Single Pickup Guitars Rule! | Grez Guitars Mendocino Jr.
Grez Guitars returns to the channel — this time featuring Barry's Mendocino Junior with a Ron Ellis P90 in the bridge. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Grez Guitars Mendocino Junior — Ron Ellis P90 bridge pickup, Emerson Custom Prewired Kit with 500K pots and Treble Bleed on the volume pot — pairs with the Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. The Expresso FX Beige Dual Ge/Si Fuzz and Ge Boost and Effectrode Tube Vibe feature throughout.
The Ron Ellis P90 in the bridge position brings Ron's molecular-level materials research to the soapbar format — the same engineering approach he applies to his humbuckers, delivering clarity and dynamic touch response rather than the raw, uncontrolled midrange some P90s are known for. Paired with the Mendocino Junior's compact offset body, the result is articulate and expressive across the demo's full range of clean, pushed, and cranked amp tones.
The Expresso FX Beige Dual Ge/Si Fuzz and Ge Boost is a two-circuit pedal from Sof, built in the UK with zero compromise on components. The Fuzz Face-style side is switchable between three transistors — NOS CV7005 germanium, NOS AC128 germanium, and NOS OC202 silicon — giving three distinct fuzz voicings from a single circuit, explored starting at 08:09 through the volume knob cleanup at 08:52 and into the Effectrode Tube Vibe at 09:58. The Ge Boost side uses an NOS OC45 germanium transistor — the same transistor found in the earliest Dallas Rangemaster units — delivering classic treble booster character, explored from 04:34 with volume knob cleanup at 05:42 and slamming the Benson Vinny Dirt Channel at 13:02.
The Benson Amps Vincent's cascading architecture — a 1-watt Vinny Dirt Channel feeding into the 30-watt Clean Channel — is explored throughout, from clean-ish tones at 01:37 through the cranked Clean Channel at 03:15 and the Vinny Dirt Channel activated at 10:52.
🎸 Grez Guitars: https://www.grezguitars.com
🎸 Ron Ellis Pickups: https://www.ronellispickups.com
🎛️ Expresso FX: https://expressofx.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
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🎸 Grez Guitars Mendocino Junior | Ron Ellis P90 (Bridge) | Emerson Custom Prewired Kit | 500K Pots | Treble Bleed
🎛️ Expresso FX Beige Dual Ge/Si Fuzz & Ge Boost | CV7005 + AC128 Ge / OC202 Si (Fuzz) | OC45 Ge (Boost) | Effectrode Tube Vibe
🔊 Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC | Boss Waza TAE
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Ohma Ribbon | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Ableton Live 12
