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Lets talk about Humbuckers


Lokair

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Ok long story short

PRS CE24 with HFS(15K ohm) bridge and vintage bass(8.5k ohm) neck.

Gonna replace as the bridge is just not cutting it for my setup just not all that definitive in highgain for me).

I am thinking a PAF style humbucker (around 8k give or take).

And I think while I am at it gonna do the neck too say PAF style(around 7.25k give or take).

 

any suggestions? Favorites that you have experience, or ones to avoid ect.

any other spec I should be looking at such as magnet type windings ect?

 

 

Lok

 

1997 PRS CE24, 1981 Greco MSV 850, 1991 Greco V 900, 2 2006 Dean Inferno Flying Vs, 1987 Gibson Flying V, 2000s Jackson Dinky/Soloist, 1992 Gibson Les Paul Studio,

 

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I cannot say enough good about the Seymour Duncan JB for the bridge and a '59 for the neck. I's the set that came in my Hamer Special FM from the factory, and it has never disappointed.
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Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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Target Tone, sorta like John Petrucci meets Michael Schenker. Maybe like Iron Maiden mid 80s , but with a modern amp. Well defined notes which seems to be missing on the bridge pickup, and nice creamy over drive.

 

Lok

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1997 PRS CE24, 1981 Greco MSV 850, 1991 Greco V 900, 2 2006 Dean Inferno Flying Vs, 1987 Gibson Flying V, 2000s Jackson Dinky/Soloist, 1992 Gibson Les Paul Studio,

 

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I like the 57 US made Gibson humbuckers. I have the covered version on my Epi ES 175 and the uncovered zebra version on my LP Classic. Both sound very nice. I don't play hard rock or metal and I'm more of a lower volume guy. So I'll let the blues'ers advise you on the PAF Burstbuckers...The 57's run about $175 each.
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Take care, Larryz
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I'm gonna run contrary to conventional internet wizz dom and recommend Gibson 500T and 496R ceramic humbuckers! Just spend some time adjusting their heights and that of their polepieces. If you do try 'em, lemmy know and I'll give you my best tips on makin' 'em sound their best. (Also try DR Pure Blues strings with these pickups.) These pickups and strings are what I run on my Les Paul.
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Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Budget is some where around 300$

Location western Pa

Down tuning is is drop d at most for this guitar

Coil tapping not necessary, two guitars now have it and I rarely use it/nor get excited when I do.

 

I have been digging into the JB and 59 suggested by picker. Nice reviews and looks quality.

 

Now I had not even considered Gibson That 57 specs look good .

 

I have a Les Paul with the 500t and 496R in it, I guess I will have to pull it out and see how it stacks up.

 

thanks for the advice so far got alot if comparing to do now.

 

Lok

1997 PRS CE24, 1981 Greco MSV 850, 1991 Greco V 900, 2 2006 Dean Inferno Flying Vs, 1987 Gibson Flying V, 2000s Jackson Dinky/Soloist, 1992 Gibson Les Paul Studio,

 

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My 2¢:

 

The SD 59 is probably my favorite Seymour Duncan humbucker, bar none. The JB & Jazz combo, though, is a hard rock standard, and with good reason. I know I have at least 2 guitars with them, and have played untold numbers.

 

RailHammer HyperVintage are very nice, and at under $100/ea, well within your budget. The RailHammer design combines blade & poles in order to get the best of both worlds- a bit better for downtuning than most pickups.

 

TV Jones Fillertron-inspired pickups can do quite a job. Theyre a bit brighter and lower output than most HBs currently in vogue. Rival Sons guitarist Scott Holiday uses them in his Kauer customs, and he squeezes all kinds of great rock tones out of them.

 

You might consider the Rio Grande Tallboy, which is one of RGs true splitting pickups. Theyre made by combining 2 actual singlecoils in a humbucker housing, so when split, they sound exactly like a singlecoil. Because they are. The Tallboy in particular is the one based on their standard Starr singlecoil.

 

However, if you dont need coil splitting, you might consider swapping the neck or even both pickups with HB-sized P90s. Several winders make them, and- just like HBs- they come in all kinds of output levels. Id recommend RailHammer, Bareknuckle, The Creamery, Lollar, Vintage Vibe and Rio Grande HB-sized P90s. I posted some of their demos here:

https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2967453/2/Recommendation_on_Hollowbody_o

 

I have a couple of HB/P90 guitars, and find it to be a very flexible combination, almost like a beefier HSS.

 

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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I cannot say enough good about the Seymour Duncan JB for the bridge and a '59 for the neck. I's the set that came in my Hamer Special FM from the factory, and it has never disappointed.

 

This is the set I put into my Heritage H-140 Goldtop and they are wonderful. I also make use of the Seymour Duncan Triple Shot mounting rings that let you split the coils (using either one) as well as choose between series or parallel wiring for the huimbuckers. Great tones!

