Rev. Gibbons current pickups

[rjb]

From Just Strings....It is like hair.

Well, I'll be durned.

[David Schwab]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]20935[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]20936[/ATTACH]
From Just Strings....It is like hair.

This would come in handy if you are tuning your guitar in 5ths! (aka New Standard Tuning)

[jason lollar]

they are probably cream t pickups from- norway I think..... I can attest that Billy changes pickups all the time, he will be using something else down the road. Back in the early 70's ernie ball made extra super slinky sets which were .007 and it wasnt uncommon for people to use that light of a string, they apparantly dont make them anymore as a stock set. Billy gets his tone in a funny way, if you played his rig you probably wouldnt like it at all but it works for him

[David Schwab]

Billy gets his tone in a funny way, if you played his rig you probably wouldnt like it at all but it works for him

It's like the story when Van Halen was playing with Ted Nugent. Nugent tried out Eddie's rig expecting it to sound like Eddie, insisting it was all in the rig, but instead he sounded like himself.

[rjb]

This would come in handy if you are tuning your guitar in 5ths! (aka New Standard Tuning)

One quote from the article acts like 7s are a brand-new invention:
In 2012, a 0.007 inch gauge was being evaluated by Fripp and other members of Guitar Circle, who are considering replacing the first string's G note with an A note, the better to approximate the B note of all-fifths tuning. The 0.007 inch gauge was produced by Octave4Plus of Gary Goodman.^[7][8][19] Robert Fripp uses lighter strings for electric guitar.^[20]

By my calculations, a 7 tuned to B would have just a little more tension than a 10 tuned to E.
But I think you'd need an awfully light touch to avoid breaking that string.

FWIW (nothing), I have a 22.75" scale mini-Strat set up with 5 strings in 5ths (F,C,G,D,A with 54,36,24,13,9).
But I thought I was in "Tiny Moore", not "Robert Fripp" tuning.

[rjb]

...but instead he sounded like himself.

I once attended a free concert by Sri Chinmoy.
As a "meditation," he spun a lazy Susan piled with instruments, picked one at random, played it for a while, spun again....
Damn if every one of those instruments didn't sound the same.

[David Schwab]

But I thought I was in "Tiny Moore", not "Robert Fripp" tuning.

That's mandolin (or violin) tuning. Moore played a mandolin. Fripp took the idea of 5ths to guitar. I knew a bassist that tuned in 5ths because they played cello first.

I tuned one of my guitars like that once and decided it would take too long to learn to play it so I didn't mess with it any further. But I've been thinking of stringing one up that way to fool around on.

[rjb]

... Fripp took the idea of 5ths to guitar.

Eddie Condon preceded Fripp by a few years....
Oh, you meant 6-string guitar.

... I've been thinking of stringing one up that way to fool around on.

I've been thinking of stringing a guitar in "Stanley Jordon" tuning (all 4ths) for, um, years.

Hey, what happened? Who derailed this thread? Reverend Who?

[Mark Hammer]

And you know, what I never said at any point was that I wasn't particularly fond of his tone that evening. He has so many different tonal personalities on record, and I was looking forward to hearing them, but it was pretty monolithic tone the whole show.

I was just curious about the pickups because I hadn't seen anything similar before, and knowing that the man pretty much has his pick of gear, I was curious.

And yeah, it would appear Jason was absolutely correct! Thanks, fella. Cream T Pickups Official Web Site - The New Billy F Gibbons Banger Series - Guitar Pickups

[David Schwab]

Eddie Condon preceded Fripp by a few years....
Oh, you meant 6-string guitar.

Condon was a banjoist. So just like with the example of Moore who played mandolin, he's not a guitarist, even if he ended up playing something that looked like a guitar. It's a different instrument.

Guitars have six strings. (tenor guitars are tuned like banjos and where for banjo players)

I've been thinking of stringing a guitar in "Stanley Jordon" tuning (all 4ths) for, um, years.

