No high frequencies here!

[Mike Sulzer]

An ad for B&G guitars popped up. I took a lot at the web page and noticed they cast their own thick brass pickup covers.

I guess they do not want much in the way of high frequencies in their guitars.

[jack briggs]

An ad for B&G guitars popped up. I took a lot at the web page and noticed they cast their own thick brass pickup covers.

I guess they do not want much in the way of high frequencies in their guitars.

"we even use thick brass pickup covers to isolate the coils instead of pressed tin covers."

tin covers?? where does one find tin covers?

[Claus H]

"we even use thick brass pickup covers to isolate the coils instead of pressed tin covers."

tin covers?? where does one find tin covers?

"You gotta want them tin covers, more tin covers"

[rjb]

Since I have an adblocker installed, I had to check out B&G's website directly.

It looks like they do want to suppress high frequencies; they are trying to capture the "fat and throaty" sound of the acoustic parlor guitars played by blues men in the 20's and 30's. But since their reference would be recordings from that period, I think that "authentic" sounding pickups should hiss like frying bacon and emit a thump at 1.3 Hz (78 RPM).

Below is copy from the site. I was a bit bemused by this line:

It needed to be superior in terms of playability, and it had to be gimmick free.

Is an electric parlor guitar with repros of early 20th c. appointments a gimmick?
I guess hokum is in the eyes of the beholder.

On the other hand, it does look like a fun (albeit not very versatile) little guitar.

-rb

---

The story of the Little Sister® guitar began from the puzzling question of how the early delta bluesmen were able to fascinate a listener with only one guitar and their simple, yet soulful vocal lines.

Understanding that these players fat and throaty guitar tone often came from playing small body Parlor guitars, made us decide to uncover the secret of these instruments and embark on a journey back to the crossroads. While obsessively collecting all sorts of original guitars from the 1920s and ‘30s, that many times were in poor condition and needed a complete restoration, we began to create the special design that would best approach the guitar sound we had become hooked on.

We wanted to create an instrument that would be versatile enough for players who use a pick, and for players who are finger stylists. It needed to be superior in terms of playability, and it had to be gimmick free. It had to be lightweight, comfortable and unique; Ultimately, we decided that it should be a small body parlor guitar because these were the instruments that we kept playing again and again.

And if she looks like a jewel it's because she was designed by jewelry artist David Weizman who also handcrafts the brass hardware.

[J M Fahey]

"we even use thick brass pickup covers to isolate the coils instead of pressed tin covers."

tin covers?? where does one find tin covers?

*Anything* can be described in a less than flattering way (and that´s an understatement ) if it suits a salesman.

Guitar strings can be described as "chunks of baling wire" , a (natural) lacquered guitar can be described as "covered in tree sweat" , cheese or yoghurt as "spoiled milk" and so on.

Let´s not even mention spoiled and fermented rye, corn, malt, grapes or apples

Back to the "ad", he even uses "pressed" instead of stamped or drawn , go figure.

[John Kolbeck]

https://bngguitars.com/about

We cast our own brass hardware from a unique allow that conducts the fullest frequency range, we even use thick brass pickup covers to isolate the coils instead of pressed tin covers.

Frankly, I don't think they know what they're talking about, or care. It's the usual salesman BS copy that is ubiquitous in the world of electric guitar. Every cost cutting measure somehow also, coincidentally, happens to bring out sweet highs, extended frequency response, tight lows, tamed mids, touch sensitivity, blistering harmonics, smooth sustain. It's all about subjectivity, if you can't prove otherwise, I'm going to claim it happens. And since this is a bizarre industry in which salesmen are also seen as trusted authority figures, I'm going to get away with it every time.

As an aside, I don't think eddy currents kill all high end, or are perceived as doing so, so long as the pickup in question has a high resonant peak. Filter'trons are a perfect example of this. Tons of eddy losses, still extremely clear.

[rjb]

Frankly, I don't think they know what they're talking about, or care.

Of course they don't know what they're talking about- when they're talking about physics or electronics.
They use a unique brass "allow" (not alloy)- presumably to "allow" conduction of the fullest frequency range!

These guys are (or are marketing themselves as) craftsmen/artists - not physicist/engineers.
I would cut them some slack regarding the technical hyperbole.

If I had an inclination (and the spare cash) to buy one of those guitars, it would be for the fun factor of the designs- not for "state-of-the-art" pickups.
https://bngguitars.com/gallery

-rb

[John Kolbeck]

Let's suppose they're not lying outright, and are truly ignorant of the physics. Would it kill them to call up a physicist and ask?

[big_teee]

Their guitars look great, I would like a lefty model.
They're building and selling beautiful guitars.
I say we cut them some slack.
After all, If the customer doesn't like the pickups?
Maybe he can buy some with nickel baseplates, and nickel covers, from someone here.
T

[rjb]

Let's suppose they're not lying outright, and are truly ignorant of the physics. Would it kill them to call up a physicist and ask?

IMHO, It would do little good to call up some random physicist.
Most physicists have great expertise in a certain specialized area- and it usually isn't guitar pickups.
I once played in a community theater pit band with a bunch of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center physicists.
I guarantee that not one of them knew or cared about the subtleties of guitar pickup construction.

[Fun Fact:
The rocket scientist version of "Hey guys, this ain't rocket science" is "Hey guys, this ain't brain surgery".
The band conductor must have uttered that phrase a hundred times during every rehearsal.]

It seems to me that you are focusing so much on one specialized area that you are missing the big picture- or not getting the joke, so to speak.

Take a good look at the "Little Sister" guitar. The whole thing is one big anachronism!

This is the guitar that Blind Lemon Jefferson would have used to record "Long Lonesome Blues"- if they had P90s or Humbuckers in 1926.

How many electric guitars have slotted pegheads? Who thought of that sick bridge/tailpiece combination?
I don't hear anyone complaining about non-historic tonewood combinations.
So what's the big deal if they use <strike>cast</strike> thick brass pickup covers?

Regarding "pressed tin" covers: Lots of people use "tin" to mean "generic cheap metal". Tin cans are still "tin" cans, even though they're steel. If you search for 30s to mid-50s vintage electric guitars, you will find more "steel" guitars than "Spanish" guitars. And the pickup covers on many of those steel guitars might be classified as "pressed tin".

Moral: Not everything in life is a Les Paul.

-rb

[Mike Sulzer]

Their guitars look great, I would like a lefty model.
They're building and selling beautiful guitars.
I say we cut them some slack.
After all, If the customer doesn't like the pickups?
Maybe he can buy some with nickel baseplates, and nickel covers, from someone here.
T

I like the guitars, too.

[Lollar Jason]

I noticed them a year or so ago- says they make thier own glue- what do they go kill a horse and render it?

[JGundry]

I noticed them a year or so ago- says they make thier own glue- what do they go kill a horse and render it?

You can make hide glue by scraping the collagen off the inside of a raw hide and letting it dry. I never tried it or had the desire to but the guy I learned violin making from told me it was pretty easy to do.

[rjb]

I noticed them a year or so ago- says they make thier own glue- what do they go kill a horse and render it?

No, camel.

[John Kolbeck]

IMHO, It would do little good to call up some random physicist.
Most physicists have great expertise in a certain specialized area- and it usually isn't guitar pickups.

There is a high degree of overlap with inductor and transformer core material considerations, which are far more common than guitar pickups. But moreover, if you don't know what you're talking about, just don't say anything. We shouldn't be giving salesmen carte blanche to just make stuff up, even if you do happen to be blinded by the beauty of the guitars they're selling.