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If you want to split coils I prefer the Duncan 59 Custom Hybrid. Otherwise there are a lot of great pickups. Depends on what you want to match them with and what you want to do. JB is a standard. The DiMarzio X2N is still a timeless and unique ultra hot pickup. The sustain and ability to nail feedback with out the sustainer add on stuff is great. I like DiMarzio Tone Zone mostly because it pairs well with the Bluesbucker, my favorite neck humbucker. Tone Zone isn't hot enough for you the JB is better. There are just too many unique and great pickups. .... And great pickups are always expensive. Just bobbin wire and magnets.

 

PS. The 59 Custom Hybrid might be a really good choice still. It has the mids from the 59 coil and the sparkle of the Custom coil. When split it uses the 7.89k Custom coil.

 

A friend put Dimarzo Mo Joes in his Music Man Majesties. They sound killer. But they are hot.

 

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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Now in the listening stages of all the pickups mentioned

 

I think the Rail Hammer is fantastic(sorta my early favorite)great suggestion Danny

The Gibsons The 500T and 496R are out, after a testing with my Les Paul , not really perfect(better than the PRS stock pickups) gonna try the DR pure blues strings on the les paul Caevan so could be make the Paul more usable.

Like the JB and 59 neck or the jazz neck.

 

On to more comparison and pairing down the list.

 

Thanks guys

 

Lok

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1997 PRS CE24, 1981 Greco MSV 850, 1991 Greco V 900, 2 2006 Dean Inferno Flying Vs, 1987 Gibson Flying V, 2000s Jackson Dinky/Soloist, 1992 Gibson Les Paul Studio,

 

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I've been quite satisfied with the Bill Lawrence (Bill and Becky) L-500XL.

 

Scroll near the bottom of this link:

 

The L-500XL is instantly adaptable to both the neck and bridge positions. No other combination can deliver such beautifully musical power, dynamic range and tonal clarity......from the deepest of deep blues and the immortal sounds of classic jazz to the unleashed fury of raw hard rock, fusion and heavy metal.......the L-500XL has been the go-to upgrade of great players worldwide for over three decades. Often imitated, but never duplicated -- and fully compliant with Bill's world famous L-500 patent -- and is the only one built to Bill's personal standards in his own family-run USA workshop.

 

Click

 

 

 

"Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7

 

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The Gibsons The 500T and 496R are out, after a testing with my Les Paul , not really perfect(better than the PRS stock pickups) gonna try the DR pure blues strings on the les paul Caevan so could be make the Paul more usable.

 

The DR PB's really warm and fatten the tone. And raising those pickups on the treble-side, and lowering them on the bass-side, while simultaneously lowering the pole-pieces on the treeble-side and raising the pole-pieces on the bass-side, brings out rounder, warmer tones with more emphasis on the fundamental for the plain-treble strings, and crisper, stringier, 'low-keys-on-the-piano' tones with more harmonic-overtone 'swirl' on the wound-bass strings.

 

The idea there is to have more 'air' for the wound-basses, and more roundness for the plain-trebles; the pickup heights are lowered beneath the bass-side, and raised beneath the treble-side, while pole-pieces are adjusted oppositely to compensate.

 

All of that, combined with the increased output and sensitivity of these rather hot pickups, makes them sing and growl with great definition and work very well for my "play the amp" and fingerstyle "touch" approach, adjusting the volume-controls to vary from cleaner to dirtier tones.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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OK started on the Gibson 500T and 496R adjustments in my Les Paul, also contemplating a heavier string gauge for them I think 11s might be in order.

 

The Humbucker issue might be solved as my wife bought me two pair of Rockfield SWC(select wound custom) humbuckers for my PRS and spare set. She knows how much I like them in my Dean Flying V. And my 87 flying V has Rockfield SWV(select wound vintage). So I will be loading them in this weekend. She found them for me on craigslist , and had me get a hold of the guy and have him ship them to me from the Va Beach area, but she paid for them as a late Xmas gift. For as little as she paid (right under 100$ for both sets) even if they do not work out in the PRS I have other guitars that could use better pickups.

 

And I have experience with them and favor them over other pickups I have tried.

 

Lok

1997 PRS CE24, 1981 Greco MSV 850, 1991 Greco V 900, 2 2006 Dean Inferno Flying Vs, 1987 Gibson Flying V, 2000s Jackson Dinky/Soloist, 1992 Gibson Les Paul Studio,

 

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OK started on the Gibson 500T and 496R adjustments in my Les Paul, also contemplating a heavier string gauge for them I think 11s might be in order.

 

Personally, I've found that DR Pure Blues in .011" - .050" are PERFECT in feel, tone, and performance for my Les Paul, which also has those same pickups. With that scale-length, those gauges are comfy.

 

If you do go with those, or other strings with a pure/solid nickel wrap on the wound-strings, note that the wound-basses will need the pole-pieces and/or pickups just a little closer; they'll seem to have a perceived slightly lower output than nickel-plated steel wound strings. But their mids and low-mids will be beautifully fuller, warmer and punchier!

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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  • 4 years later...

