Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Gibson Low-Impedance Guitars Club


btoth76

Recommended Posts

You can only do this inside the Transformer housing using the recommended settings.(Connect ORANGE to 3 instead of YELLOW)?

 

Do you need to do it??

 

If you are mainly using the guitar through an amp I would leave it alone. If you are using it with a recording desk all of the time (as I do) then it is worth doing.

 

Try it before proceeding??

 

DG

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Dave and thank You again!

 

Everything seems to work right with this stock transformer and the modded cable (through amp). I just wanted to be extra sure.

 

It's very unlikely that I will ever use it with a recording desk. Although, I got curious about the Laney AH100 Audio Hub which has a Low-Z input as well.

 

Why I am still asking this, is that without the outboard transformer, the guitar was almost inaudible using the Low-Z output - which is normal. So until I got my Shure transformer I was using the High-Z output. But now, I don't feel such a huge improvement in sound quality, it's like the two outputs are completely identical now. Just one of them needs the Shure transformer(?).

 

Cheers... Bence

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Dave and thank You again!

 

Everything seems to work right with this stock transformer and the modded cable (through amp). I just wanted to be extra sure.

 

It's very unlikely that I will ever use it with a recording desk. Although, I got curious about the Laney AH100 Audio Hub which has a Low-Z input as well.

 

Why I am still asking this, is that without the outboard transformer, the guitar was almost inaudible using the Low-Z output - which is normal. So until I got my Shure transformer I was using the High-Z output. But now, I don't feel such a huge improvement in sound quality, it's like the two outputs are completely identical now. Just one of them needs the Shure transformer(?).

 

Cheers... Bence

 

I think that if you plug the guitar into a mixer or a multi-track (Low Impedance) and use headphones you will be able to hear much more than you can through an amp (with or without the Transformer). The difference between the extreme settings of the Decade, Bass and Treble become MUCH more obvious. Through a Peavey Amp I was able to detect the difference between 3 and 8 easily on Low Impedance. On High Impedance and especially with a longer lead it is not so easy to detect. It becomes muddy.

 

Remember that the Personal (Professional) has no built-in Transformer. It was always intended to be used with an external T/F at the amp end. It was only because users of the Personal / Professional were losing their leads or leaving them at home that Gibson were "forced" to put the T/F in the body (switched) in the LPR. That's not the way that Les intended or used his own guitars. It's a compromise. You lose the Highs on High Impedance with longer leads.

 

Comparing Decade 8, Bass 10 and Treble 10 on Low and High will not produce that much of a difference. It is when you vary the settings that the differences occur.

 

DG

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Dave!

 

Ok, it's clear now. I'll definitely try it with a mixer. Although, the different settings are quite obvious, even with the High-Z mode, I just assumed I would be able to hear further improvements with the Shure device on the Low-Z.

 

I prefer the Decade 2,5,8 positons in mode 1 (with EQs bypassed).

 

Thank You, - especially for Your patience with me! Your help is highly appreciated!

 

Best wishes... Bence

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pulled out my photo lights & took a few shots.............

 

1971GibsonLesPaulPersonal_zpsee2ec7c4.jpg

DSC08186_zpsc3210a63.jpg

OriginalLowImpedanceLesPauls_zpsf3361740.jpg

 

It made me kind of nervous laying the three guitars against the amp, the outside guitars were barely hanging in there. I wasn't going to chance a retake... [scared]

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One final note on the mic jack. I inserted the 1/4 guitar plug only part way into the jack, to make the tip contact with the part of the jack that would connect on the center ring of a stereo plug. I connected a balanced low impedance mic into the XLR jack on the upper bout, & it worked!! A bit lower in volume due to the mic not being unbalanced, but it worked.......... [thumbup]

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Hi Bence,

 

No I've never seen that particular artical before, but I do have the advertisement with the "Wild Eyed Guy".

Thanks for pointing it out! Thats's the first artical I have ever seen that pointed out that the Bass & Guitar pickups are all the same,

even the bridge & neck pickup on the guitar are the same. I noticed it in my parts catalogs from that era but have never seen it anywhere else in print.

 

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

This will probably get me lynched but what do you think about the Ibanez LPR copies? This one is of such a high quality that decades ago I declined to trade it for a real (Gibson) one after playing them both for a couple of hours in the same shop I found the Ibanez. It was in the broken and abandoned back room so I got it for just a few English pounds. Took me a while to restore it but as you can see it's perfect now. I made a pick guard out of perspex (plexiglass) using a LPR picture as a template and the tremolo arm is a strange bigsby alike I found in a junk shop. All the controls seem to do what they should and the sounds are spot on EXCEPT..

 

1) The phase switch is wired wrongly so that "in" is "out" and vice versa

 

2) THE BIG SURPRISE is that the decade "switch" has ONLY 3 POSITIONS. All very noticeably different. This seems to match the comments I see about the 11 postion decade on the real ones. Anyone know anything about this? Seems like Ibanez found the same thing and made a mod ??

 

Just so you know, I am a Gibson fan through and through. My 1962 mint ES175D is the love of my life.

 

Mike Fpost-57685-076188700 1371636915_thumb.jpg

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Mike!

