Randys les paul pickups UPDATE

[sytharnia]

Im not going to think he didnt know his guitars very well ,,,,,But I can think that whoever that did the interview may not have known the difference between a Super Distortion pickup,, and a Distortion plus pedal, and got the 2 confused ...

I disagree, I think randy was very much just a player so probably knew very little about the make up of his gear. The fact that grover has said randy left the room when he went to cut a guitar to a different V shape tells me randy wasn't a DIY guy when it comes to guitars...so he would not be likely to change his own pick ups, pots etc so chances are he only took a passing interest in what type of pick ups he did or didn't have

[mauk 1]

Im not going to think he didnt know his guitars very well ,,,,,But I can think that whoever that did the interview may not have known the difference between a Super Distortion pickup,, and a Distortion plus pedal, and got the 2 confused ...

I disagree, I think randy was very much just a player so probably knew very little about the make up of his gear. The fact that grover has said randy left the room when he went to cut a guitar to a different V shape tells me randy wasn't a DIY guy when it comes to guitars...so he would not be likely to change his own pick ups, pots etc so chances are he only took a passing interest in what type of pick ups he did or didn't have

Maybe,,,
But then again,,,,
,, he was paying Grover to build it...
He knew what he wanted when he had Marshall custom make his amps, Cascade mode, and Altec Lansings instead of Celestion.. So he was to some point "Hands on",,
being a master luthier, and a player is very much 2 different things,, I do agree...
But the customizing of his Custom, Changed tuners, and with Brass plates for the toggle, and control cavity,,Bell shaped TRC,, and name engraved into the pick guard shows he was Hands on to some extent also,,along with changing the knobs and such on his PDV....(Cosmetic, yeah I know)
Even trying to merge a Strat and a Les Paul with the Jackson Proto, and being there for the development of it, and sketching out the design,, shows he was very much "Hands On"
But as far as changing his own pickups,,, Who knows,, maybe not,, but he has stated his guitars to be his "Tools",, and any craftsman gets to know his "Tools" in my mind,,
There was no Internet then,, it was learn the things that make it work on your own,,,Which I ,myself graduated from that same era....
for someone that had a guitar in his hands constantly,, I cant believe he didnt know much about it,, especially being a teacher, and starting at age 8,,,,In my mind, and my own expereinces,,,,You just dont play that long, and become that great of a player not knowing how the thing works......
It's also noted that h always had issues with his custom pedal board,, and is stated that sometimes he and Rudy would try to fix it themselves,,, and that pedal board was ALOT more advanced then a guitar, and it's basic wiring....
I changed my first pickup in 1983 at the age of 15, just 2 years into playing at that point,,
ive been playing now for 30 years and nave done just about everything to a guitar,,Pickups, and pots, Nuts and all,, even complete tare downs, and many paintjobs and refret,, But I wouldnt even try to router one for a Floyd......
Guess we may never know.........

[dannyahansen]

I have a different idea. I think that who ever sold him the guitar at GC told him it was a '64. Lol.

You know it is easy to not remember every detail fo your guitars. I think when it came to Randy he was like every one else. I eamn he did not work a gutiar shop and things were different back then. The amount of info that anyone can get today is so much more huge than it was back in teh day. I doubt Randy was even familiar with the different options one could get on a guitar out side of what a humbucker and a single coil pick up were.

[mauk 1]

I have a different idea. I think that who ever sold him the guitar at GC told him it was a '64. Lol.

You know it is easy to not remember every detail fo your guitars. I think when it came to Randy he was like every one else. I eamn he did not work a gutiar shop and things were different back then. The amount of info that anyone can get today is so much more huge than it was back in teh day. I doubt Randy was even familiar with the different options one could get on a guitar out side of what a humbucker and a single coil pick up were.

So, Then Id have to ask why would he have Dimarzio's in the PDV,, and go with Seymours in the Jackson's..
keep in mind,, back then there wasn't much to choose from like there is today
Its also well documented that after a van Halen show, Randy asked Eddie how he did all the tremolo tricks, and not have his guitar go out of tune,( eddie had the first Floyd that was hand made back then, and it was very much unheard of at that point, and also played alot of his solo's with his back to the crowd),,,, As we all know Randy's PDV always dropped tuning,, Probably because of the Danelectro neck not having a truss rod...
This tells me that Randy was very knowledgeable about his gear, and wanted to improve it...

[Paul Wolfe]

Was he 'hands on' or going with advice from people who were? For example, with his Marshall's, was it that he knew specifically what he wanted or did he discuss the subject with the guys at Marshall and go with their advice?

As for different pickups from the Sandoval to the Jackson, again, isn't it possible that he discussed what sound he liked and went with the opinion of the builder?

