Hallmark '67 pickup in a Squier Strat (with video)

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HardlyRamone
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Hallmark '67 pickup in a Squier Strat (with video)

Postby HardlyRamone » Mon Sep 14, 2015 2:53 pm

(I'm not sure if this is the right board for this, but it does relate to Hallmark, so here goes nothing...)

I'll try to keep the text brief. I'm a Ramones fan, and for a while now I've wanted to customize a guitar for getting a Johnny Ramone-esque tone on a low budget. I have never modified a guitar in my life, so I knew this was going to be a bit of an adventure. Here's the finished guitar:

Image

After looking at some options, I decided to go with the popular Squier Bullet Strat — a cheap entry level guitar. Along with their good reputation for build quality, these little strats usually have basswood bodies and maple necks, just like Johnny's Mosrite Ventures II. I opted for the Green Metallic color.

Image

The single bridge pickup is a Hallmark '67 wired up to a 500K volume pot. I went with simple electronics since I've never done this before. I purchased a cheap "blank" scratchplate online and cut out holes for the pot and pickup. I also painted the headstock black and replaced the stock Squier tuners with some Kluson-style tuners. Eventually I'll probably replace the nut and tremolo, too.

I forgot to take a picture of the guitar before I started working on it, so for a clear comparison, here's an image of the stock Bullet Strat vs the same image Photoshopped to look like my customized version:

Image - Image

For a 300$ project and first modified guitar, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It feels good to play, and it actually stays in tune. The Hallmark pickup is fantastic — I think it's warmer and fatter than the stock bridge pickup was, and fairly bright with the 500K pot. I'll be recording some original songs with this guitar in the future, and maybe some Ramones covers. Here's a quick clip of me playing Blitzkrieg Bop to showcase my current favorite recorded tone out of everything I've tried. The amp is a cheap Line 6 Spider IV 15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upz__XpQLYg

I plan to upgrade my amp at some point, but for now I'm going to mess around with the settings and EQ to see if I can improve some of that muddiness. The tone I'm currently getting reminds me of Johnny's guitar sound on the Ramones' debut album specifically, and I really like it. Something reminiscent of his sound is really what I was going for. For comparison, here's an isolated clip of Johnny Ramone playing Blitzkrieg Bop from the original 1976 studio version (IMO, this still sounds better. Can't beat a real Mosrite/Marshall combo, lol)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oyTjKgR8aU

Thanks for reading!

vibramutant1965
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Re: Hallmark '67 pickup in a Squier Strat (with video)

Postby vibramutant1965 » Mon Sep 14, 2015 4:01 pm

looks good , Ive been working with guitars for 25 years and still hate cutting blank pickguards.........

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HardlyRamone
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Re: Hallmark '67 pickup in a Squier Strat (with video)

Postby HardlyRamone » Mon Sep 14, 2015 4:15 pm

vibramutant1965 wrote:looks good , Ive been working with guitars for 25 years and still hate cutting blank pickguards.........
Thanks! When I started this project, I felt certain I was going to end up destroying a perfectly good guitar :lol:

As for cutting the pickguard, I actually had assistance from a friend who has more experience with power tools than I do, and I was grateful for that. Thankfully, Mr. Shade also shipped my pickup attached to a plastic piece that could be used to mount the pickup in the guitar, and we were able to use that piece as a template for cutting out the pickup hole in the actual pickguard.

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MarkyKobane
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Re: Hallmark '67 pickup in a Squier Strat (with video)

Postby MarkyKobane » Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:00 pm

Sounds and Looks GREAT!
That 2nd video of his guitar sound like a minor in the end of the chorus?

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HardlyRamone
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Re: Hallmark '67 pickup in a Squier Strat (with video)

Postby HardlyRamone » Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:19 pm

MarkyKobane wrote:Sounds and Looks GREAT!
That 2nd video of his guitar sound like a minor in the end of the chorus?

Thanks! And yeah, the end of the chorus is B minor at the second fret, I played it that way in my video as well, but minor chords sound a bit lousy with distortion on my rig. I double checked live videos, and sure enough he always jumps down to the second fret and plays the minor shape on this song. I was pretty mind blown when I figured that out...

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StevieSTL
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Re: Hallmark '67 pickup in a Squier Strat (with video)

Postby StevieSTL » Wed Sep 16, 2015 1:42 am

-- I dig it! Love the color. Innovative way to get the sound you want, while looking good, without spending a lot. Sometimes less is more and I appreciate the simplicity.
The gangster looks so frightening, with his luger in his hand
When he gets home to his children, he's a family man
But when it comes to the nitty-gritty, he can shove in his knife
Yes he really looks quite religious, he's been an outlaw all his life

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HardlyRamone
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Re: Hallmark '67 pickup in a Squier Strat (with video)

Postby HardlyRamone » Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:57 am

StevieSTL wrote:-- I dig it! Love the color. Innovative way to get the sound you want, while looking good, without spending a lot. Sometimes less is more and I appreciate the simplicity.
Thank you! The pictures don't do enough justice for the green metallic flake on this guitar... Squier did an excellent job with that. It seemed a bit weird putting a Hallmark pickup in a basswood strat, but it's the best solution I could think of with my budget :lol: Eventually I'd like to order a proper Hallmark guitar, but until then, this outstanding pickup will have to do.


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