 

Of course You are welcome! These copies are excellent instruments, and regardless how big headaches they have caused to Gibson back in the days, now they are classics.

 

By the way, just a couple of days ago, I was wondering whether the japanese "Low-Z" LPs and L5-S' really have Low-Z pickups or just look-alikes. Now I know. :)

 

Congratulations on the outcome of the restoration! [thumbup]

 

Cheers... Bence

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Mike!

 

Of course You are welcome! These copies are excellent instruments, and regardless how big headaches they have caused to Gibson back in the days, now they are classics.

 

By the way, just a couple of days ago, I was wondering whether the japanese "Low-Z" LPs and L5-S' really have Low-Z pickups or just look-alikes. Now I know. :)

 

Congratulations on the outcome of the restoration! [thumbup]

 

Cheers... Bence

 

They are High Impedance Look-alikes.

 

DG

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh my! Sorry, the "Decade" control misleaded me. Of course - it's not mandatory to be Low-Z to have one.

 

The pickups are low Z for sure. I measured the simple resistance at about 14 Ohms (either pickup), 9 Ohms (both pickups) with the switch at Lo and about 6K Ohms on Hi. So very low indeed.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mike,

 

It is extremely difficult to see from your image.

 

Could you post a detailed close up shot of the PUs and the Control Plate.

 

I can assure you from first hand experience that these guitars (Ibanez) were originally Hi Imp.

 

My guess is that someone has swapped PU's and the Control Plate!!

 

In which case you REALLY got a bargain!!

 

DG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Dave!

 

As it seems the control panel is original. The picture on this site isn't much better either, but the guitar featured has the same panel: http://www.gregfrenc...ute-to-the-man/

 

Cheers... Bence

 

Since I got it from a backroom I have no knowledge about how it came from the factory but I have not modded it at all. From all the info on the web it seems they were a direct copy and thus low Z. All the internet pics show the control plate and it always has a Lo Hi switch. No point to that unless it is indeed to switch from Lo to Hi. During refurbishment I found no evidence of pickups or control plate being replacements. I need to find a way to take pics less than 500K file size to post more photos. Actually I see that I have used 312K of my 500K global upload quota. How do I go about resetting and/or increasing my quota. (I am running windows7)

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Bence,

 

The picture jogged my memory.

 

The one at the bottom of the page resembles Mike's and appears to be Lo Imp.

 

Just above that is another version with the "unsplit" Diamond.

 

This is the one that a friend of mine had and was definitely Hi Imp.

 

We swapped out the PUs for Gibsons and did our best with the pots at the time using my LPR as a pattern.

 

It looks like Ibanez produced both Hi and Lo versions, maybe for different regions?

 

DG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing's for sure; you can get an authentic Les Paul Mary Ford sound out of it. With the right settings, the intro to "How High the Moon" sounds exactly like the record. A jolly sight better than Jeff Beck's effort anyway.

 

Actually I wonder if Les did actually use an LPR on that or a "stock" LP ?????

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mike,

 

I don't think that you will ever know which one he used for which recording.

 

The sleeve notes to the 4 CD Capitol Boxed set are great to read but I don't put too much faith in their authenticity!

 

He always used Lo Imp PUs and Gibson sent him flat topped LP's so that he could more easily fit his own PUs etc.

 

After '69 he started using the flat topped Personals for a while until they made him the LPR with the non-slanted Lo Imp PUs and the flamed top.

 

DG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bence,

 

I am beginning to doubt my memory with regard to the Ibanez.

 

I could well be that my friend thought (after hearing my LPR) that the pickups did not match up to the Gibson version and that was why we changed them?

 

Bear in mind that we are talking about something that happened forty years ago and that the PUs on those two (different) models pictured were not the same PUs. I also remember that I made him a Lo/High T/F for the modified guitar but did not use a T/F that came out of the guitar.

 

Sorry if I confused anyone!!

 

DG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little over a year ago, I met a guy who claimed to be an expert in Chinese Guitar counterfeits. He had a booth in a local guitar show. He was hired by Ibanez because apparently, the Chinese are making counterfeits of their guitars also. He made a comment to the CEO about the years they counterfeited Gibson's, the CEO was in no mood to discuss it! What goes around, comes around...... :-({|=

He was the most interesting thing at the show that year.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Instead of using a step up transformer like the shure or the gibson one, I use transistor graphic equaliser to boost the LOW Z signal before entering the amp. I set the equaliser flat so as not to colour the output from the guitar and I figure this should all be OK since many players will be going into a solid state amp anyway even if they are using the step up transformer. Anybody have any views/experience to share on this ?.......thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Mike!

 

I've tried everything, then I had to buy the Shure A85F.

 

EQs, boosters, ODs, multis, whatever, but the signal was still very week.

 

Then, I tried the Palmer Daccapo Re-amp box, which is basically a Low to High-Z converter. Works fine as a gain control for my old Class-A tube amps, but it's input range is not what the LP Recording guitar outputs. So, it didn't solve my problem either.

 

Once I've connected the Shure line transformer, it started to work properly.

 

http://www.canford.co.uk/Products/1000160/20-098_SHURE-A85F-IMPEDANCE-CONVERTER-Low-to-high-impedance-adaptor

 

Cheers... Bence

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...