Article on DiMarzio site: Mystery of the 5150 pickup solved?

**Eric M** · 02.10.21, 04:53 PM

Just saw this piece on DiMarzio’s website. https://d2emr0qhzqfj88.cloudfront.ne...ngVanHalen.pdf

Spoiler alert: Steve Blucher says the 5150’s infamous “broken pickup” was a Duncan JB and I’m only halfway done reading, but it’s pretty convincing...

**MF5150** · 02.10.21, 05:08 PM

Stellar find! I’ve never seen all the pictures from this shoot! The only one I’ve ever seen was the one with Ed in the sunglasses holding all three guitars.

And their high resolution too.

Ed just casually holding a $600,000 Flying V with a couple Bursts on the floor.

More proof that they’re tools, and don’t belong being locked away.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Eric M** · 02.10.21, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by MF5150

Stellar find! I’ve never seen all the pictures from this shoot! The only one I’ve ever seen was the one with Ed in the sunglasses holding all three guitars.

And their high resolution too.

Yes! Some really great shots of the studio too. This was way longer than I thought at first, very cool of DiMarzio to put this together. And fascinating insights about development of the EBMM guitar and pickups.

**Dutchie5150** · 02.10.21, 05:29 PM

WOW!!! That is fucking awesome. Thank you for posting this Eric

**Eric M** · 02.10.21, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by Dutchie5150

WOW!!! That is fucking awesome. Thank you for posting this Eric

My pleasure! As soon as I saw it I logged in here, I figured this would be of interest ha ha.

It is such a cool thing for them to post; I already like their pickups, this is icing.

**CalFB** · 02.10.21, 05:47 PM

Very cool find. Always find Larry DiMarzio to be an interesting guy.

**mike zack** · 02.10.21, 06:31 PM

Great stuff there. This is Main thread worthy!

**Eric M** · 02.10.21, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by mike zack

Great stuff there. This is Main thread worthy!

Yeah! i’d posted when the pickup talk started, but there is so much more, especially the photos. I always liked those shots with the Teisco guitar, and that GW article where they first appeared. And the shots of the inner sanctum are amazing.

**garbeaj** · 02.11.21, 05:34 AM

There’s a lot of misinformation here.

**Eric M** · 02.11.21, 06:05 AM

Originally Posted by garbeaj

There’s a lot of misinformation here.

Sure, I noticed some things; ie some of Larry DiMarzio's recollections about the guitars don't quite jibe with what we've heard over the years. But even 30 years on I find Steve Blucher's account of the pickup pretty convincing. More so than anything I've read on the internet from folks who've never had the guitar in hand etc. This dude metered the pickup, he probably has notes. He's the guy who developed the EBMM pickups and I imagine this was a pretty big deal for DiMarzio, so he seems credible to me even if every word isn't 100% accurate.

**MF5150** · 02.11.21, 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by garbeaj

There’s a lot of misinformation here.

Examples?

**Brody VH** · 02.11.21, 08:05 AM

The most interesting thing to me is Ed using a Custom Custom in the *neck* of one of the EBMM prototypes. I have one in the bridge of my Kramer and it sounds great for Van Halen stuff, but I would never have thought about putting it in the neck.

**Eric M** · 02.11.21, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by Brody VH

The most interesting thing to me is Ed using a Custom Custom in the *neck* of one of the EBMM prototypes. I have one in the bridge of my Kramer and it sounds great for Van Halen stuff, but I would never have thought about putting it in the neck.

Yes! That was really unexpected. Blucher seemed to think it odd, too. That basic premise of having an Alnico 2 pickup in the neck and a Alnico 5 in the bridge does seem to be kind of a thing these days. But yeah, it's easy to see why Blucher had presumed a different approach to the neck pickup.

**garbeaj** · 02.11.21, 09:12 AM

Originally Posted by MF5150

Examples?

For a start, there is no proof that the pickup in the 5150 was a JB, either “broken” or stock. Eddie never “oil finished” his necks and he certainly never “oil finished his necks as he had been doing for years”. It’s already been proven that the 5150 is Swamp Ash and not basswood, though that was what was guessed at the time, the wood from the real guitar has been examined and proven to be Swamp Ash.

Larry is guessing on a lot of things here, like his guessing about how the neck profile on the 5150 came to be. We all now know that the neck profile was done by Paul Unkert completely by feel. The neck wasn’t “out of spec” as Larry is guessing...the neck and the entire 5150 guitar was completely custom made for Eddie and had no relation to any stock Kramer guitars ever manufactured for the consumer market. It wasn’t a “Baretta-style” Kramer and neither were Eddie’s other two main Kramer guitars which were the 1984 and the “Hot For Teacher” guitar...all were custom and not based on or related to any production model Kramer.

I don’t know where Larry is getting the quote from Wayne Charvel who supposedly says that the pickup in the original Frankenstein IS a Dimarzio Super Distortion...all of us here know that there were many different pickups in the Frankenstein over it’s life thanks to Jimi’s excellent thread covering the timeline of the history of the original Frankenstein guitar and it’s many pickup changes.

There are probably more cases of guessing and wild speculation here, but I haven’t notated everything yet.

**Eric M** · 02.11.21, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by garbeaj

For a start, there is no proof that the pickup in the 5150 was a JB, either “broken” or stock. Eddie never “oil finished” his necks and he certainly never “oil finished his necks as he had been doing for years”. It’s already been proven that the 5150 is Swamp Ash and not basswood, though that was what was guessed at the time, the wood from the real guitar has been examined and proven to be Swamp Ash.

Larry is guessing on a lot of things here, like his guessing about how the neck profile on the 5150 came to be. We all now know that the neck profile was done by Paul Unkert completely by feel. The neck wasn’t “out of spec” as Larry is guessing...the neck and the entire 5150 guitar was completely custom made for Eddie and had no relation to any stock Kramer guitars ever manufactured for the consumer market. It wasn’t a “Baretta-style” Kramer and neither were Eddie’s other two main Kramer guitars which were the 1984 and the “Hot For Teacher” guitar...all were custom and not based on or related to any production model Kramer.

I don’t know where Larry is getting the quote from Wayne Charvel who supposedly says that the pickup in the original Frankenstein IS a Dimarzio Super Distortion...all of us here know that there were many different pickups in the Frankenstein over it’s life thanks to Jimi’s excellent thread covering the timeline of the history of the original Frankenstein guitar and it’s many pickup changes.

There are probably more cases of guessing and wild speculation here, but I haven’t notated everything yet.

Oh, that’s interesting about the 5150 being swamp ash. I’d like to read about that, and who said so...? I remember the traditional speculation was maybe poplar (which I think Kramer used quite a bit?), alder, basswood etc. Of course the Franky being ash, that would make sense too.

“For a start, there is no proof that the pickup in the 5150 was a JB, either ‘broken’ or stock.” Well, yes, until WVH or Matt Bruck hold up the pickup over Coldwater Canyon for all to see a la Simba in The Lion King I guess we’ll never know for sure. But the guy who designed the EBMM pickups seems pretty certain and I don’t know if someone more credible has stepped in with an opinion? Seymour himself, maybe?

Yes, there are some apparent inaccuracies throughout; I clocked a few of the ones you mention. But I personally find Blucher super credible, especially given that he’s repeatedly naming DiMarzio’s direct competitor, which seems like not a great idea on one’s own company website!