| Author |
Topic: Fessenden, Zum, True-Tone & L710...... |
Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
|
Posted 9 Sep 2005 5:16 am |
|
I had some fun last night picking with lurking forumite Kevin Chriss last night....he just picked up a near-new Fessy and I was looking forward to trying it out and playing it. At the same time, I really wanted to compare his amp to mine (we both have Session 400s) since I was having a horrible time dialing out the mids....my amp sounds much more harsh since I changed out the JBL that kept blowing for a new BW.
I noticed that both our amps sound about the same......we then decided to plug into the same amp and play the same phrase, comparing each guitar. That Fessy sounded GREAT. Very warm, yet bright (he had George L PF-1s on it). My Zum, with True-Tones, just sounded very shrill....and the mids were a killer. I was very unhappy, to say the least.
Kevin's other guitar is an Excel on which he changed out the original pickup, a Lawrence L-710. He suggested it as an option....we jumped on the SGF and did a quick search and saw many positive comments about the pickup. So, he jerry-rigged the Lawrence pickup to an old guitar cable and held it over my steel, where we did a quick A/B test between the True Tone and the Lawrence (I never would have thought of that!) The L710 sounded great.....much less middy, yet still very bright. And the sound was, to me, fuller. So, we swapped out the pickup.
Back we went plugging both guitars into the same amp....and now the Zum is sounding sweet....right there with the Fessy. That pickup made a world of difference....and here I was thinking of axeing the amp!
I got to play the Fessy, too.....and it is every bit as nice a guitar as my Zum....I think they sound just about identical. I have been very impressed with a number of the new guitars being built today....especially Mullen and GFI (along with my beloved Zum). This was my first experience with a Fessy, and all I could say to Kevin was he got a great deal. That guitar is right there with the "cream of the crop" (which all of you already know.....but know I know first-hand!).
Ah well....just thought I'd share.
Session 400....Zum....Lawrence 710....Hilton pedal. I think I'm good (for now!). 
One of these days I'll get back to practicing!!
Joe |
|
|
 |
Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
|
Posted 9 Sep 2005 7:24 am
|
|
| I love the 710 (actually 712 for me) pickup on my Sho-Bud and Franklin, but it's too bright for my Zum. My favorite Zum pickups are Jim Pitman's Tonealigner and Lawrence LXR-16. |
|
|
|
Drew Howard
From:
48854
|
Posted 9 Sep 2005 9:27 am
|
|
Fessy > George L PF's > N400 or Twin.
------------------
Drew Howard - website - Fessenden D-10 8/8, Fessenden SD-12 5/5 (Ext E9), Magnatone S-8, N400's, BOSS RV-3
|
|
|
|
Duane Dunard
From:
Troy, MO. U.S.A.
|
Posted 9 Sep 2005 9:32 am
|
|
| Hi Joe. My experience was just the reverse of your's. I went from a very hard sounding L-710, that had to be distanced far away from the strings, to 17.5 True-Tones that made my Zum come alive. However, at the time, I was playing a Sho-Bud single channel amp. I suspect the Session-400, (a great steel amp), is stronger in the mids regardless of what pick-up used. My Millennium likes the True-Tones over the L-710's also, but I use a Nash-112 now, and the Nash-112 sounds as thick and warm as the old Sho-Bud amp. I'm glad you found a good match for your system, otherwise, it's an endless search. |
|
|
|
richard burton
From:
Britain
|
Posted 9 Sep 2005 12:22 pm
|
|
A single-coil pickup exhibiting more mids than a humbucker????
As a player of many years, albeit not a very good player, indeed a nonentity in the grand scheme of things, I am nontheless astounded by this statement. |
|
|
|
Frank Parish
From:
Nashville,Tn. USA
|
Posted 9 Sep 2005 1:19 pm
|
|
| I used the BL-710's in a Legrande II a while back and it was a killer tone for that guitar. I've got Truetones in my Carter now but tried a Bl-710 the other day and have decided to go with the BL-710's instead. By putting one on the front neck only I could make a pretty good comparison between the two by playing on both necks at once. The BL-710 is quite a bit brighter which suits me. |
|
|
|
Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
|
Posted 9 Sep 2005 1:20 pm
|
|
quote:
A single-coil pickup exhibiting more mids than a humbucker????
As a player of many years, albeit not a very good player, indeed a nonentity in the grand scheme of things, I am nontheless astounded by this statement.
Richard,
Don't just take my word for it.....from the Carter website
| Quote: |
| Mid-range is very growly |
|
|
|
|
Pat Burns
From:
Branchville, N.J. USA
|
Posted 10 Sep 2005 5:40 am
|
|
They also say...
| Quote: |
| The brand/model of steel can also play a big role in how a particular pickup sounds ... the sound can vary from brand to brand. The descriptions below are our opinionof how they sound on the Carter. |
And they also say this, which I think is the crux of the matter...
quote:
Sound is somewhat subjective
...therefore, please remember that these are only our opinions when you read our descriptions. You might have another opinion of the sound when you hear
these pickups on a Carter, or any brand for that matter.
|
|
|
|
Tore Blestrud
From:
Oslo, Norway
|
Posted 10 Sep 2005 7:18 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paddy Long
From:
Christchurch, New Zealand
|
Posted 11 Sep 2005 1:36 pm
|
|
Joe, I have a slightly different setup on my Zum, I have a BL710 on the C6th neck and a BL910 on the E9th. I find the 910 is perfect for my tastes on E9th, it is a little fuller sounding with fatter mids, and silkier highs.
I would be interested in anyones thoughts on how the BL-XR16's sound on a Zum --- I have them on my Carter and it sounds awesome.
|
|
|
|
Quentin Hickey
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
|
Posted 9 Feb 2024 5:12 pm Bringing up an old post on a random Google search
|
|
When I had Jerry Fessenden build my guitar, I requested Bill Lawrence 710s, having not played 710s I was unsure of what to expect. First impression was OMG how will I manage. After spending a while with them, I learned how to work with their output. Fast forward to now, I don't think I would be happy with any other pickup, wih 705 being a possible alternative. These pickups in a Fessenden are wow omg amazing.
That being said, I looked at Zum vs Fessenden. I noticed alot of similarities between he 2 designs. They should have somewhat similar inherent tonal and sustain qualities.
Buddy's Zum had 710 pickups and from what I heard from the videos that the tone is more similar than dissimilar between Zum and Fessenden with BL710 pickups.
I've heard both Zum and Fess guitars sound good with single coils. Alot of people prefer singles to anything else including top Nashville players.
Last edited by Quentin Hickey on 11 Feb 2024 7:41 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Dean Holman
From:
Branson MO
|
Posted 10 Feb 2024 12:20 pm
|
|
| Paddy Long wrote: |
Joe, I have a slightly different setup on my Zum, I have a BL710 on the C6th neck and a BL910 on the E9th. I find the 910 is perfect for my tastes on E9th, it is a little fuller sounding with fatter mids, and silkier highs.
I would be interested in anyones thoughts on how the BL-XR16's sound on a Zum --- I have them on my Carter and it sounds awesome.
|
Gary Carter uses XR-16’s in his Zum, and I love the tone he gets. |
|
|
|
