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Joined: November 2003 Posts: 12
Location: The Netherlands | Hello,
For quite some time now, I've been a happy owner of an Electric Solid Body 1974 Viper. But I've never been quite satisfied with the pickups. Too noisy, and not as versatily as the music I play requires.
So I've been looking to modify my Viper a bit; 4 knobs (2 Volume, 2 Tone) as on a Les Paul, the 3 way toggle switch on the same spot as a Les Paul, a custom wooden pickguard and a new set of Humbuckers.
The pickups are the only thing that still have me doubting. I'm looking for alot of tonal versatility; atleast one of the pickups needs to be very responsive, for articulate Jazz-orientated runs. I need a good Rock/Hendrix tone, and I need a good Metal tone. Also I need a very natural sounding bridge pickup, when played clean. Ofcourse, not all of these combinations have to be met, though preferrably they do. The ones that are an absolute must are the articulate tone and the clean tone. And most important of all: they have to be as noiseless as possible.
I've been thinking about a EMG81 in the bridge and a EMG85 in the neck, or a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge, Jazz in the neck.
I hope I wasn't too bold.
Any suggestions would really be appreciated.
-Max |
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Joined: March 2002 Posts: 15651
Location: SoCal | Max:
Some people here are adverse to tweaking their guitars, some are fine with it. Check out the photo gallery and you can see what some people have done. |
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Joined: November 2003 Posts: 12
Location: The Netherlands | Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I've already checked the gallery. I just thought I'd best get some information from the people who know most about old Ovation guitars.
Also, what I'm looking for is hard to describe in a picture, I guess. |
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Joined: February 2002 Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The Viper pickups in terms of noise are quiter than most single coils. Leave your Viper as it is and get an Ovation UK11. It has the control layout of a Les Paul with the added versatility of series/parralel switching. The UK11 humbuckers are extremely powerful. |
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Joined: January 2002 Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | I'll second what Paul said. |
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Joined: November 2003 Posts: 12
Location: The Netherlands | Funny, I recently won a UKII on ebay, and it should arrive here any day now.
It must really be something, I've heard nothing but praise. |
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Joined: May 2002 Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Leafy
When you get your UKII, let us solid body (guitar) people know how you like it. I like my Viper as is and have found it pretty good when plugged into a tube amp with the controls set at 10. |
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