Conference napalm::guitar

    
    that's interesting.  i've replaced the bridge p/u on my 73 strat
    with a SD "custom" (cant remember the #), and it's hotter than the
    original.  i have been considering changing the other two (rythym)
    p/u 's.  does the stack alter the sound to the point that it doesn't
    sound like a strat anymore?  also, do any of the hottest SD p/u's
    look like the original strat p/u's?  such as the Classic Stack?
    
    i'm also interested in replacing the neck.  i have a maple neck
    that's  1 5/8" at the nut an am looking for some thing a hair
    wider, with a less shiny (slippery) finish, and possibly wider
    frets too.  any experience with that?.....paul
    

    the stack pickups sound just liek a strat, but they have no hum
    since they are a humbucker. The design is two coils wound around
    the same magnet one on top of each other, then you get the choice
    of how to connect them, in/out of phase, humbucking etc...I love
    my strat sounds and always hated the damn hum, especially when using
    alot of preamp gain(ie distortion) I get no hum, less than what
    I get from my humbuckers on my other three electrics.....and the
    biting strat sound is intact....
    
    the strat series of DUncans:
    
    Classic strat stack
    Hot stack
    Vintage staggered SSL-1
    Vintage flat (Magnets equal height)
    HOT:
    
    SSL-3 and SSL-3 tapped
    Quarter pound strat SSL-4 SSL-4T (tapped)
    Custom staggered SSL-5  SSSL-5T
    Custom flat SSL-6
    Quarter pounder staggered SSL-7 and SSL-7T
    Alinco II Pro strat (alinco magnets)
    HOT RAILS the hottest output strat pickup its a humbucker but you
    don't have top cut a new pickup hole
    
    Duncan makes killer pickups!
    
    dave
    
    

This sounds great. How much do these Duncan pickups run? I've powered up my
Strat with 3 DiMarzio's which have classic/hi-output settings, but even
though I've shielded it to the max I still get that annoying hum. The
DiMarzios set me back $150 for the three of them about 4 years ago.

Don.

    I got my stacks from Wurlitzers for $140 for all three....but they
    list for around $65 each, I think youcan tlk them down to about
    $45-50 if you know the salesman real good and hold your mouth
    right.....Note that the stacks are the only true single coil sounding
    humbuckers that duncan makes the hot rails will sound more like
    the traditional humbucker.....good luck
    
dave    

    
    So do the (classic) stacks look like the original strat pickups
    with the pole pieces and everything?  and are they direct replacements?
    just drop 'em in?  i have a 73 strat, if that matters...
    
                  paul
    
    

    Yes they look the same, they didn't use to, they were this horrible
    maroon plastic with no pole peices but I think that semour gto some
    feedback from the customer......my stacks are thet horrible maroon
    but I've gotten used to them.....they drop right in no modifications,
    they even give you new springs and screws to mount them with.
    
    dave

    
    not too drag this out, but...  how much more output did you get
    out of the Stack as compared to the original p/u's?  2x,..or more?
    
    I'd be curious to know what the DC resistance is on the stacks...
    
    paul
    
    

    the hot stacks give a good high output.....not sure how I'd quantify
    it, they'r not that hot, but hotter than the stock pickups I had....
    I have no idea about the dc resistance....why would you wish to
    know?
    
    dave
    
    Peeess: Rik heard them yesterday....mayhaps he could comment on
    the sound.....

    well, I'll comment but not because I know anything. I'll comment
    cuz playing guitar, making love and giving my opinion are my 3
    favorite things to do.
    
    	Yup, they sounded hot.
    	but, where does one draw the lines between the pickup, the amp
    and the guitarist.
    	and the guitar itself.
    
    	dave bottom sounded/played better (if you can believe it) yesterday
    than even his tapes indicated.
    	I was.....
    		a. amazed
    		b. impressed
    		c. extremely happy
    		d. stoned
    		e. all the above
    
    	if you picked e, you win this years grand prize of a chaperoned
    trip for 2 to upper black eddy n.j. for the annual frog jumping
    contest.
    		sure, the sound he was getting was hot.
    		but, was that him?
    		or the amp?
    		or the pickups?
    		or the axe?
    		or the whole combination.
    
