Nuno Bettencourt's tone specifically L500 pickups?

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harddriver

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ALright Gentlemen,

While I'm not really an Extreme fan, I watched the 2009 tour from the Boston house of Blues( what a great guitar mix very forward you could hear everything), and I really enjoyed Nuno's tone. I forgot what a great player he is, very very aggressive and precussive, why he doesn't have tendonitis by now I'll never know. He had his trademark bright crunch and snappy percussion for his riffs and runs with a little bit of clank to the tone wow, and I believe I heard some of Dimes distorted tone character in there as well so the pickup has to be a factor!

I forgot how much I liked his guitar tone, riffs, phrasing and song structure. It aint Gary Cherone writing the tunes that's for sure.

Anyway it actually made me want to try a BIll Lawerence L-500 pickup again, I tried one years ago and hated it. What exact one is he using on that 2009 tour and which one does Wasburn use? The high output L-500XL or the L-500L?

Which one do I need?

To further confuse things which guy is building the right era correct pickup?

Bill Lawrence USA or Bill Lawrence products?
 
Cool Thanks! I wonder if the shielding changes the tone any versus unshielded?

L500XL for sure huh?
 
harddriver":nu5sxzfx said:
Cool Thanks! I wonder if the shielding changes the tone any versus unshielded?

L500XL for sure huh?
Click to expand...

Don't know about the shielded vs unshielded thing but yeah, definitely the XL.
 
Nuno Fans! Should I get the shielded or unshielded L500XL, I want the pickup that was in his guitar for that 2009 Boston DVD show. I thought it was very close to his album tones live but that was after mixing down I presume.

I caught a live camera recording fromt he same show and it did seem a little thin versus the produced DVD show. I know I seen Pantera on their last tour(reinventing the steel) and Dimes tone was ultra thin in the mix.

But alot of inernet Nuno gurus say the pickup is part of the tone for sure, what say ye?
 
Check out some videos of Extreme live in 1994. He was playing through an SLO, and his tone was Godly.
 
I think I'm going to give the Wilde Bill L500XL and shot I just need to decided If I need shielding or not. I imagine he has the wax pot the coils themselves somewhat for feedback issues but the shielding thing is kinda weird not sure what it all entails.

The YT for the unshielded sounded fine to me. Alot more aggresive than the Bill Lawrence P/U I tried in 86/87. I can't remember which one it was but It almost had to be an 500XL and it had no output it was a very weak non aggressive sounding pickup, I couldn't pull it out fast enough and reinstall my tried and true Seymour Duncan Seymourizer II. It must have been defective, I have read other reviews saying the same as I experienced. Is there some weird way to wire them in, I can't imagine I didn't wire it right, I've been installing pickups since I was 14 years old at that time.

Yeah there is a ton of internet back and forth over The Wilde Bill Lawrence L500XL is better and no the Bill Lawerence USA is better! JEEESH!

I guess I would have to buy both and see which one is better?
 
My 1991 Davies N4 came with a Bill Lawrence USA L500XL in it. The bobbins are filled with black epoxy and it measures 11.7k ohms.

I've had both versions of the L500XL and feel they pretty much sound the same.

There are several you tube vids out there comparing the three versions of this pickup and to my ears all three sound the same.

Nuno's rig must be very warm and dark sounding because that pickup is shrill and icepicky if you plug into an amp thats dialed in to a more traditional humbucker.
 
rcm78":1uohvo0y said:
My 1991 Davies N4 came with a Bill Lawrence USA L500XL in it. The bobbins are filled with black epoxy and it measures 11.7k ohms.

I've had both versions of the L500XL and feel they pretty much sound the same.

There are several you tube vids out there comparing the three versions of this pickup and to my ears all three sound the same.

Nuno's rig must be very warm and dark sounding because that pickup is shrill and icepicky if you plug into an amp thats dialed in to a more traditional humbucker.
Click to expand...

I agree with your Nuno rig analysis but that's where all his percussive bite comes from in addition to how hard he attacks the strings, I thought I had a hard attack he is insane! He supposedly uses Greenback speakers which when broken in are quite dark, I think he also uses a Boss GE7 and he can back ice pick frequencies out at will but from some of the pics I've seen he has it set pretty much flat.

At the 2009 DVD show in Boston his tone was smokin and pretty much what I hear on the early extreme albums, it did look like his Randall NB amps were on and running but who knows if he actually uses them.

Thanks for your input on the L500XL, I ordered the B&B L500L and the L500XL both unshielded and I 'll see which one I like, I dug around on the N4 forums and the basic pickup that has been offered for years has been unshielded. But Mr. Lawrence offers shielding if you wish. :rock:
 
I used to fit the L500XL on all of my guitars a long time ago (1996-1998), wonderfull pickups and yes L500XL for sure!

hufschmid_guitarscf4.jpg


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and this one here which I gave to mister Satriani in 1998...

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