Wrecks and Pups

[lpd]

I've notice my Express sounds best with anything under 8k ohms. My 74' strat is about 5.4K ohms and sings with the express. With the Les Paul 7.4k sounds very good. On my son's Ibanez Prestige 11k it gets a bit hairy sounding. Any thoughts as to why?

I'm am utterly blown away at how amazing my strat sounds through this Express clone.

Tubes are

V1-1961 large getterPhilips MiniWatt 12AX7
V2-196? heerlon 12AX7
V3-1962 large getter Philips MiniWatt 12AX7

Double D Philips EL34 output tubes matched within 1.5ma

[David Root]

Overloading the input with the 11k pup.

[Littlewyan]

The amp is already pretty gnarly so doesn't really need any help from hot pickups. I have however used a 12K Pup with an Alnico 2 magnet in a Les Paul through this amp and that worked great. In fact it cleaned up as well as my current 57Classic Plus Pup in my Gibson LP. Which is an Alnico 2 magnet with much less resistance. Its not just the resistance that determines how hot a pickup is.

[Scumback Speakers]

The Express circuit sounds better (to me) with lower output pickups, as in lower than 9k bridge, and 8k neck for a Les Paul. Past that it gets less articulate.

[lpd]

I can clean all of my guitars up with the volume/tone pots adjusted. Single coils effectively much better. The strat just sings clean but the taper on my Les Paul is sub par at best. I'm amazed at how touch sensitive this circuit is forcing me to dig in and play with more finesse than I'm used to.

Right now using Scumback M75 and M75 black back copy. Great tone with these speakers.

[RJ Guitars]

KF was said to prefer only low output pickups... Still plenty of gain in an Express or Liverpool to bring out the rage in a Strat or Tele though

[lpd]

Going to a/b my amp with a JM build sometime in the near future. Be interested to see how the two amps compare

[Roe]

I concur but might add that strong magnets can sound harsh with an express. I avoid not just ceramic magnets but even strong (long) a5 magnets. I prefer ua5 and weaker, shorter a5 magnets (a2 and a4 also work well). I tend to prefer paf type pups, although p90s are always, always good

[HeeBGB]

The Express circuit sounds better (to me) with lower output pickups, as in lower than 9k bridge, and 8k neck for a Les Paul. Past that it gets less articulate.

I have actually found this to be true with any amp circuit. For me the higher the output of the pup's the less articulate they get. Actually I find this to true of any way of adding gain to the signal. There's a sweet spot between gain/distortion and note definition

[Scumback Speakers]

For me the higher the output of the pup's the less articulate they get. Actually I find this to true of any way of adding gain to the signal. There's a sweet spot between gain/distortion and note definition

Agreed. Too much pickup signal input through most amps overloads them and kills the articulation. It's all a balancing act of your rig, of course, but knowing where to push the signal in an Express is a lot of trial and error.

[lpd]

For me the higher the output of the pup's the less articulate they get. Actually I find this to true of any way of adding gain to the signal. There's a sweet spot between gain/distortion and note definition

Agreed. Too much pickup signal input through most amps overloads them and kills the articulation. It's all a balancing act of your rig, of course, but knowing where to push the signal in an Express is a lot of trial and error.

Agreed! I finally found nirvana on my amp. I had bass control too low and turned up a notch thickened up and became more focused. A tweakers dream!