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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Just after AJ loaned me his UKII, (back in August) I took it to work to let a colleague give it a workout, then on the way home, I took it in to see my local guitar store to get his opinion.
Both said, in not so many words, that it had a very "clean" sound and needed some "dirt".
Something someone said in a thread recently (Strat vs Les Paul) got me thinking about the above comments.
The thread I'm referring to said (something like) you can make a Strat sound dirty like a Gibson, but you can't get a Gibson to make a clean Strat sound.
Now, I know as much about electric guitars as Ozwatto knows about computers. :rolleyes: Wouldn't having a clean sounding guitar be much more versatile? Don't you get that 'dirty' sound through one of the myriad of pedals anyway? |
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Posts: 4413
| Yes. |
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Location: Scotland | I can't see how the UK11 could be described as "clean" Those pickups have enough output to overdrive anything. The dirt comes from the amplifer, in the way the input gain is balanced against output level, or you could use overdirve/distorton pedals.
Shroeder, remember when I had the T-Head plugged in an amp and swapped it for the UK11 which was at least double in volume? That's hardly a "clean" pickup in terms of output.
Now if there were referring to the "tone" being clean, then compared to say a Gibson humbucker then maybe. The UK11 pickups are brighter than most humbuckers but still have a very high output. Most high output pickups tend sound a little dull, as the extra coil windings tend to kill the treble response a little. |
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March 2005
Posts: 5563
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Mine had a very smooth "clean" tone but the p/u's had enough output to nicely drive the amp(Fender Deluxe)in the clean channel; in the drive (2) channel it was smooth sustained singing sound w/ the ammount of "dirt" according to the amount of pre amp dialed in; and in the overdrive (3) channel, it could get insane...
I have Clestions in both the amp and extra cabinet and was amazed at the great sound from the UK II.....It has the ability and flexability to sound pretty much like anything you want or need... |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| I remember the UKII very well - the most powerful pup I've heaqrd outside of a retro-fitted EMG active humbucker in a strat.
I was saying yes to the desirability of a great clean sound out of a guitar - like muzz says you can always dial in the filth but a good clean sound is something too many guitars lack. And amps - it's only in recent years that I've heard what I think of as a good clean sound out of a Marshall. And I've never thought much of Orange clean channels either. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | It's like being able to grow a beard... |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | UK2 will get as dirty as you want. |
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November 2005
Posts: 4816
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | With clean you can get dirty, but not the other way around.
Smoooth....now that's harder to find. Jazz git smooth.
"Orange" clean sound? I know the Blues, Grey and Dirty.....but I never heard Orange. (Besides, it's too hard to rhyme.) |
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December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Check out Damon's video's of his UKII... Clean?? Really ?? UKII is probably one of the most "flexible" humbuckers out there. Back off the volume and you can get a nice "clean." Lean on it, and you can get as much dirt as you want.
As far as the tone, as was eluded, they are brighter... which is fine. You can always take away bright with the tone control. Inversely, you can't put bright in if it doesn't exist in the first place. |
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December 2006
Posts: 6992
Location: Jet City | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
Check out Damon's video's of his UKII... UKII
That's going straight into a Carvin X100B. No pedals except for a bit of OD and delay for the solo.
The UKII is quiet when it comes to noise, but the pickups are way hotter than anything I own or have ever owned. That includes A LOT of freekin electric guitars over the years.
'
Maybe they don't know how to properly describe what they mean. I do that with wine at parties... "absurd, yet flaccid".
Maybe smooth is a better adjective. My Gibby pickups to seem more harsh, more mids which I guess could be considered dirt cuz it sounds like crap in my opinion. I have to do a lot more tweaking on the amps to get tones I like. |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Damon,
What an awesome vid. That should go on YouTube!  |
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May 2002
Posts: 1445
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada | Clean is not the word I would use at all for my Bluebird with UKII electronics, nor is it the case with my nephew's UKII. More of a trick to keep them sounding clean. |
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December 2006
Posts: 6992
Location: Jet City | Thanks Johnny. It's up there.
If you go on to youtube and search for "Ovation UKII" only 2 vids come up. This is one. |
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December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by Damon67:
"Ovation UKII" Super! I just subscribed. |
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December 2006
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Location: Jet City | Cool. My first YouTube subscriber! :cool: |
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May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Also, to consider is the scale length. Strat or tele is 25.5 and UKII is 24.75, as I recall.
Another reason a tele sounds the way it does is that the harmonics are streched out over the strings while the les paul types are jammed closer together. Hence, the lp comes across as warmer (or muddier, as the overtones are closer together and more piled onto each other) and the tele is brighter (or cleaner) depending on your perspective.
True, you can add dirt thru an overdrive pedal, but I've found it best just to celebrate what they are instead of trying to make a strat sound like an LP. But you're right, it's easier to add dirt to tele, than to brighten an LP. Also, I like a wide neck tele scale because it fits my hands better, some of those LP's get cramped.
To me the UK II gets plenty warm, but other ears will differ. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4026
Location: Utah | Originally posted by Damon67:
I do that with wine at parties... "absurd, yet flaccid". There is an age at which alcohol is no longer a performance enhancing substance. They make pills that help, though not with the absurd part. ;) |
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January 2007
Posts: 672
Location: New South Wales, Australia | Originally posted by muzza:
Now, I know as much about electric guitars as Ozwatto knows about computers. :rolleyes: Thanks Muzza :D
I can be clean..but I like it dirty |
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UKII "too clean"?
