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Gibson Midtown Club.

#63
What do you guys think a dimarzio model 1 will sound like in the bridge position of the midtown? The coils would actually be a little closer to the neck and not so close together, I am hoping with will result in a less honky tone, and as the coils are a little closer to the neck, I am also hoping for more lows in the tone, but I am unsure. What do you guys think? I would wire it up with a push pull pot on the volume to switch between series/parallel. By the way the slugs do line up with the strings.

Any thoughts? I am open to suggestions, criticisms, etc.
 

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#64
new member
give me a number
count me in

Mine has just arrived this week.
It cost me 900 Euros because it was one of the last models in the shop where I bought it - with minor marks of use (I'd have those anyway after playing the basss for one or two months).

Sound is really good (no surprise there - it is a Gibson) :D

Really really sloppy workmanship (no surprise there - it is a Gibson) :D :D

Playing it standing up is quite uncomfortable... but that is my fault - for me a Thunderbird or an Explorer is the most comfortable bass to play.

so, here it is:

19414627_6bd16a40212743ad2714c604b54cb29c_xl.jpg
 
#65
Calexia13 said:
What do you guys think a dimarzio model 1 will sound like in the bridge position of the midtown? The coils would actually be a little closer to the neck and not so close together, I am hoping with will result in a less honky tone, and as the coils are a little closer to the neck, I am also hoping for more lows in the tone, but I am unsure. What do you guys think? I would wire it up with a push pull pot on the volume to switch between series/parallel. By the way the slugs do line up with the strings.

Any thoughts? I am open to suggestions, criticisms, etc.
Click to expand...

I have a Dimarzio Will Power in the bridge position of my Fjörgyn bass... though it's not a semi-hollow bass and though the neck pickup is different from the one you have, the Will Power is pretty similar to the Model One and I think my experience is still worth mentioning here.
I don't really like the Will Power solo'd in this position, but I don't really like solo'd bridge pickups to begin with, so that might just be my bias. Blended with the other pickups though I was able to get some really good alternate tones, especially when in single coil-mode. Since the photo was taken, I experimented by removing the slugs on the neck side of the Will Power and this got me my favorite tone out of the pickup in this position so far. It seems to have cleared up the sound a bit, while still retaining more girth than it has in straight single coil mode and with no single coil hum.
Hope all that rambling helps!

0808131825a_zpsccb75236.jpg
 
#67
Mr. Ray said:
Here is an idea for your pickguard
The Dillion DB 335 has a similar body/pickup Link Removed
Click to expand...

Have you, or anyone else here, got any experience of that bass? As much as I love my Midtown I still have an itch for a more traditional semi-hollow, ie same style as the old EB2.

I have an opportunity to possibly get one for around $500 (by the time shipping to the UK and duty are factored in). There is no way I will get a chance to demo one so wondered if someone had experience of one.
 
#68
OK, so I am now considering a Jack Casady bass to compliment my Midtown.

Anyone here used both? Would the Casady be covering too much of the same tonal territory of the Midtown?

I had initially discounted a Casady as it wasn't quite the EB2 shape, and the single pickup seemed potentially limiting. Hearing some online demos using the varitone selector though has been eye-opening. I'm now thinking that whilst the Dillion has that classic EB2 shape, the Casady is still really nice and may actually be the safer bet between the two.

Any advice?
 
#70
Pimpernel Smith said:
Cheers, Killer:

The Casady is a fine bass, and as you say, with the Varitone switch it has an expansive range, and is not limited by having 1 pickup. I got mine in 1998, and I use it every day.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I have been reading more about it, and continue to think it will be a safer bet than the Dillion, for which there isn't that much information. Seen a couple of reviews from people saying they thought it was good for the price, but other less promising comments about Dillion in general.

The more I think about it the more I do like the varitone switch giving such a quick and easy way to switch tones (as well as the tone dial). The Silverburst is in stock with the store that sold me the Midtown (too far away for me to demo it) and that looks the best (in my opinion) of the three options currently available. Also a limited edition which should hopefully make resale value (should I ever decide to sell) very good.

The one thing I still prefer about the Dillion is the EB2 shape, but I don't think that is a good enough reason to take the risk on importing something I probably won't be able to return if it's a duff one. Also it will cost me around £500 not $500 (mistyped that earlier), so around the same as the Casady.

