Robben Ford Discussion

johnnyd · New Member Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Posts: 4

Hi folks,

Can anyone tell me what pickups Robben had in his Esprit on the "Playin' the Blues" and "The Blues and Beyond" videos era? They were black with no pickup covers.

Thanks!

Very Happy

Bill Morgan

[quote="johnnyd"]Hi folks,

Can anyone tell me what pickups Robben had in his Esprit on the "Playin' the Blues" and "The Blues and Beyond" videos era? They were black with no pickup covers.

Thanks!

Very Happy

[/quote]

That's a good question, but I doubt that anyone, even Robben, would know the answer. Robben states in a later video that those early pickups "were no good. Now they're good!", and I assume the latter reference is to the 59/JB combination that he used for such a long time.

Also, that guitar is not an Esprit. It's an early version of the Ultra SP. I once heard that Robben had some actual PAF's in that guitar at one time, but I don't know if that was really true or not.

FWIW, the MIJ RF model guitars also had uncovered pickups that looked like the ones in Robben's guitar. I have a couple sets of those somewhere. There were also "no good".

Bill

johnnyd · New Member Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Posts: 4

Thanks Bill. My bad, I called the guitar an Esprit incorrectly.

Any idea what pickups were in the "Back to the Blues' video? Were they the 59/JB combo? Is it a 59 in the neck and JB in the bridge?

Finally, I keep seeing cheap alternative pickups on sites like stewmac.com and guitarfetish.com that purport to be comparable to more expensive 59's, 57 classics, etc. Does anyone have experience with these type of pickups? Any suggestions on what would get me close to the Robben tone with these cheaper alternatives?

LINKS:

http://store.guitarfetish.com/humbuckers.html

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_electric/Golden_Age_Pickups.html

I have a Squier Esprit and want to upgrade the pickups, but I can't justify $200 on new pickups for a $270 guitar.

Thanks for your help and recommendations!

arfy · Member Joined: 22 Jul 2003 Posts: 9

I think I read in interviews around that time RF was using a Duncan JB in the bridge and a '59 in the neck. A friend of mine has an Esprit and we both feel the stock pickups are really pretty nice, $270 guitar or not. There really isn't anything comparable to the Esprit in that price range with a chambered body and its other features and quality. I think any PAF type pickup will get you as close as a pickup will. For the record I have Burstbucker Pros in my Edwards LP copy and like them fine, although I'd go for the Lollars if I did it again.

Bill Morgan · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 2:47 pm Post subject:

Sweet_emotion16 · Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 12:55 pm Post subject:

can anyone elaborate on the espirit and how good it is?
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fig · Senior Member Joined: 02 Feb 2005 Posts: 56

These are around $60 a piece and are as good as, if not better than, many of your $250 pickups. I've had 2 sets of them, and they were great.

http://www.highorderpickups.com/

Bill Morgan · Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:25 pm Post subject:

Funkalicous · Member Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 9 Location: Denver, co

I have a squier esprit that I LOVE, of course I have an Antiquity in the neck and a JB in the bridge, as well as some "Special" caps (Thanks Bill!! ;-)) I also took the finish off the back of the neck and gave it 3 coats of tung oil, aside from the cheap frets the guitar plays beautifully, and sounds fantastic! I'd say it's the best $300 I've ever spent!
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DaveH · Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:50 pm Post subject:

[quote="Funkalicous"]I have a squier esprit that I LOVE, of course I have an Antiquity in the neck and a JB in the bridge, as well as some "Special" caps (Thanks Bill!! ;-)) I also took the finish off the back of the neck and gave it 3 coats of tung oil, aside from the cheap frets the guitar plays beautifully, and sounds fantastic! I'd say it's the best $300 I've ever spent![/quote]

Are these caps a "secret"?, or can you explain them?
I have an Esprit with a JB@ bridge, and a DiMarzio PAF Joe@ neck.

JohnnyZ · Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:59 pm Post subject:

Sorry for the aside on the topic...

DaveH, I see you're from Woodstock, NY. You maybe know, or have seen him and his band, Jim Weider? And, Tony Levin? Lots of great music from these guys in their hometown and vicinity. Another great talent from that area is Joey Eppard and his band "3". I missed this year's Woodstock Guitar Festival, but I caught it last year with Johnny Hiland, who blew the place away! Anyway, would like to hear from you about what's happening there...

Ok, back to Esprit mods... Very Happy

DaveH · Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:17 pm Post subject:

[quote="JohnnyZ"]Sorry for the aside on the topic...

DaveH, I see you're from Woodstock, NY. You maybe know, or have seen him and his band, Jim Weider? And, Tony Levin? Lots of great music from these guys in their hometown and vicinity. Another great talent from that area is Joey Eppard and his band "3". I missed this year's Woodstock Guitar Festival, but I caught it last year with Johnny Hiland, who blew the place away! Anyway, would like to hear from you about what's happening there...
Ok, back to Esprit mods... Very Happy

[/quote]

I bought my first good elecrtic from Jimmy Weider, back in '67. Guess what, it was a Tele. He was in a high school band with my older brother. I rarely see him anymore, but I am in contact with some mutual friends, and I get updates. Another top-shelf player I know from way back, is Cindy Cashdollar. We were in 7th grade together, from the same town, and learning at the same time.

I have played in the last two guitar festivals with the "founder" of the fest, plus a bunch of other gigs with him around town, some with Tony Levins brother Pete. There was the possibility that Tony and Jesse Gress would show for the festival this year, but that never happened. Instead, we got stuck with the likes of Joe Vilette, and Harvey Citron. Wink

I don't know Joe Eppard, but I do know, and have gigged with his father Jimmy. He's a top shelf player.

Are you from this neck of the woods?

Funkalicous · Member Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 9 Location: Denver, co

they're not really a "secret" From the factory they have ceramic caps, but you'd be amazed at the difference if you put in a Hoviland musicap, a Jensen Paper in oil, or even an M150 or an Orange drop.

Robben said in one of his video's that his pickups are connected to the selector and then directly to the output jack-but I've never tried it.
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frank0936 · Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:13 pm Post subject: Ultra pickups

In one article, the pickups in Robben's Ultra were said to be Gibson pickups - but not which Gibson pickups! I have one of the first Esprits of anyone on this board, I think. Mine is still stock. I haven't found it necessary to change anything yet.
Frank

PaulG · Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:27 am Post subject:

Help me out, guys. Per the Master Series site
http://www.masterseriesguitars.com/
there were 2 types, the Esprit and Flame. These came in 3 'trim' packages, Standard, Elite, and Ultra.

I had heard Robben played an Esprit Ultra. Did his come along before these particular options were available? Also, didn't he have more than one of these series?

I really like the sound of these.... fat HB sound with a tincture of 'Fenderness'.
You guys are lucky to have one.