Morse questions

[tillerusa]

I was directed over here from The Gear Page for some guidance regarding the EBMM Steve Morse model - to beej in particular. Here's the original post.

I recently played one for the first time. Very cool guitar. The one I played was brand new, very comfortable and with excellent fit and finish. It felt a little heavier than the average (according to the website) but otherwise pretty impressive.

My question was in regard to the dark tonality of the guitar (at least this particular one). Is there something inherent in the electronics of the SM model that makes it a darker sounding instrument? I think it's probably not a question of the construction as I have another maple necked poplar guitar that is plenty bright. Could I change the tone cap or the tone control to make the guitar brighter all around - maybe extend the range of the tone control somehow? Or will I want to do a complete pup change to have the desired effect?

I did a quick search and read some great posts on this same subject so I guess I'm just looking for some additional guidance.

Thanks in advance.

 

[guitarman23]

Thats a problem i have, the SMY2D Resolves That For Me, And Yes I Agree The Original Morse Is A Little Dark..

 

[shredderbetter]

owning a few of each model the originals tend to be heavier all around,this usually ends up in a warmer tone with more sustain,they ship with 250k pots a 500k will give you more higher frequency in output,try that it's a cheap $5 change i like the 250k pots but humbuckers almost ALWAYS run a 500 pot,aside from that the body weight and rosewood neck has lots to do with the overall sonic signature of the guitar NICE HUH!!!?!?!?

 

[candid_x]

Welcome, Tillerusa.

 

[beej]

Welcome! As Candid mentioned ... I do love to tinker with that guitar. I actually re-wired mine again last weekend. Put in a Silent Circuit and changed the switching ... again. Anyhow, it is an awesome guitar.

Ok ... personally I don't find the guitar dark. The neck pickup is dark, but that's the way Steve likes it. The bridge pickup is very midrangey, it's an excellent pickup with gain and cleans up very nicely. And the single coils, they're actually quite bright to my ears. So I don't agree that it's dark. A lot would depend on the EQ of your amp.

If you find the humbuckers dark, you could certainly pop in larger pots. However I think the single coils would be too bright with 500ks (I haven't tried, though).

So to summarize, I don't agree that it's dark sounding. The case could certainly be made for the neck pickup, but it's easy to swap it with something else. And FYI, the bridge pickup also sounds excellent when split!

 

[tillerusa]

Thanks for the warm welcome fellas!

Maybe I'll go back this weekend and listen again with a fresh set of ears. I'll spend a little more time fiddling with it and the amp's tone controls. I think my expectations will be more in line with the designers intent this time so that will most likely affect the way I perceive the sound of the guitar. If it does still sound dark to me (or not bright) then it might not be the model (or the particular guitar) for me.

But, if I decide I like it but would like the overall sound of the guitar to be brighter, I can change the tone pot out for a 500k which would brighten up the sound some. If I did make that mod could I make the guitar sound stock by just rolling down the tone knob? Would the 500k pot effectively give me a broader range of tone control or just shift the adjustable range to the brighter end of the spectrum?

Thanks again guys.

 

[beej]

With 250k pots the pickups see 125k. With 500k pots, 250k. A 250k and 500k pot give you 167k, in the middle. So yeah, it would slightly brighten things up. No harm there.

As for turning the tone knob ... it will just sound like you're turning the tone knob. Bleeding highs to ground.

 

[banjoplayer]

I´m not sure about the guitar being dark. When I play my Morse and then a Strat with the same amp settings - ok, it might be dark. But I can handle it easily which a little adjustment on the Treble-Setting of the Amp.

I think it sounds, like beej said, very midrangey (bridge). The Neck hummer is great, especially with much distortion like Steve M. usually plays it. But also crunchy.

My opinion about the Single Coils: they do not sound as we are used from a strat because of their position. It´s a compromise, so you cannot really get a strat or tele sound out of them because they are near the middle position. It is nice if you need a Single Coil sound without changing guitars, but imho it does not replace a "real" Singel Coil Guitar (AL, Silo, Strat, Tele.....). If I need real snappy SC-sounds I switch to another guitar. For anything else, the Morse is the best, but I would not recommend it to someone who is used to Single-Coil-guitars Because of that I will split the Hummers oneday. This seems to be a good solution