Martin A Smith pickups

Pickups, Pots, Caps, Wiring

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quyet
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Martin A Smith pickups

Post by quyet »

My vintage filtertron set arrived :D Definitely recommend our mate over in Perth.

Quite impressed. Now the Gretsch sounds like a Gretsch - a great improvement over the stock Blacktops.
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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

Post by MikeC »

Imagine if Gretsch did, well you know, Gretsch Filtertron pickups so their guitars sounded like Gretsches :crazy: :mental: :lol:
Whakanuia o mea kei a koe

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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

Post by quyet »

MikeC wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 3:38 pm Imagine if Gretsch did, well you know, Gretsch Filtertron pickups so their guitars sounded like Gretsches :crazy: :mental: :lol:
I know eh, seems budget lines have to be crappy to justify the price of the 'real' models at 4-7k :mental:

Like how Vox pulled the Pathfinder 15 because it sounded nearly identical to an Ac4 for $150 and replaced it with the crappy Pathfinder 10.

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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

Post by quyet »

Broadtrons are the biggest disgrace to Gretsch btw

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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

Post by IMOCD »

Nice. So confession time. Did you wire to the pots or cut n splice? :lol:

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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

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IMOCD wrote: Thu Dec 24, 2020 3:55 pm Nice. So confession time. Did you wire to the pots or cut n splice? :lol:
Surgery though the f-holes wasn't as difficult as I thought. Also somewhat experienced (see below). I fed them through and soldered properly. Took a total of 15 minutes. Tweezers absolutely necessary.
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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

Post by Bg »

"My turn to operate!!"
So, is that low alcohol or no alcohol at all? mmmm, no alcohol, do you want to try it? Noooooooooo.

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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

Post by Mattress5 »

What model Gretsch is that?

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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

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Korean 5420T electromatic

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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

Post by mr_sooty »

Cool, looks a whole lot better too. Might get some for mine, although it's my least used guitar so I'm not that committed to the idea.

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Re: Martin A Smith pickups

Post by vinylguy »

Gretsches vary hugely in sound and vibe dont they ? My Terada made 6119 was a very different sounding and playing guitar to my current 2420 streamliner. The 6119 was a very civilised instrument, more of a country gentleman picker vibe whereas the Streamliner is very much more Jack white in feel. (maybe cos thats because you feel a bit more inclined to get carried away on a $1K guitar than a $6k guitar ?). Pickups on the 6119 were TV jones classics and on the 2420 its a P90 in the neck and a broadtron in the bridge. I find it quite a nice combination for a variety of different noises. Incidentally I also have a set of GFS surf 90's on the water that I had intended for my 73 Starfire but as I have now found an original set of Guild HB1's may now end up in my Gretsch should I get sick of the sound of the P90 and broadtron. Will be interested to hear how you get along with these pickups, they certainly look the part.

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