Have you guys seen Zen's amazing new video?

[BubbaVO]

Very sweet.

[Steve Haynie]

[diablo175]

Wow Zen! Very impressive shit there, young man!

[BadgerDave]

Fantastic playing and tone Zen! Would you mind sharing your Pod X3 settings for that? (I know you also boosted with the Badgerplex)

Regards,

Jim

Badgerplex? Wha . . . ?

Must google immediately

But first, absofrigginglutely decimating playing, ZMB. Damn!

[jettster]

Outstanding work in all respects!! I can't even imagine how much work went into that but the end result speaks for itself. Awesome!!!

[Feynman]

Fantastic playing and tone Zen! Would you mind sharing your Pod X3 settings for that? (I know you also boosted with the Badgerplex)

Regards,

Jim

He has a link to the POD settings in the video's description...

[hamerhead]

Very zen-like.

Well done.

[Ting Ho Dung]

You killed it, Zen. Absolutely stunning!

[Rodan]

Tearin' that up, my good man!

SD have to know they have a great clinician!

[zorrow]

I just found how to buy. You can get it in gold, or uncovered, in trembucker config, etc.

Here: http://customshop.seymourduncan.com/george-lynch-super-v/

[Ting Ho Dung]

I just found how to buy. You can get it in gold, or uncovered, in trembucker config, etc.

Here: http://customshop.seymourduncan.com/george-lynch-super-v/

First I have to google who George Lynch is.

[gorch]

I just found how to buy. You can get it in gold, or uncovered, in trembucker config, etc.

Here: http://customshop.seymourduncan.com/george-lynch-super-v/

First I have to google who George Lynch is.

Why to care about George Lynch? You only need to buy that pickup.

[Ting Ho Dung]

I just found how to buy. You can get it in gold, or uncovered, in trembucker config, etc.

Here: http://customshop.seymourduncan.com/george-lynch-super-v/

First I have to google who George Lynch is.

Why to care about George Lynch? You only need to buy that pickup.

Nevermind then. I'll buy the pickup and won't educate myself about George Lynch. I saw SD will allow custom graphics. I'll use ZMB.

[zenmindbeginner]

You guys put an AWESOME cap on a long and tasking journey for just a simple pickup review. SD doesn't know about the review yet since it's a 4 day weekend and you guys decimated the anti-climactic vibe I was left with after I got done late Thursday night.

I'm all isolated here hunkered over my computers and this thread is like plugging into the socket of life.

In Randy Newman's words, It Feels Like Home.

I had this vision for the opener and was driven (no pun intended) to make it happen for real... I was inspired by this small preview for Disney's CARS 2 movie

But I wanted a vintage theme because I was aware that the "Super V" logo was the old 50's Chevy "V" just inverted and with the same sort of "Magneto" font as Chevrolet used. The car just had to be a mid 50's Chevrolet with a red paint job.

I spent some time on this graphic design that I created from scratch (the clouds are sampled). I'm not an After Effects guru but I can get around in it and am working on my animation skills every chance that I can get.



I fully expected a JB with a roughcast Alnico II (which I am familiar with) instead of the original polished Alnico V... nope much less output than that... is the magnet degaussed? I didn't get a gauss rating and I don't think they are giving that info out with every Custom Shop pickup like they used to. I tend to think that the wire is smaller than 44AWG.

I don't know for sure if the gauge of wire is smaller than 44AWG... it could be a metric gauge which would be like 44.5AWG and not quite 45AWG. That information is sort of classified... I can speculate but won't receive any definitive answer from SD. Of course Evan Skopp tipped us off a bit with that line about the Super V being similar to the prototype JB. Duncan isn't all that keen on telling everybody flat out what the prototype JB even was... you get pieces of information here and there and have to sort of put it together.

