Anyone want to be a part of the PUP shootout?

[James Lugo]

The Afwayu in the shootout was sent in by a rig-talk member so when it arrived we put it in my black Paul that had an Aldrich in it and it sounded way better then the Aldrich IMO, more sparkle, snap and aliveness. Great pickup.

Good to know, that exact Afwayu is coming my way, I bought it off Doug (who sent it in to you for the shootout). I have an Aldrich in 2 of my LP's and a BBQ in my LP studio. This will be going in the LP studio. I like the Aldrich's better than the BBQ in general, so it will be cool if the Afwayu is better than the Aldrich. What did you think comparing the BBQ and the Aldrich?

I hope the Afwayu gold cover comes off easily so I can try it in the other LP's without it looking funky....

I liked the BBQ, we found the Aldrich lifeless in the shootout. Maybe yours is a better one.

James

 

[blackba]

The Afwayu in the shootout was sent in by a rig-talk member so when it arrived we put it in my black Paul that had an Aldrich in it and it sounded way better then the Aldrich IMO, more sparkle, snap and aliveness. Great pickup.

Good to know, that exact Afwayu is coming my way, I bought it off Doug (who sent it in to you for the shootout). I have an Aldrich in 2 of my LP's and a BBQ in my LP studio. This will be going in the LP studio. I like the Aldrich's better than the BBQ in general, so it will be cool if the Afwayu is better than the Aldrich. What did you think comparing the BBQ and the Aldrich?

I hope the Afwayu gold cover comes off easily so I can try it in the other LP's without it looking funky....

I liked the BBQ, we found the Aldrich lifeless in the shootout. Maybe yours is a better one.

James

Interesting, I did notice that the Aldrich clips did not sound like the Aldrich's in my Les Paul, I couldn't put my finger on the exact differences. Maybe there is some significant variation in the Aldrich pickups, who knows.

 

[stephen sawall]

There can be variations in magnets. They can change when exposed to different things.
All physical object have some variations in them.

 

[novosibir]

They can change when exposed to different things.

Yep!

Keep your pickups away from strong magnetic fields like speaker magnets and especially do go with the guitar closer than 2-3 feet to the PT of your amp (when in use), because the magnetic stray field around the PT weakens the magnets in the pickups very quickly

Larry

 

[Buckeyedog]

Got the 2nd degree Black Belts officially on the way!!! Wooooot!!

 

[James Lugo]

Got the 2nd degree Black Belts officially on the way!!! Wooooot!!

That is great, you're gonna love it. I only had a day with it in my Goldtop before I left but the tone was massive and my engineer called me and said it sounded great.

J

 

[jmgman69]

Got the 2nd degree Black Belts officially on the way!!! Wooooot!!

Mine are gonna sound better tho Congrats Kev,you''ll love them in that VOS Brother

 

[James Lugo]

This has turned into the pickup thread of the century.

 

[jmgman69]

This has turned into the pickup thread of the century.

 

[mrbobo]

What a great job! Thanks !!

They all sound good. Of the clips, I like the MCP 2nd degree blackbelt best. I'm surprised I don't prefer a hotter PUP, I think that 2nd ' BB is like an overwound PAF, 9 or 10k?? ..live and learn... it sounds great at all drive levels ... Thanks again James!

Bobo, I am getting a set of these for my LP. Wade said it's around 8.5K. He also said it will do pretty much everything from blues to high gain. Here's a few quotes from his e-mail. I don't think he'd mind me sharing:

"Thanks man. The Secind Degree is killer for everything really. Specs are 8.5k Amer. Alnico 5 magnets, Plain Enamel wire- All custom Metal componients ( all the pickups are actually).".........
.

BD, please let me(us) know how you like the neck PUP. I'm ready to pul the trigger on the bridge position 2nd degree BB, but unsure of the neck. I have Duncan JB/'59 combo in my '73 LP custom now. I've not tried allot of neck pups, but right now I prefer the Duncan Alinico II over the Duncan '59 neck. I once tried a Duncan Jazz neck, and hated it.

 

[JTyson]

Wow!, just wanted to say thanks for all the effort, this is what R-T is all about BTW, I love the songs, nice This has been very useful info, I ended up liking some I had not even considered in the past. Did not know a 30k pup even existed. Thanks again guys for all the work

 

[James Lugo]

Cool man. I found it pretty eye opening. It also was an eye opener as to what I like, the chunkier, slightly darker pups I think. I found the Holmes to bright and jangley and on many more vintage sites some people loved the Holmes. Apples and oranges.

