***Monaco SuperPro Pickups Combinations Mystery**

[Dudey058]

Hey Guys,

A couple of questions as a new Monaco SuperPro owner:

I'm not that familiar with the SD Custom and Custom/Custom pickups and combinations in the SuperPro.

Can someone explain why these work for this guitar? In the past I put a Custom pickup at the bridge pickup on a Greg Bennette Les Paul type guitar. That all I know.

I read about the SD Dirty fingers being used in the early days, bridge position? Can anybody explain the change and what happen to go to the Customs?

Would a coil spliter be an added benifit for the single coil tone and give the SP more tonal range?

Last being a Jazzer, I think the SuperPro might benifit from a Seth Lover in the neck position. A raw PAF type pickup. Any thoughts on that also?

Thanks so much in advance for any help,

Rich

[anotherfreak]

Hey,

If you have the stock pickups, it's hard to beat the Custom Custom in the neck position. Especially for jazz, it is a much tighter, more articulate pickup than the Seths. I think the Seths hork great for blues, with a much more open sound, but I found the Cust Cust better for Jazz, even with the higher output.

[atquinn]

Monaco's have the Custom in the neck (ceramic magnet, tigher sound) and the Custom Custom (alnico 2 magnet) in the bridge. These pickups have the exact same wind, but with different magnets. The overall balance (based on me trying it out in a Studio) is a kind of PAF-ish balance (as opposed to modern where the bridge pickup is usually higher output than the neck), but everything is higher output. I thought the combo was awesome for high gain soloing in both positions, but I would have split the Custom in the neck for cleaner stuff. It wasn't bad clean, just very fat and I like more cut.

-Austin

[MCChris]

Hey,

If you have the stock pickups, it's hard to beat the Custom Custom in the neck position. Especially for jazz, it is a much tighter, more articulate pickup than the Seths. I think the Seths hork great for blues, with a much more open sound, but I found the Cust Cust better for Jazz, even with the higher output.

You mean the Custom.

I too thought it odd that the Superpros had a Custom in the neck position, as I've never heard of another instance where that pickup was used in that position. Then I bought a Superpro and plugged it in. Easily the sweetest neck humbucker sound I've ever experienced. Full without being boomy. Essentially perfect. I can't explain why it works, it just does.

[anotherfreak]

Yup,

I meant the Custom

It is one of the best neck pickups I have heard. It has a great midrange that articulates like a dream, and you can control it so well with the vol/tone knobs. I put the set in my Newport, and I couldn't be happier.

[Dudey058]

Hey,

If you have the stock pickups, it's hard to beat the Custom Custom in the neck position. Especially for jazz, it is a much tighter, more articulate pickup than the Seths. I think the Seths hork great for blues, with a much more open sound, but I found the Cust Cust better for Jazz, even with the higher output.

You mean the Custom.

I too thought it odd that the Superpros had a Custom in the neck position, as I've never heard of another instance where that pickup was used in that position. Then I bought a Superpro and plugged it in. Easily the sweetest neck humbucker sound I've ever experienced. Full without being boomy. Essentially perfect. I can't explain why it works, it just does.

Thanks to you all for the insight and comments.

I really needed some type of input because the design of this guitar "rocks my world". I told my guitar instructor, imagine if your "73" Fender Telecaster Deluxe Thin-line and your Gibson "85" 335 had a child, it would be the Monaco SuperPro. And actually before I found this guitar, that was what I has thinking with no doubt that there would be no production model to fit this "mold".

As being relatively new to Hamer guitars and overlooking them, I am finding that the "norms" in guitars that I thought were semi-written in stone have been questioned, thought about, and looked at from another angle at least in the SuperPro. I find this extremely interesting and refreshing from a pure guitarist point of view and being opened to question establishes norms and making it all work. Bravo!

In a way it something that appeals to us all as Americans.

Also, not to take the thread in another direction, at this time it helps me to understand the passion and dedication you all have for Hamer and Joel D. In a short time I have come to understand some of your anger and frustrations over the buyout and recent firing of Joel from Hamer. Although I do not consider myself as “one of you” just because I have not done the time. But I do understand more than I did yesterday what it means to be a Hamer fan, supporter, advocate, champion and guardian.

[hamerican gigolo]

I hate to be the one who ruins this SD love fest,but i had to replace the stock p.u.'s as soon as i got

mine. That's the one problem i've always had with Hamers. They seem to insist on using SD p.u.'s

as standard. Except my Newport,the Seth's just work in that guitar.