The guitar that soudns vintage...

[robelinda2]

Has anyone here played an AL and not thought it to be a supreme single coil machine?

[Sweat]

Well no! I love the MM90s, really getting into the AL!

[uvacom]

I think the Albert Lee is very much like a vintage strat. 1-piece maple neck, ash body, flat polepice alnico II single coils, bent steel saddles, plastic nut - all of the crucial tone elements are pretty much like the strat.

As far as differences, the tone circuit is more like a tele, the switching is a little more versatile, and maybe (possibly) the poly finish might have a small effect on the tone vs a nitro finish. And the biggest difference is probably the metal plate on the bridge pickup. The tuners are different, newer ALs have a compensated nut and the silent circuit, locking tuners, 22 frets (vs. 21 I believe), and other little details.

Obviously if you put the two side by side, you'll probably detect a difference. Hell, if you put two vintage strats side by side, it's easy to tell the difference, because they were always changing the manufacturing, and they have all aged differently.

But I think that for the player who wants a vintage strat vibe, but would still like an instrument that's distinctive in it's own right, the Albert Lee is fairly ideal.

[jagged]

thanks, uva

[Jimmyb]

Hmmm,

These threads are great.

I would have thought that one obvious question would be:

What amp are you using?

That certainly will have a big impact on the overall tone and don't forget that a lot of the early Marshall amps and the like were not massively high gain.

As far as getting clean sounds, what about David Gilmour? He does a pretty good job of getting some nice cleans. Then again, his solo in "Another Brick in the Wall part 2" was done on the neck pickup of a LP goldtop. If you've heard some of his latest solo stuff, or seen the tour vids on youtube, for a lot of that he's using a Gretch and still getting the killer clean tones that he's famed for.

Clapton didn't move to a Strat until the 70's (as far as I know) so his really early stuff is most likely Gibson driven.

You can get very good clean sounds from quite a few EBMMs. I've got a Sport with SSS and HH and an ASS with HH and they can all give me good clean sounds. I do have a very clean (HIWATT) amp though and get my overdriven sounds from pedals.

Try a few different things with your rig and try your guitars with different amps. You may have what you're looking for already.

[John C]

Has anyone here played an AL and not thought it to be a supreme single coil machine?

Actually I liked the s/s/s Silo Special better than the s/s/s AL, but my favorite Strat flavor is the late 60s version - think Hendrix, Gilmour, Blackmore, etc. Plus, I tend to prefer rosewood fingerboards/alder bodies for Strats, that is my idea of "pure Strat tone", and my favorite F*nd*r model is the AV '62 Strat.

I thought the s/s/s AL was more of an early 50s Strat flavor - probably due to the ash/maple combo and slightly lower output pickups. Also I'm sure Albert himself wanted it to have a bit of Tele in the DNA as well. I went with the MM-90s on my AL because I was seeking "something completely different".

You can't go wrong either way.

[robelinda2]

now that i own a SSS Silo Special- as of yesterday- i can say it has has more low end than the AL's, not as muh high end, really nice tones. Would love to hear an AL with rosewood fretboard......

[roburado]

The only AL I have ever played was the 2006LE, which, of course, had rosewood. It was fantastic.

[JMB27]

Hmmm,

These threads are great.

I would have thought that one obvious question would be:

What amp are you using?

That certainly will have a big impact on the overall tone ....

You can get very good clean sounds from quite a few EBMMs. I've got a Sport with SSS and HH and an ASS with HH and they can all give me good clean sounds. I do have a very clean (HIWATT) amp though and get my overdriven sounds from pedals.

Try a few different things with your rig and try your guitars with different amps. You may have what you're looking for already.

+1 for the good points Jimmyb

the guitar alone isn't going to determine if you sound modern, vintage or just outright different
remember, the recipe for tone is like any other - there are ingredients that all mix together ..... the fun part is finding how the ingredients work together for your ideal flavor (kind of like discovering for the first time the perfect combination required to make a magnificent martini)

cheers - time for me to go fix a drink

Joel
p.s. have you run your Silo Special thru any vintage gear yet?

[robelinda2]

Ok, 1st round testing is complete. The silo special SSS sounds vintage/clean enough alright, it gives the AL a run for its money. Am going to need a rosewood AL to complete testing!

You can get all the clean tones you want with the Silo Special SSS, the rosewood fretboard makes a diference, nice and warm, and dirties up great, full of grunt. It sounds just how i wanted my Rory Gallagher strat to sound, boy i struggled with that axe, shouldve gotten a rosewood Silo special ages ago. It may be a tiny bit more comfortable than my AL's too......

[candid_x]

+1 for the good points Jimmyb

the guitar alone isn't going to determine if you sound modern, vintage or just outright different
remember, the recipe for tone is like any other - there are ingredients that all mix together ..... the fun part is finding how the ingredients work together for your ideal flavor (kind of like discovering for the first time the perfect combination required to make a magnificent martini)

cheers - time for me to go fix a drink

Joel
p.s. have you run your Silo Special thru any vintage gear yet?

Seconds that on Jimmy's post.

You can justly argue quantifiable facts. Thing is, you can't justly quantify tone, feel or mojo. I think everyone agrees that nothing feels quite like a Ball to play. Best necks in the industry, bar freakin' none.

I think the whole Strat comparison thing is part of what BP talks about sometimes, or at least that's what I'm hearing. Guitar players are really hung up on what has been - stuck in a box which is stuck in the past. EB has gone outside those boxes quite a long time ago, so why keep using those old names as the benchmark of a great guitar? I think it's time that other makers start striving to make Ball Busters! Good luck with that .

[jagged]

Seems like the consensus is that I need to give the AL a serious test drive... I certainly enjoy the neck on the Silo Spec very much. I love the rosewood on it. That being said, The AL neck does feel a little bit smaller in my hands, and I would definately love to have a maple neck to give me the added brightness since my Silo Spec is rosewood, and the JP o nthe way is also rosewood.

Im planning on getting a roadster soon... it comes with the power hungry 6L6 (or whatever) tubes for the modern high gain, as well as the 34ELs (or whatever) for the more spongy sounds

[candid_x]

Ok, 1st round testing is complete. The silo special SSS sounds vintage/clean enough alright, it gives the AL a run for its money. Am going to need a rosewood AL to complete testing!

You can get all the clean tones you want with the Silo Special SSS, the rosewood fretboard makes a diference, nice and warm, and dirties up great, full of grunt. It sounds just how i wanted my Rory Gallagher strat to sound, boy i struggled with that axe, shouldve gotten a rosewood Silo special ages ago. It may be a tiny bit more comfortable than my AL's too......

Just grinnin' here, Rob. They're great! Glad you're diggin' it.

[robelinda2]

i'm pretty much in single coil heaven Bruce, and LOVING IT!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad i made the right Dargie choice all those months ago!!!