The whole theory behind the JB/Jazz combo was in my mind to flip the Telecaster pickup scheme where you had a 42AWG wire for the bridge and 43 or 44AWG for the neck. The JB is 44AWG and the Jazz is 42AWG... everybody loves their tele bridge pickups but the necks are always a bit underwhelming and too dark. Seymour was like... what if I wind the crap out of 44AWG and basically fill a bobbin for the bridge but underwind 42AWG at the neck.

But supposedly, the actual wire for the prototype JB in Beck's tele is thinner than 44AWG and the pickup isn't as dark as a JB, less compressed, raspier, more textured, and punchier.

So... a thinner gauge than 44AWG wouldn't fill a bobbin and you'd have a lower inductance than the 44AWG wire. That lower inductance is going to impart more articulation and touch sensitivity to the pickup's tone... more harmonics and allow the texture of your guitar's natural comb filtering that the wood imparts to actually become audible. This is the texture of the pickup's midrange that I mentioned a few times in the video... it will be different for every guitar more or less. It's subtle but like lifting a layer of skin off of your tone...the RAW quality of your guitar's wood and bridge will be exposed.

All this RAW quality takes away power a bit... I learned these riffs on a '78 Model and when I installed the Super V... just absolutely couldn't play them worth a crap. I actually had to practice my ass off to get a bit more strength in me hands and fingers in order to tackle the Lynch stuff (and I was playing Lynch's easier more straight forward solos. lolz!). I could have raised the pickup or raised the gain... I don't actually play with a lot of gain... my Line 6 stuff is a modeled Plexi and the Weehbo JMP Drive is a medium gain overdrive... I simply didn't have anymore gain on tap.

It's actually a great pickup for a boost pedal and those who like to cascade gain stages with various preamps and whatnot. I could have used a little more power but usually play with an underpowered rig so I just sucked it up and practiced heavily between April and June (I'm a slow learner).

Great playing and tone.

It's also the kind of video that should have been on HAMER's website the last 20 years, selling scads of rock guitars.

This. TOTALLY THIS.

Great job Zen. A coupla Super V orders coming SD's way from the UK

Wow Kevin, that is waaay cool.

Just to let you know... it is a vintage output pickup... has a good bit less power than a JB or DD (sort of on the level of a Seth Lover or '59).

I probably could have raised the height of the pickup to give it a little more power but I just kept it at a decent distance from the strings anyway.

The Super V (despite it's many unique and excellent qualities), is low output sort of like his Screamin' Demon... not what a lot of people expect attached to a name like George Lynch, but it's just the reality.

It's like crossing a Seth Lover with the easy pinch harmonics of a JB and the tightness of a Distortion. There does seem to be a notch in the lower frequencies which allows the midrange texture to be so detailed and sort of high resolution.

Me too, I am convinced. Are there Super V's in gold?

Man, I can honestly say that I didn't even think of that... Gold would look soooo sweet and it could have matched my guitar which has gold hardware. F**k, I should have asked for gold!!!

That's the main reason why so much of the video is in B&W. I didn't want the chrome to clash visually with the gold hardware.

Fantastic playing and tone Zen! Would you mind sharing your Pod X3 settings for that? (I know you also boosted with the Badgerplex)

Regards,

Jim

Hey Jim,

If you don't have an X3 Live, I don't think the download will work... I'm not really sure of that but I am going to assume that the CustomTone patches aren't interchangeable, backwards or forwards compatible.

Patch is a 1968 Plexi Jump Lead: Bass -27% Mids-100% Treble-66% Presence-87% Gain-100%
Cabinet is 4x12 Greenbacks & Microphone is 57 (off axis) backed off of the cone with 35% room tone

EQ is -12db @50Hz +3.8db @500Hz +5.2db @ 900Hz +5.2db @2kHz

Delay is 400ms with a pretty heavy modulation (speed 68% depth 72%) and pretty decent feedback at 46%. The mix is set low at 24% where you don't actually hear an audible repeat but it blends in with the reverb.

