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Post by The Fifth Column on Dec 29, 2006 15:55:49 GMT -7
Hey everybody, I just did some pickup switching the other day and now I'm left with an interesting question I thought I'd propose to you all.
I have an Ibanez Hollowbody and a Warmoth LP style as my two main guitars right now. The Ibanez had humbuckers and the LP a set of SDdesigns Dirty Harry's (humbucker sized single coils with no poles kinda like the old DeArmond or Kay pickups).
On a whim I decided to put the dirty harry's in the Ibanez and I am definitely keeping them there. These pickups are super touch sensitive with tons of sustain and seeing I use this guitar mainly for modal tunings (DADGAD) and slide guitar I find them a thousand times superior to the stock humbuckers because of the character and the way they ring/sparkle/sustain. Great vintage feel for slide too.
The problem is they sounded great in the LP too but definitely not like an LP, closer to a Gretch I would say, kinda. Now I've got the ibanez humbuckers in the LP and that sounds pretty good but could be better.
Who out there plays humbuckers and what kind do you recommend? I'm definitely leaning toward something close to the vintage PAFs as opposed to modern ones, lots of character and girth. What about the Burstbuckers from Gibson...better than the 59s or the Antiquitys from Seymour Duncan?
I guess I can always get another Dirty harry set for SD designs or a set of his humbuckers because those pickups rock (in my opinion) but for right now I'm more interested in more of a standard LP feel I guess.
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Post by skydog958 on Dec 29, 2006 16:55:11 GMT -7
Well right now my 535 has SD '59s in them and I like them there. Good balanced sound to 'em. My LP has SD Custom Shop Jimmy Pages, and they are overwould PAF style, more aggressive sounding. I like the contrast, but you have to consider the difference in guitars as well.
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Post by The Fifth Column on Dec 29, 2006 23:25:18 GMT -7
Oooh, those Jimmy Page pickups are intriguing. I'm a huge Led Zeppelin fan so anything related to Jimmy Page attracts my attention.
how much more aggressive are they, like "metal aggressive?" (I have another guitar for that already) Are those still made? I can't seem to find them on the Duncan site. I've also heard good things about the JB/Jazz matched set from Duncan (I think those are the two in the set), but I couldn't seem to find them with covers and I prefer pickup covers for humbuckers. Anyone play those? Same goes for the Pearly Gates from duncan.
Too many pickups to choose from, maybe I should just bite the bullet and shell out the 5 grand for a real VOS Les Paul, lol.
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Post by skydog958 on Dec 29, 2006 23:37:54 GMT -7
I wouldn't call them "metal" aggressive, but they aren't your average PAF. Off the top of my head the impedences are 8.2 K for the neck and 8.78 K for the bridge, alnico 5 mags. I'm a big Page fan myself so you know I dig em. the neck is covered and the bridge is open coils. I got 'em off eBay from a guy in South Korea. My guess is you'd have to call up the custom shop and request that set. I forgot I also have another guitar with a '59 in the neck and Pearly Gates in the bridge. The PG is ok in my opinion.
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Post by The Fifth Column on Dec 30, 2006 17:00:56 GMT -7
Sounds like you lucked out on those Page pickups, I think I read about someone else having a set from somewhere in Asia too, on Harmony Central I think, unless that was you skydog958.
I've heard that the Pearly's can be a little "twangier" if a humbucker can be called twangy. Maybe just a little brighter but from the clips on the SD site they really didn't do it for me, I'm not sure why. I think I've got it narrowed down to either a true gibson set of burstbuckers, the 59s or the antiquities as from the reviews I've seen a lot of people love those antiquities from SD.
The problem lies in that this guitar being a parts guitar from warmoth, is not like a standard LP. I have a wilkinson tremolo in it (because I like tremolos when I play Pink Floyd type stuff, mainly) and the string spacing is 53mm at the bridge. I'm afraid that a standard spaced humbucker will have the poles close together and it might effect the sound. Strangely the set that were in my Ibanez that are in it now are a matched set where the bridge one is wider although the bridge one is labeled "R" and the neck one has nothing on it. I thought R meant rhythm but when I put them in the guitar, the R one had the strings line up and the unlabeled one looked too narrow (pole spacing, I mean).
Are your 59s a matched set skydog958? (as in bridge and neck) Is the bridge one wider spacing? I know that they have those trembuckers too but I thought those might even be too wide seeing aren't they for Floyd Rose equipped guitars? I have a FR equipped guitar and that spacing is significantly wider than the wilkinson.
I'm probably splitting hairs here and they'd all probably sound about the same. lol. Maybe I'll email gibson and SD and ask them the pole spacing.
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Post by The Fifth Column on Dec 30, 2006 17:03:37 GMT -7
Let me clarify, with the ibanez pickups in my LP, the one labeled R lined up better with the strings and looked wider in the bridge position, while the one with nothing on it looked too narrow in the bridge position, again in the LP.
Didn't want to confuse as I read it after I posted it and I didn't think it was very clear.
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Post by skydog958 on Dec 30, 2006 17:20:20 GMT -7
I am the guy labeled Achille M. for that Harmony Central review. I did that aeons ago, before even considering a Z amp! The '59s in the 535 I assume are a matched set. It has the funky Schaller roller bridge so I don't know if the spacing is normal or not because I've messed with it.
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Post by The Fifth Column on Jan 1, 2007 13:10:02 GMT -7
Thanks skydog958, I appreciate the insight. I like th 59s and I guess to get a little more aggressive tone I'll just crank the amp more.
Oh well, the best thing to improve my tone now is probably to get a Z and worry about pickups later, lol.
Thanks again,
Dave
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