[mauk 1]

Was he 'hands on' or going with advice from people who were? For example, with his Marshall's, was it that he knew specifically what he wanted or did he discuss the subject with the guys at Marshall and go with their advice?

As for different pickups from the Sandoval to the Jackson, again, isn't it possible that he discussed what sound he liked and went with the opinion of the builder?

As far as the Marshalls... he wanted Altecs, that he used in his Solid State Peavy in QR,,So that wouldnt have been suggested by ANYONE at Marshall....he liked the way they had a heavier sound,,again shows he knew about his gear, and what he wanted.......He didnt want Celestions......
And as far as the Sandoval and the Jacksons pickups,, This could have been suggested by the luthiers as to what sound he was wanting,,, which also means he knew What tone he was trying to achieve,,,,,Not just being a player, and taking what ever he got.........

which proves he was Hands On about his tone, and gear.........
You have to remember,, he was going head to head with Eddie back then that did everything to dipping his PAF in Paraffin wax,, I dont think Randy wouldnt want to know, or have an idea of how to improve his gear.. Especially after Van Halen got signded,, and QR still hadn't in the early years..
guitarist are very competitive individuals..............We all know that....

[mauk 1]

I guess it all boils down to our own definition of "Hands On"..
When we start playing the guitar, we learn what we want to make it sound the way we want it to.. and Most of us learn how to do just that..
With him being a teacher,and not making a boat load of money doing so,, I have to imagine Randy knew what was going on with a guitar,,Just by having students that had to have issues with thier guitars, he had to have an understanding of how it works,,,,
I refuse to believe he was blind to it....
He is a guitar legend, with only 2 world wide released albums, 30 years ago....
Yet he has LEGENDS OF FANS,,, and all of us that come here,, wanting to see , and have more of him to enjoy, and talk about,,,,
It appalls me to think he had no clue about re soldering a loose ground wire from an output jack.......
Or how to re solder, and connect 3 color coded wires on a new toggle switch that he abused the old one constantly, and it quit,,,,,,,,( common issues on LP's,, (especially NORLINS))
Come on people,,, thats basic guitar 101...............

And I sure wouldnt think he would contract someone to build him a guitar,,But then Cut out the blank, router it,,paint it,, assemble it and wire it himself,,,and then PAY THEM,,
So I can see why he left the room when Grover re cut the "V"...............He was paying him to do just that....


Besides.... Id hate to imagine the law suit of a just starting guitar Luthier, from a $haron Osbourne, because Grover let the guitarist thats gonna be her meal ticket for the next 30-40-50 years cut his fingers off on the Band Saw.........

Think about it....

[randy will never die]

HOW YOU BEEN mauk 1 HAVE NOT HEARD FROM YOU IN A WHILE

[mauk 1]

Im fine...Thanks for asking... Hows it going for you?

[randy will never die]

good watching the president debate live on YOUTUBE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyf6RW1J ... -lt-ype-96
GO OBAMA

[Paul Wolfe]

which proves he was Hands On about his tone, and gear...

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

[rhoadsscholar]

I can add a little insight into this. I used to come in for my lessons. I worked at a different music store and at one time had about 40 guitars, For a 19 year old, I had a lot of gear. I was always changing out pickups in various guitars. Randy would often switch guitars with me and let me play his les paul. I got a couple of genuine PAFs from a 1959 Byrdland and put them in a strat. THe following week, I brought in an ibanez musician that I had wired with a PAF and super distortion. I got a little bit longer lesson that week as Randy took the guitar through its paces. During our jams switching off lead and rhythm he would try all the nuances (i.e. pinch harmonics, etc.). I didn't have the ear to distinguish the subtle differences and had way too many guitars to really bond with any of them. His les paul was used to write out all my lesson plans on the back. He also showed me his trick of putting pencil lead in the nut grooves. One day when I came in, he asked me if I wanted to check out his new guitar, the Sandoval. I actually got to play it before it was damaged. A thing of beauty but the neck and the frets were not to my liking as I am a big dude. I think he knew what he wanted and took advantage of the fact that he had all these students coming through with all kinds of guitars, and wanting to learn all types of songs. He listened to a lot of music and used his instument to help students get the sound while at the same time filing certain things away for himself. Those that studied with him can attest that the jams were probably the best part of the lessons (for me anyway) and during those times, I could tell he was listening accutely to what was being played.

[The Rock]

Thanks Robert, I never thought about Randy evaluating the different tones of his students guitars. That makes total sense, he probably learned more about what guitar sounds he wanted by listening to his student's instruments that he would have by going to Guitar Center.

[randy will never die]

ok so what was the trick with the pencil led in the nut groves
what does it do

[camdenlp]

Keeps your strings from binding in the nut, allowing them to 'slip' through the nut smoothly and thus provide more accurate tuning