The Pickups Thread

[la szum]

PS: I would've loved to have gone with Bareknuckle and kept my English4Albion.ru credentials.. but ... over twice the price... pffttt....

No one who recorded great or iconic music used them. So.

 

[la szum]

Hoping I’m not abusing the intent of this thread by detailing a pickup swap I’m working through. This is my 2021 Gibson SG Standard with the stock 490r/t set and PCB electronics.

View attachment 61606

My Gibsons usually go into old Marshalls that are wound up and I roll down for cleanish tones, which had me really hating the modern wiring on that PCB due to the top end loss. My 490s also had problems with microphonics despite allegedly being potted.

No more:

View attachment 61607

A couple weeks back I snagged a cheap set of Gibson Burstbucker 60s pickups and a 920d SG-V harness with some expiring MF points.

All was going well until I noticed I couldn’t get the clearance I needed for the new 3 way switch. So much for a quick and easy install.


View attachment 61608

There’s no clearance to get the poker chip on there. Looking at the difference between the factory and replacement switch it’s pretty easy to see what’s going on.

View attachment 61609

I’ve got an email out to 920d - will see where this goes. Not a great start.

Bummer.

That pot/switch/shaft length thing with Gibsons has bitten my ass more times than I care to recall.

 

[Eagle]

Most of the time I fit the short switchcraft these days unless it’s a vintage guitar then it’s like for like and save the original or even repair it.

 

[EOengineer]

Well…if there’s anything I’m sure of, it’s that the Burstbucker 60s aren’t for me. Putting these in the SG confirmed some sonic things that were bothering me on my LP Standard 60s.

Going to switch gears - next move will be to put the 490R back in the neck for now and I’m ordering a 498T for the bridge. Definitely looking for something more aggressive.

 

[EOengineer]

Anyone have strong convictions about alnico IV? My Burny has a pair of Manlius Fat Diane pickups that I love. They clean up really well but are also clear and punchy enough to create aggressive high gain tones.

I’ve been thinking about grabbing another pair, or maybe trying the Duncan Saturday Night Special set, which is doing a similar thing.

Fat Diane PAF

Fat Diane PAF from Manlius Pickups. Authentic vintage PAtent Applied For tone with a rich mid response and big tone.

www.manliusguitar.com

 

[Eagle]

Anyone have strong convictions about alnico IV? My Burny has a pair of Manlius Fat Diane pickups that I love. They clean up really well but are also clear and punchy enough to create aggressive high gain tones.

I’ve been thinking about grabbing another pair, or maybe trying the Duncan Saturday Night Special set, which is doing a similar thing.

Fat Diane PAF

Fat Diane PAF from Manlius Pickups. Authentic vintage PAtent Applied For tone with a rich mid response and big tone.

www.manliusguitar.com

Doesn’t look right but it may sound good. I often find small companies can’t get consistent results and just producing one good set doesn’t mean the next one is as good. Definitely a problem. The best repro I have found is the Throbak 101 , consistently good and it has the looks right. Built meticulously from the same materials and as far as possible uses the molds and winding machine from Gibson that the originals were made with.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Doesn’t look right but it may sound good. I often find small companies can’t get consistent results and just producing one good set doesn’t mean the next one is as good. Definitely a problem. The best repro I have found is the Throbak 101 , consistently good and it has the looks right. Built meticulously from the same materials and as far as possible uses the molds and winding machine from Gibson that the originals were made with.

I'd love to try some throbaks but at a thousand dollars a set they're miles outside the amount I'm willing to spend on pickups.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Anyone have strong convictions about alnico IV? My Burny has a pair of Manlius Fat Diane pickups that I love. They clean up really well but are also clear and punchy enough to create aggressive high gain tones.

I’ve been thinking about grabbing another pair, or maybe trying the Duncan Saturday Night Special set, which is doing a similar thing.

Fat Diane PAF

Fat Diane PAF from Manlius Pickups. Authentic vintage PAtent Applied For tone with a rich mid response and big tone.

www.manliusguitar.com

The bare knuckle mule set I have is alnico iv and I really like them, the neck pickup is especially good IMO.

 

[Eagle]

I'd love to try some throbaks but at a thousand dollars a set they're miles outside the amount I'm willing to spend on pickups.

I didn’t realise they had gone up that much . I have a set in my PRS.

 

[Eagle]

The bare knuckle mule set I have is alnico iv and I really like them, the neck pickup is especially good IMO.

Yes Tim makes great pickups consistently. His high output passives have clarity that nobody else seems to achieve at similar DC resistance.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I'd love to try some Bareknuckles but unfortunately everything is now fucking loaded with Fishmans

 

[Eagle]

I'd love to try some Bareknuckles but unfortunately everything is now fucking loaded with Fishmans

Yes , not for me.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

I didn’t realise they had gone up that much . I have a set in my PRS.

Yeah I've looked at them a few times but can't justify that kind of cash when I've got lollars, bare knuckles and mojos sat in a drawer. If I had a high end replica I'd probably go for them but don't think I'd see much benefit for the cash over the pickups I already have.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Yes Tim makes great pickups consistently. His high output passives have clarity that nobody else seems to achieve at similar DC resistance.

Bareknuckle and Mojo have been my go to winders for a long time.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Yes , not for me.

Me neither

 

[JiveTurkey]

Me neither

Me three. I am no nuance connoisseur and I do enjoy my EMGs for some things. So not a snob so much as I just don't like them.

 

[EOengineer]

The bare knuckle mule set I have is alnico iv and I really like them, the neck pickup is especially good IMO.

Interesting. Just out of curiousity, what is working for you with the neck pickup? I find the Fat Dianes to have the PAF thing but there is a slightly brighter and more articulate top with a slightly tighter bottom end - so I get some extra glass in the neck position which I love. I'm wondering if that's part of the IV vibe or some magic with the pickups.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Interesting. Just out of curiousity, what is working for you with the neck pickup? I find the Fat Dianes to have the PAF thing but there is a slightly brighter and more articulate top with a slightly tighter bottom end - so I get some extra glass in the neck position which I love. I'm wondering if that's part of the IV vibe or some magic with the pickups.

The Mules aren't bloated in the bottom end like most of the alnico ii neck HBs I've tried, they're just really balanced with quite a sweet high end. I've had this mule set in a les paul, 335 style and a prs. They've been great in all of them.

 

[Eagle]

Me three. I am no nuance connoisseur and I do enjoy my EMGs for some things. So not a snob so much as I just don't like them.

I like EMG they have nuances that just seem to be missing from the grunt of Fluance . I tried them when they first came out and assumed no one would go for it. Overpowered and characterless. But now characterless “is” the character. Give me back my subtle EMG 81 with the afterburner.

 

[jco5055]

the thing I like about EMGs (I would say actives in general but can't say for sure about Fishman) is just that they do have a certain idk "brilliance"/resonance to them...like I get that makes them less dynamic but it's also kinda nice to almost have a "perfect" tone like automatically

EDIT: people also talk about the feel/"Immediacy" of actives, but I honestly don't perceive a difference when directly comparing passives to actives. Not sure if there's certain kinds of music like extreme metal or something where it would be more apparent.