ROUT ONE

With his StewMac kit-build all up and running, Dave Burrluck looks at how to populate that large pickup rout

Readers of this column will recall the 'Quick-ish Connect' system that I recently installed in that big'swimming pool' rout, providing a versatile pickup-testing platform. And so the world is now my oyster - we do like a bit of choice in The Mod Squad, after all. Having been involved in a fair bit of recording over lockdown and out the other side, I seem to have been adopted as the guy that gets different sounds. In the early lockdown months, the first thing I did was borrow my mate's Rickenbacker 620 [pic 1]. I don't own one myself and never seem to be able to justify actually buying one, not least that their specific (peculiar?) feel and sound has never fitted into my usual bluesy, rocky gigs. But on the sort of song-based recordings I've been asked to contribute to, especially ones with those 60s-meets-90s Britpop sounds, that Rickie sound is addictive. I've relearned during these countless recordings, from wonky demos to finished masters, that different sounds and textures really work. I love my (mate's) Rickenbacker.

Another guitar that's had a lot of use is a 1968 Supro Stratford [pic 1]. Even after guitar maker Chris George had refixed the screw-on neck it's still a bit of a wonky ol' ship, but the sounds it produces are glorious - those 'Vistatone' humbucking-sized single coils just evoke the 60s. The point is, these guitars have character, and that's what I need. But you don't need me to tell you this desire to be different can be seriously costly.

Pick A Pickup