Showmaster HH Filtertrons

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Introduction

    Recently, in 2024, I thought about getting a second Fender Showmaster specifically for installing Seymour Duncan Filtertron Psychlone model pickups.  You see, they are widely used in worship music, and I am a paid worship guitarist.  So I looked around and bought another.

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Feel free to click on any link for the original image (larger size).

Unboxing 2024

     So I got it in!  When I got it, I noticed that the plastic wrap that covered the back panels was still intact! This means the guitar likely sat around or in a box, meaning it should be quite good!

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I want to correct something really quick. Not all Showmasters have a basswood body. It seems to me that the quilt maple top versions were majogany body and the flame ash top models seem to be made of basswood. For basswood models, I would recommend scooped EQ pickups like the Jazz, Custom 5, Full Shred, etc. For all others, it's up to you.

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     The Showmaster line was built in South Korea by Kort.  Historically, they were a Fender Custom Shop until they went to production.  There were also Squier models, of inferior quality.  I will address all of this on a page I have begun writing to chronicle their mainline production history.

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Pickups Installed!  August 14, 2024

    Today I got the pickups back from the shop and they sound amazing!  Seymour Duncan definitely delivers.  I asked for a Filtertron that can play metal, and this Filtertron they made can definitely do what I asked.  Here are my initial sound clips using a Fender SuperSonic amp:

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Incorporating the Filtertrons with my Boss ME-90

    My experience with using these pickups so far is that using the Twin Reverb ("Twin Combo") amp simulation is not very productive.  I end up trying to EQ the bass boominess out, and reducing the mid range hump, and then reducing the high range to prevent it overdriving.  So basically, why use this model?  It's my favorite model amp in the ME-90, and my first guitar amp was a 1972 Fender Twin Reverb.  But for this, it's not very helpful.  So I tried the Fender Deluxe model and immediately found it superior because I didn't need to EQ out problem frequencies.  So for bank 3 on my ME-90, I set up my clean patch through the Deluxe.

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    For "pads", I switched to using the JC-120 amp simulation.  I found that this does a slightly better job, so I kept it.

    For this Sunday, I chose the Supreme model for my lead patch and the Boutique for my crunch.  I added a bit of treble to the Boutique, since the sound was a bit on the muffled side for my ears.

First Sunday Service

    So with my first Sunday service, I got to try the Psyclone neck and my custom Psyclone bridge (that I am calling the MetalliCAT until the custom shop tells me what I can name it that hasn't been chosen yet).  I had selected the Supreme model for my lead patch and the Boutique for my crunch patch.  All my EQ were at 50 across the board.  As of this service, I added a little treble EQ (60) to the crunch patch and then removed some (40) from the lead patch.  The sound guy pointed out that my tons was slightly nasal, so I dropped the treble and that solved the problem.

    First impressions were that everyone thought I had an "expensive" guitar for my cleans, which I was using the Psyclone for.  The neck Psyclone is therefore very much worth the money.  For worship music, the cleans are practically unbeatable.  Makes sense, as Hillsong's Nigel Hendroff uses Gretsch style pickups, as well as, I was told, "all the guitar players at Elevation."

    As for the bridge custom MetalliCAT, the leads were excellent!  Having to reduce the highs slightly to prevent nasal tone was not a problem.  It did a great job punching through when needed, and remaining relatively clear.  So I think my investment was worth it!

Subsequent Use in Church with ME-90

    After some time, I found that the Boutique and Supreme models didn't really work for me.  So I went back to using a Fender Deluxe model for the cleans and a "Tweed" (Bassman) model for my leads.  I found that with the level knob at 40 and the gain at 75, the amp models worked very well for what I wanted.  For crunch, the Deluxe, and for leads, the Tweed/Bassman.  I found this to be better because the Deluxe model for crunch tones at 75 gain seems to clean up nicely with the guitar volume at 1-2.

    I kept the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus model for my pads but changed the Tera Echo effect out for "Twist."  I found that running two choruses (MOD and EQ/FX sections) with the main reverb in Hall seemed to work well.  I made the CTRL turn the clean boost on and off.

Sound Clips

     I will continue to drop sound clips for this guitar.  For some of them, the church mix wasn't so good, so I had to run a narrow band EQ to emphasize where I was playing and then amplify the result.  My church was between sound technicians for some of these.