (yes, AMERICAN) ranks right up there with getting rid of my black 1990-91 Ibanez RG770,,,,which they stopped making, because it was too close to the Jem! HUGE MISTAKES!

Getting back to a possible "PB1," what do you think, guys? Neck, or Bridge? I wouldn't really want to fuck with the Middle, because very few things compare to that CLEAN Fender Strat Middle-Pickup Tone!

Dude, PBN (neck) PBB(bridge)....we can just go ahead and put the PBN in the middle

Hey Pebber and guys, this is Ed Greenwald.
If you want to check out my lace sensors with a Clapton preamp I can swing by the store and you can plug it in and let it scream.
I used to have a set of Seymour Duncan Hotrails in a Strat I sold to Johnny Fortune. That guitar sounded great. You could dial back the volume for a clean Strat tone or turn it up and distort like a Les Paul.

Personally I still like Texas Specials for a Vintage warmer tone. But the Hotrails come in many flavors now days. Very similar to what Danny Gatton used in his Tele.

I also have a video showing a little bit of what that Clapton Preamp does at wildhorsestudios1421 on youtube.

You also have a Lace-Sensor comparison Video, too, yes?

I just LOVE those things!

Why yes Adam i do. Anyone can check it out on Youtube.

Of course it will start the age old argument between maple necks and rosewood necks. But only for those that can't stay focused on the subject. :)

I often like medium to low output picks....I do, however, enjoy the lace sensors in my Clapton strats. My pgms have tone zones and PAF pros. I am also digging the pickups in my Vigier. These are all Dimarizos of course. I love the Duncan Jazz...and pretty much everything SD has come out with. I also really enjoy most PRS pickups haha.

Blayze,

EVERY video I see of yours, you have a new KILLER guitar! Do you work at freakin' Guitar Center???

Anyway, in addition to this pick-up talk, I would like to add that I prefer LOW ACTION.

Any thoughts?

Low action here as well, however, I like very tall frets. So, when you grab one of my guitars, it might not feel like it has very low action. Almost like a scalloped neck sort of feel. So, the action is super low, but you can still dig in. But, if you are not careful, you can push down too hard and the note will go sharp. So, it takes some getting used to, but that's what I've always preferred.

Not guitar center. My dad owned a music store down here, but he passed away in March. Now I own it. That said, most of these guitars were aquired from my dad's collection or from connections ade at the music store....not the store itself.

Again, I am very sorry to hear about your Father. I am SURE you will carry on the Family Business WONDERFULLY!

Here's on for you all:

When changing strings on a guitar with a floating tremolo (Floyd Rose, Edge III's, etc), do you find it best to do ONE STRING AT A TIME, as opposed to taking off all 6, then starting over?

Good question Adam. I asked my guitar tech Tommy Simpson who has toured and done tech work for, Madonna, Metallica, Shania Twain, Janet Jackson, etc etc etc. So, the guy knows what he is talking about.

He said, it really doesn't matter.

From my personal experience, I'm not that great at it so I do one string at a time so as not to totally screw it up.

That's why I let him mess with it! Floyds are a pain in the ass. But I love them

WOW! That is very interesting! You KNOW that dude knows his shit, too!

Come to think of it,,,,as long as you put some type of brace between the trem & body cavity, I think it's safe to do either way.


...and yes,,,"pain in the ass, but I LOVE them," too!!! LOL!!!

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