Albert Lee models...

[peter71]

Hey, I am interested in finding out more about the Albert Lee models of MM guitars. I have played one once, but it was in really bad shape. I really like the body style, and I like single coil sounds for guitar, so I was wondering if anyone that has one could let me know what they think of it (them). Thanks a ton!

 

[Jimi D]

Hey Peter,

I've got a couple ALs, and I really like them; they're among the most ergonomically comfortable and toneful guitars I've ever had the pleasure of playing and owning... Anyway, I've got two rather lengthy pages on my website devoted to my Albert Lee's - you can check them out at these links if you like:

http://www3.sympatico.ca/jimi_d/guitars/albertlee.htm

http://www3.sympatico.ca/jimi_d/guitars/albertMM90.htm

If you have any specific Q's, I'd be happy to try and answer them for you... but don't just take my word for it; I know tvanveen and Butch Snyder are AL fans too, and there are other owner/operators on this board...

 

[peter71]

Thanks for the awesome response. That is the type of thing I was wanting to hear. I don't see a lot of Albert Lee talk here on the boards, but I have always liked the look of it. Hopefully there will be others that respond to this thread because I really want to hear what people have to say about it.

On a side note, what kind of amp are you plugging them into? Just wondering.

 

[Jimi D]

On a side note, what kind of amp are you plugging them into? Just wondering.

My amps are listed here:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/jimi_d/jimsamps.htm

I predominantly use the ALs in my Deluxe Reverb (with or without the pedal board) but they work well through the rack too! I haven't used them much with the Mesa Studio .22+

 

[KungFu Grip]

I've got a 98 Albert Lee (no silent circuit) and I absolutely love it. Probably one of the most balanced and useful guitars I've owned. Highly recommended.

 

[peter71]

Yeah, I am pretty excited to start planning my next purchase. I live (literally) 100 feet from a Music Man dealer and I want to get him to order me an Albert Lee.

Oh, and Jimi D, when I looked at your amps I saw that you had a Tech 21. I have one also, and I agree. The only thing I don't like about it is, at least with mine, when you switch through the different modled tones, there is a huge volume differential. Sometimes to get the sound I want, I really have to crank it, whereas other times, I have to keep it pretty low.

But for such a small amp, it works great. I have played live with it using the direct line out into the bands PA and it still was able to cut through pretty well.

Anyway, I really appreciate all you guys reviews and am very interested in anything anyone has to say.!

 

[GWDavis28]

Heres a red one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3701155796&category=2384

 

[Shnook]

If you have any specific Q's, I'd be happy to try and answer them for you... but don't just take my word for it; I know tvanveen and Butch Snyder are AL fans too, and there are other owner/operators on this board...
[/B][/QUOTE]

I'd hardly recommend Butch Snyder for anything considering his recent troubles of steal songs from Greg Koch and Jeff Miller and passing them off as his own and getting busted all over the net for it.

However, I too am very interested in having my EBMM dealer order me an Albert Lee later this spring or summmer. I'm still deciding between the P90's and single coils. I know what the single coil version sounds like as I've got some AL DVD's, but what would I expect with the P90 version?

 

[Jimi D]

I'd hardly recommend Butch Snyder for anything considering his recent troubles of steal songs from Greg Koch and Jeff Miller and passing them off as his own and getting busted all over the net for it.

Okay, I'm editing this with a cooler head...

Butch did something stupid, apologized, has paid the price in spades, and continues to be persecuted and vilified all over the 'net far in excess of his "crimes" (imho)... I wish people would just drop it and leave it alone. I think Butch is a stand-up guy - he pulled a boner and took his lumps, but he came clean with more class than I've seen from most of his detractors. Besides his foolish flirtation with plagerism, he's contributed some good stuff to a number of boards, including this one, and if he chooses to come back here, I'd welcome him.

So please, lets not bad mouth other people here.

I apologize for losing my temper...

As for Butch and what he has to say about Albert Lee guitars, here's a post he put up on the TDPRI in May of last year :

I absolutely love it!! It has the best neck I have ever played. I'm about due for a neck cleaning and reoiling. The pickups are my favorite Strat pickups; Seymour Duncan APS-2 (Alnico II Pro Flats) The neck and bridge pickups have a little metal strip that acts as a baseplate. I took a copper-plated steel baseplate that Evan Skopp, from Duncan, gave me nd installed it to the bottom of the bridge pickup. I'll tell ya, that guitar sounds better than any Tele or Strat that I have heard.

'Nuff said...

 

[Shnook]

Good lord Jimi D, sorry to have worked a nerve. I'm just saying the Butch isn't the most reliable guy on the net. I've seen myself him dissing the AL on Telecaster forums. I too used to enjoy Butch's posts, and thought of him as a knowledgable fellow. However, this is not the first time he's pulled this stunt, so that makes me a little wary of him at this point. Once is one thing, but twice.... I don't know. I wasn't looking to stir up trouble. Sorry.

Now, can you Jimi D or anyone else give me and the original poster more about the Albert Lee models?

I'm not here to stir up trouble. I'm on this board to learn more about EBMM products, not to squabble with forum members.

 

[tvanveen]

Hi Guys.

I have a hardtail AL with strat style single coils, and a trem version with MM90's.

I've owned several strats, a tele, an SG, a LP special w/ P90's. The AL is the guitar for me.

