Ever turn a disappointment of an instrument into an instrument that becomes one of your most played?. I wasnt looking for a Chickenbacker but one came along and I knew it was as close as I was going to get to a Rickenbacker since I didnt know If I wanted to commit to one and spend that kind of money to find out I wouldnt use it regularily. The Chickenbacker had brutal sustain and the neck pickup wasnt designed long enough for the top string to get involved with the magnetics therefor getting very low volume compared to the other strings plus the pickup did not sound like a Ric at all, I even put a legit Ric neck pickup in as in picture #1 but still sounded poor and no more Ric than before. I installed a basic steel Allparts bridge, new sheet metal pick guard, truss rod cover and p-bass bridge cover and very importantly an Epiphone Thunderbird bridge pickup in the neck position. Now I have amazing sustain and a most unique sound with the TB pickup. The bridge pickup sounds incredibly close to a Ric bridge pickup but now paired with the TB pickup and the right settings it is an original tone and who wouldnt want that?. Considering its not a real Ric I wasnt going to use it playing live but now that Ive made it obvious to the viewer/listener that Im not trying to pass it off as a Ric I can play it more freely knowing that Im trying not to fool anyone. Before and After pic's.
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