Viewer Request #9: How Does The TV Jones T-Armond Compare To A Telecaster? (+ Les Paul Junior)

[@Paul-dw2cl]

That Gretsch has so much clarity

[@jett7530]

Thanks! Fantastic comparison, that midrange is very different in all 3, just reminded me I need a p90 guitar! I think the t-armonds did a good job at keeping the gretschy tonal vibe but sounded a bit snappier than perhaps filtrons can get.

[@aarronwootton]

God I love Gretsch guitars. I have 4 now, and my favorite one is by far the Duo Jet with the TV Jones T-Armond pickups.

[@jeremyjoris7468]

Now to go full circle on this, we need a test of the TV Jones Starwood Telecaster pickups!

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

If anybody would like to send me some...!! :P

[@jixxxxer17]

I turned down the brightness on my computer screen and just used my ears, the Les Paul Jr. with the P90's caught me ear more in the first clean demo, then second run thru it was the Tele by far sounded better, then 3rd time thru with the 1st pedal it was the LP Jr. again, So comparatively you hear differences but if you were playing out in a bar I don't think anyone would be complaining about the sound with any of these 3 amazing guitars. like Les Paul once said himself " the audience they are not professionals, they just love music, it isn't necessary to play over their heads to be admire" Peace !

[@MT-mt8bd]

just the question I was wondering! thank you!

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Happy to help!

[@redcomn]

I've ordered a t'armond English mount neck and novel t Just to get the best of both world

[@jaseyraw8843]

Legend. I've always been curious about these pickups. Thanks

[@ChaddicusRex]

I went into this expecting to prefer the T Armond but, nope, I'm a Tele guy. 😅

[@enricopallazzo8510]

In the begining, Teles had a Lap Steel guitar pickup that had a similar resistance to the T-Armond. I wonder how the comparison would end up. But, right now, the Gretsch wins in clarity even with the overdrive and the JR has a more balanced rock n roll tone. I have two questions for you Joe. 1) What is your opinion on 2 pickup guitars vs single pickup guitars? Guitarists like Phil X (current Bon Jovi guitarist) and Richard Fortus (Guns & Roses) believe that single pickup guitars are better because on 2 pickups guitars, even when you don't use the neck pickup, you still get interferences from its magnets that prevent the bridge pickup to use its full potential. 2) Reverse headstock. In your Tele or Strat, do you feel like you need more tension on the lower E string? Do you think the reverse headstock thing is just a cosmetic or a serious technical thing? I always played guitars with 3 tuners per side (Gretsch guitars, LP, Flying Vs) but never a guitar with 6 tuners per side until i bought the Non Reverse Firebird with regular headstock and one of the main "issue" with that guitar, compared to the ones i usually play, is the lack of tension on the lower E string. So, i wonder what is your opinion on this subject.

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Hopefully I covered this in the June Q&A vid :-)

[@enricopallazzo8510]

@@JoePerkinsMusic Yeah i saw that :) Thanks for trying to answer those questions.

[@davidcudlip6587]

Was surprised at how close the T Armond is to the P90 when over driven. I put a T Armond in my 6120 Eddie Cochran model. The stock DynaSonic was good, and the difference is not that much noticeable.

[@pastorkev777]

One things i would live to hear is thr T-Armond vs thr new TV Hones Zoomtron.

[@RakelaK67]

Tele by a mile in that comparison. Thanks for doing the demos very informative and helpful

[@rtosborne4]

Man, what an interesting comparison! Thanks!

[@sahanulgen7214]

Thank you so much for this comparison Joe!!!! I found your video coincidentally while almost ordering those t-armonds but your video saved me so much money because I gave up! Sound is a subjective thing but I loved the edgy and biting sound of tele. I had already tv jones starwood tele pickups and I was very happy with it. I was just wondering may be a set of t-armond would be better but I got the answer with this video. Thanks so much man I appreciate your effort

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Great to hear Sahan - always happy to hear I've saved people money more than causing them to spend more of it!!

[@jhneilson]

Great video! I’d be interested to hear a direct comparison between the dynasonics/t-armonds and some firebird pickups. They both seem to occupy that space between a p90 and a tele pickup in terms of clarity.

