Favorite Pickups for Les Paul Custom?

[Lightning]

I put a Mighty Mite 1400 in the bridge postion of my Gibson Les Paul with Floyd rose and it’s a great sounding pickup just think Van Halen 1 sounding thats for sure. I have a new in the box Seymour Duncan 78 in zebra never opened the tape is still sealed on the box pm me if interested

 

[harddriver]

I put a Mighty Mite 1400 in the bridge postion of my Gibson Les Paul with Floyd rose and it’s a great sounding pickup just think Van Halen 1 sounding thats for sure. I have a new in the box Seymour Duncan 78 in zebra never opened the tape is still sealed on the box pm me if interested

If you like/love VH2 or later don't get rid of that 78 model......Just Sayin..................................

So.......................you have had the MM1400 for a while now, and you say you hear some VH1 in there...

 

[Lightning]

Yes, if I want Van Halen II or the rest of the Van Halen sounds I just turn down my volume knob alittle and it’s all there. Harddriver what do you think,also you probably know that my main amp is the last amp Rockstah(Rockstah mod 5)modded before he passed(Mark A.) I rather have a V8 for a bridge pickup not a V6 or V4 if you know what I mean(engine wise)Eddie was a hot rodder type of guy.

 

[harddriver]

Yes, if I want Van Halen II or the rest of the Van Halen sounds I just turn down my volume knob alittle and it’s all there. Harddriver what do you think,also you probably know that my main amp is the last amp Rockstah(Rockstah mod 5)modded before he passed(Mark A.) I rather have a V8 for a bridge pickup not a V6 or V4 if you know what I mean(engine wise)Eddie was a hot rodder type of guy.

That's cool it's great that you like the pickup, I'm not surprised that you do. Before Ossie's comparison video it was not on my radar at all.

I'm not saying the MM1400 can't do VHII, it just misses some of that PAF warmth VHII has a softer attack that is more PAF'ish to my ears, kinda like my 78 model can do a decent VH1 but I miss the crunchy rudeness of the MM1400...there is just something about it that I like just for VH1 that makes my ears happy when I compare to that album release party show, for me that is the album tone in spades replicated live.

I found an old video of the Kramer employee Paul Unkert that built Eddies 5150 Kramer's and he says those pickup were all old Gibson PAF's and not a 16K JB or a 14k Custom Custom. There alot of pickups that can do the job to be honest and sound great doing it, at this point that's all that matters, the semantics can drone on and on.

I posted here somewhere, I'll look around and see if I can find it again. It's interesting.

 

[CrystalSky]

I think alot of the older pickup you like are a combination of things. Some you mention are unpotted. I 100% agree that unpotted pickups have complexity to them thats not there in the same pickup that's wax potted. Some people can tolerate and control the microphonics and some cannot. The other thing is that the insulative coating of most wire types develops small cracks over time resulting some levels of parasitic leakage. This certainly impacts the tone. Think of it like crosstalk except with musical results. This is not something you can design or replicate in a new pickup.

What about magnets loosing power with time? I think that too might contribute to the final result, no?

 

[Lightning]

Van Halen 1 sound was the most aggressive then any of the Van Halen sounds(albums),there’s nothing like the Van Halen 1 sound.

 

[harddriver]

Van Halen 1 sound was the most aggressive then any of the Van Halen sounds(albums),there’s nothing like the Van Halen 1 sound.

That's how I hear it..........

 

[Lightning]

I just don’t hear alnico II at all it’s to soft sounding to begin with it doesn’t have that instant attack like ceramic has

 

[Lightning]

Alnico magnets lose power after awhile not ceramic

 

[scottosan]

What about magnets loosing power with time? I think that too might contribute to the final result, no?

A lot of test show some vintage PAFs having magnets with a full charge. From my own experience the way magnets in pickups are stored can degauss them a little, but not so much in an installed set. In a batch of magnets, I get an occasional magnet that the will never charge 100% or may test bellow spec but improve after I charge them. I doubt Gibson was that thorough about testing.

 

[CrystalSky]

A lot of test show some vintage PAFs having magnets with a full charge. From my own experience the way magnets in pickups are stored can degauss them a little, but not so much in an installed set. In a batch of magnets, I get an occasional magnet that the will never charger 100% or may test bellow spec but improve after I charge them. I doubt Gibson was that thorough about testing.

Man, this all pickup thing is so obscure and interesting to me. Wishing somebody came and explained it all to me in person one day haha

To this day I have no idea what kind of pickups are they in my guitars and what would suit them best

 

[scottosan]

Man, this all pickup thing is so obscure and interesting to me. Wishing somebody came and explained it all to me in person one day haha

To this day I have no idea what kind of pickups are they in my guitars and what would suit them best

Different magnet types in an identical pickup do 2 things. They obviously affect the magnet pull of the strings. Generally speaking, more highs and lows with a stronger magnet. The second thing is that the composition of the magnet affects to inductance of the pickup. All Alnico magnets add inductance whereas ceramic does not. More inductance is more output potential. Getting output via magnet strength vs inductance is a balancing act. By increasing inductance you’re also lowering the resonant peak frequency. So A2 will have a higher inductance and lower resonant peak frequency than A5. That's why A2s sound more saturated than A5

 

[CrystalSky]

Different magnet types in an identical pickup do 2 things. They obviously affect the magnet pull of the strings. Generally speaking, more highs and lows with a stronger magnet. The second thing is that the composition of the magnet affects to inductance of the pickup. All Alnico magnets add inductance whereas ceramic does not. More inductance is more output protection. Getting output via magnet strength vs inductance is a balancing act. By increasing inductance you’re also lowering the resonant peak frequency. So A2 bill have a higher inductanc and lower resonant peak frequency than A5. That why A2s sound more saturated than A5

Thank you for explaining some basics to me. Still interesting how to use that practically when selecting pickups for my own current/future guitars.

 

[scottosan]

Thank you for explaining some basics to me. Still interesting how to use that practically when selecting pickups for my own current/future guitars.

I think is you start keeping track of certain pickups you like, there will be similarities in spec. You can affect inductance and resonant peak with winding patters too. I don't like A5's personally, but my first 2 models were A5's for other people. When I developed the Whiskey, I stayed with the A5 because I was most familiar with how it worked with certain wind patterns. I ended up using a wind pattern with more inductance and lower resonant peak to mimic the sag/saturation of an A2 magnet.

 

[CrystalSky]

I think is you start keeping track of certain pickups you like, there will be similarities in spec. You can affect inductance and resonant peak with winding patters too. I don't like A5's personally, but my first 2 models were A5's for other people. When I developed the Whiskey, I stayed with the A5 because I was most familiar with how it worked with certain wind patterns. I ended up using a wind pattern with more inductance and lower resonant peak to mimic the sag/saturation of an A2 magnet.

Seems I have a whole field of what to try and learn. Thanks for enlightening me

 

[TheBiggestJerk]

I recently replaced a PlanetTone hsP90 with a Dimarzio 59PAF in the neck, as I already had a Dimarzio 36th anniversary PAF in the bridge. Both are absolutely crystal clear with all overtone popping even clean. Orange drop caps .047b and .068n. 2016 Les Paul Traditional pro2