I think I'm talking myself into a decision here. Just wish someone that has played a Midtown as well could confirm how it compares in it's tonal range. I'm guessing the Casady is going to be able to get closer to an acoustic sound for a start. Just not sure I can justify the outlay if they are going to cover too much of the same territory. I suspect giving the different construction methods they won't, but it would be nice to get confirmation from someone that has played both.
 
#71
Hi Guys,

So I thought I would give an update in case anyone else was interested in swapping bridge pickups etc. I originally put a Model 1 in the bridge ( I did the swap before I read Mellowgerman's warnings against it), and it did not sound good, so what I did was put the neck TB+ pickup in the bridge. That sounded a lot better than any of the other pickups that had been in there:

original, SGD mini humbucker, Model 1 (both series & parallel).

For the neck pickup I put the SGD mini humbucker in parallel and I think they sound good together. The bridge pickup is nice and mellow if I want it to be, since it doesn't have a lot of mids. And the neck pickup is fat but also has some articulation to it. Sorry I am not very well at sound descriptions, suffice is to say that the combination works. I have some sadowsky flats on there and can get that nice Bruce Foxton sound from songs like Town Called Malice or That's entertainment.

Cheers!!
 

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#72
Interesting stuff. I lack the knowledge of the different pickup options, what might and might not work well, and certainly wouldn't want to try working on my Midtown without someone with me that knew what they were doing. Something to keep in mind for the future, but for now I'll continue to enjoy it with the stock pickups.
 
#74
The pickup mod looks great! I put the hipshot bridge on mine and I gotta tell ya made a huge difference. I also took the pickup cover off and put a small shim between the pickup and the cover. All the changes really balanced out the tone really well. I love this bass and it always turns heads. Last 2 steps for me is a d tuner and a thumb rest and I think mods will be done ...maybe
 
#75
Has anyone been able to do an A/B side by side comparison between a Midtown and the 335? I have a De Armind Starfire , and love having a HB pup up in the neck position. I also love the truly semi hollow tones. The only downfall for me is the short scale.
 
#76
Reminds me of my EB-2 with factory dual large humbuckers and stereo outputs.
66952_10200551006886855_1756790498_n_zps3ee7950a.jpg


Calexia13 said:
Hi Guys,

So I thought I would give an update in case anyone else was interested in swapping bridge pickups etc. I originally put a Model 1 in the bridge ( I did the swap before I read Mellowgerman's warnings against it), and it did not sound good, so what I did was put the neck TB+ pickup in the bridge. That sounded a lot better than any of the other pickups that had been in there:

original, SGD mini humbucker, Model 1 (both series & parallel).

For the neck pickup I put the SGD mini humbucker in parallel and I think they sound good together. The bridge pickup is nice and mellow if I want it to be, since it doesn't have a lot of mids. And the neck pickup is fat but also has some articulation to it. Sorry I am not very well at sound descriptions, suffice is to say that the combination works. I have some sadowsky flats on there and can get that nice Bruce Foxton sound from songs like Town Called Malice or That's entertainment.

Cheers!!
Click to expand...
 
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#77
easye said:
The pickup mod looks great! I put the hipshot bridge on mine and I gotta tell ya made a huge difference. I also took the pickup cover off and put a small shim between the pickup and the cover. All the changes really balanced out the tone really well. I love this bass and it always turns heads. Last 2 steps for me is a d tuner and a thumb rest and I think mods will be done ...maybe
Click to expand...

Which pickup did you shim? I was thinking of doing that to the bridge pickup.
 
#78
I would love an EB-2D, with the original 'mudbucker' at the neck. They go for way too much money for my budget though. The E335 has the looks, but I understand it's very different tonally compared to the EB-2 and 2D. Long scale as opposed to the EB2's short scale as well.

Against much of the advice I was given in another thread I couldn't get rid of the itch for a Jack Casady, and went for a Silverburst one, with a discounted hard case. Still love the Midtown, but I really like the Casady considering it's in a significantly lower price bracket. Really nice sounding with the almost completely hollow body (there is a small block under the bridge). Good for playing unplugged too because of that body. You'd need to plug in if you were playing in a group practice or a show, but it's great for noodling in front of the TV etc.

If I was forced to sell one of them I genuinely wouldn't know which one to choose. Hopefully won't have to!
 

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