Active Band Man Chats - Electronic Parts -

Today's theme is... electronic parts!

Oh, like guitar and bass pickups?

Yeah! Knobs, controls, outputs, and wires are also included.

I see.

Speaking of pickups, when I was a beginner at guitar, I just admired the EMG.
→ List of EMG Products

Is that the influence of Tomoyasu Hotei?

Uh oh! You caught me!

Of course...

The sound of the EMG pickups is sharp, the effects work well on it, and the noise is so low! I was like "it's perfect!"

Those [EMG picksup] were popular then. It might've been also because there weren't many products or choices.

It was so exciting that it was the active circuit that used batteries.

I understand. Lol. I longed for it so much. Of course now, I choose pickups knowing the advantages of active and passive.

I believe it's perfect with the heavy distortion and the crunchy sound like Metallica and Zakk Wylde.

It was certainly popular regardless of genre.

I also wanted the Lace Sensor. It was on the high-end Fender. When I checked the Lace website recently, I was surprised that they released pickups with a futuristic design. I want to try it.
→ List of LACE Products

Hmm, was the Lace Sensor for bass already around? I don't remember well. I remember that Bartolini was popular when I started playing bass. DiMarzio as well.
→ List of BARTOLINI Products
→ List of DIMARZIO Products

I believed super-technical guitarists used DiMarzio, so I thought I wasn't meant to use it. Lol. How's your preference, Horry? First of all, let's talk about pickups.

About pickups... well, it's EMG after all. I used Steinberger because of our generation. Lol. I can't exclude the EMG. It has no real peculiarities about it, and it's easy to use.

Yeah, yeah.

Now, I'm not so particular about it. There's no feeling like "it should be like this" because I judge by the total balance of the body and the other parts.

It's through a lot of experience.

But, I still think that active pickups are better for live performances.

I see.

I feel like the active pickups sound the same in any environment (to a certain extent)... The amp and the resonance are different depending on the venue. I feel like the active pickups can make them sound more even. At least to some extent, though.

There is a sense of stability.

On the contrary, the passive is better when recording, maybe? I think the passive pickups produce the sound what the player intends to play. Like the dynamics... If you play loudly, you can get loud... However, there are quite a lot of different types of pickups released now, so I want to try various pickups, and I kinda feel like getting rid of this bias (?). Lol.

I see, then what about the controls (knobs)?

Controls? In the past, I used to long for a lot of knobs. Somehow, the more controls looked cool, didn't they? Like B.C. Rich (laughs)

Oh yeah, I felt like the more mini switches the guitar had, the greater its value! Lol.

I think I prefer it to be as simple as possible now. Of course, it's better if I could adjust it to some extent. How about you, Kizuhiko-san?

I like just one volume and one tone. It's easier to operate even during live performances.

Yes, it is. The controls affect a lot during live performances. When I use a fretless that has 2 pickups, I change the balance of 2 pickups depending on the song, so the balancer is essential. So, there are mostly 2 volumes for 2 pickups, but I want it to be 1 volume. I sometimes adjust the volume during a song, so it's difficult when there are 2 volumes. Well, I should use the volume pedal but it's heavier than expected (bitter smile).

Anyway, you need something like a master volume.

So, when considering live performances, personally, I think one volume and one balancer are the requirements. In fact, I looked for my new fretless under these conditions. The rest of the specifications were up to the designer. Lol.

Lol. In terms of controls, I personally like the phase-out switch.

Oh, it's a switch that changes the sound.

The Mustang has it. It makes the sound unique and tasty.

Hmm, I think there aren't many basses that change the sound like that.

I don't hear about such basses. Also, it's too detailed, but the tone knob should be stable. Haven't you seen the knob that turns sharply only at the end?

I have. The one that has a unique way the effect works. That's ok if you get used to it, but it's a little hard to make fine adjustments.

Yeah, yeah. That's all for this edition, the electronic parts also have their own personalities. Yes, and everything?

Is for love!