#170831  by lbpesq
 
Not at all. And I’m not arguing. I’m just expressing my opinion that, without knowing a lot more about how these were recorded, and knowing that one guitar had A3 and the other A5, one cannot reasonably ascribe the difference in sound between these two recordings to the height of the G pole piece.

Bill, tgo
 #170832  by wpmartin1979
 
lbpesq wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 12:16 am Not at all. And I’m not arguing. I’m just expressing my opinion that, without knowing a lot more about how these were recorded, and knowing that one guitar had A3 and the other A5, one cannot reasonably ascribe the difference in sound between these two recordings to the height of the G pole piece.

Bill, tgo
Fair enough but as with anything wouldn’t you admit that it is all the small pieces that make up the whole. Like a good recipe - sometimes it is the most subtle secret ingredient that makes the difference in the flavor.
What the clip demonstrates IMHO is that there is a huge difference in tone between the two types of pickups. By dismissing the clip straight away you are by default making an argument about its credibility.
If someone makes really great cookies and says here try these cookies the secret ingredient is this certain type of baking soda - and the other person says but it is impossible to taste the difference in the baking soda so it can’t be the secret ingredient. But the baker knows that it is the baking soda that makes the difference.
With something as elusive as Jerry’s Alligator tone it seems to me that all the small
Pieces are important in making up the whole.
That was what I was trying to demonstrate with the clips. Listening to the clips is like doing the final taste test on the cookies.
What I am saying is why would one change the recipe on award winning cookies?
What you seem to be saying is that it is not even worth trying the cookies because you can’t taste the baking soda and because they were not baked in the same oven etc.
 #170855  by wpmartin1979
 
My bootstrap pickups havnt come, not sure if they ever will - lol

However I did pick up an older set of David Allen 60s Rock N Blues from a Reverb listing for a great price - they are an early 60s set that uses A3 magnets with (I think A5 in the bridge?)

But anyway these things are awesome and they REALLY channel early 70s Jerry. I can say for sure that there is a clear difference between A5 and A3. The A3 are brighter. A bit thinner, but they really sparkle and shine when you crank them up!

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Gr8fulCadi liked this
 #170856  by Gr8fulCadi
 
Awesome score!! I’ve been consumed with many other projects and have the bootstraps waiting to be installed. I did perform a magnet swap recently from A5’s to an A3 in the neck and UOA5 in the bridge. They were SD 59’s I dropped into one of my strats, HH pickguard.

Makes a difference no doubt about it.... Can’t wait to get the A3’s in the other Strat which already has the Alembic Blaster.
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 #170857  by wpmartin1979
 
Gr8fulCadi wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 10:07 am Awesome score!! I’ve been consumed with many other projects and have the bootstraps waiting to be installed. I did perform a magnet swap recently from A5’s to an A3 in the neck and UOA5 in the bridge. They were SD 59’s I dropped into one of my strats, HH pickguard.

Makes a difference no doubt about it.... Can’t wait to get the A3’s in the other Strat which already has the Alembic Blaster.
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I believe Trey Anastasio uses those Duncan ‘59s
 #170858  by Gr8fulCadi
 
Yes I believe so...but in a Strat they were way to bright and hard sounding if that makes sense. The magnet swap took care of that.

It’s really cool to have two strats with the same feel but totally different tones going on. Liking it so far. I had the pickups already so all I purchased was the pickguard and new mags.
wpmartin1979 liked this
 #170860  by wpmartin1979
 
wpmartin1979 wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 4:39 pm Okay so here is a comparison between Jerry playing the A5 ‘56 stagger and the A3 ‘54 stagger
Same amps speakers and same song played in the same era

‘56
https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1970 ... urce=88947

‘54 (Alligator)
https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1971 ... urce=89316

To my ears there’s a difference. What do you guys think?
Wow so on a Grateful Dead forum tone thread I post some sound clips comparing two types of pickups and ask for your guys opinion and nobody responds?

Thanks for lurking :rockon:
 #170864  by wpmartin1979
 
lbpesq wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 11:53 pm I find guitars to be like cars ... they all work essentially the same, but each has its own idiosyncrasies and has to be driven slightly differently to obtain the same results. I have a couple of guitars where the high E string puts out less signal than the others. It is especially noticeable when the E doesn’t trigger the envelope filter. So on those guitars I just hit harder on the high E. If I were building an “exact” copy and could fix this, I would, rather than recreate the issue.

I think if Jerry were to play two otherwise identical Strats, one with ‘54 stagger and the other with the ‘56 stagger, he would figure out how to get the G on both to sound the same, just how he wanted it to sound. I think what I’m trying to say is that Jerry dictated the instrument’s sound far more than the instrument dictated Jerry’s sound.

Bill, tgo
Ok mister guitars are like cars ... really? So which type of car did Jerry drive?
 #170868  by Jon S.
 
Image
Last edited by Jon S. on Sun May 09, 2021 7:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
 #170871  by lbpesq
 
You just missed it, it was last month. I've got plenty of dough already. Since we've been essentially home-bound the past year+, I've developed a more intimate relationship with my bread machine. I make my own pizza dough (I can still throw the skins in the air from my pizza jobs/college days), sandwich rolls, banana bread, cheese bacon bread, chocolate and cinnamon babkas, and have recently obtained some sourdough starter for sourdough bread.

Jerry and Sandy Rothman drove a 1961 Corvair cross country in 1964.

Ain't the internet grand!

Bill, tgo
Jon S. liked this
 #170873  by wpmartin1979
 
Ha ha you guys are so clever and funny to boot .. you really know how to entertain yourselves!

Unfortunately by mocking my cookie analogy you are mocking the idea of science and scientific truth.

Like your car analogy suggests , you are more concerned with your own personal opinions and how to justify them than the actual scientific truth and facts.

I have realized that you guys use this forum to use passive aggressive rhetorical strategies to essentially bully others so that your opinions and prejudices prevail, however misguided or ridiculous they are.

Your obsession with light weight gear or improving on Jerry’s tone with your own brilliant ideas are examples of narcissistic over reach - they are your own preferences and have absolutely nothing to do with how Jerry achieved his tone.

You have argued that Alligator did not have Alnico 3s and you have argued that Tiger had laminated brass veneers. Why? I do not know but it seems that it is your ego driving such ridiculous claims.

I thought RUKind would be a great place to learn about how Jerry achieved his tone - a place where experts would give me good advice grounded in fact and experience.

But what I have found is that it is simply a place where Bill and Jon force their opinions on everyone and essentially intimidate anyone else from wanting to comment or participate - so everyone just lurks and no one actually contributes.

This will be my last post on RUKind - I am kindly asking that the moderator pull down my membership as I can’t figure out how to do it.

Bill and Jon it’s been fun! I mean that sincerely because I have actually had fun chasing Jerry’s tone! I have just discovered far better ways and sources to get factual information about the questions I have without putting up with a bunch of opinionated nonsense.

Sorry to end on this note - I’m sure you guys will be just fine without me - have fun mocking me and others with your witty rejoinders!
:musicsmile: :soapbox:
 #170874  by lbpesq
 
Who argued Alligator didn’t have A3 pickups? Point me in the right direction and, in the immortal words of Moe Howard, I’ll moiderize ‘em! Seriously, chill out, relax, and don’t take things so seriously. The Dead certainly had disagreements over the years, but Jerry didn’t grab his basketball and go home. This is a friendly discussion group. There is no award for being right. You have brought some very interesting and entertaining ideas to the discussion. No need to employ the nuclear option just ‘cause someone has a different opinion. Try eating some cookies. It really helps sometimes.

Bill, tgo
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