Anyone ever heard of Ultrasonic??
A quick Google search says they were manufactured in Germany for a "brief time in the late 80's". As little as 6mos by some things I've read. I bought one (new) at a Flea Market in the early 90's. It had to have been cheap, as I was in high school, and broke!! I'm straining hard to remember, but $15 seems familiar. It looked like an EMG with the flat black plastic cover, and a big circled "U" in the middle. I bought it with the intention of putting it in the bridge position of my Harmony Strat to give a more ballsy sound. It did not work. We didn't know what the hell we were doing. I distinctly remember the description on the box said "Neck". We thought that might be why. We also had no idea we were supposed to up the pot from 250K to 500K.
On an Ibanez site, it lists a bunch of versions. Single sized H/B's and full size H/B's, all differentiated by "Ref #'s". Ref 1, Ref 2, Ref 3, etc... I have a Ref 4. On that site, it says what the intended position should be. It lists the Ref 4 position as "any", but like I said, I remember the box saying Neck.
Another guitar site... aptly name "Guitar Site" one forum member goes into great detail about each "Ref" and how he (they) wish they were still in production. They have Ultrasonics in various guitars and uses a Ref 4 in the neck of one of them. I've copied & pasted a snippet (cause he... they, go on at length... much as I am doing now) about how they have "flat frequency response". Way over my head!!
"...the thing about Ultrasonic Pickups is that they have a perfectly FLAT frequency response... meaning that all frequencies are reproduced exactly at the same volume level across the full frequency spectrum, making them perfectly adjustable (using your tone controls) to however your ears hear the best sound! This is in contrast to most guitar pickups which have a pronounced hump in the midrange frequencies. What that does is throw off your tone controls to compensate for that hump. So, most people unfamiliar with this fact will think that Ultrasonics are lacking in midrange. That isn't true, simply since highs and lows are at the same level as the midrange in Ultrasonic Pickups. Therefore, you have to adjust your tone controls on your amp and guitar to allow the Ultrasonics to really, and I mean REALLY shine through!!! Once you figure this out, you will LOVE Ultrasonic Pickups!"
They go on in more detail about the necessity to adjust your amp settings to off-set the flat response of the pups. I have a few spare pups/pots/switches in the drawer. Was going to put together an H/S/H Strat pickguard (for the old Harmony). I just don't know how useful that would be to match it up with a pup that does not have a "flat frequency response".
Thoughts??
A quick Google search says they were manufactured in Germany for a "brief time in the late 80's". As little as 6mos by some things I've read. I bought one (new) at a Flea Market in the early 90's. It had to have been cheap, as I was in high school, and broke!! I'm straining hard to remember, but $15 seems familiar. It looked like an EMG with the flat black plastic cover, and a big circled "U" in the middle. I bought it with the intention of putting it in the bridge position of my Harmony Strat to give a more ballsy sound. It did not work. We didn't know what the hell we were doing. I distinctly remember the description on the box said "Neck". We thought that might be why. We also had no idea we were supposed to up the pot from 250K to 500K.
On an Ibanez site, it lists a bunch of versions. Single sized H/B's and full size H/B's, all differentiated by "Ref #'s". Ref 1, Ref 2, Ref 3, etc... I have a Ref 4. On that site, it says what the intended position should be. It lists the Ref 4 position as "any", but like I said, I remember the box saying Neck.
Another guitar site... aptly name "Guitar Site" one forum member goes into great detail about each "Ref" and how he (they) wish they were still in production. They have Ultrasonics in various guitars and uses a Ref 4 in the neck of one of them. I've copied & pasted a snippet (cause he... they, go on at length... much as I am doing now) about how they have "flat frequency response". Way over my head!!
"...the thing about Ultrasonic Pickups is that they have a perfectly FLAT frequency response... meaning that all frequencies are reproduced exactly at the same volume level across the full frequency spectrum, making them perfectly adjustable (using your tone controls) to however your ears hear the best sound! This is in contrast to most guitar pickups which have a pronounced hump in the midrange frequencies. What that does is throw off your tone controls to compensate for that hump. So, most people unfamiliar with this fact will think that Ultrasonics are lacking in midrange. That isn't true, simply since highs and lows are at the same level as the midrange in Ultrasonic Pickups. Therefore, you have to adjust your tone controls on your amp and guitar to allow the Ultrasonics to really, and I mean REALLY shine through!!! Once you figure this out, you will LOVE Ultrasonic Pickups!"
They go on in more detail about the necessity to adjust your amp settings to off-set the flat response of the pups. I have a few spare pups/pots/switches in the drawer. Was going to put together an H/S/H Strat pickguard (for the old Harmony). I just don't know how useful that would be to match it up with a pup that does not have a "flat frequency response".
Thoughts??