I'm not a huge fan of the SSL-2's, but I bought this guitar used and they're about 8 or 9 years old, so maybe they're just tired. They sound kind of tired, they don't have much presence. I have a set of Fender Custom Shop '54's in my strat right now - those are great pickups, but I think the concept of staggered pole pieces used on modern guiatras with unwound G strings makes no sense. They sound great, but the G is way loud in relation to the B.

So I just ordered some Lollar Blackfaces to go in the AL.

The MM-90's are totally unique pickups. They have much lower output than stock Gibson P-90's..probably halfway between vintage style single coils and regular P-90's. (wish I had thought to measure the output last week while I had them out.) I think this makes them "sweeter". They seem to sacrifice a little of that normal P-90 growl for more top end sweetness.

At first I didn't like them. When playing at low volumes you don't get the same thump you get out of stock P-90's, but I've started playing out a bit, and this is where they really start to shine - at higher volumes. They're brilliantly engineered. Unlike most soapbars, you can't adjust the overall height of the pickup, only the polepieces. They're screwed directly into the wood, and yet, they're perfectly balanced - I'm sure each position has it's own amount of winding.

Lastly, they quack like nobody's business. That 4 position quacks as well as any strat pickup I've ever used.

Here's how I ended up settling on the AL - I knew I wanted a MusicMan because I think the necks are perfect. I didn't want humbuckers, so that left me with the Silo, AL or Axis SS. I decided for my first MM it would be P-90's, so it was down to the Axis or AL. I went with the AL becaue it had 3 P-90's and was hoping for some quack. Plus it's swamp ash, which has some mythical qualities.

Now that I've had them for a while, I think they're even more brilliant. The ash bodies make them light, resonant and bright. The body shape is very comfortable, and has a sort of kitschy 50's style, but not quite over the top. (Estin would disagree here ) They just feel right to me.

I'll be buying another this year. If Derek doesn't make an announcement about custom shop possibilities, I'll probably do a SRV style AL - Vintage sunburst, black pickguard, creme MM-90's, unpainted headstock.

BTW, I didn't know that Butch guy posted here or had an AL. I had heard the story somewhere else...I feel bad for the guy. I think we all make dumb mistakes, but mostly we do it in private, not on the net.

 

[tvanveen]

Damn, that was a long one.

 

[Shnook]

tvanveen,

Thanks for your input. I'm still 50/50 about going with single-coils or P90's. I've tried several Strat's over the years. I owned a MIJ '57, a Clapton, and a MIM Standard. For whatever reason, I've just never taken to the 'Strat.' I'm a Tele chick. This leads me to think that P90's are the way to go, but I've never owned a P90 guitar, so I'm wary of not liking the sound for some reason. I'm very open minded to tones and I love trying different stuff, but I'm not too comfortable ordering a guitar I've never played and hoping for the best without a good deal of convincing.

Have any of you seen the AL's the Dweezil Zappa and Blues Saraceno are playing? Both have nice sparkly finishes and two humbuckers instead of the stock options. I know Blues uses Seth Lovers in his, but I'm not sure about Dweezil. However, I'm humbuckered out and want something cleaner with a bite. P90's?

Jimi D.

I hear you on the Butch thing. I read that post about him loving his AL a while back. However, what I was referring to was months after that post when he was digging Telecasters again. Regardless, it's not important either way. I fall in and out of love with guitars too. Oddly enough, months back when he was posting a lot on Tele forums, I was gonna email him and make him an offer on his AL. Never did though.

 

[peter71]

I don't even know who Butch is, and maybe that is a good thing!

I appreciate all that you guys have said. I myself am only interested in the single coils. For some reason I really like their sound more than anything else. But I am also not very good, so maybe that has something to do with it.

I don't know what, I guess I just like to take a moment of self deprication in all my threads.

I am fat also.

 

[tvanveen]

Peter, the strat style coils have a slimming effect.

Schnook, it's hard to make a recommendation...the MM-90's really are their own unique thing. If you've owned strats and didn't like them, then I would think the MM-90's would be the way to go.

I wouldn't exactly call them tele-ish though...think beefy strat.

 

[Shnook]

tvanveen,

I see your up in DC. Any good EBMM dealers in the area? I'm gonna be up that way later this month for a show at the 9:30 Club. I love checking out music stores and I'm hoping DC has some cool guitar shops. Any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[tvanveen]

What show are you going to?

Probably the biggest MM dealer 'round here is Chuck's -

http://www.wmcworld.com/

But I don't think they carry AL's normally.

tv

 

[peter71]

Yeah, I like the strat style, but I also want something that cuts if that makes sense. It seems to me that when I play with people, I can have a sweet warm strat like tone, but then it kind of blends in with all the other music and gets lost. I want something that will cut through that a bit when it is needed.

I also do a lot of volume knob adjustments while I play and the silent aspect to the Albert Lee's is very intrigueing. It sounds infinately better when there is no buzz or crackles...

 

[tvanveen]

Hey Peter, what sort of amp are you using?

A speaker change did the trick for me as far as getting "lost in the mix." Both guitars "cut" pretty well.

 

[peter71]

You know, it has been with a Roland Jazz Chorus and with my Tech 21 through a pa. It is probably a lot to do with the mix, but it seems like I had to go to the humbucker on my sil to even hear myself...

It could also be the type of music I have been playing...