Reverb is a vintage plate with a big Pre Delay of 56% Decay at 43% Tone at 100% and mix pretty high at 74%

Of course, that is only in the RIGHT channel submixed to mono. The Princeton Reverb + pedals is what's in the LEFT channel... the blend of the two is what makes the "phantom center".

I did a batch of recordings as sort of a preparation for the video review. These recordings have no modeling and is just my Princeton Reverb with SM57 in the left channel and the AKG 414EB in the right channel. It's most of the stuff I did for the video except for "The Hunter" I think. Gives a great insight into how much the modeler adds. I did process the finish result of the video through Ozone 5 and Slate FG-X Mastering plug-ins but the Princeton only tracks off of Soundcloud are unmastered and not as loud. I LOOOOOVE the sound I get from my pedalboard + Princeton and 2 microphones... highly addictive tone for sure... makes me not turn on my modeler much unless I am recording.

http://soundcloud.com/zenmindbeginner/sets/seymour-duncan-custom-shop-1

Fantastic playing and tone Zen! Would you mind sharing your Pod X3 settings for that? (I know you also boosted with the Badgerplex)

Regards,

Jim

Badgerplex? Wha . . . ?

Must google immediately

But first, absofrigginglutely decimating playing, ZMB. Damn!

Thank you sir!

The Badgerplex AC pedal is a faithful recreation of the Maestro EP-3 preamp circuit. It's a FET based preamp with a 180 degree phase shift that imparts a sort of 3D character to the signal. The preamp also leans out my sound a tick while providing some extra grit to my tone. Makes harmonics just JUMP off of the fretboard and gives single notes a "life" and vibrance to them. I like a nice upper midrange edge with an accentuated pick attack and midrange "bloom" with the plain strings. The Badgerplex preamps are just right up my alley.

And since it's AC... it doesn't utilize a charge pump to boost the internal voltage up to 22 or 23 volts which is what the original Maestro EP-3 preamp section used.

Of course, I am describing a subtle effect and not some overwhelming change to my tone... I am not planning on looking for another magic box though, the Badgerplex AC is the real deal.

ClinchFX makes an almost identical product although utilizes a charge pump to boost the voltage from 9 volts to 22 volts like the other non AC versions of the Badgerplex PRE pedals.

[HSB0531]

Very slick presentation, great tone and playing.

[zorrow]

I just found how to buy. You can get it in gold, or uncovered, in trembucker config, etc.

Here: http://customshop.seymourduncan.com/george-lynch-super-v/

First I have to google who George Lynch is.

Nah. You're kidding me, don't you?

But nevermind. As gorch says, you just need to get the pickup.

[Jack C]

Holy shit, that's some great playing! I've been out of the country with no internet for the past week, so I just saw this. Thanks for the plug, Z!

[cmatthes]

I keep watching that video.

I should get my ass back to practicing!

[JimHalinda]

Thanks Zen, I do have an X3 Live, I first watched this on an iPhone and didn't see your link. Sorry you had to do all that typing!

I've downloaded your patches but didn't have time to play through them. Tomorrow night I hope to indulge in some 80s metal and early VH.

Thanks again!

Regards,

Jim

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

You guys put an AWESOME cap on a long and tasking journey for just a simple pickup review. SD doesn't know about the review yet since it's a 4 day weekend and you guys decimated the anti-climactic vibe I was left with after I got done late Thursday night.

I'm all isolated here hunkered over my computers and this thread is like plugging into the socket of life.

In Randy Newman's words, It Feels Like Home.

I had this vision for the opener and was driven (no pun intended) to make it happen for real... I was inspired by this small preview for Disney's CARS 2 movie

But I wanted a vintage theme because I was aware that the "Super V" logo was the old 50's Chevy "V" just inverted and with the same sort of "Magneto" font as Chevrolet used. The car just had to be a mid 50's Chevrolet with a red paint job.

I spent some time on this graphic design that I created from scratch (the clouds are sampled). I'm not an After Effects guru but I can get around in it and am working on my animation skills every chance that I can get.