    		Personally, I think it was the whole combination but
    I'd like to emphasis that Dave Bottom could probably pick up a piece
    of wood, attach 2 pieces of fence wire, stand next to a mattel toy
    microphone and still sound HOT!
    
    		Now, did that clarify things for everyone?
    
    
    	rik s.
    

    Gosh...blush.....I'm overwhelmed.....but I will say that anyone
    who gets a chance to jam with Rik is in for a real treat......this
    guy's hot......

    RE. Pickups
    
    I would like to add that I solved my Hum problem with a Seymour
    Duncan Hot Stack for my strat. I checked out the EMG pickups, and
    not only did it require a pre-amp, but the guitar still hummed.
    The pickups were installed in a Strat at my local music store. When
    I hit the distortion unit, pow, hum, depending on which way I rotated
    the guitar either increased the hum, or decreased. The salesman
    informed me that the EMG's had a broader frequence range than the
    Duncan's but I bought the Duncan anyway. I took Duncan home and
    wired it in the bridge position of the Strat, leaving the other
    single coils in tact (just in case). I am extremely pleased with
    the Duncan, I will probably go back and get two more. I would like
    to thank everyone that contributed anything to the pickups topic
    both in this topic and others. Without your help the decision would
    have been much more difficult (salesman confusion), and I probably
    wouldn't have gotten what I really wanted. 
    
    Thanks everyone !
    
    Tony
    

    
    
    Does it still sound like a Strat ? How easy is it to fit the new
    pickups?
    
    				Paul
    

    Paul, I have 3 stacks in my strat, I've used them for a few years
    now. They sound just like a strat with the exception of no hum.
    These things are better at killing hum than my humbuckers on my
    other guitars extremely clean. They are sized exactly the same as
    the existing pickup sin the guitar. Just screw em in and solder
    the connections. The stack comes in two models a "classic" and the
    "hot", I bought the hot since I like good strogn signals. I think
    the "classic" would be a bit low output for my useage and the sound
    otherwise appears (based on hearing the classics in another strat)
    about the same.
    
    dave

    Yes, I agree, It took me approximately 30 minutes to install the
    new pickup. Very easy. I was also worried about losing the STRAT
    sound. I did not. I also bought the Hot Stack. I paid $42 for one.
    There are no modifications to make either, they just plop right
    in. Go for it !!

    
    It seems everyone is pretty impressed by these pickups and i just
    decided to update one of older guitars (its a Hondo).  The guitar
    is good except for the sound...a lot of people are suprised at the
    feel of the guitar (it being a Hondo and all).  Well the problem
    is, is that it has two humbuckers in it and i want to put 3 single
    coils. The body is routed out to handle both combinations soooo
    i was wondering if SD puts out a pick guard already set up that
    i could just plop in, or if there is an easy way to make one to
    plop in?
    		Dave
    

    Re -.1: To my knowledge...SD does not markety a prewired pickguard
    arrangement, they're basically a replacement pickup co. and that's
    about all. However, DiMarzio, which has expanded it's product line
    into the parts area not only sells strange pickguards and other
    accessories, but sells prewired pickup arrangements. They go from
    about $120.00 to about $250.00 depending on your selection. Check
    them out, they're pretty good also.
    
    WJB

    re -.1:
    	Thanks...Could I get a good David Gilmour sound out of these
    (the ones for $120)?  I also saw in Daddy's junky music a while
    a strat pickguard all wired up for $100.  This would probably give
    me a better sound than the Hondo, but i'm not sure if that's a good
    price.
    
    And last but not least (yes i'm full of questions) is there a humbucker
    out there that could give a single coil sound that i could just
    replace in my Hondo pickguard?  I have a Les Paul as my main guitar
    and the thing is incredible, but i can't get that Strat sound out
    of it..."I want the best of both worlds" I guess....
    
    	Dave L.

    My understanding is that Gilmore uses custom rewound pickups..of
    course it's Semour Duncan that rewinds them.....they'll do yours
    too for $35 each.....2 month turnaround...
    
    dave

    re .17
    
    I had a Gibson SG once with Carvin humbuckers (the ones with 11
    poles), which had a coil-splitter switch for each pickup.  It 
    didn't sound *exactly* like a Strat, but it wasn't bad.  I think
    there are other people beside Carvin that make pickups that can
    be split like that.  I have no idea how much they cost, they were
    in the guitar when I got it.
    