I like Seymour Duncan humbuckers for Telecasters, but I think the neck pickup on a Telecaster is the only place where a humbucker should be on a Telecaster. I take that back, I think the Fender Telecaster Deluxe was a good but hastily assembled humbucking Telecaster with Fender Wide Range Humbucker pickups. I also like Gibson humbuckers on Telecaster neck pickups, and Jerry Donahue had his own signature model Telecaster that, interestingly, had a single coil bridge pickup and a Stratocaster style single coil neck pickup.

 

But arguably the most well-known humbucking Telecaster is the Tele-Gib, which combined the Gibson style Seymour Duncan designed humbucker pickups with a single coil Telecaster. And it was used by Jeff Beck.

 

When he was in the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck had primarily used a Fender Esquire and a red Fender Telecaster, the red Tele also being used by Clapton before he quit the Yardbirds. Beck eventually sold that Fender Esquire to Seymour Duncan in order to design the Tele-Gib.

 

Jeff Beck's most unusual guitar was the so-called Tele-Gib, built for him by noted guitar maker and pickup specialist Seymour Duncan. In 1974 Duncan was working in the repairs and modifications section of the Fender Soundhouse. After seeing Beck play, Duncan had the notion that what Beck needed was a guitar that played like a Fender but had the tone of a Les Paul. As no such instrument existed Duncan set out to make one. He began with the carcass of a 1959 Fender Telecaster, gave it a new maple fingerboard and cut the fret slots by hand, before putting in Gibson Les Paul frets. Then he went through the torturous job of rewinding a broken pair of old 1959 Gibson humbuckers. The pickups came from an old 1959 Gibson Flying V that once belonged to Lonnie Mack. The finishing touches came from a lever switch knob from an old telephone switchboard, while the volume and tone control knobs and control plate are from an early 50s Telecaster. Jeff liked the instrument immediately and used it on the album Blow By Blow, before switching to Strats by the Wired album.

 

image.png.2a523e02b26cca415a22fde05d0cf6a9.png

 

image.png.d66ee07c1f6658192a96c6284cfc63bc.png

 

watch?v=xiOPvOBd8IA

 

watch?v=CFi94V3jIUg

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I've used EMG pickups exclusively on my electric gigger guitars since the late 80's.

 

My beloved ES 335 studio (my avatar photo) has an EMG HB (Steinberger bass pickup) in the neck and an EMG 81 in the bridge. 

I lower them a bit and adjust the 81 so it doesn't overwhelm the HB. Just a single volume control that I never use. 

All 3 settings of the pickup switch sound stellar. 

The HB in the neck sounds smooth, deep and creamy but also has a perfect brightness for clarity. The 81 in the bridge is snarly and evil. 

The two together allows a good range of tones just by moving my picking position. 

 

I don't have to think, I just play and it always makes me smile. 

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It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I'm a 57 US made Gibson humbucker kind of guy.  I have an LP with uncovered black and white 57's like the one shown on the Tele above.  I have an ES-175 Epi with covered 57's and I pulled the Kent Armstrongs and put US covered 57's on my Conti guitar.  It's my favorite pup.

 

I have one American Strat with a pre-wired drop in using an EMG 80 at the neck and an EMG 81 at the bridge.  It has a 3way like the Strats of old, two volume controls one for each pup and a master tone Kirk Hammett set up.  The stock set up came with two 81's but I wanted something milder at the neck...You don't need a 5way when running two humbuckers as there is very little phasing going on IMHO.

 

😎👍

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Take care, Larryz
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I have a bunch of favorite humbuckers that are very different from each other.  1st point of contention is whether or not you will want to coil split the things because when you get into coil splitting very few humbuckers pull that off well.  If that is something you will never do then there is tons of good stuff.  Depends on the amps.  A guilty pleasure BRIDGE pickup of mine was the X2N.  But if I was playing my Peavey mid 80s country road gig the solid state Peaveys would s*** their pants if you ran the X2n.  They didn't like hot pickups.  The whole rig is what has to be considered.  You just have to try stuff.  Pedals are an issue.  Some pedals like my Wampler Pinnacle I used for higher gain HATES hot pickups.

 

 

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"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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16 hours ago, CEB said:

1st point of contention is whether or not you will want to coil split the things because when you get into coil splitting very few humbuckers pull that off well.


Lindy Fralin has the Unbucker, designed from the ground up to excel at coil-split sounds with "unbalanced coils".

@Lokair- How are you making out with that Les Paul with the stock 500T and 496R humbuckers?

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Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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On 5/18/2023 at 12:17 AM, IMMusicRulz said:

Jeff liked the instrument immediately and used it on the album Blow By Blow, before switching to Strats by the Wired album.

Nice story. Thanks for that. My Jeff Beck surf green Strat is my only "will never sell" guitar.

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This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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Re: coil splitting

 

Rio Grande is the first (but not only) pickup company I know of that has been selling a line of humbuckers that are actually a pair of their singlecoils in a humbucker housing, wired to act like a humbucker.  Which means that when coil splitting is enabled, you get the exact sound of one of their singlecoil pickups.

 

RG has at least 2 such humbuckers in their product line: one using a pair of particular Strat-style singlecoils, and another using a pair of their SC-sized P90s.

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Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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