HamerHokie

I think you're forgetting that Gibson and Fender stopped relying on engineering long ago, when they found their mystical pots of 'vintage magic' they pour on each and every guitar produced. Instant masterpiece!

What determines the difference in price between models and manufacturers? Quality/type of wood Quality of hardware Quality of pickups Quality of workmanship - handmade vs CNC So that explains the difference between a Santana III and an Epiphone to a large extent. But you know, someone who plays metal might find a Santana III as a waste of time and might prefer a Jackson with Dimebuckers. What criteria do guitarists need to have preferences for? Weight Features Finish colors Wood tone Wood appearance Scale length Resonance Hotness and tone of pickups How things sound in your own rig

It's seems to me you are trying to obejctively quantify a purely subjective decision. I think you've made a few assumptions that lead you to believe that this is easier than it really is. You say that you can't compare P-90s to humbuckers. You also cannot compare humbuckers to other humbuckers! Some are voiced for vintage tones, some more modern. Also, you can't compare P-90s to P-90s, because some people want them to sound like Telecaster pickups, some like Strat pickups, and some like something totally different. That's how we get into such ridiculous 'advice' threads on this board. Someone says 'I want a good nasty P-90 tone' and are told 'Try Phat Cats!' Personal bias invariably drives advice - if I like it, you should too! Despite what you say you want! It all comes down to this - what do you want? You have to KNOW. What tone do you have in your mind? It seems to me you are way to willing to let a salesman do that for you. Salesmen push product. If they sell Fenders they are going to steer you to Fender. Even if you want a Gibson. If you have no idea what you want, they will thank God for sending you. In reading the angst in your past posts it sounds more like you don't have any really effective methodology for evaluating guitars YOURSELF. My methodology can never be yours, unless you want exactly what I do. A few tips: 1. If you are going to audition different guitars, bring your amp. You can't expect them to sound the same as they do in the store unless you use the same amp. 2. Do your research. Harmony Central is OK, in that you'll see the good and the bad with each model. Find guitar mag reviews of the guitars you're considering. 3. Learn what pickups sound like. Some pickup manufacturers provide sound clips of their pickups on their websites. Learn the difference in 'vintage,' 'modern,' 'hot,' 'aggressive' tones, especially in the areas of resonant frequency and frequency balance across the spectrum (some have better bass response, some have hotter mids, some have exaggerated highs).

I don't even think about it until I look down and see a ding and then it's too late. I don't buy a guitar unless I'm going to play out with it so them's the breaks. My AK P-90 got knocked down from a standing up position and lost two big finish chips on the edge, no wood damage but still noticable. I didn't see it until days after it happened. There are all kinds of little micro-dings on my 4-year old Studio Custom.

Ok , thanks. Judging by the info on this page http://www.drtube.com/marshall.htm#JCM800 I can buy any of model below year 1988. I would say if you are looking for the classic Marshall Plexi sound you don't want a JCM800.

I'd just like to say that I'm impressed that no one has recommended Phat Cats.

Neither is the Voodoo.

Bar Owners have absolutely no commitment to you whatsoever so I have a hard time feeling any commitment to THEM. You can do a great job for them, fill their house, and still they might decide kareoke is a better option. That said, I would have the schedule handy and announce that you have them, so you can give them out between sets. I'd do that instead of distributing them to tables. Better yet, get peoples' email addresses and send them your schedule directly.

I guess I'm having a hard time seeing how they arrived at that price without a lot more custom options. Trans orange on spruce is zero upcharge. There's an upcharge for the pickups and the crowns. But not that much more. Does it have an ebony fingerboard? Are there any more options added?

What would a used Monaco cost? Then consider the cost of putting in TV Jones pickups in that. Is the remaining difference (crowns, color) worth the extra $1200 or so?

When I see a pickup wound at 8.5 k (or less) I assume it is too cool for my tastes. There seems to be a big gap between pickups in this range and the hot SDs - I haven't been able to find P-90s wound in the 10-11k range, which I think would be ideal. As long as it has a midrange peak.

P-90s aren't supposed to sound 'bright.' They are supposed to sound fat. I agree that Duncans are too hot for most purposes but many others sound too twangy for P-90s. The best P-90 I ever heard was on my old Les Paul Junior, a stock dogear from '58. It was perfect, fat and ballsy, no twang at all, sounded like Neil Young and Leslie West.

I think the stock SD is 14+ ohms.

Join a rock band!!

How about, "Take Somerset off the tour schedule?"

So you're saying that pAnZy/ALF comparison is gone? If so, that's a tragedy. When it came to photoshopping, Ed truly had flawless technique.

SNL's first musical guest passes, and we are all lesser for it. My favorite Preston jam is "Outta Space," really dig the clavinet.

Ed, in his anti-Joe/anti-AnDy days was tops.

I call that a GOOD thing. Serial's got the market cornered on that trick LOL! It's his ONLY weapon, that loser. My chief weapon is surprise. Fear and surprise.

To answer the question Yes there is a 3-p90 standard but the wiring is three way switch vol for neck and bridge, master tone and vol for middle pickup only. Hamer was willing to put a push pull pot in the guitar but said it wouldn't be up to their standards. The current wiring was what they suggested. It works well and gets some amazing tones. So the middle pickup is always 'on' and is brought in and out of the mix with the volume control?

Oh wow. Very cool guitar! Doubtful Hamer would do that for you. I'm just saying that such a mod wouldn't be visible just by looking at the guitar's top. I'd assume that it's gotta be a dealer mod, but I don't know if Willcutt does that kind of work. I have no idea why manufacturers don't do this kind of thing for their stock models, as it opens up the tonal options for the guitar immensely.

Which leads me to my next question: why doesn't SD offer black and creme pickup covers for their Phat Cats?

Perhaps there's a push/pull in there somewhere and this guit has the same capability! Which guitar of yours did he do this to? See above. Will Hamer do that for you?

But then, it has the three way switch only. I just had Greg rewire one of my three pickup guitars so that all possible pickup combinations are there. He replaced the five way switch with a three way, and replaced the tone pot with a push-push on-off pot, which controls the middle pickup. With the push-push in the OFF position, you get the standard three-way switch choices - bridge, both, neck. With the pot in the ON position, you get bridge + middle, all three, and neck+ middle. Works great.

Hamer's current trans orange spec is more of a red orange. Here is my trans orange Studio Custom: Compare: