Sillhouette special

[dkijc]

i'm wondering if i can get close to srv sound with this axe by changing to correct pick ups....

one of the tech guy said those guitars are made for more metal and stuff but i doubt he is mentioning sillhouette special cuz this guitar dont' sound that great playing metal but more for blues/rock
so i'm hoping he was talking about like axe sport or petrucci models

any commenst?

thanks!

 

[Aaron Cheney]

I've owned 5 Silhouettes, both normals and "Specials". They are great guitars, and EBMM craftsmanship is top notch. There are some problems I've come across, though:

The "Silent Circuit" absolutely reeks. Its as if it was actually invented to suck the tone from any pickup it's wired to. Absolute crap. If you want and SRV tone, get rid of the "Silent Circuit".

The older ones I think are better. About 2000 or so, EBMM started making some changes that I didn't like: they stopped recessing the heel plate, for one. That's about the same time they stopped offereing the nice wood case and went with the molded plastic one.

The original Silhouettes were more for metal or hard rock. They came w/ dual humbuckers and Floyd Rose trems. I'm not sure if they are even offered this way any more. If you want SRV tone out of a Silhouette, a "Special" is the way to go. Get rid of the silent circuit and load some Van Zandt pickups in there. That will be a HUGE step in the right direction.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com

 

[dkijc]

thanks aaron for your posts, your posts help me alot and i'm sure it goes for others also

yes you did tell me that silent circut kills the pick up so its already off right now and its in normal 'strat' configuration. (5way w/o silent circuit)

i bought this off from an ebay and the owner told me she bought it on 2000 so i guess this is one of the older models but it came with the plastic models so i'm not sure... i'm not even know what heel plates are... hehe i have no knowledge at all lol

mine is 'special' so going from your knowledge hopefully i'll achieve my goal.... heh

you recommended me kinmans.... can i get blues sound outta those pick ups or would you recommend van zandt's?

thanks alot!

 

[JR#97]

Which SRV sound are you after? I can come pretty close to the Lenny/Riviera Paradise sound with my stock Sillouette Special. Mine has the silent circuit, but I don't even have the battery in it. When I did, I didn't notice that much diff in tone other than the single coils were a lot quieter. The stock humbucke is pretty enemic, so I can't tell if the circuit is sucking tone from it.

What amp are you using? Pedals? I can get the semi-dirty blue crunch going pretty well with my Mesa Boogie V-Twin fronting my Marshall. I can also get pretty close using my Tech21 Tri-AC. I only use that for rhythm when recording though. For recording leads, it's V-Twin all the way. Live, I use whatever I'm in the mood for lugging around that day.

I don't think the Sillouette Special was made for metal. Not "thick" enough. Maybe with a beefier humbucker. The Axis.. now there's a metal guitar. Same with the Petrucci. I really want to give the Steve Morse a test drive.

 

[Aaron Cheney]

From everything I've read, SRV used Van Zandts. If I were replacing the single-coils in my guitar, I'd probably go with either Van Zandts or Fralins. They are both great sounding.
I have an inate distrust of "hum-cancelling single-coils", just because I have never heard any that do what they claim. However, if I wanted something that was hum cancelling, I would definitely try a set of Kinmans. I have never heard them, but they have a good reputation.
I guess it depends on what's more important to you: hum-cancelling or traditional single-coil attack and tone.

In my opinion, the most important factors for an SRV tone are:
1: overwound traditional single coil pickups (Van Zandts or similar)
2: Heavy gauge strings (at least .11's)
3: Tube Screamer

Of course, SRV was the most important part of the SRV tone, but these 3 things will get you close.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com

 

[dkijc]

thanks for your infos guys

yea i went to the city today and he sais kinmans are really good at hum cancelling but it has a really really bright tone...

so he recommended me these pickups that i do not know the name of but he said its the best one he tried/has and he tried EVERYTHING out there

he said these guys in virginia hand wounds them and it covers from all styles from cleans to even close to hard rock

it was cheaper than kinmans so i thought i'll give it a try

i left my guitar there so after i pick it up i'll get the name of it and tell you how it sounds... maybe i'll record something outta that thing hehe

as for amps... yea... thats my weakest arsenal.. i only have a practice amp with pod/gt6...
but i go to my church and i can play with marshall jcm 2000 dsl 401

i can't wait to get my axe back!! thanks for your info guys!!!

god bless.

 

[6gun]

i'm not even know what heel plates are... hehe i have no knowledge at all lol

turn the guitar upside down and the heel plate is the metal plate that the neck screws are going through. if the plate has been routed flush into the body you have an older model.

i have a newer ss w/piezo and i dig it. i really like the necks on mm guitars.

 

[dkijc]

mine has a bolted heel plate... haha still don't know if its old or not.. most likely newer ones.. lol

anyway... yes.. i found out what pickups... the tech put lindy fralin's vintage hot pups..... man......

I LOVE THIS THING!!!....

have you guys tried this? if you haven't, you should hehe

thanks for all your infos mah fellow guitarists~

 

[64Firebird]

From everything I've read, SRV used Van Zandts.

In the late 80s Stevie's guitar tech (Rene Martinez) took Stevie's main guitar apart and there were photos taken and published in one of the guitar mags. It was all stock Fender. Yes, the pups were most likely over wound, but they weren't Van Zandts.

My X wife threw out a lot of my old guitar mags, so I don't have the pics anymore, so maybe someone else on the board can help us out with this. (PLEASE!)

I'm not saying that the Van Zandts aren't good pups. I've never tried them out and they may be the ticket for a great tone. But, the Texas Specials were designed for the SRV sig Strat and Stevie did approve them before he died. That would be my choice.

Yes, you'll need some pretty heavy strings, at least .011s. And, you'll have to play hard to get his sound. I saw SRV play once and he would just saw on his guitar. And he was as LOUD as hell!

 

[JR#97]

mine has a bolted heel plate... haha still don't know if its old or not.. most likely newer ones.. lol

anyway... yes.. i found out what pickups... the tech put lindy fralin's vintage hot pups..... man......

I LOVE THIS THING!!!....

have you guys tried this? if you haven't, you should hehe

thanks for all your infos mah fellow guitarists~

Can you post a sample of some dirty and clean? I'm really looking for a replacement for the stock humbucker, but I'm very sketchy about ripping into a $1000 guitar.

 

[dkijc]

sure!! i'll make some demos... but prolly next week.. cuz in the weekends i'm packed with church schedule hehe

if i saw this b4 my power went out i could have posted one sowie~ heh
anyways.. how did y'all survive in the black out?... i just ate steak out side and played out side with my cousin and his friends.. playing...'man hunt'.. haha it was fun.. pitch black..

god bless