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Post new topic Pickups, help please
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Author Topic:  Pickups, help please
Patrick Layher

 

From:
Buffalo WY, USA
Post  Posted 28 Jan 2009 6:40 pm    
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I have an '87 Zum and I think it sounds great. I recently bought a '76 shobud with a B/L 705 pickup. This Sho-Bud sounds better IMHO.

The shobud has a very sharp crisp sound, very clean with great string separation. What I'd like to know is, how much of this sound is the pickup?

I don't know the make or model of the pickup on the Zum but it is a solid plastic box with pins for each string.

Thanks for your help,
Pat
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Dennis Wallis

 

From:
Arkansas
Post  Posted 28 Jan 2009 8:56 pm    
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My Zum has George L's E-66 pickups in it. They sound great to me. I have that pickup on all my guitars except the older LDG,which I left stock. These pickups are quiet and sound very good to me on any guitar,at least they improved the sound. You might try one in your guitar and see if you like it.
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Ulric Utsi-Åhlin

 

From:
Sweden
Post  Posted 29 Jan 2009 2:14 am     Pickup...
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Guitar & P-U go together & work together,and it´s
impossible to know,for certain,what the one would be
without the other ; principally,a P-U magnifies the
sound of the guitar,BUT in doing so it adds & sub-
tracts ; I´ll leave the primer on the ins & outs of
P-U design to experts in that field,but there are
many variables ; strum Your,unamplified,guitar,lis-
ten and get the idea of what the P-U will "hear"
a couple of inches from the changer...that will be
the working material for any P-U...McUtsi
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CrowBear Schmitt


From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
Post  Posted 29 Jan 2009 2:59 am    
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if it's original, the PU on yer Zum is probably one of Bruce Z's own
in recent times, he's been puttin' True Tones as stock PU
i installed BL 710s on mine
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Ricky Davis


From:
Bertram, Texas USA
Post  Posted 29 Jan 2009 6:58 am    
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You'll never get a Zum to sound like a Shobud; no matter what pickup you put in it.
I agree that the pickup and steel work together to produce the overall sound; but you have "night and day" differences in design;material and so forth; between the Zum and Sho~bud.
I truly believe the best single coil pickup out there for any steel IS the TrueTone; hands down.
If you want a great sounding humbucker; I do like the original Bill Lawrence 705's....But hard to find.
Now; I haven't tried Bill's new 705's; so can't speak my opinion about them....but I'm so much a single coil guy; that I just can't get away from it.
Ricky
_________________
Ricky Davis
Email Ricky: sshawaiian2362@gmail.com
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Jim Bob Sedgwick

 

From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
Post  Posted 29 Jan 2009 6:16 pm    
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What Ricky says you can take to the bank. Single coil only for me. JMO
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Chris Bauer

 

From:
Nashville, TN USA
Post  Posted 29 Jan 2009 8:02 pm    
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Tone is such a personal thing that it's awfully tough to say what will sound good to you - all the more since the same pickup is going to sound different in different guitars.

That said, for what it's worth, I'm a recent convert to ToneAligners and plan to try them in my Zum as soon as I can come up with the cash to order them.
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Patrick Layher

 

From:
Buffalo WY, USA
Post  Posted 2 Feb 2009 8:04 am     Thanks
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Thanks guys for all the great input nad advice. I have made a choice and we'll see how that goes.

Pat
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