The Electra Forums

Hi! I just picked up an Electra MPC X-330, but it came with no modules. I've been looking all over the net for modules for sale, but haven't found much so far, so I figured I'd cast my net this direction. I'm especially interested in the compressor, flanger and phaser modules, but I'm also interested to see what's out there. If there's anything you're not using and could bear to part with, I'd love to hear about it!

Thanks!

Matthew

Electraman is the guy you probably want to talk to.
He is the resident expert on Electras and hosts a web page dedicated to them.
Give him some time to read and respond to this post.

Is yours Super Sunburst (Cherry Sunburst)?
And does it still have the Super Magnuflux pickups?
How does this puppy play? According to the Electra page these bad boys
were made from 76 to 81.

In the meantime visit the Electra web page at:
http://www.herons.ca/electra/

Hey jbyear1!

Thanks for responding. I actually just won the X-330 on eBay on Sunday night, so I don't even have it yet. It is a dark cherry sunburst with all original hardware and still has both Super Magnaflux pups. It has the old Gibson-style headstock, so I think it's a '76. I'm really looking forward to playing the hell out of it, but my girlfriend and I have picked up a JazzStrad X410 and an Electric Oak over the last couple months so I have a pretty good idea of what I'm in for. The X-330 is my first MPC, though.

Thanks for referring me to Electraman's site. I've actually been visiting that site for months, ever since I first came across the Electric Oak online. What a great resource! I didn't want to bother him with a direct e-mail, but hopefully he'll see this post and let me know if he's interested in sharing!

Thanks again. Take care!

Matthew

Thanks for the response, Electraman!

I've had some luck since my last post. I'm getting a phaser and a modded overdrive from John Thornburg. Nice guy! He didn't have any of the other modules available, though, so my search for the compressor and flanger will continue!

I'm surprised to hear that you don't have any of the MPC gear anymore. Is there a reason you decided to get rid of it? Any Electra stuff you're still hanging onto?

Just curious. Thanks again for the reply, and for your exceptionally helpful site.

Matthew

Electraman,

I can see what you're saying about the limitations of the MPC guitars. I think I'm more curious to see how I'll feel about the guitar than anything. I've actually had my eye on picking up the cherry sunburst Omega for quite a while, but for some reason I jumped on the X-330 first. The irony of the available modules is that I already have fantastic phase and overdrive footpedals, so some of the other modules would be much more useful and interesting. But it gives me something relatively inexpensive to hunt for and pine after, so maybe that'll keep me out of trouble for a while!

Have a great day!

Matthew

I've been playing a '75 L6-S as my main guitar for about 6 years now, so I guess that's why the thin necks and brighter tone of the Electras are actually appealing to me. In the past, every time I went to "do it up proper" and shell out for an LP or SG, I was always unhappy with the feel of the neck. The Electra necks have been the perfect size. Although, I do wish I could find an Electra with an ebony fretboard. I really liked that feature of the L6-S.

I don't envy you your need for a super-vintage LP. That's going to be a lot of money! There are a couple of Artisans on eBay right now that are right up my alley, but I don't think I could seriously lay down $2K for a guitar and feel right about it. Maybe someday, but not yet.

I can see why you decided to keep the Burgandy Pro. I bought the JazzStrad X410 for my girlfriend and almost had a hard time giving it up! What an amazing guitar! And for $500? I don't think you can find a better deal than that.

Thanks again for all the info. Stay warm!

Matthew

hey matt

i don't know if this would be of interest or not, but here is another electra mpc with 6 modules... including a flanger and compressor

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... egory=2384

and, like electraman says, you will likely have to pay upwards of $100 ea for the flanger and compressor modules separately... so this might be worth looking into

as for ebony fingerboards, you might want to have a look at the outlaw 700 models.... i don't know if the fingerboards on these are actually ebony or not (i have an x710), but they certainly seem much denser and smoother than the rosewood boards on my other electras...

hope this helps

_________________
Live Better Electra-ly
http://www.therathole.org/leia/visitors_axes/leia/leia.html

Hey, Leia!

Thanks for the response. I would have gotten back to you sooner, but for some reason I didn't get a little "You have a message" e-mail from your response...

Anyway, yeah, I noticed that on eBay too, but I'd already tapped myself out buying the X330 and a couple of modules, so I wasn't able to act on that tempting offer. Someone got a good deal!

I ended up contacting John Thornburg (who I believe posts here sometimes) and he was kind enough to offer me a deal on one of his modded Overdrive modules as well as an extra old-style Phaser module he had lying around. I received my '76 X330 (Gibson-style headstock) yesterday and finally got to try it all out about 2 hours ago... and it's GREAT!!!

I have to admit that I was a little worried when I first unpacked the X330. It came with fairly dead strings and didn't immediately have that "Play Me!" thing going on. Even as I was tuning it up I was thinking "maybe this isn't the one; I guess I can put it back up on eBay..." Luckily, that all changed once I got it connected to the amp. Even without the modules, the pickups just sound great. I'm a pretty crunchy player in general, usually starting "clean" at an approximation of the Townsend SG dirty chime and moving toward Mudhoney territory from there. The fact that I could plug straight into the amp (Ampeg VL502) and get an exciting sound without even touching any of the settings was pretty surprising and gratifying. After my mainstay L6-S died last year (long story) I've been playing mostly an '80 Gibson "The Paul" that is generally uninspiring, so this was immediately a dramatic change for the better!

I don't know if you have one (you probably do), but I can't say enough good things about John Thornburg's Overdrive mod. Admitted, I don't know what the module sounds like before the mod, but I do know that I like the modded one better than the Crowther Hotcake OD that I've been using. I was pretty excited about the Hotcake up until today, so that's a pretty big compliment. I was using mostly the #4 pickup setting, and at 10 the OD is big and throaty, but still open enough at the top end. Backing it off to 6 cleaned it up really nicely and gave me a nice boosted dirty chime, kind of like the beginning chords of the "cello, cello, cello" part of "A Quick One While He's Away." Very useful sounds, IMO.

The phaser sounds great too! No big surprises there, but it's more solid-sounding than I expected and it's cool to be able to control the cycle from the guitar.

So, anyway, I'm happy to report that my initial fears were unfounded. I love the guitar! Definitely the best $375 (including the modules) I've spent on gear in quite a while.

Sorry, this is a long post that I doubt is as interesting to anyone else as it is to me! Thanks to everyone who offered advice! Keep me in mind if you come across any interesting modules for sale!

Matthew

Electraman:

I noticed that you brought up the EH line driver before. I don't know if you've already come across it, but I thought you might want to check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=22669

Hope you're all doing well!

Matthew

Another quick question: Once you're done playing an MPC, is it enough to make sure that the effects module switches are "off" to avoid draining the battery, or do you need to disconnect the battery each time?

Thanks!

Matthew

Will do! Thanks for the info!!!

Electraman!

I was just down at my fave local guitar shop and they have two LPB-1's. I don't know if you're interested in picking one up, but I thought I'd let you know. I don't think they're listed on the site, but you can visit the shop at: http://www.emeraldcityguitars.com/gear.htm.

Matthew