Syd Barrett Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hello there, im a new user in the forum. I bought a Sherry Yesterday, its a Vintage Sunburst,. the guitar is beautifull dammnn - i love it, but i found the sound kind of weak, and i really know i can improve it 100% So i do my homework and most people change pickups to gibson 57 classics and classic + to bridge, others go for p90s like the SD Phat Cats. i like the high tones (first 3 strigs) , but the lower tones, when i do some power chords.. :) im actually playing on a garage band, sounds like libertines, strokes, arctic monkeys, franz ferdinand, etc.. what picks should i get ? Any Advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Beef Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I can't recommend this enough. If you're going to do a pickup change, change out the pots for CTS branded ones as well. And while you're at it, maybe get some orange drop caps, too. It's a fraction of the investment that pickups are (or can be) but you'll be amazed at the tonal improvement. In fact, if you kind of like the pickups but aren't totally sure, just upgrading the electronics might be all you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I'm old a decrepit and don't know most of the material you talked about. so I can't really advise there. I use p90s.. and I even put them in a dot studio. I do jam with some newer stuff.. and I've not found anything beyond my tonal grasp. But fat is fat.. and if you want the humbucking sound, humbucks will do it. the 57 classic. classic+ is a very popular combination. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Barrett Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 hey Peter, Hey John. So electronics can make the difference?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 They can make some difference.. but not some major tonal change like swapping pickups. They'll just bring out the best in what you have. It's smart to do pots and caps first, because then you can make a real full potential comparison if you do swap pups. A pickup only has the tone and volume it has.. better pots will give you smoother action, and probably be close to the actual value advertised, and last longer. caps will do the same. be better quality and perform slightly better.. but the value of the cap only affects a range of tonality, it doesn't increase it. changing brand wont do a lot.. but I think it's worth it to have spragues, mallorys, oil in paper,etc. change in value is like moving the tonal center of the treble to another spot.. it's not more treble, it's just shifted on the pot. hehheheheheheheheh. I said shifted on the pot. Better wire is better conductivity.. and better sheilding, hopefully. but tone or volume change? only incremental, sometimes not audible, never dramatic. (unless you had defective pots.. or whatever) Changing pots switch wiring and caps on a sheraton is a major job for most people. Many wouldn't even try. You have to fish the parts through the f hole and coax them into their positions with string or wire.. and not bust any solder connections or cross anything up while doing it. some are easier than others, but none are easy. You'll want to research the job online thoroughly before deciding to do it yourself. Or be prepared to pay to have it done. I'll say this.. there is NO doubt in my mind that the gibson pickups will sound better than the stock epis to 99% of the people playing sheris. I just can't say for sure that they will sound the way you want them to.. because I don't know those bands very well. You can always check and see what those bands pickups are.. that will tell you a lot. I don't really know what you mean by 'weak'.. the stock sheri pickups have good output, and a as noted above, quite a nice tone in general, so weak only tells me how you feel about them, not what you don't like about them. You do mention you don't like the low end.. but you don't say why? muddy? bassy? thin? unbalanced? You may want increased output pickups. you may want vintage output with better balance. you may even want active pickups. It's hard to tell from what's offered... so.. think it all out and try to nail down what you don't have.. and what you want.. and you'll get much better help all around! TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Barrett Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 hey twang, thak you for your interest, I found the low end Muddy and thin at the same time. Like you say, i want to increase the output , may be thats why i say i found them weak. sometimes when i play full chords,i can hear the high tones, and not the low ones- I have a Epiphone LP 100 also, and this small guitar have more power,and i refuse to belive that. Ill try to change electronics, but really dont know what to do with the picks, humbuckers or p-90. ive played hums all my life--- anyway, the bottom line: i need more output and more ´´explotion´´ for the low tones. hope you know what i mean, cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButchCassidy Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'd say go to the guitar store and try different guitars with different types of pickups. IMO, indie music is so diverse that it doesn't have a particular "sound" set in stone. You mentioned the strokes, and as most people here know, Nick Valensi from the strokes plays a Riviera with P-94's in it. You can do similar to your sheraton by adding some singlecoil pickups (mean 90's, P-94's, Phat Cats or whatever they're called). I have a dot with mean 90's and think it's a good sound for strokes and artic monkeys type of stuff. I guess I'd associate singlecoil pickups with this type of indie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andylemming Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Someone more experienced than me might be able to chip in here, but would it be worth adjusting the pickup height on the bass side? I believe that if the pickup is too close to the string, it muddies the tone, and if the treble side of the pickup was higher than the bass, that might mean those strings sound more pronounced when playing chords. I had a similar problem on my Sheraton, but the other way round - the treble strings got drowned out by the bass strings. Raising the pickups a tad (and a new set of strings) sorted it out to my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 For me p90s bring a clarity to the low notes... without any mud.. and that's one of thier best features. And I find that adjustment plays a big role in all of them.. I'd certainly adjust the poles and height a bit just to see what might happen. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I play similar sort of stuff in my band and I play an Epiphone Casino. Pretty much every band you mention there played with a lot of single coils/P-90s. Libertines - Gibson Melody Maker (single coil), Epiphone Coronet (P-90), Gibson 330 (Epiphone Casino) (P-90s) The Strokes - Fender Strat (single coils), Riviera with P-94s, Franz Ferdinand - Telecasters Arctic Monekys - Fenders Fenders Fenders What amp do you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I put a Seymore Duncan APH-1 in the bridge and an SH-2 in the neck position and changed the rest of the electronics to higher quality pieces in my Sheraton II. The sound difference was huge. A much more balanced sound and a more defined sound overall. Hope this helps out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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