Wizard
Apologies in advance for this thread - it must have been raised many times before and be severely boring for the senior members.
I got a Cort M200 cheaply intending it to be a short-term stepping stone.
Unexpected outcome - I really love it.
I then compared it to a Sterling AX20 through the same amplifier and was amazed by the difference in sound.
I also opened up the back and discovered some very cheap looking electronics.
Given how much I like it I'm prepared to do some upgrades.
a) Suggested pickup upgrades?
b) Should I upgrade the electrics? How?
MikeM
How would you like to change the tonal signature of your guitar?
Yes - pots + switches + jack are always good to replace on cheapies.
Manfred-Klose
maby try some of the tonerider pickups and let us know if its cool ?
Gearhead
Pupgrades imho come in 2-3 price catagories: the bottom end would be the likes of GFS, then you get the volume aftermarket stuff like Seymour Duncan, Bare Knuckle and DiMarzio and the top end would be boutique stuff like Lollar, Lawrence etc.
Newcomer is Tonerider (see other recent thread) which would fall into bottom end of the midrange wrt pricing. Tone is certainly better than GFS, when compared to the big boys they seem to focus more on 'vintage' sounds.
Electronics upgrading is not hard if you know which way to hold a soldering iron (closest to the cable works better ? ). I would upgrade caps much sooner than pots since pots don't stuff up your tone as much and are ten times more expensive. Matta answered a question about which caps to get in a recent post, I believe.
AlanRatcliffe
@Gearhead - I like the "pupgrades" - I think I'll use that in future... ?
If I'm going to do a pupgrade or anything else on an inexpensive guitar, I tend to just go in and do everything. Bit more expensive yes, but then I know it's all nice and neat with good quality parts and I won't have to go back in there again for the next 10 years at least (well... If I don't upgrade the pickups again). Otherwise, If I just change the pickups, I know I'm going to be in there a year later again replacing the pots, switch and/or jack socket. And doing a wiring job bit by bit is never as neat as doing it all at once.
As to specific pickups - what are you chasing? Traditional jazz, classic rock, modern highgain? Do you want something flexible or something that gives you the best possible tones for a style?
Wizard
Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
As to specific pickups - what are you chasing? Traditional jazz, classic rock, modern highgain? Do you want something flexible or something that gives you the best possible tones for a style?
I played a few guitars at Bothners this afternoon and really liked the neck pickup of the Music Man John Petrucci.
(nice guitar)
Does that help?
WantzChas
On the DiMarzio site there is this thing that let you put in the specs of your guitar and then asks what you want in a pickup, and then suggests what it thinks will works best for you. You can try that to give you an idea.
Wizard
Apparently it's a Dimarzio LiquiFire.
Where do I get something like that, or a close facsimile thereof?
Which "tonerider" would approximate to it?
MikeM
Dude, change pickups relative to what you have in now and what music you play.
No reason to put a bright sounding high output pup in a bright sounding guitar if you want to play jazz or something.
Ray
Well, I dont know much at all cept for a bit of looking at the sites but the Liquifires are Alnico V magent and the humbucker with Alnico V on this new Tonerider outfit in CT is the Generator. But then again there's a whole bunch of other stuff that goes into it that I know nothing about at this stage of the game.
aja
Ray wrote:this stage of the game.
Game?
This is no game.
There are no winners.
There are no losers.
There are only players...
Sean
@Aja. No winners ??? You mean you don't want to be at the top of next years "Who are the 100 best guitarists?" list? For what other reason could you possibly be playing guitar for? ?
AlanRatcliffe
The Liquifire has a reduced low end to compensate for the basswood body and is strong on the mids, which is great for soloing (won't have as much clarity for clean chordal stuff though). In DiMarzio, I'd try an Air Norton to get a similar tone in a mahogany guitar with maple neck.
Tonerider doesn't have the width of range of DiMarzio or Duncan. To be honest, I'd probably lean more towards the lower powered pickups in an all mahogany body to brighten up the sustain a little and get more of a classic rock tone. The Alnico IV Classics would be my choice, or possibly the Alnico IV in the neck and a Rocksong in the bridge for a more flexible set.
Wizard
Thanks Alan.
And to think - you were selling an Air Norton a while back ... :-\
andrewjbryson
Glad I bought it from Alan ?
The Air Norton is an interesting one....
They designed it to be a Bridge p/up - Air version of the Norton (which is essentially a FRED with a bit more power).
Then they discovered it sounded good in the neck and had some really cool harmonics for a Neck p/up.
This p/up is very sensitive to dynamics, for the most part its tame, but when you dig in with the pick, you get
some interesting tones.
Wizard
andrewjbryson wrote:
This p/up is very sensitive to dynamics, for the most part its tame, but when you dig in with the pick, you get
some interesting tones.
Sounds like what I'm looking for ...
I actually like the current M200 bridge pickup - think I'll replace the neck as soon as someone in Cape Town manages to get some stock.
And have some fun redoing all the wiring.
I was surprised at how small the pots were.
Does size matter?
AlanRatcliffe
The Air Norton is an interesting pickup, but too heavy on the mids for me - I like chordal clarity on the neck pickup and a more traditional PAF works better for that.
Small pots can be good pots - there are some great ones used in hi-fi. However, the ones sold for guitars at guitar supply houses are usually not great.
Gearhead
Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
Small pots can be good pots - there are some great ones used in hi-fi. However, the ones sold for guitars at guitar supply houses are usually not great.
How about the Alpha 16mm range as sold by TubeDepot?
AlanRatcliffe
I don't like the Alphas at all, not even the big ones. They never seem to last.
Wizard
Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
The Air Norton is an interesting pickup, but too heavy on the mids for me - I like chordal clarity on the neck pickup and a more traditional PAF works better for that.
So what would you recommend for the neck position Alan? All factors considered?
