Lewguitar
Old Know It All
Changed the gray plastic truss rod covers to rosewood a while back.
Now I've upgraded both with John Mann locking tuners and some new Chubtone pickups from Mike Grey in Austin.
Decided to go for more of the look of my Bernie Marsdens.
Went from this:
To this:
The new locking tuners from MannMade went right in without a hitch. I had one set with a greenish color that were on a Bernie Marsden when I bought it, and I used that set on my green SS. Used the ivory on my white SS.
The stock SE pickups are very good but just a little trebly for me. I like the Core Silver Sky pickups but you can’t buy those.
So I replaced the pickups in my green SS with Chubtone's most popular set, what Mike Grey calls his "63/63/El Gordo" set. Two 63 Strat pickups and a slightly overwound bridge pickup.
In my white SS I have what he calls his "El Gordo set", with the El Gordo bridge pickup and a neck and middle pickup that are wound slightly hotter than those in my green SS.
Perfect for those times you just want...more!
Each guitar now sounds different from the other, with a different sound from the neck and middle pickups.
I get a big deep clean sound like an old Strat from either, but it's like playing two old Strats from different years.
Great for Hendrix and SRV clean tones: Little Wing, Wind Cries Mary, Lenny, Riviera Paradise...
The El Gordo has become my favorite single coil bridge pickup. It's smooth and full, and I find myself using it for chords as well as leads.
I probably have about $1100 into each of these guitars.
Was it worth it? Absolutely!
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