by franz » Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:30 am
Hi, Eugene,
I haven't visited the site for ages and so this is very late (and will probably get moderated out!). Deciding which p/u was used on early Shads records can be quite a challenge, at least for me over the years. One way of doing it ,I find, is to fasten on one or two individual notes in the tune and for me the dead giveaway in Spring is nearly here is the G played on the tenth fret about halfway through the verse. That can only be to my ears the neck pickup and is achieved with the cut on the amp (in my case an original AC30 modified by an AC15 add on courtesy of Roger Allcock) set to full, the guitar tone control set to full treble. That sound cannot be achieved with the middle p/u. The guitar is also put through a Gemini 3.
The acid test is to listen to other recordings on the middle p/u such as Sleepwalk and the treble strings on Blue Star and Find me a Golden Street. The treble strings on Spring is nearly here sound nothing like the middle pickup sound, which has more bite. The best comparison is prehaps Peace Pipe which Charlie agrees is on the neck.
Regards,
Franz