    Tim
    

    almost all pickup manufacturers make humbuckers that "split coil"
    ths does require the addition of a switch though...but you can get
    volume controls that have the switch built in, activated by pulling
    up on the knob....washburn uses this on their guitars....
    
    dave

    I just picked up a DiMarzio X2N double coil...Having it installed
    this weekend. I don't trust my own work.  After buying it, i went
    home and just popped it in connected to a 3/4 inch jack, kind of
    an EVH job (the BARE minimum). That sonofabit*h Screams!  really
    nice pickup.  Does anyone know about ESP pickups?  they look exactly
    like X2N's except the esp has a chrome bar across the poles and
    the X2N has black matte.  tried an ESP Mirage Deluxe down at Wurlitzers
    through their 3 grand setup (Drool, Drool) and boy, any giutar through
    that wails!
    		Regards
    

    Well this may be the wrong place to ask but...
    
    Do any of you technical wizards knwo what size the tone control
    capacitor in a strat is? I've been experiencing some problems with
    my tone control (boy is this hard to believe) and at some time in
    the past changed it with a cap that is unmarked. I want to get back
    to the original value if possible.
    
    If any of you tech wizards want to theorize at bit here's the problem:
    
    The tone control quit working....no prob...oepn guitar check switch,
    pots ect...everything looks good change cap...tone control works...for
    a while....quits again...check eveything out...change cap....works
    for a while and quits again....I brought one of the "failing" caps
    to work and checked it on a bridge capacitance meter..the cap is
    good....but if I change it it fixes the problem for a short period
    of time (short= 1min to 24 hours). I do know how to solder and am
    sure that all solder joints, switch, pots etc are good....
    
    I guess next I'll try replacing the switch because I don't know
    what else to do...any and all suggestions will be received with
    pleasure...thanks
    
    
    dave the confused strat tech

	I can look at the schematic tonight and get back to you tomorrow,
	that is if no one else beat me to it.

	-gary

	re -.2:

	It sounds like the caps end up shorting out or are too low of
	a value and get worse with time??  Dunno for sure.  What the
	cap on a tone control does is pass the highs to ground (or
	filter them out).   Without the cap you would not be able to
	drain the highs off, so you would always have a trebly sound.
	If the cap was replaced with a solid wire, you would get no
	sound out of the pickup at all as it would act as a short to
	ground, which is kind of what a very low cap value would do.

	Generally, most Fender guitars used .05 to .1 microfarad caps for
	there tone controls.  You could try some experimenting as long
	as you stay in a certain range of capacitance.  Some basic rules:
		
	- The value of the cap determines the amount of treble cut

		o A high value cap, e.g., .05 uF can produce a bassier
		  tone....less treble, than a lower value, e.g., .02 uF.

	- Generally, single coil pickups use a .02 uF and dual coil use
	  .05 uF. (FENDER being an exception)  
	  Basses use .05 and even .08.

	I'd suggest you try the .05 uF to start.  If it sounds too bassy
	back off to a .02 uF.

	Hope this helps and good luck....

	-gary

hi,

i've just aquired a new gibson SG, (Jr. i think, but it may be a special,
definitely not a standard)  anyhow, it has 2 dual coil pickups without the
soapbar covers.  the dealer, Mr. C's in marlboro, said they are called
"dirty finger" pickups - there is no name stamped upon them that i can
find.  Is anyone out there familiar with this who could tell me exactly
what i've got for pickups?

-perplexed-max-

    RE:.25
    
    They could well be "Dirty Fingers" pickups. That is the name of
    one type of pickup made by Gibson. Gibson make a number
    of different pickups (25+? he guessed...) which then get scattered
    (hopefully not at random) among their different models.
    
    My Explorer, being 2nd generation, has got Dirty Fingers pickups
    on it - they don't have covers on, and are mildly "hot" [though
    nowhere close to a real "hot" pickup].
                                                          
    Unfortunately, I know nothing much about them. Ho hum
    
    
    Nick

    Re: .25
    
    As I may or may not recall, weren't those pickups called `Soapbar'
    pickups? I remember Gibson re-issuing the Dirty Fingers around 
    `81, but I though they were the standard size replacement pickup,
    like that which would go into a les paul custom, or the like.
    FYI, Dimarzio makes a hotter version of this pickup in the original
    size, so no modification to the instrument is required, however,
    I kind of like the sound of the original Gibson pickups, they're
    kinda neat.
    