At the end of the day I am so glad I did it, it cost me a small fortune but it was fun, I met a lot of cool people and now I know for myself. I have 4 Pauls and went for the 4 pickups that best suited my needs:

WCR - Godwood
WB - Fire
MCP - 2nd Degree Black Belt
Bareknuckles - Rebel Yell

With those 4 pickups I can do anything. The Godwood being the most traditional for me, sounding perfect in my Sunburst and the Rebel Yell being the heaviest. The Fire is great for heavy rock, more string sound then the Rebel Yell but the Rebel Yell saturates heavier and grinds harder. The 2nd Degree sits between the Godwood and the Fire and is probably the biggest sounding pup of all. I can't wait to layer them and watch my clients jaws hit the ground.

I think at the end of the day you can make great music with any of them, it's just a matter of taste and what your trip is, I tried to cover as much ground in 4 minutes that I could.

James

 

[stephen sawall]

I believe the way you play and how your whole rig is set up and of course taste all are factors
in the Apple and Oranges thing.

I mean I use different kinds of picks depending on the stringed instrument and style I am playing.
It is easy for me to see how many people have different taste.

I do not think to many people knew there was a 30k pickup out there.
That sounds crazy.

I know for me this whole thing has caught my ears

 

[ryanchrys]

well, I've been converted. I really like both the WCR's as well as the Black Belt. Couldn't decide so I look at other factors. ..price! Black Belt wins by $55 so that makes it easy for me. Black Belt it is.

Now then, they're going in my 2000 LP studio lite. Do you all think I really need to spend the dough to upgrade my wiring or is what's in there just fine as is?

Secondly the Black Belt as a set, I know you didn't shoot out neck pups here but did you get a chance to mess with any? If I like the Black Belt in the bridge will the neck be just as bad ass? ...is it calibrated slightly different? I'm looking for something really tubey and woody. any thoughts on this is appreciated. I don't know a whole lot about wiring and all that, but I know when I hear good tone!

thanks again!!
-rc

 

[dougiefresh]

I have matched sets of 2 different MCP pickups - Nukes & Solutions, and the neck & bridge positions match up perfectly.
Wade is an evil genius.

 

[stephen sawall]

OT .... Shamwow


http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/ye ... sham1.html

 

[RACKSYSTEMS]

All of Wades neck pickups really shine and are never muddy and very clear and round. Also make sure you order a 2nd degree Black belt and not just a Blackbelt. A regular Blackbelt has a more vintage sound to it. The 2nd is hotter and has a alnico 5 mag. Both are great though.

 

[Buckeyedog]

BD, please let me(us) know how you like the neck PUP. I'm ready to pul the trigger on the bridge position 2nd degree BB, but unsure of the neck. I have Duncan JB/'59 combo in my '73 LP custom now. I've not tried allot of neck pups, but right now I prefer the Duncan Alinico II over the Duncan '59 neck. I once tried a Duncan Jazz neck, and hated it.

Will do man, but I really have full confidence in Wade's stuff. I have a set of his Torque models in my Standard and the neck pickup is sick! Amazing thing about it is the clarity.

But, believe me, you'll hear about these pickups the minute I get them installed!!

 

[bmf5150]

All of Wades neck pickups really shine and are never muddy and very clear and round. Also make sure you order a 2nd degree Black belt and not just a Blackbelt. A regular Blackbelt has a more vintage sound to it. The 2nd is hotter and has a alnico 5 mag. Both are great though.

AMEN!!!

 

[MichaelG]

BD, please let me(us) know how you like the neck PUP. I'm ready to pul the trigger on the bridge position 2nd degree BB, but unsure of the neck. I have Duncan JB/'59 combo in my '73 LP custom now. I've not tried allot of neck pups, but right now I prefer the Duncan Alinico II over the Duncan '59 neck. I once tried a Duncan Jazz neck, and hated it.

Will do man, but I really have full confidence in Wade's stuff. I have a set of his Torque models in my Standard and the neck pickup is sick! Amazing thing about it is the clarity.

But, believe me, you'll hear about these pickups the minute I get them installed!!

Yep, +1 to this.

Ordering the neck pickup as well is a very safe bet for all of the reasons mentioned here already. I've got a calibrated set of 2nd Deg BlackBelts in a LesPaul and the neck pickup is AMAZING! The improvement in clarity over the Duncan will be very significant. And if you don't like the neck pickup (or the bridge for that matter) Wade does offer a 14 day return policy.