Hey, what happened? Who derailed this thread? Reverend Who?

Tuning the B to C makes a lot of chords difficult. Not having it in 4ths all the way across makes playing single note stuff a little awkward at times because you have to change the pattern on that string, but it doesn't bother me too much.

I have a good story about Jordon. I went to high school with this really amazing guitarist named Joshua Thomson. When Josh was in college he roomed with Stanley. Back in high school, Josh was always saying he wanted to learn to play rhythm and lead at the same time. I figured if anyone could do it, it would be Josh. So when he met Stanley they bet each other who could pull it off first! We know who wont that bet.

[Zipslack]

Rev. Gibbons has his own string line, so he probably is set for any gauge he wants. If he's using the EQ system referred to earlier, it doesn't matter if he's using weedeater string and a piezo pickup, it'll still sound the same by the time it hits the speakers....007's would just be a lot easier on the fingers (he ain't no spring chicken any more).

[HTH]

The story I recall Bill Gibbons telling was that he met BB King back in the day and he asked why he was using them big ol' strings and making it hard on himself. Apparently the Rev decided to go the other way and use light strings with a softer touch.

One thing is for sure, it certainly doesn't affect his monster tone. If you watch him closely, he doesn't really dig in much, it's a very subtle and soft touch he's got.

[rjb]

Two kids yammering in the back of the classroom

Condon was a banjoist. So just like with the example of Moore who played mandolin, he's not a guitarist, even if he ended up playing something that looked like a guitar. It's a different instrument.

Or you could say Fripp plays something that looks like a guitar, but is really a mandocello with 2 extra strings.
Now, what about Tiny Grimes? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUKhc...feature=relmfu

Guitars have six strings.

Really?

Tuning the B to C makes a lot of chords difficult. Not having it in 4ths all the way across makes playing single note stuff a little awkward at times because you have to change the pattern on that string, but it doesn't bother me too much.

Alternate tunings make you rethink chord voicings. You can't play "cowboy chords" in all-4ths tuning. 5ths tuning pretty much forces you to play more open voicings.

...When Josh was in college he roomed with Stanley.

Off-campus apartment? The link says Josh went to Rutgers; I thought Stanley went to Princeton.

...play rhythm and lead at the same time....We know who wont that bet.

Yea, but Stanley is actually a pianist playing something that looks like a guitar....

[rjb]

Idle Speculation

If he's using the EQ system referred to earlier, it doesn't matter if he's using weedeater string and a piezo pickup, it'll still sound the same by the time it hits the speakers.

Going by the assumption you can't EQ frequencies that ain't there to begin with, would the pickup in use have to have a loaded resonance frequency at least as high as the "golden" pickup?

[David Schwab]

Off-campus apartment? The link says Josh went to Rutgers; I thought Stanley went to Princeton.

Good question. I don't know. I'm just relating the story as I remember it! I haven't talked to Josh in years, but he is one of my FaceBook friends now. Josh was the best guitarist I ever played with that wasn't famous! Glad to see he got successful later. He could play anything from Hendrix to McLaughlin.

Yea, but Stanley is actually a pianist playing something that looks like a guitar....

Harry DeArmond is said to be one of the first people to do the two hand tapping thing, and on two separate guitars! I like Stanley's regular guitar playing better. I'm not a big fan of tapping on guitars, but I do like Chapman stick players. I was thinking about getting one myself.

I used to write a lot of music in alternate tunings. But I also don't play standard chord voicings on guitar, and prefer to mix things up a bit. I'm always looking for something I haven't heard before.

Here's an example of that:

http://soundcloud.com/davidravenmoon...l-intelligence

No cowboy chords!

(recorded circa 1986. Rhythm guitar is a '74 Mustang with Lawrence L-250s. Lead guitar is an '81 LP standard with DiMarzio SDHB. Bass is a heavily modded '73 Rick)