I fully expected a JB with a roughcast Alnico II (which I am familiar with) instead of the original polished Alnico V... nope much less output than that... is the magnet degaussed? I didn't get a gauss rating and I don't think they are giving that info out with every Custom Shop pickup like they used to. I tend to think that the wire is smaller than 44AWG.

I don't know for sure if the gauge of wire is smaller than 44AWG... it could be a metric gauge which would be like 44.5AWG and not quite 45AWG. That information is sort of classified... I can speculate but won't receive any definitive answer from SD. Of course Evan Skopp tipped us off a bit with that line about the Super V being similar to the prototype JB. Duncan isn't all that keen on telling everybody flat out what the prototype JB even was... you get pieces of information here and there and have to sort of put it together.

The whole theory behind the JB/Jazz combo was in my mind to flip the Telecaster pickup scheme where you had a 42AWG wire for the bridge and 43 or 44AWG for the neck. The JB is 44AWG and the Jazz is 42AWG... everybody loves their tele bridge pickups but the necks are always a bit underwhelming and too dark. Seymour was like... what if I wind the crap out of 44AWG and basically fill a bobbin for the bridge but underwind 42AWG at the neck.

But supposedly, the actual wire for the prototype JB in Beck's tele is thinner than 44AWG and the pickup isn't as dark as a JB, less compressed, raspier, more textured, and punchier.

So... a thinner gauge than 44AWG wouldn't fill a bobbin and you'd have a lower inductance than the 44AWG wire. That lower inductance is going to impart more articulation and touch sensitivity to the pickup's tone... more harmonics and allow the texture of your guitar's natural comb filtering that the wood imparts to actually become audible. This is the texture of the pickup's midrange that I mentioned a few times in the video... it will be different for every guitar more or less. It's subtle but like lifting a layer of skin off of your tone...the RAW quality of your guitar's wood and bridge will be exposed.

All this RAW quality takes away power a bit... I learned these riffs on a '78 Model and when I installed the Super V... just absolutely couldn't play them worth a crap. I actually had to practice my ass off to get a bit more strength in me hands and fingers in order to tackle the Lynch stuff (and I was playing Lynch's easier more straight forward solos. lolz!). I could have raised the pickup or raised the gain... I don't actually play with a lot of gain... my Line 6 stuff is a modeled Plexi and the Weehbo JMP Drive is a medium gain overdrive... I simply didn't have anymore gain on tap.

It's actually a great pickup for a boost pedal and those who like to cascade gain stages with various preamps and whatnot. I could have used a little more power but usually play with an underpowered rig so I just sucked it up and practiced heavily between April and June (I'm a slow learner).

Great playing and tone.

It's also the kind of video that should have been on HAMER's website the last 20 years, selling scads of rock guitars.

This. TOTALLY THIS.

Great job Zen. A coupla Super V orders coming SD's way from the UK

Wow Kevin, that is waaay cool.

Just to let you know... it is a vintage output pickup... has a good bit less power than a JB or DD (sort of on the level of a Seth Lover or '59).

I probably could have raised the height of the pickup to give it a little more power but I just kept it at a decent distance from the strings anyway.

The Super V (despite it's many unique and excellent qualities), is low output sort of like his Screamin' Demon... not what a lot of people expect attached to a name like George Lynch, but it's just the reality.

It's like crossing a Seth Lover with the easy pinch harmonics of a JB and the tightness of a Distortion. There does seem to be a notch in the lower frequencies which allows the midrange texture to be so detailed and sort of high resolution.

Me too, I am convinced. Are there Super V's in gold?

Man, I can honestly say that I didn't even think of that... Gold would look soooo sweet and it could have matched my guitar which has gold hardware. F**k, I should have asked for gold!!!

That's the main reason why so much of the video is in B&W. I didn't want the chrome to clash visually with the gold hardware.

