[Splattle101]

Part two: the neck pick up

I like to play on the neck a lot. On all my guitars. I particularly like the sound of the neck pick up of my Tele. I am therefore predisposed to like the tone of the neck pick up of any guitar, but I particularly like the sound of a single coil. This H-90 is a good example of the species.

With the amp at 4 and tone and volume at 10 on the guitar, this pup is quite forward and bitey. Hard strumming is rewarded with a full-sounding but low-level overdrive. There’s plenty of bottom end there, and it drives the amp well. A note of caution: I generally run my combo amps hard, and I tame the bass so it doesn’t get woofy and loose. This pick up could get into that territory without any trouble. Through my old Laney AOR 100 Watt head and 4 x 12, it’s tight and punchy, and through my Super Reverb combo it’s great, too. However, I have a feeling it could get out of control if you don’t look after your EQ, so if you use combos and you don’t like the sound of your bass response, this pick up may cause you problems. But then again so will others. Anyway, it’s noted for your information though your mileage may vary.

The neck doesn’t feel as hot as the bridge, although neither of these pick ups is hot in any case. (I measured them at about 7.5 and 7.8 k. They are listed as 8.0 & 8.5 k. Mine might be a little low, or my multimeter may be a little off, or my measuring technique may be suspect. Don’t know.)

This is perfect for that ‘hollow’ tone, like Blue Jean Blues. It responds well to the tone control, mellowing nicely and taking the edge off the gain. It responds well to the volume as well, keeping its detail while the tone is up. With the tone rolled well down and the volume backed off, it produces a warm, mellow sound that still retains some definition. You could play the intro to Bring It On Home very easily like this.

With the Tubescreamer kicked in, it comes to life. The high-mid voicing of the TS808 suits this pick up well. With the volume up, the tone control provides tones from raucous to smooth, all the way down to that very ‘vocal’ sounding tone reminiscent of Clapton (i.e., the so-called ‘woman tone’). It does Dave Gilmour beautifully with the tone backed off only a little – just enough to tame any stray edges – and I spent some time mucking around with the first solo from Shine on You Crazy Diamond.

With the high gain settings – either turning the amp up or kicking in the Crunch Box – this pick up displayed the good harmonic qualities of the bridge unit. No microphonics or any of that nonsense. The feedback was musical and useable. The ‘woman tone’ was again easily obtainable and eminently useable. I must say, however, that I liked the sound of this pick up more when the amp was turned up high (6 or 7) and with the TS808 saturating the front end, than when I had the amp lower (4 or thereabouts) and the Crunch Box kicking the front of the TS808. The tone was more open and, to me anyway, more musical.

The middle position is very useable. I have mucked around with a number of variations, and found that anything that can be contemplated on a humbucker-equipped, 1950s-wired Les Paul can be done here. Blends work well. It should be noted that it doesn’t quack like a Tele: it sounds like a Les Paul. It might be different if wired up out of phase. Dunno. I particularly liked the sound of the bridge with vol down, tone right up mixed with a touch of neck to give a little more fullness. Add a bit of vibrato from the Super Reverb and pick it down near the bridge and it twangs and snaps in a most agreeable manner. Bo Diddley kinda thing.


To finalize this review, I would say that the pair of pick ups are well matched for volume and for voicing. They sound like good P-90s and – to my ear – sounded far better than Gibson’s current attempt at a low-noise P-90. They don’t measure very hot, but they do ‘feel’ hot. They deliver the classic P-90 bite and bark, but are also amenable to taming via the tone control. The quality of the workmanship is good: indeed, better than you have any right to expect for the price.

My overall impression is of a product that’s been manufactured to compete in the quality pick up market, even though it’s priced as a cheapie. Personally, I will be keeping these in this guitar.

cheers,
Splat