A few weeks ago, I was introduced to Steve Marlowe through a simple email from my website. (Steve has nothing to do with Philip, portrayed on screen by Humphrey Bogart: he is the founder of TonalityTools in Phoenix, Arizona. He is also a producer and lead sound engineer there).
After an initial contact, he told me the story of the Les Paul "Benchmark" that the Gibson Custom Shop released in small batches in 2013 and 2014.
At the end of 2019, the Custom Shop still had a small box of the 2014 pickups sitting on a shelf. So, in 2020, five more Benchmark Les Pauls were specially ordered to use these latest special underwound Custombucker pickups … Five unique '58 Les Pauls (R8), each with a '59 neck profile and a slightly flamed top, were custom-made: the “Benchmarks”.
The pickups are Custombuckers, but slightly underwound and lightly waxed. They use Alnico3 magnets, like all Custombuckers.
The sound is extremely musical with a presence and clarity that are not typical of Custombuckers normal pickups in their range.
Steve was lucky enough to pick up two of the new 2020 special edition Les Paul “Benchmarks” with these rare pickups – one for his studio and one for a sister studio in Scottsdale, Arizona.
As a result, he became familiar with the sound and responsiveness of these underwound Custombucker pickups , and was able to compare them directly to several other Custombucker-equipped guitars recently acquired from the Custom Shop.
Once again, the underwound pickup found on these "Benchmark" guitars is a PAF Alnico 3, but unlike the Custombuckers, it has a slightly lower winding. This characteristic gives it exceptional richness, dynamics, musicality, and openness.
And that's where the meeting took place: Steve was looking for a pickup equivalent to those of this Les Paul "Benchmark" from the various boutiquepickups manufacturers, when he came across the Cecca Guitars website and contacted me.
Steve told me the whole story of these Les Pauls and their pickups, and explained how, thanks to Rainbow Guitars in Tucson, he came to own one of these guitars. He then asked me to make a Delta Roots, equivalent to the PAF of the Les Paul Benchmark, for a guitar in his studio, a Telecaster from the Dutch manufacturer Haar Guitars.
It was done (I couldn't afford to mess it up 🙂) and a few days after receiving the microphone and installing it, Steve gave me this astonishing feedback, for me, a small French winder:
“We’ve spent some time playing with the new pickup you kindly provided.
It’s been ‘burning in’ – pickups definitely sound better after being played for a while, after the current has flowed through the wire and magnets.
So far, we’re really impressed.
Asyou know, we have many Gibsons. Some have CustomBuckers as well as underwound versions.
Your pickup sounds more musical, expressive, and pleasing.
It’s quite amazing because we receive many pickups and, honestly, we’re rarely impressed.”
Since that first project for Steve, I've also built him a humbucker set for a Johnny A from his Studio – a rare prototype from the Gibson Custom Shop. It's currently receiving its upgrades, and I'm sure Steve will share the results with us!
In addition, Steve has asked me to produce a Nocaster set that's as nuanced, dynamic, and expressive as possible, based on a completely unique Nocaster, also from the Studio's collection.
It's incredibly exciting to develop this new Nocaster/Telecaster set, and you'll find it in our boutique as soon as it's been approved by Steve.
Steve Marlowe founded TonalityTools Studios in Phoenix, Arizona in 2005, after years of working as a sound engineer with numerous artists. His mixing and mastering skills, along with his influences as a guitarist, know no bounds: Jazz, Reggae, Hip Hop, Pop, Indie Rock… He has produced, recorded, and mixed some of the biggest names in music worldwide.
Steve is also a guitar expert and collector. As such, TonalityTools Studios has a magnificent collection of instruments for all genres and styles, as well as amps. He showed me some pretty incredible ones! … Including a prototype Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster from the Custom Shop, built and signed by John English and John Page (Masterbuilt at Fender Custom Shop in Corona, California – Fender headquarters is in Scottsdale, a short walk from the studio).
Steve based his work on the faithful reproduction of music, whether live or recorded. He developed a unique process called Bit Density Processing, which allows you to get as close as possible to the reality and musicality of analog recordings while taking advantage of all the benefits of digital production. Using this technology, he has remastered and digitized numerous releases, including historical jazz.
Learn more:
TonalityTools Studios & Steve Marlowe
I warmly thank Steve for allowing me to share his story, his comments, and for his help in writing the English version of the text.
