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Anybody tried Andy Timmons' pickup?

simplestargazer

By simplestargazer
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whiteop Newbie

whiteop

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personally I love the Breed pickups and have them in one of my RGs. Clean enough for great articulation but can get really dirty when you need it to. Only the amateur players think you have to have tons of distortion to sound good when you play lead...

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thinkpad20 Newbie

thinkpad20

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:idk:

 

So he can play fast, that doesn't make him a shredder :cop:

 

Although for sure that song in particular is quite shreddy. I guess I just never really think of AT as a shredder type; he's got chops but his music is much more melodic rock stuff with very little shred/fast at all. Then again TBH, I haven't listened to that much of his stuff.

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Sheik_Yerbouti Newbie

Sheik_Yerbouti

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So he can play fast, that doesn't make him a shredder
:cop:

Although for sure that song in particular is quite shreddy. I guess I just never really think of AT as a shredder type; he's got chops but his music is much more melodic rock stuff with very little shred/fast at all. Then again TBH, I haven't listened to that much of his stuff.



"Shredder" is a pretty nebulous term. I wouldn't really consider Andy a "shredder", either. Certainly, he CAN shred with the very best of them (and I've personally witnessed him in person hold his own and then some with guys like Petrucci, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie & Steve Morse), he's much more than just some Rusty Cooley, "look-at-me" player. He's got waaaaaayyy more to offer on the versatility front than just that. Some of Andy's earlier records were actually a little heavy on the Satriani-influenced side, but he's progressed a long, long way as a composer and overall musician since then.

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Just A Box Newbie

Just A Box

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I'm really being honest.
No where on the internet is anyone going "I need Timmonz Tone.. . to die for!"
He's a refreshing voice compared to the top tier players, but he is not quite at their level.


Basically you can get his tone with the stock bucker in your ibanez and a laney head. Its all about the writing and playing, its not like he's got a signature sound.


His most famous song, electric gypsy, is low/mid gain you can get that tone with any superstrat.
Generic tone is generic.


Maybe because I already have a handful of sabres is why it sounds so generic to me. I like the tone, just too much mids and not enough treble.

 

 

Actually, you are the exception when it comes to opinions on Andy's tone. And, as I stated above, you can barely get in the ballpark, tone-wise, to Andy's tone on a stock sub $500 guitar, even with a "Laney Head?"

 

By the way, what's that about? If I could afford a nice Laney head, I'd Probably be able to afford one of the two Mesa heads he uses exclusively in his live rig. The following videos demonstrate his phenomenal tone, as well as his Mesa rig. His most recent album, incidentally, was recorded with several amps, but a Marshall was used for much of it. I'll post the vid of Andy stating that fact if you feel the need. I think we all know that people use whatever they want/need in the studio, but live, it's two Mesa's and a Fender (I think) for one song.

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

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jimlp Newbie

jimlp

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I need to swap the bridge pickup on my Ibanez SZ, and Dimarzio's website says these are designed for mahogany-bodied, 25" scale guitars. Being a fan of Timmons, and knowing there are some other fanboys on here, I was wondering if any of you guys had any experience with it.

 

 

I played this pickup in a basswood strat body with a maple neck, to me it sounded like a JB with a tighter low end.

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Just A Box Newbie

Just A Box

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So... I can't afford an Andy Timmons model, so I tried to put together something in the area of his guitar for as cheap as possible. So I sacrificed.

The guitar is a Laguna (don't laugh, I know about the ugly headstock, I'm thinking about trimming it down, but see the pic). Sadly, it's an Ash body, but it had what I wanted: 22 frets, all-access style neck, H/S/S, high quality non-locking trem, locking tuners, five way switch. All stock, all for about $220...can't complain.

 

So, I ordered the pickups. The Cruisers are awesome. At this time, in my guitar, I'm finding it a little hard to classify the AT pickup as "great". In my guitar it's quite bright. Like Andy (and heavily influenced by him), I like a warm tone, not a harsh or overly bright tone. So, instead of having my amps set for my other guitars (particularly of interest, considering the above posts referencing the AT pickup to a Breed pickup), a mahogany bodied RG with Breed's in both positions, I have to change the amp more than just a little to accommodate the AT equipped guitar. I'm going to continue to work with it, and I'll always keep it around if I ever take it out. It may be that it is warmer sounding in a mahogany bodied axe. I have a Parker Nitefly-M that I may try it in. It's dead stock & perfect, so I may not touch it, but that may get me closer. Ironically, I think it's the exact same pickup in his Alder and Mahogany bodied guitars, which is interesting.

 

I actually don't have an Alder bodied guitar. But, you also haven't stated, if I'm correct, what type of guitar you are thinking about putting it in. For me, it may require the right guitar for it to shine as well as I think it can. Obviously, I can assume in an actual AT100 guitar, the whole package is great sounding, but I like having a very different sound with this one..

DSCN1244.JPG

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Just A Box Newbie

Just A Box

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personally I love the Breed pickups and have them in one of my RGs. Clean enough for great articulation but can get really dirty when you need it to. Only the amateur players think you have to have tons of distortion to sound good when you play lead...

 

 

This. I have them in my Jem, and in my Mahogany bodied RG with a fixed trem. Love 'em to death. Smooth, smooth, smooth. Can't get a harsh note from them, but they do high gain quite well...

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Just A Box Newbie

Just A Box

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I just checked out his stuff. 1995 Called and wants its arpeggios back. j/k. It's really good. Sounds like Dimarzio Evolutions played thru a modeller.

 

You know, that's what I was thinking when I heard this:

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

 

You comments to this point beg this question: Is you last name Malmsteen?

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sabrex Newbie

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131 posts...

Andys guitars are this:Alder body on the AT100 and Mahogany on the AT300, Wilkinson vintage style trem,
hand shaped neck
, the AT100 is an RG body style and the AT300 is an SA style, both of which have much more wood in the body than your S series guitars. Pro-grade electronics. H/S/S config. Forget the fact that only an inexperienced guitarist, or one who sees only one tone as a great tone, could argue that their $400 guitar in stock trim sounds as good as a true professional level guitar.

 

 

The early 90 H&S and Fugigen Sabres were $1500 guitars. They have more mass than the current Korean Sabres and compare favorably to Timmons model. I only play the 20 year old sabres, the new ones are too light. Yes Ive been playing that long.

 

Timmons main axe, the one based on the sabre, is Mahogony as you point out. Agree they are not identical, probably the biggest difference is the bridge, but even the s540s all have different tones based on their wood top and mojo. I confess the only timmons album I have is the "That was then, this is now." compilation. Most of his tones have the glassy mahogony top end. I dont hear much alder in those songs, but that is me.

 

My opinion (obvisouly) is that the Timmonz tone is not that hard to accomplish. A mid heavy, medium output bucker with a glassy, instead of harsh top. Can get pretty close with the stock Quantum pickups im mid90s sabres. (Could probably get real close moving the neck to the bridge) The F2 dimarzios in early 90s ones not so close. They are more like a tone zone.

 

Actually proud to have ony 131 posts. This is not an alternate account and I dont hang out much on music sites, although I was just in surgery and am sitting on my ass for the past two weeks.

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