Dora

Spent some time with this one. Thought it needed a re-string from the previous excessive play but strings are still good. When Grover Jackson moved on with GJ2, I thought he made good strides with the brand name but things were meant to be different along the way. The GJ2 created an impact on me when it debuted. Tried them out at Davis GMC back then & they simply represent good guitar craftsmanship. Good to know he has the OG brand name now to carry his legacy through. Grover Jackson is just that name you know has something promising when it comes to guitar quality.

These Glendora pickups met my standards so they stay put. These are GJ2's in-house pickups that sound more contemporary than vintage. Despite taking meticulous care, wiping down after play, the humbucker  pole pieces are showing signs of rusting so that black cover is there to address this concern. 

Fender: Modern Player Jazzmaster (2)

This is in response to an e-mail pertaining to my pickup covers; it's absolutely plastic & it's not costly. It fits the standard humbucker & requires no mods. Just insert the humbucker into the cover & it's good to go, no wax potting or rear sealing necessary. It somehow deceives others from a distance because it looks like an active unit but that's strictly a novelty. This cover protects your pickup from the elements, especially your sweat. Say you are selling it away for other replacements, you'd then have a working & good-looking pickup to offer.

Duncanized: LTD TE-212

My LTD TE-212...

Recent make-over: Seymour Duncan '59 in both neck & bridge positions. The neck humbucker is a used pickup in zebra finish- the reason I covered it up. This added to the black aesthetics of the guitar body. I tried covering the bridge pickup as well but that slot would not accommodate this addition & the fact that it's metal, it would mean much hassle should filing take place.

This exercise is a timely reminder that:

• lower output pickups could be as menacing as higher output ones in terms of distortion- you just have to know what to use given the guitar's characteristics
• heavy guitars (weight-wise) do wonders in terms of shaping the lower frequencies. This LTD is one of my heavier guitars & I just went with my gut feelings (which is arguably quite well-honed in terms of the number of guitars I own & the number of pickup swaps done- not showing off but it's a fact...) in terms of which pickups should be in there. I somehow knew it won't benefit from high output models considering the weight & acoustic resonance. 

Thanks Master Beez for the master touches (as always).