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Question Albert Lee HH – Possible first EBMM ‘Guitar’ for me?

Movielife

Movielife

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
1,340
Location
North West, UK
Hi all

I’m pretty much covered with EBMM basses, but I’ve been involved in song writing and more guitar recently, despite being mainly a bassist.

I’m not interested in nailing lots of crazy solos or shredding. I want a gorgeous looking guitar with humbuckers that I can play mostly rhythm guitar on with the odd short lead part.

I’m guessing I would therefore be better with the hardtail version!

I currently have a Tele (sorry!) and eventually I’d like an EBMM with single coils or even the EBMM MM90s.

Can anyone help with this? Do you think the Albert Lee HH will be a good all round guitar for indie with clean/dirty parts?

I personally love the shape, hence the Big Al bass!

Cheers
 
Hi Movielife.
I sometimes play a bit of bass but alas cannot get myself a MM bass to cover that base ;) A big Al would be great.

I have 3 Alberts:-
A SSS with trem and Piezo
a SSS hardtail
an MM90 with trem.

I've played the HH AL too, but to hone in on your query - for me it have to be the SSS trem and Piezo.
I dirty the SSS up by use of an overdrive and compressor. The single coils are sublime and imo are better than those of a Strat.
I played a Les Paul for a long time and don't really miss the HH - although they are very nice.

If you are going into songwritting the Piezo will give you that added dimension and is a great atribute to have. Many people have comented on how good the piezo sounds in live situations.

The MM90 (single coil) guitar is a different beast - made out of different tone wood and it has a maple neck/rosewood fretboard. This guitar is somewhat meatier than the SSS and delivers a bit more grit. The volume rolls back nicely on the MM90's. All my Al's have the classic cluck and quack of 3 single coils and the attributes of the centre pickup depends on what amp I go through.

Don't dismiss the trem version - it's as solid as a rock and won't go out of tune - brings another string to your bow too.

If you are in my neck of the woods let me know and you can try them. _ I'll be in Edinburgh Wednesday night but could only carry 1 of the Als if needs be.

Fire away with any questions and there will be a lot of Al users here who will help.

Nice choice btw :D
 
Last edited:
Spudmurphy said:
Hi Movielife.
I sometimes play a bit of bass but alas cannot get myself a MM bass to cover that base ;) A big Al would be great.

I have 3 Alberts:-
A SSS with trem and Piezo
a SSS hardtail
an MM90 with trem.

I've played the HH AL too, but to hone in on your query - for me it have to be the SSS trem and Piezo.
I dirty the SSS up by use of an overdrive and compressor. The single coils are sublime and imo are better than those of a Strat.
I played a Les Paul for a long time and don't really miss the HH - although they are very nice.

If you are going into songwritting the Piezo will give you that added dimension and is a great atribute to have. Many people have comented on how good the piezo sounds in live situations.

The MM90 (single coil) guitar is a different beast - made out of different tone wood and it has a maple neck/rosewood fretboard. This guitar is somewhat meatier than the SSS and delivers a bit more grit. The volume rolls back nicely on the MM90's. All my Al's have the classic cluck and quack of 3 single coils and the attributes of the centre pickup depends on what amp I go through.

Don't dismiss the trem version - it's as solid as a rock and won't go out of tune - brings another string to your bow too.

If you are in my neck of the woods let me know and you can try them. _ I'll be in Edinburgh Wednesday night but could only carry 1 of the Als if needs be.

Fire away with any questions and there will be a lot of Al users here who will help.

Nice choice btw :D
Click to expand...

Thanks - How does the trem work on these guitars? I've only ever owned one low priced shred guitar when I was younger...which was a breeze to play in terms of the neck but I hated the trem (Floyd Rose licensed). I never used it and when I re-strung it, it was a pain :(

That was a long time ago, and a much cheaper guitar. I was also looking at Strats so an EBMM that does the Strat thing better might be a good idea!

I've seen the limited EBMM Natural SSS Albert Lee guitars on sale over here...nice!!!
 
The trem touches the body on the AL. Just remove the trem arm and tighten the trem springs and it will act like a hardtail.
 
The HH AL is a very versatile guitar. It covers a lot of ground tone wise and would work very well for what you are looking for. I love my HHAL, but I would also look at a silhouette special. The PDN version with a roasted neck would be a killer guitar.
 
The trem on an Albert is nothing like the Floyd Rose - which can be a pain to restring and will cause tuning issues if you ever use the double stop technique. The trem pivots on two posts and what with the locking tuners are a breze to restring. They come set hard to the body from the factory, but can be set to float if you so wish.

In Albert Lees 70th Birthday gig in London, Andy Fairweather Low actually commented on how quick Albert restrings his guitar.!!

The Albert is the best guitar I have played - tone and ergonomics are fantastic,
 
Any of the AL models would work for you. My personal favourite is the HH but the more I think about it the more I think the MM90 may suit your needs. You really need to try them all.
 
The vinatge trem on an ebmm works wondefully. So very smooth, and the locking tuners keep it in tune very well, even under some aggressive use. You will be very happy with the ebmm trem.
 
Amazing guitar , super versatile plus killer looks but was never interested in the sss model although I've played Spud's and they look and sound immense. Here's pics of mine which I've had for a few years now.

 
lukather101 said:
Amazing guitar , super versatile plus killer looks but was never interested in the sss model although I've played Spud's and they look and sound immense. Here's pics of mine which I've had for a few years now.

Click to expand...

Oh boy...that is the one I'd opt for. Same colours as my Big Al bass.

What a beautiful guitar.

Do all of the Musicman guitars have a matching back panel (if they need one)?
 
3eranu7e.jpg


Here is my HHAL with the Axis guitars... I did a family shoot the other day and played them all... The HHAL is just an amazing guitar!

Ps. I don't know why I don't have one with the AL out front... But black is killer looking as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalmmm
 
I'm new to the HHAL myself, but really enjoy it.

In my opinion though, the indie sound will likely have to come from other gear. What amp and pedals will you be using?

I just realized I don't know what idie is anymore, haha....

What kind of bands are comparable to the sound you were looking for?
 
Indie - It can includes a lot of different types of band!

Anything from The Smiths, to The Strokes, to Suede, The Futureheads, Blur, Oasis....etc etc.

Anything from clean to light gain to much louder/dirtier tones (but not full on high gain metal shred...not interested in playing that kind of thing).
 
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