The Electra Forums

I acquired a (heelless) broken neck/headstock joint Electra LP last spring off of CL, for $100! The previous owner (a guy in his mid twenties), had a tech install burstbuckers in it. Get this-- when I asked this kid about the old pickups, which he said were the originals, he told me he THREW THEM AWAY! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHRGGGGHH! I almost puked when he told me that! Anyway, the tech did a fine job; once I repaired the neck/headstock and cleaned 'er up a bit, she sounded and felt great! I'm in love with this guitar! However, being a headbanger who plays threw a very hot mesa boogie amp, the 'buckers were falling a bit short. Also, being unpotted, they were squealing like crazy; you know how it goes.
So here is my question for all you awesome forum guys (please don't throw rocks at me) -- Has anyone of you tried a Duncan JB or a Custom in one of these guitars? I already swapped for a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge, and while it comes close, I wonder about the JB...
Any help is greatly appreciated guys! This forum and the river city amps page is awesome; I've really enjoyed checking out all the banter, and the tech tips are great!

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One's too many and a hundred ain't enough!

From one Mesa owner to the next, Amen brother. High gain and unwaxed pickups are a dangerous combination! Here are my Mark IIb, Mark III and Mark IV Boogies:



I do discourage people from modifying original examples, but it sounds like yours was a fixer upper to begin with, so I say experiment away. I haven't used the JB's before, but they have a good reputation. One thing about the stock pickups (besides being feedback prone) is they often have basically the same output, which translates to the Neck pickup being much louder than the bridge. The Bridge pickup should really be about twice as hot to keep up with the Neck when you switch between them, and you have the chance to remedy that now. Good luck, tell us how it comes out, Mike.

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Electra Guitar Videos ===> http://www.youtube.com/user/mjm33mjm?feature=watch

Yeah I'm droolin over that photo! You have a nice collection there... Is that a Mark I? Nice, man. I own a DC-3 with a single V-30. I love this amp! When I finally got my hands on a Boogie, there was no hope left for me.... Cheers on a super collection!

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One's too many and a hundred ain't enough!

Uh, yeah, duh! Its not a Mark I. I should learn to read! Anyhow, I have the Super Distortion in now, it is better, but a bit muddy. I left the 'burst 1 in the neck, which is a stunning "belly" tone! Ya know, all I did was clean up the break in the neck, reglue with some Franklin, and throw a set of strings on it. It's been in tune ever since! The stock machine heads are really nice, I really don't have to retune very much. Its hard to say how much I love this guitar...This guitar rules!

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One's too many and a hundred ain't enough!

A JB will work great in the bridge of your electra. I have used a lot of them, and will be a good choice for the style of music you play (it really is a pretty versatile pickup). I'd go with a trembucker spaced one though, because it will match the the poles with the strings better for the bridge model pickup. But a regular spaced one will work fine too, just a little narrow spaced around the edge strings (but all of them were back then).

Good luck with your guitar and congrats.

John

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Thorny

Nice Mesa Boogie amps Mike.

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RCSBlues

Post photos or we simply won't believe you.

Yep. Need the pictures.



I put a Dimarzio SD in my Electra X935cs. Love it. The JB will sound awesome with it's greater mids.

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"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

I would love to share some pics with you all, but I cant seem to successfully upload them... I will keep trying...

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One's too many and a hundred ain't enough!

Loading Pictures tip:

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RCSBlues

Thank you for the tips. I will try them out!

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One's too many and a hundred ain't enough!

Guys lets see if this is gonna work out! I am no computer wizard, so bear with me for a moment...

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One's too many and a hundred ain't enough!

[img]http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i157/richz0396tinman/My%[URL=http://s71.photobucket.com/user/richz0396tinman/media/My%20Electra/ElectraFrontDetail_zpsbf61db0e.jpg.html][IMG]http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i157/richz0396tinman/My%20Electra/ElectraFrontDetail_zpsbf61db0e.jpg[/img]20Electra/ElectraHeadstockRearDetail_zpsed7b1561.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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One's too many and a hundred ain't enough!

Nice find and thanks for bringing it back to life. All of us here love it when an Electra is saved and played again.

Nice job.

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SlmGuy

I love these guitars! For some reason, I always end up with oddball/one-off stuff. (Not just guitars, either). To my relief, these guitars have quite a following, and it only figures. I was able to do some research through this forum before I bought this guitar, and I'm so thankful for that. I found out everything I needed to know about these gems. If it wasn't for this forum, I would have missed out on a great player, one that is my number one guitar now. I'm thinking of looking for a set neck model that looks close to this one. Saw a few nice ones on E-shmay, but none were an Electra. Here we go again...

P.S. You guys are great! Thanks so much

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One's too many and a hundred ain't enough!

Cool guitar but man, the poor headstock.

Checkout a Duncan Custom Custom and maybe put a Duncan 59 in the neck to match that.

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Free Your Mind and Your A$$ Will Follow......