Fantastic playing and tone Zen! Would you mind sharing your Pod X3 settings for that? (I know you also boosted with the Badgerplex)

Regards,

Jim

Hey Jim,

If you don't have an X3 Live, I don't think the download will work... I'm not really sure of that but I am going to assume that the CustomTone patches aren't interchangeable, backwards or forwards compatible.

Patch is a 1968 Plexi Jump Lead: Bass -27% Mids-100% Treble-66% Presence-87% Gain-100%

Cabinet is 4x12 Greenbacks & Microphone is 57 (off axis) backed off of the cone with 35% room tone

EQ is -12db @50Hz +3.8db @500Hz +5.2db @ 900Hz +5.2db @2kHz

Delay is 400ms with a pretty heavy modulation (speed 68% depth 72%) and pretty decent feedback at 46%. The mic is set low at 24% where you don't actually hear an audible repeat but it blends in with the reverb.

Reverb is a vintage plate with a big Pre Delay of 56% Decay at 43% Tone at 100% and mix pretty high at 74%

Of course, that is only in the left channel submixed to mono. The Princeton Reverb + pedals is what's in the left channel... the blend of the two is what makes the "phantom center".

I did a batch of recordings as sort of a preparation for the video review. These recordings have no modeling and is just my Princeton Reverb with SM57 in the left channel and the AKG 414EB in the right channel. It's most of the stuff I did for the video except for "The Hunter" I think. Gives a great insight into how much the modeler adds. I did process the finish result of the video through Ozone 5 and Slate FG-X Mastering plug-ins but the Princeton only tracks off of Soundcloud are unmastered and not as loud. I LOOOOOVE the sound I get from my pedalboard + Princeton and 2 microphones... highly addictive tone for sure... makes me not turn on my modeler much unless I am recording.

http://soundcloud.com/zenmindbeginner/sets/seymour-duncan-custom-shop-1

Fantastic playing and tone Zen! Would you mind sharing your Pod X3 settings for that? (I know you also boosted with the Badgerplex)

Regards,

Jim

Badgerplex? Wha . . . ?

Must google immediately

But first, absofrigginglutely decimating playing, ZMB. Damn!

Thank you sir!

The Badgerplex AC pedal is a faithful recreation of the Maestro EP-3 preamp circuit. It's a FET based preamp with a 180 degree phase shift that imparts a sort of 3D character to the signal. The preamp also leans out my sound a tick while providing some extra grit to my tone. Makes harmonics just JUMP off of the fretboard and gives single notes a "life" and vibrance to them. I like a nice upper midrange edge with an accentuated pick attack and midrange "bloom" with the plain strings. The Badgerplex preamps are just right up my alley.

And since it's AC... it doesn't utilize a charge pump to boost the internal voltage up to 22 or 23 volts which is what the original Maestro EP-3 preamp section used.

Of course, I am describing a subtle effect and not some overwhelming change to my tone... I am not planning on looking for another magic box though, the Badgerplex AC is the real deal.

ClinchFX makes an almost identical product although utilizes a charge pump to boost the voltage from 9 volts to 22 volts like the other non AC versions of the Badgerplex PRE pedals.

I'm not a stupid guy.

But it is going to take me 10 years to understand everything you said here.

And I don't think 10 years would be enough for me to learn to play like you did in the video. Impressive! Got any original guitar instrumentals on YouTube anywhere?

[burningyen]

[Brooks]

just as impressive as the playing is geoff's video creation/editing skills, pro quality shit there fellas.

[whiskeyzulu]

Nicely done - warm (brown) tone w/ lotsa gain and bite.

[Bass Guy Dave]

What Brooks said. Top notch, all the way. Killer clarity on the recording and a great range of riffs. (Geez, Lynch was even more of a monster than I remembered.)

Well done, sir! Duncan scored.

[gorch]

What Brooks said. Top notch, all the way. Killer clarity on the recording and a great range of riffs. (Geez, Lynch was even more of a monster than I remembered.)

Well done, sir! Duncan scored.

Zen scored!