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roburado

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I'm thinking about AL for 2007 LE. Got some questions for you AL aficionados if I go for an AL, which will probably be predicated on the availability of rosewood.

1) MM90 vs. SSS. I'm torn. I want it to sound fat, but I want it to out-strat my Strat Plus. Do the MM90s still sound Strat-like to you?

2) Anyone with piezo on the AL? How do you like it? I was floored by the 2006 LE JP6 piezo I tried in Dallas.

3) What do you think of White Pearl on Blue Dawn for the AL?

4) Anyone got a picture of a MM90 AL in Blue Dawn or, say, Pacific Blue Burst? (I'll just imagine the sparkles :D )

5) Is piezo with hardtail available?
 

Spudmurphy

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Rob
Here's my 2 pence worth...
MM90 V SSS - the SSS are fantastic pickups and will give you everything a Strat delivers. If you put the SSS through an overdriven tube they sound as bluesy as you want. I understand that the MM90's are fatter - perhaps Pugninjas, JimiD, or Mbgreen(Sir!) will chime in.

My view on the Piezo ..... you have to get one - awesome, awesome sound through the right amp. After getting my AL with Piezo I went out and spent £500 on an AER acoustic amp - 8loody fantastic!!!

Only thing I have to say is that if you are playing "with a bit of wellie" the piezo causes the trem arm to become microphonic so don't expect to do your Jeff Beck whammy bar smacks/hits/trills when the piezo is on.

Sod the hardtail ! - get the trem - it is so stable and I'm glad I got one (I don't have trem on my Tele or LP).
 
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robelinda2

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i think it depends on what kind of tones you want from the pickups, i would go SSS for an AL anyday, but i want that strat sound and i play country. having said that, when i eventually get an AL i might love it so much i may have to get another one with MM90's just to compare them!

And i would go hardtail, only because of the country bending thang. Piezo for sure, dunno about Blue Dawn though, i like seeing Al's with the grains showing, which means the bursts are the pick. see Brent's ex-honeyburst, GOLD!
 

Spudmurphy

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And i would go hardtail, only because of the country bending thang. Piezo for sure, dunno about Blue Dawn though, i like seeing Al's with the grains showing, which means the bursts are the pick. see Brent's ex-honeyburst, GOLD!
Rob
There is no problem with the AL vintage trem as far as bending/ double stop bending is concerned. The trem also seems to add resonance to the guitar and this was the subject of a thread a few weeks ago.
I've seen Albert Lee twice this year and each time, he played a trem equipped AL.
If it's good enough for Albert ......... :D
 

PugNinjas

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roburado,

Personally, I feel my AL MM90/trem beauty can out muscle a str*t any day of the week. The MM90's are amazing sounding and even through a clean channel they can cover all bases. My neighbor brought over his str*t and he immediately began questioning me about EBMM and, of course, my AL. These pickups are so dynamic and responsive. I have yet to try out the SSS Seymours but from what I read here everyone loves them as well.

Without a doubt the trem adds resonance, at least to my AL (and Spud's as well)

A Pacific Blue Burst AL pic was floating around here some time ago, and it was a beaut.......I seriously thought about it but ended up choosing Rolls Burgundy which has become my fav EBMM color.

As for piezo, Spud has covered all the bases and there is no doubt that my next AL will be equipped with one
 

roburado

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Another thought. Man, if they do a BFR AL, that may be the one, and I might have to get the Bongo for my 2007 LE purchase.
 

roburado

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The trem also seems to add resonance to the guitar and this was the subject of a thread a few weeks ago.
I've seen Albert Lee twice this year and each time, he played a trem equipped AL.
If it's good enough for Albert ......... :D

Without a doubt the trem adds resonance, at least to my AL (and Spud's as well)

Hmmm...okay. I'm going to have to find this thread.
 

Lance Romance

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I own a Silo Special S-S-S, and an Albert Ltd. MM90, both trem. I swapped the pickups and electronics in the Silo for some WCR SRs and RS pots, losing the Silent Circuit. My brother also owns a SSS Albert which I've played a lot. The singlecoil Silo and Albert sound like classic killer Strats, and I use the Albert as my Strat benchmark at the music store I work at when my Silo is at home. The MM90 Albert uses my same amp EQ and drive settings, still has a killer Strat sound, but just MORE of everything. For ME, if I could only afford one it would be the MM90 Albert, as it does all the Strat stuff and more. If you already own a Strat you like, then definitely get the 90s. Albert did a clinic for us, played the SSS guitar for most of the night (even caught him going for the non-existent trem once), then played the MM90 version. This was an exact example of what I'm talking about.
Trem is an integral part of my sound, and the MM trem bridge is one of the best in the world (still prefer the PRS; it doesn't flutter as much when bending). Looking forward to getting a Tremol-no for it though, just for the times you're doing the wicked triple bends.
I'm a Strat cat at heart, and these two axes cover all the ground I need to cover. -Eric
 

roburado

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Okay, well...if the MM90 is still Strat-y and just more of everything, that might have to be the way I'm going to go.

I think Dargin said that the pickguards are going to be black. I hope the pickup covers are black then, I think. I think white pickguard and black pickup covers will be cool, but I guess we'll have to see what options they will offer. Maybe, they haven't even considered that stuff yet. Maybe, they're working on it as we discuss it here. Who knows?
 

roburado

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For ME, if I could only afford one it would be the MM90 Albert, as it does all the Strat stuff and more. If you already own a Strat you like, then definitely get the 90s.

I have a Strat I like, but it's my intent to go all EBMM at some point. I plan to replace my Strat with an AL and/or Silo Spec. Maybe, I'll hold on to the Strat just in case it does something that the AL or Silo Spec won't do for me. I'll sell something else instead.
 

robelinda2

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i dont think the MM90's are like strat pups, sure they give a passable tone i guess, but SSS will sound best like a strat. but then, id like to hear the MM90's in an AL just to be sure, because my MM90 Axis SS aint no strat!

EDIT- 0k now I own a MM90 AL, ITS A STRAT KILLER!!!!!!!!
 
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