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I am wondering if anyone has any direct experience of the Bartolini 5J Johnny Smith mini humbucker? I am thinking of fitting one to my Peerless Monarch. Can only find one clip of this pickup on YT. Many thanks.
David
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05-30-2013 07:35 AM
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I had one on my Greg Benett for a while but finally change it for a set-in HB Classic 57.
I have to say this is a very fine and dynamic pickup, very effective in terms of acoustic property restitution while adding a touch of electric tone.
I changed it for the Gibson because the floater did'nt exactly provide the tone I was after, matter of taste here of course.
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i like that pickup. I had one on a Benedetto Manhattan 6-string I used to own and it was very complimentary to the acoustic sound of the instrument. When I switched to 7-string, I sought out this pickup and found Bartolini was not making a 7-string version, so I started using Kent Armstrong's 14-pole PAF which I've purchased for every guitar I've owned since, and prefer the sound anyhow.
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I had the Bartolini in my '77 L-5C when I bought it. I guess I have a different perception of it than other folks here, because I didn't think it brought out the acoustic qualities of the guitar. It was OK, I used it for a couple of years, and it did the warm, mid emphasis sound well. I replaced it with a Lollar Johnny Smith which to my ear gives the option of more high end or a flatter, more balanced EQ for a more acoustic sound.
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Thanks to all who have replied to date - most helpful. It looks like the Lollar or Kent (Aaron?) Armstrong route might be the way to go.
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Hi
Whic one did you go for? regards
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Neither in fact. First I had the original Peerless floater re-wound by the excellent Aaron Armstrong ( Kent's son, based in the UK ) but then sold the Monarch and am now the proud owner of a superb Peerless Cremona with FS PAF set into the carved maple top. That p/u is a licensed KA Vintage G.
Originally Posted by nodog
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I love the Bartolini 5J mounted to my Godin 5th Avenue acoustic archtop. It has a very warm tone, but preserves some of the acoustic qualities of the guitar.
The pickup is wired straight to the output jack, with no volume or tone controls, and it sounds great plugged straight into my Acoustic Image Corus with the EQ set flat. It couldn't be simpler.
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Hi
Thanks for the reply. The whole issue of upgrades subsequent to buying an instrument or any equipment for that matter grinds a bit. I am a newcomer to the jazz genre and so i have now a peerless monarch i dont mind the pickup but i cannot achieve the "jazzy sound from it though my blues junior . I added a mutterstolz palmer to the mix which improved it but did not hit the sound i want. So now im going for a DV jazz amp only to find that the amp has a noisy fan which means i need to replace that when i get it with a quiet fan. Apparently DV people say it is not an issue which it blatently is lots of people now replacing the fan or adding switches to turn it off thereby giving warranty issues. Anyway nothing is perfect and life goes on in the elusive search for "that sound " . When i hear what that amp produces i may go for a kent armstrong floater. Best regards.
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The issue with many lovely import arch tops is the same, they really execute in the area of build quality and acoustic sound unplugged but it seems from my experience that guys want to upgrade to a better pickup that gives them either that "electric" tone or that "airy acoustic" tone (the sound of the guitar merely amplified and not fattened up). I originally bought this Yunzhi John Pisano copy and it came with a floater, but the whole setup wasn't that quiet or reliable (typical). I had looked ahead and scored an Ibanez GB10 neck pickup but the string spacing was wrong. So after waiting a while and realizing I did not like the way the pickup was mounted to the pick guard (easily shifts) I bought a Bartolini 5j that is neck mounted, a young man I know made me this stair step pick guard (in ebony) and shipped it was $18.00. With a Schatten hidden volume/tone control and new wiring and output jack I now have a fat and sweet jazz tone, something a little more electric than the airy acoustic. I'm including two pictures. The Bartolini was $140.00, the Schattens $30.00 and the work not that expensive. Now it's my very favorite guitar.
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Nodog, a lot of people come into jazz with a "jazz" sound in their mind that can only be produced by an electric guitar with a set in pickup. Do you like Wes, Herb, Pass, etc? Those guys played L-5s and ES-175s with set in humbuckers. Originally Posted by nodog
The sound of an acoustic with a floating pickup like your Peerless is different--more acoustic, airy. It's a great sound, but it's an acquired taste. It's a fine instrument and the stock pickup is probably not half bad, but you may never get that "jazz" sound that a lot of people go for with that guitar.
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Mike,
That is a very sweet looking rig you have there , the dark binding adds to its classy look. What kind of sound do you get of it now. I was thinking that this sound is what im looking for , but he is using a double humbucker guitar which probably helps to achieve that sound.
Best regards
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First of all what Chazmo says is really very accurate. If your favorite artist and their sound involves set in the body hum buckers you won't accomplish it with a floater, no matter what brand.
I know that there are few samples of the 5J on YouTube but it's a very nice sound. I wanted to have a carved archtop, 16 inch max flame back and sides and neck and a sound fairly (FAIRLY) close to George Benson when he plays his GB10. I owned number of GB10s and next time I'm rich will probably buy one because well they're fantastic. So I wanted something near the GB10 sound but with the carved top/back nuances. As I said the string spacing on this guitar didn't match the GB10 pickup at all. BOO HISS !! BUT what's cool about the 5J is it doesn't have to match and it works very well.
So reread what Chazmo says and think about it.
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Mike,
I see Chazmo's point but I dont want to sell this guitar now i have it and like it and had to get it shipped to me in the middle of nowhere from germany. . Now you highlighted this Ive tracked down this bartolini which is getting very close. Do you think thats difficult to wire up into the existing volume control my electrical skill is limited but if its a straight swop wireing wise ill give it a go. Best regards.
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Nodog, I have had both the Bartolini on the Godin and a Kent Armstrong slim one (I believe it was called a 2D--I got it from Archtop.com) on a Gibson L-7C. The Bartolini gets much closer to the warm, dark "jazz" humbucker tone.
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I think you will find the 5J very nice and warm. I have a tech do all the work, it's worth it. In my case there was crummy pots and the pickup mounted to the pickguard. I outright changed the whole thing, it was cheaper than the tech having to try to salvage the old guard. In essence the mounted to the guard idea is only ok.
I much prefer the old fashioned mounted to the end of the neck style pickup, the pickguard has the traditional mounted to the side bout bracket. It is all quite stable. Any good tech should install Schatten hidden tone/ volume controls on you existing guard, and wire the pickup up to those, also replace the wiring/output Jack. Then you have a fat warm pickup, scratch and noise free controls and solid and noise free plug assembly. What I had done was worth it, no question.Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 03-29-2015 at 02:00 AM.
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Nice sounds in the video... but did anybody else notice that for the bartolini the player is using a pick and with the Haussell he is using his fingers. I am not sure what that illustrates as a pick has quite a different sound from fingers. Originally Posted by nodog
I looked up the Haussell and it not an expensive pickup at about 100Euros. Rockinger does mail order to USA.
I am looking to hear any good demos of the Lollar using a jazz guitar. If you have them please post.
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I decide I wanted to hear the Johnny Smith from Lollar to much to wait. Spent (lost) a bit of time on youtube and came up with this one...
Sounds to me like it's worth the extra money to go for a Lollar. I also notice that the pole pieces are adjusted on the treble strings quite low to help balance the sound - my guess is that by doing that you can pretty much dial in a good sound even with acoustic strings. So my vote is Lollar. My only wish is that they were a bit less expensive.Oh well, everything nice is expensive.Last edited by lumena; 03-29-2015 at 01:00 PM.
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