First tube amp build: Fender Deluxe AB763 style amp (no reverb).

[bob p]

Re G&L and fixing the tone, ooohh! Cool, I will look up those threads. I would like this guitar to sound more 'like a strat'. its too damn bright. So, short question here, probably wrong place, but ... Did you find the pickups OK, but it was mostly just the tone circuit (pots, caps, etc). Im not against replacing the pickups and tone circuit to tame this guitar down, nice if I didn't have to.

Mike, the answer to that question is going to be a disappointing, "I don't know ... yet." Unfortunately some other commitments have gotten in the way of my recent projects time has been limited. Now I have more free time but I'm sidelined with an injury that's keeping these projects back on the back burner.

WRT the Legacy and the ASAT I can tell you that they all arrived extremely harsh / ice-picky sounding with very poor volume balance between pickups. A lot of that had to do with pickup heights that were just way too high and inconsistent -- so high that in addition to sounding like icepicks they were causing the strings to beat. Lowering them to a standard "Fender" type setup specs helped to improve things a lot. Just fixing the pup height ad dialling them in to match volumes has brought the ASAT into having great tone. Surprisingly it's jumped info first place as my most played guitar, and I'm not even done with it yet. I've been playing the ASAT so much that I've been ignoring the Legacy for a while now.

The pickup height adjustment also helped the Legacy, but is going to need a bit more work in other areas. The other two variables that I haven't had time to work on have been the sound of the pickups themselves, and how the unique PTB circuit in the G&L wiring harness may be accentuating the problem. The Legacy has the PTB circuit, which is very different from a Strat circuit. I haven't had the time to do the parts swapping necessary to determine if I can tune the PTB circuit to my liking or if I'm just going to have to try replacing it with a stock Strat circuit, or go to the pickup changing route. Even though they're really bright, I think the G&L Alnico pickups have potential, even though I'm a big fan of the Texas specials. I just haven't had time to work through the variables yet.

HTH

[eschertron]

How do people usually record sound/video clips?

I prefer not to bother with sound and video clips, for a number of reasons.

There's no consensus as to a 'usual' method. Unless you have the dedicated HW and the practice of actually publishing your recordings, it may be a lot of labor for just a little bit of love. I agree with the Ol' Grinch - mostly. However this is "social" media and not the anti- kind, so if you want to share, there are forum members who would appreciate it

[bob p]

Oh, if he jumps through the hoops to post clips, I'd be happy to listen to them. I'm just not one to jump through those hoops because I don't already do it, and like you said, lots of work for very little love.

You'll have to excuse me now -- it's time for me to go put reindeer horns and get the sleigh ready -- it's almost time to go steal Christmas.

[Chuck H]

You'll have to excuse me now -- it's time for me to go put reindeer horns and get the sleigh ready -- it's almost time to go steal Christmas.

Oh stop it. You know you end up with a heart three times normal size, the strength of ten grinches +2 and carving the damned roast beast. You big softie

[Justin Thomas]

Oh, be grateful I am too lazy to post clips and don't have a smartphone to make it easy. I'd be posting all the bizarre sounds I make with my amp and fooling y'all into thinking my amps are broken...

I have one that I recorded after repairing my friend's Princeton Chorus DSP, just amp, cable, guitar. I cranked the gain on ten, then set the two FX to max reverb & max flange, sat a foot from the amp, turned the volume to about two, and let her rip. Recorded it and sent the "Sonic Apocalypse" to my friend with a note: "your amp is fixed and working normally, I'll list it on CL ASAP."

She was skeptical... maybe someday I'll l get it out there.

Justin

Edit: my pickups are kinda microphonic...

[mikepukmel]

Reading my last post, I know I sounded like an antisocial Grinch. Suffice it to say that I'm confident enough that I know what I like, and that soliciting other peoples' opinions won't particularly help me. In your case, all of our opinions don't really matter that much as long as your amp build sounds good to you, and maybe to the other people who get to actually play through it. Of course that situation changes completely if you're trying to build an amp for sale to other people. Then you have to bow to the will of the masses.

Thanks Bob, and thanks everyone. Bob, hope you get over the injury soon.

Nothing for sale, just for my own use. Interested in suggestions from you all, might be "That sounds too <ZING> are you sure you adjusted the <ZANG> correctly? ... You might try a 0.1 femto ohm in for R1199...." stuff sorta like that.

Really interested in taming the G&L S500 shrill. Right now, it is a very angry guitar.

Got all the parts ordered last night to put Reverb in. Ended up with everything from Antique Electronic Supply, since they had a one stop for this part of the build. As soon as I can figure out how to get a video with audio that doesn't sound so awful, I'll put something up. Would be great to see what you all think of the tone.

[stokes]

There is a huge difference in the output of the single coils in your G&L and the humbuckers in the SG.I've never owned a G&L but guys I know who do all say the same,the G&L has a bit too much treble compared to a Strat.You can try getting a hold of a good old stock 5751 and sub it for V1,it'll take some edge off.I wouldnt bother with any of the current production 5751's,all the ones I've tried sounded like cheap,weak chinese AX7's.

[bob p]

There is a huge difference in the output of the single coils in your G&L and the humbuckers in the SG.I've never owned a G&L but guys I know who do all say the same,the G&L has a bit too much treble compared to a Strat.You can try getting a hold of a good old stock 5751 and sub it for V1,it'll take some edge off.I wouldnt bother with any of the current production 5751's,all the ones I've tried sounded like cheap,weak chinese AX7's.

Interesting comment, John. Prior to buying my G&L I had no idea that that there was the too much treble problem. Somehow in doing my research that seemed to have escaped me. But you're right -- if you play one you notice it, and if you ask around it seems that people respond that they're all like that.

My ASAT (tele) was brighter than any guitar I've ever owned. Never having owned a Tele before, at first I thought that's just how Teles are supposed to sound, with there being a difference between hearing one on record and playing one for real. Bringing down the pickup height helped to tame things a lot. That alone seems to have worked for me. Now I have no problem getting nice bebop style jazz tones out of the neck pup.

My Legacy (Strat) is the icepick guitar from hell. We have a thread on that here. The resistance on the pups is in a reasonable range for Strat pups, and the tone circuit seems normal enough, with the most noteworthy difference being the 500k tone pot in place of the typical 250k. I think that's the first thing that needs to be looked at when I get some time.

[mikepukmel]

Bob, Stokes, thank you both. After listening to both a little longer, to my tired ears the G&L S-500 sounds like it is missing midrange, not just that it has too much high end. I tried turning the treble pot down, and it just sounds mushy like its missing something. Now Im getting into those descriptive terms that don't mean anything. I will try bringing down the pickup height.

Stokes, thanks, I do realize that the pickups are a world apart. But Ive heard strats, friends had them over the years and they didn't have the ice pick that describes it so well. have to get rid of that somehow.

[bob p]

Legacy_schematic_blockdiagram.pdf
S-500_schematic_blockdiagram.pdf

[mikepukmel]

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[ATTACH]46249[/ATTACH]

Thanks Bob, no kidding havne't had it apart yet, but had no idea there are 4 caps in there. So, maybe there is some room to fiddle with cap values so smooth out the ice pick a bit? You mention above that pots make a difference as well?

[bob p]

Yeah, check out that G&L thread.