Robben Ford Discussion

clovis · Member Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 10

Hello guys,

I wanted to ask you all some pickup opinions. I recently bought a Carvin C66 bolt neck guitar. The body is alder with a flamed maple cap. The neck is ebony. I didn't know this when I ordered it...but that makes a slightly brighter guitar than I am used to. hehehe I want to get rid of the awful Carvin PU's and slap some Duncans in.

I'm going for a bluesy tone like Robben with a very legato friendly side too. I play fusion/rock/blues and jazz. I am thinking of going with the Vintage Blues combo from S. Duncan. It's a matched pair of 59's. One for neck and bridge. But I'm also considering the JB bridge/59 neck option too. Any thoughts or suggestions for what might be best for the guitar I have? I don't want to make an already bright guitar even brighter...but I want a guitar that can cut through the mix when playing live and not sound harsh or like an ice pick.

Thanks,

John R.
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clovis · Member Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 10

Does NObody have any thoughts on this?
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Red Suede · Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 10:54 am Post subject:

You might want something a little thicker sounding in the bridge position. Again, it's whatever your taste is. In my strats, I like the pickups to be the same, but in my humbucker guitars I like the bridge to be thicker sounding. My Fender RF has a spruce top and alder body, so I got what Robben used on His japanese RF: Duncan 59er in the neck and a JB in the bridge. Perfect! In his Bakers he started experimenting again, and had a couple that had mahogany bodies with spruce tops and I heard he started experimenting with the Duncan "Full Shred". I feel you can't go wrong starting with the 59er - JB combination because your guitar is essentially the same as the Robben Ford model with the maple cap. Your guitar should come close, but I don't know that your guitar has hollow cavities in it, so it will be a little different. Welcome to pickup wars. (A lot of us i'm sure have boxes of pickups and learned a lot about what pickups go with what woods thrrough years of experimentation).

clovis · Member Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 10

Yea this is offically my first time experimenting with this stuff. Exploring tone, etc. I'm probably gonna go with the Jb/59 combo and if that don't work, then maybe a 59/59 combo.

My guitar is solid with no hollow cavities. It's midrandy for sure because of the alder, but it's also very bright...alder with maple cap and ebony fretboard did that. lol I didn't know what the result would be when I spec'd it out with Carvin. As I said, this is my first time exploring tone in depth. I guess I'm a member of the endless journey now.
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Red Suede · Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 11:25 am Post subject:

I think you'll enjoy the 59er-JB combination, but i'm interested in hearing how it works for you.

BlueRunner · Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:36 pm Post subject:

I'll definitely be interested, too. Glad to find another Carvin fan on board. Two years ago I bought an SC90S (and have an old and very hissy and hummy BelAir amp, but that's another story), with the same pickups as the C66. I like Carvin's C22 pickups a lot, 'tho they're certainly not killers, so be sure to post a report once you've switched yours out.
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nineacres · Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 2:22 am Post subject:

Have any of you guys ever heared of Bare Knuckle Pickups? They're made over here in the UK by an extremely talented guy called Tim Mills. I have a set of their humbuckers (the Mule) on one of my guitars and they are by far the best PUs I have ever heared - extremely clear-sounding, no mud, a great presence and that great singing quality. They've just a US store agree to sell their pickups: The Guitar Cellar at Boulder, Colorado. Also, if you go onto the website (the Latest News) section: http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=dc65719f6eb726038c1d263342df5489 you can hear clips of the PUs sent in by users. And the reviews for BKPs on Harmony Central are not just good, but consistently glowing with praise. Hope this is useful.
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nineacres · Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:04 am Post subject:

Just doodling around the web this morning and found this on Robert Keeley's website re Bare Knuckles:

PICKUPS!!! What does Robert Like for Pickups? Well, many really....I do like Fralin, I like all the Fender stuff, including the Noiseless, and Lace and all the custom shop stuff, I like EMG for my telecasters, but, BUT...this is really sweet...Try Tim Mills in the UK. This man and his company are really tought to beat! I hate terrying out pickups once I've spent money...but this is gonna be easy! Tim Mills - Managing Director Bare Knuckle Pickups Ltd www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk Tel:+44 (0)1598 763666 Fax:+44 (0)1598 763270

(I am not in any way associated with, and blah, blah Smile

)
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"Creativeness often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were only thought up a little more than a century ago?" - Bernice Fitz-Gibbon 1894-1982