Guitar for Worship

This is a CGI rendering for some reason of Keanu Reeves, who uses his
incredible Point-Break-esque acting skills to portray Neo in the Matrix movies.
The best thing about him is that is that with CGI it is really hard to portray
emotion. But since Keanu is incapable of portraying emotion, it makes the
computer graphics guy’s job much easier.

See what I mean? This is Keanu trying to show emotion. ‘Whoa.’ ‘Where am I?’
‘Is this the Matrix?’ ‘Is the camera rolling yet?’ ‘Excellent!’…….wait……that’s
from this movie:

hehehehe
 
So anyway, there’s this line in the second Matrix movie (I think) where
someone says to someone else, ‘You do not truly know someone until
you fight them.’ Now truthfully, even before pop-culture killed this movie,
I thought that line was kind of cheesy. Just one of those lines they put in
movies so they have an excuse to have lots of fighting. ‘Wait, they just met,
why are they already……oh, wait…..they’re just getting to know each other.’

But for some reason, that dumb line stays in my mind every time I get a
new piece of guitar gear. Because I just have to take it apart. And for the
oddest reason ever, the line comes into my mind, ‘You never really know a
piece of guitar gear until you take it apart’………….or in my mind, until I fight
it. Because it’s usually a fight for me to take apart and put gear back together.
It’s like my motor skills didn’t quite develop properly or something. I suck at
mechanical stuff……but nevertheless, I’m just not happy until I take things
apart.

So, yesterday, I changed out the pickups in my Melancon Strat.

(I do love this guitar…..more than I love many people.)

I love the sound of this guitar with the Lollar Blonde pickups that it came
with from whomever I bought it from secondhand, but I have had to roll off
on the tone knob for the bridge pickup to take away some treble that has a
bit too much bite in my guitar. And that works, but it takes away just enough
definition in the pickup to bother me. So, I read some reviews and such, and
decided on a set of Lindy Fralin Blues with a bassplate on the bridge pickup.

Now, here’s where the getting to know your gear happens. I take apart the
guitar and discover these things:

1. Sweet mercy, Gerard Melancon really takes pride in his work. I knew the
wood would be good under the pickguard because the guitar is all one piece,
but it’s even finished underneath the pickguard. And there are carefully carved
out holes for the pickup screws to recess and pots to recess into. Just beautiful.
And the wiring and solder work is top notch and extremely neat. Made changing
out the pickups a cinch (hehe, ’90’s word). The last Strat I worked on was an
‘81 Ibanez, and it was a nightmare underneath the pickguard. It took me all
day to change out two pots and a switch. Melancon, props.

2. Jason Lollar also knows how to make his stuff. Very neat and particular.

3. Hmmm…..the pickups are clearly marked ‘Lollar Tweed.’

(Lollars are awesome…..just not what I’m looking for in an ash wood
guitar right now…but in a Tele…..mmmm)

When I bought the guitar, it being an ash guitar, I did want to make sure
the pickups weren’t too bright. And I thought from the ohm readings that
Lollar Blondes would be cool. And hey, now I know, they might have been.
But I have no idea…..because what I had been told from the seller were
the darker sounding Blondes, were actually the brighter Tweeds. hehe Good
times. No wonder it was bright.

And long story (I know, I have a problem with that) short, the Lindy Fralin’s
are definitely fitting the bill in this guitar. I’m able to maintain the clarity
and definition by keeping the tone knobs up, but also getting what is in my
humble opinion killer Strat tone. The kind of Strat tone I like……not too
quacky, but nice and mellow and warm, and ‘Straty’ when pushed with the
treble pickup, without the treble tearing your head off. Lovin’ it.

So, when money finally comes in (meaning, check this blog 20 years from now
for that), and I maybe get a second Strat with an alder body, I might try
some Lollars in it. They’re great pickups, and have a certain sweetness to
them. Their brightness might balance a bit with alder. And the dark Fralins
seem to balance quite well in ash. Extremely well. They sound awesome.

Their sound can only be described in the words of the untold acting skills
of Keanu Reeves:

‘Whoa.’