B L 710 question

[Leon Roberts]

Has anyone besides me given up on the Bill Lawrence 710 pickup? Let me say that tone wise it’s nearly everything advertised. My problem is the very high frequency overtones present. The sound is something like the metal picks hitting the strings. I would be the first to admit my technique is not the best in the world. That being said, I don’t have the same problem with the G L E-66 or earlier Bill Lawrence pickups. I’m not trying to start a ruckus as to which pickup is best, just trying to provide all the information available. I’ve come to the conclusion the B L 710 is a much hotter pickup than the E-66. I wound up with the pickups as low as they would go in my Sho-Bud which was the height of 3 twenty-five cent pieces between the strings and pickup. To solve my problem, Jerry Wallace is rewinding my original single coils to go back in. The guys that can use this pickup without the metallic overtones are very fortunate. I was able to dial in just about any tone I wanted, but that metallic “zing” was always present. I was wondering if anyone else experienced this problem. I welcome your input.

[Steve Feldman]

Sounds like your PU may be a tad too high. Try lowering it a bit, especially on the treble side, and then adjust your EQ.

Steve

[Leon Roberts]

Steve, My guitar is a Sho-Bud Pro-III with metal necks. Because of the rails on the changer housing, I have the pickups as low as the guitar will allow. I can slide three quarters in between the pickups and the strings. Thanks for the reply. I'll just go back to the less hotter single coils.

[Donny Hinson]

Leon, what type of volume pedal do you use, and do you use any other device between the steel and the amp?

[Kevin Hatton]

BL-710 pick-up is the best pick-up I've ever heard. Its also good enough for Lloyd Green. No comparison to the weak E-66's. I have them in both of my Sho-Buds and they sound tremendous through my Webb 614-E. I would say you don't have the pickup height adjusted correctly. Also, if you don't like bite in your sound this pickup is probably not for you. It is definitely not soft. I like bite and twang.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 23 November 2002 at 12:19 PM.]</p></FONT>

[John Bechtel]

I play a Franklin and Paul Sr. told me that the recommended distance for the L-710 pick-up from the strings is 3/16". I also use a Goodrich Mod.6a Super Sustain Match Box, and this works out great with my Walker S.S.Pre-Amp! I've never had a better sound than I've been getting lately along with my two Nashville 1000 power amps and Alesis QuadraVerb! "Big John" http://community.webtv.net/KeoniNui/doc

[Brad Sarno]

I've heard the 710 sound great with a passive volume pedal. With an active pedal or a matchbox type preamp, the L-710 can have a hard, glassy, edgy quality to it. I've heard Lloyd Green the past two years with his Sho-Bud using a 710 into a passive (pot) volume pedal and it sounds wonderful. I think that sending the signal straight into a passive volume pedal is the hot setup for that particular pickup. Also, like everyone says, keep it low as it's a very hot pickup. The tone warms and sweetens up as you lower it away from the strings.

Brad Sarno

[Leon Roberts]

I would like to thank everyone for their input. I wasn't trying to "slam" the 710 pickup in anyway. I agree that tonewise, it was all I expected it to be. I've come to the conclusion that the pickup is simply to hot for 68 year old hands. I'm sure if my picking technique was as smooth as Lloyd Green's, I would have no problem. I can face the sad fact that it's not. Bob, You can close this thread.

[Kevin Hatton]

Brad, that is a VERY important point you made about using the 710 with a matchbox style preamp. Bill Lawrence says this also. You don't need one because the pickup is so powerful. Excellent post.