Zach Myers semihollow the wrong choice for blues

[CandidPicker]

Please, don't do stuff like that. You'll only need to tear the bandaid off Les' elbow, put more ointment back on it and send him out to play again.

FTR, yeah, several weeks ago I was making some home fries and picked up a hot skillet, burning the heck out of my right index and third finger before I dropped it back on the stove. I covered it with a bandaid and had to change it several times so the wound would heal. Didn't feel like telling you folks because, you know...

 

[László]

You're obviously the One

Because nothing else matters.

 

[Alessandro]

I added coil split on the neck pickup with a push pull and it’s my most used sound now on my ZM. Mine is a 2018 though so not sure if the older ones had pickups with the green and white wires

 

[alantig]

I love it! Is it yours?

I wish. They were already done with the run when I found out about them. I would so rock one of these. Instead, I have to make due with a Ouija mouse pad.

 

[mojo1fan]

I added coil split on the neck pickup with a push pull and it’s my most used sound now on my ZM. Mine is a 2018 though so not sure if the older ones had pickups with the green and white wires

I have a ZM with EMG 89s. I love the sound I get in the middle position with the bridge pup split and the neck in full humbucker mode. That is when IMO the ZM sounds most like a semi hollow.

 

[bodia]

Because nothing else matters.

Well, a lot matters, but then, you know, fade to black.

 

[bodia]

I wish. They were already done with the run when I found out about them. I would so rock one of these. Instead, I have to make due with a Ouija mouse pad.

There are a couple on Reverb, if you feel like parting with more than $6k. Or, maybe one of these???

https://reverb.com/item/25696142-schecter-v-7-fr-randy-weitzel-ouija-electric-guitar-in-satin-white

Or, if you just want the look....

https://reverb.com/item/17959388-set-stickers-vinyl-ouija-kh-white-from-body-for-the-guitar-bass

 

[shinksma]

It’s cool.

Sorry, I fell asleep just after the sandman entered. What’s Metallica?

You're obviously the One

Because nothing else matters.

Sad But True.

Back to the OP: try lowering the pups, lowering your volume (and tone), or maybe put covers on the pups - that's what I did, helped mellow it out a tiny bit.

 

[MattGuitarRoberts]

I added coil split on the neck pickup with a push pull and it’s my most used sound now on my ZM. Mine is a 2018 though so not sure if the older ones had pickups with the green and white wires

Hi Allessandro. I'm interested in wiring my ZM neck pickup in parallel to try it out. I've been told that's likely to brighten a little and slightly reduce output, both of which would suit me fine. I believe this involves taking the green and white wires (which are paired at the moment) and running one to ground and the other to the volume pot, along with the red (hot) one that's already there. Any idea which to where?
Thanks.

 

[xjbebop]

I own a ZM. It's not a 'blues' gittar with the stock pups.... they are very modern R&R voiced. I haven't yet decided whether to swap the pups or leave it stock or just sell it off, as I really don't play it much anyway. I have too many others that I prefer.
That being said, it's a very nice instrument and with the right pups, it could meet about any need.
** but for a humbucker blues guitar, I'd recommend you check out the Ibby 'Artcore' series semi-hollows in the $400 range... outstanding quality and value!

 

[MattGuitarRoberts]

I own a ZM. It's not a 'blues' gittar with the stock pups.... they are very modern R&R voiced. I haven't yet decided whether to swap the pups or leave it stock or just sell it off, as I really don't play it much anyway. I have too many others that I prefer.
That being said, it's a very nice instrument and with the right pups, it could meet about any need.
** but for a humbucker blues guitar, I'd recommend you check out the Ibby 'Artcore' series semi-hollows in the $400 range... outstanding quality and value!

Interesting to hear your comment. I'm someone who plays a lot of blues but also classic rock, soul, funk and so on. I like traditional guitar tones and play more Fender style guitars than Gibson, but have an 80s Ibanez AS-200 for my 335ish tones and an 80s Yamaha SF-500 with Phat Cat P90s fitted for a Les Paul Special sort of thing. I picked up a ZM as my Les Paul type guitar recently and have spent time adjusting pickup heights and pole pieces for tone and balance. I've fine tuned it pretty well and it's even a similar output level to my Strats and Teles so I don't need to change any gain settings on pedals/amp if I change guitars (surprisingly). The one thing I'm finding at the moment is that the neck pickup is a bit dark and muddy for me, so I'm looking into partial coil split or wiring that humbucker in parallel instead of series to thin it out a bit. I'll try what simple things I can do first, before going down the route of replacing pickups with covered vintage low wind PAF style (which is probably the ultimate sound I'm heading towards). The instrument itself is certainly nicely made, feels great to play and looks beautiful. Also much lighter than a traditional LP!

