Benedetto B-6 Pickup

[unikh550]

Am thinking of adding the Benedetto B-6 pickup to my H-550 because I can use a little more of a full bass tone than I get from the Charlie Christian that I have on there. Would use the CC on most tunes, but especially lush tunes need a little more help- sort of a Jimmy Raney or Johnny Smith touch.Adjusting my Polytone helps, but does not quite make the grade. Seymour Duncan distributes this pickup for Benedetto, whom I believe designed it. The cheapest I've seen the actual price- not retail- is $141 + shipping, from Stew-Mac. Benedetto claims in the Stew-Mac ad that it is the best pickup he has ever heard. It routs in, thus is not the suspended kind, which he also designed. The B-7, which is the cousin of the B-6, is used for the Bucky Pizzarelli Benedetto model, which is all laminate. Love the deep sound Bucky gets on it in person. I just need that deep bass sound that comes after hitting a lush chord, which means pretty much adding the 6th string to complement the chord. Is this pickup worth the extra money? Other Seymours can be had from Guitar Center, et al, for $55- 80 when on sale.Love the bright, barking sound of the CC in a Kesselish vein, but occasionally like a more dark tone than Barney delivered. H-E-L-P!- Charles Bevell

[lifewithasong]

Hey Charles,

 

Before you go to the trouble of replacing the pickup, have you tried experimenting with replacing the capacitor between the tone and volume controls for that pickup? I just did this with my H575, and ended up with higher-value caps than the standard .022 that Heritage (and most manufacturers) use for humbuckers. Even if you have a .047 (standard for single coils) you could try a .050 or anything up to a .1 value. This would add more bass even when the tone is on 10. It's fun to experiment with this! I wanted more bass and "ooomph," and that's what I got. I went with .033 at the treble pickup, and .047 at the neck.

 

Greg

[ingeneri]

First, I demand to see pictures of your sweet sounding 550 with a CC. Was that a special order from Heritage or an after market alteration? In any event, I want one!

 

Given my enthusiasm for your guitar as is, I'd personaly recommend you just get another stock 550 or 575 for the bucker sound. That said, if you're set on changing the pups, I have a Benedetto Bambino Deluxe. It has the A6 instead of the B6 pup, but I don't find it so remarkable I'd switch to it as an aftermarket purcase. For that I'd go with a hand-wound Kent Armstrong (http://www.archtop.com) or an Imperial by Jason Lollar.

 

Again, sounds like you have a perfectly reasonable excuse for GAS. I'd take advantage of that!

[ingeneri]

Continued from above:

 

I got the KA floating Johnny Smith replica for my D'angelico NYL2 and am very happy with it. But the floating mini-humbuckers generally don't have that deep traditional mounted humbucker sound you're saying you want either. So I suspect that combining a B6, while a good pickup, with a CC would create the options you're seeking.

 

By the way, Jimmy Raney used a CC like Barney (and early 60s Burrell for that matter).

[unikh550]

Great ideas, especially the cap one! Will run it by my tech. Bought the CC in '97, a year before I bought the 550, which I ordered w/o pickups, controls, pickguard, or fretboard inlay. Also ordered the Eagle Classic neck and an ebony archtop bridge from Heritage instead of the tuneomatic type. The CC came from a Gibson ES-175CC that Island Guitars had taken off.Nowadays, CC Pickups in the UK, Seymour Duncan, and Lollar have repros. However, I'd probably have SD rewind it if it ever needs it. No, I don't care to buy another guitar. This is my one-of-a-kind Frankenstein monster. Will put up before and after pics before I have Heritage refinish it(am tired of the antique cherry burst) or before I add a pickup- if I can get someone who knows what they're doind around town help me to do it. All I'm looking for that deep, barking tone on the 6th string that Pizzarelli, Raney, Hall, and a few others get when they hit a deep note before a chord at the intro or ending of a ballad, like in Polka Dots and Moonbeams or But Beautiful. The CC has always lacked a little at the low end, although it's incredibly full and strident everywhere else.- Charles Bevell

[lifewithasong]

Charles, You might also consider changing one or both of the pots to a 250K if there is already a 500K in place. I've done that before on another guitar while experimenting, and it takes some of the high frequencies out and allows lower ones through.

 

Greg

[unikh550]

The funny thing is that the v/t controls were replaced a couple of years ago, and, I believe, replaced with 250's. I know that even the volume, which does work, never had as much difference in volume between the lowest and highest settings, nor did the knob turn as far as it originally did. Am going to have that checked, too. The tone pooped out a few months ago, and isn't vital because I play through the systems of various clubs, anyway. However, if I play in a school auditorium or outside, it might come in handy.By the way, I checked out Jimmy Raney online by hitting youtube.com, then Jimmy Raney, then Jimmy Raney Guitar Show. The guitar he's playing has that pickup sound that I'm looking for. It was made by Hofner, with Kent Armstrong, as part of the Attilla Zoller model, which is no longer made. He plays it on the "But Beautiful" CD, on the Criss Cross label. The title song especially has that deep bass accompaniment with lush chords, almost a chamber effect. Am going to find out if Armstrong still makes this, or a similar model. If it's too complicated to put on my H-550 because the CC takes up so much of the top with its screws, I'll probably buy a low cost Washburn or Aria Pro from the '80's to put it on to play special ballads. These are wonderful suggestions; thanks!!- Charles