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Just gotta get me a Firebird now ;-)

[@nathanpickett202]

P90 wins to my ears. D-Armond 2nd place. Telecaster 3rd. I’m a telecaster fan but I found it was a bit brittle sounding.

[@mikeroadblock]

You rock kind sir!

[@darwinsaye]

The biggest thing that jumped out at me in the comparison wasn't related to the pickups. There was a drastic difference in the sustain with the Gretsch (I'm not one of those sustain fanatics - I don't believe there is ever any need for a super long sustaining guitar - just saying it was starkly noticeable). I would put it down to two things - the long section of string length between the bridge and the Bigsby ( those strings will sympathetically vibrate and then cause interference waves in the main strings)... And the hollow body - a similar thing happens in a hollow body where the vibration of the top can cause interference in the string vibrations. Anyway, I only mention this stuff because I was actually having a hard time getting a good listen to the Gretsch pickup in the the first clean demo, simply because the sound faded out so fast, haha. It did find it sounded nice and clear in the dirty demos and when you were not letting chords ring out so much. :)

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Oh, definitely - I think it's probably the hollow construction that kills the sustain. Part of the Gretsch thing though, I suppose...just gotta never turn off the gain! ;-)

[@jongreen2198]

Cool. I have a Cadillac green Japanese Duojet reissue with stock pickups (~2012) that I love. While unquestionably (to me) the best looking electric guitar ever, it has too many design flaws, weight, elevated fingerboard/floating bridge, Bigsby and noisy edge of microphonic single coils that make it nearly ungigable. Love mine but it never leaves the studio.

[@markorfila3832]

how can a Bigsby be a design flaw ?

[@soundknight]

Clean: p90 OD: T Armond

[@pharmerdavid1432]

P-90 pickups (esp. low-wind 50's style), then Telecaster, then Firebird...or maybe Firebird comes first? They have a wide frequency response, excellent treble without harshness, and hum-cancelling! If they hadn't been designed into a less popular guitar, they would have been much more popular, but now you can buy them in both humbucking and mini-humbucking mounts - which also fit soapbar P-90 routes. I'm getting some Firebird pickups in soapbar mounts to replace the T'Armonds, which sound good but are too sterile sounding in comparison.

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Never owned a Firebird, but it's 100% on my list of guitars I'd like to add to my collection :-)

[@gundu3912]

You should try fitting 1 meg pots to the T Armond pickups . That what I read in article once . Apparently thats what Gretsch did in the 50s and 60 s

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

The Gretsch has 1Meg pots all round already :-)

[@MT-mt8bd]

4:50

[@jaytrentacosta369]

I can't believe how much alike they sound. I have those same pick up but they are in a cheap 335 type internet brand called grote lol really transformed that guitar lol

[@jixxxxer17]

nice video, you do great work, I'd like to ask please what were the original pickups in the Gretsch ? Peace !

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Think the originals were just stock Gretsch Filter'Trons. I later had some aftermarket 'Trons in there, and now these TV Jones...I much prefer both to the originals.

[@colmkelly5524]

T90s for the win!!!

[@MatteoTorgy]

What did you say to that Junior? Sounds pissed?

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Aha - yeah, it's an angry sounding thing!

[@blissmanu]

Hello Joe, what is the exact model of your Gretsch please ? As a lefty, I looooooove it !

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Will check when I get home (Tuesday) and report back - please nudge me if I forget! 👍

[@garystackhouse5787]

"No Digital" it says... just before he comes on screen in front of a DAW... 🤦‍♂

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

👏 👏 How original.

[@bigtguitars7312]

Hi Joe is that Internet rumour that you are Mr Tumble’s son true?

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

That could be the new rumour...it took ages for that Carrot Top thing to go away :P

[@davidbarlow431]

The tele is still king of the hill, and I'm speaking as a gretsch owner as well as a tele.

[@steveturner6770]

I'd swap my wife for that tele.

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

I probably wouldn't word it to her like that :P hehe

[@averyadrian1534]

Talk less play more

[@JoePerkinsMusic]

Skip to playing…

[@averyadrian1534]

@@JoePerkinsMusic true true