 

[AZGiant]

I think playing the blues is more about the player than the guitar. I've never met a guitar that can't get blue.

Man you took the words out of my mouth. If BB can do it with Lucile, and SRV with a strat, I think the blues are in your soul and come out through your fingers

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I think playing the blues is more about the player than the guitar. I've never met a guitar that can't get blue.

@sergiodeblanc ?!

 

[Mozzi]

No such guitar exists - all guitars can be used to play the blues - inc those that are far more 'metal' than a Zach Myers which is great for the blues by the way. That being said, some people may prefer a Strat sound for blues and I doubt the ZM with its double humbucker layout is going to give that stratty blues sound. Every guitar can be used to play the blues though and Blues guitarists have used guitars very similar to the ZM - more so than something like a 7string Ibanez for example but with the right set-up, even that can do a great blues sound too...

 

[xjbebop]

True that any genre can be played on any guitar, but also true that only certain guitars / amps / etc... can help you achieve that "sound in your head"...the voicing that makes you happy.
That's one of the main reasons there are so many different makes & models available to consumers these days...

 

[MattGuitarRoberts]

True that any genre can be played on any guitar, but also true that only certain guitars / amps / etc... can help you achieve that "sound in your head"...the voicing that makes you happy.
That's one of the main reasons there are so many different makes & models available to consumers these days...

I get you xjbebop. If you were looking for those classic vintage LP type sounds, Clapton, Green, even Page, the stock Myers is not greatly suited to go there. No doubt some players could find its voice useful.
Constructive comments are the best kind.

 

[Glide-bpm]

I'm not that great of a guitarist at all, but I was able squeeze the blues out of a Schecter Hellraiser with a Floyd Rose that I was
running the EMG actives with 18VDC instead of 9VDC years ago... 1. feel in both hands (including slide) 2. amp and pedal choice
3. was raised on AC/DC and other bluesy hard rock plus some BB King, Freddie King, Muddy Waters, etc... etc... etc....

I agree with another poster that it could be that particular guitar and you just don't get along enough for you to get that
"feel" and soul torn groove that is your blues.... I hope ya get it to work. Like someone else said, pickup height, thumb/finger
picking, etc. could make a difference as well. I will say that for me to get that soul driven blues, I've always had to be comfortable with
the equipment I'm playing through and the guitar to really cut loose without any inhibitions or heavy overthinking.

 

[Fullmoon 1971]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum, though I've had a PRS SE soapbar and a Zach Myers for about 5 or 6 years. I got sidetracked into acoustic blues and am only now trying to make my way back, to the old electric stuff (JLHooker, Fred McDowell) etc.

My original thought about the Zach Myers was that a semihollow body would be good for blues, and I had it set up for electric slide (though I can't really see that much difference). Here's the thing. The soapbar has a lot of the punch and depth that I'm looking for. The Zach Myers sounds to my (acoustic mostly) ears more like a rock and roll guitar.

Am I crazy? I (foolishly?) thought that the sound of electrics had more to do with settings and effects and amps than the actual guitar, but I simply cannot get the Zach Myers to sound anything like what I want. Should I sett it and get a Gibson (or Eastman) semihollow? Or change the pickups on the PRS? Any thoughts?

thanks

will

I found that a simple magnet swap reaaly brought the 245 pickups to life, get a set Alnico III or unoriented Alnico 5 magnets and swap the old ones out (plenty of vids on youtube showing how) this really opens them up (Alnico III is what Gibson Used in their Collectors choice and true historic pickups, Unoriented Alnico 5 sound like aged 50's humbuckers to me). Alnico III are slightly more ell like than Unoriented Alnico 5

Don't worry about having magnets polarity the same, if you get it wrong you get the bonus of the pickups out of phase in the middle position when both volumes are the same setting ala Peter Green - just roll one volume slightly off for both humbuckers at full again.

Magnets can be sourced pretty cheap and are a great way of improving any pickup.

Heres where I get mine from
http://www.addiction-fx.com/