    -Bj

    Has anyone had the occasion to hear the EMG select series of pickups.
    They're not the standart EMG's with preamps, but a normal high
    impedance type wound pickup with all of the good and bad that goes
    with that type of design...I got a catalog where they are dirt
    cheap...$17 and change for single coil and $21 and change for
    humbuckers....if they are good this is an excellant value...
    
    dave      

    I tried a kramer that had EMG select pickups in it last night....these
    are great pickups! They are not active like the pickups that made
    EMG famous. However the single coil pickups were very hot had good
    tone and virtually no noise. I don't know if they are a stacked
    type single coil but they would compare favorably with my duncan
    stacks...
    
    I played through a Boogie .50 cal amp...amazing how much distortion
    that thing has...personally I found it very difficult to get a decent
    sound out of it at all...it was very muddy...sustain yes, clearity
    no...
    
    dave
    
    ps: the emgs are cheap through stewart mcdonalds
    
    

    I recently re did the pickup scheme on my strat, I put a gibson
    ('66 Es-335 humbucker) in the front and two EMG Select pickups in
    the back. The selectys are nice pickups, they are as quiet as a
    stack or humbucker (but are not a humbucking pickup, what good
    shielding will do!) they have a mellow sound, possibly due to the
    alinco magnets in part, they are as hot as the gibson humbucker,
    but may actually have slightly less high end (this may be the way
    I'm using the tone control on just those two pickups). All in all
    for the $17.50 each I paid for them they are an excellant choice
    for replacement pickups.
    
    dbII

I know to a degree I am rehashing an old topic here, but can someone
answer a simple question? I am going to replace the pickups in my
'57 reissue Strat. From all that I have heard and read, I am going to
put two Seymour Duncans in (one will be the Hot Stack), and one of
the EMG Selects. Does anybody know of any reason not to mix and match like 
this, or anything I should watch out for? Or just any comments in 
general about this combination?

Adv<thanks>ance
Alan S.

    The only thing that might happen is this: you may get an 'out
    of phase' sound if the EMG's and the Duncan's were wound in different
    directions...easy to correct, just switch the two wires around on
    one of the pickups...
    
    dbII

    dbII,
    
    Thanks for that info. That is the kind of thing that I didn't
    know about!
    
    Alan S.

    I have just fitted my Tokai Vintage Strat copy with the Select (by
    EMG) pickups and am very pleased with the sound. My problem with
    the old pickups was that they were very thin and brittle sounding.
     The Select pickups are so cheap beacause they are mass produced
    in Korea. So if, like me, you can't afford the the excellence of
    the real thing, then these will probally do credit to your sound.
    
    Regards from a low paid Operator!

    Does anybody out there have a Strat with Alembic Stratoblasters  
    in it? I've heard them a few times and thought they sounded 
    great (better than EMG's), but Fitchburg Music told they were
    asking $220 for a set of 3. How much more is this than the EMG's?
    Is this out of line for thse pickups?
    
    thanks - Dave

    This is definatley more than EMG's and more than Duncans etc.
    
    I dunno much about alembec pickups.
    
    dbii

    	Emg's retail price from what I've seen are about $180. Daddy's
    quoted me a price of $130 for Emg-SA's. I know someone who has a
    an Alembic guitar and I would say he has no edge at all if those
    are the "blasters" plus very poor tone quality IMO. His Fender Strat+
    just blows the alembic away. Tewksbury music has a set of EMG's
    in a Fender Strat for demo. Check them out.
    
    							Rick
    

    Perhaps the EMGs you didn't like had a low battery?  I've never
    heard Strat pickups that I liked better, but I've never heard the
    Alembics.
    
    Greg

    I recently put a semour duncan Jeff Beck humbucker in my strat (bridge
    position) this thing screams! Great sustain (a la Santanna and look
    ma no compressor), heavy high harmonics and a strong powerful output.
    highly recommended to one and all...I also put in two hot stacks.
    I personally love these pickups, I must I own 6 of them, great single
    coil sound, no hum and high output.
    
    dbii

  re: .39

>    I recently put a semour duncan Jeff Beck humbucker in my strat (bridge
>    position) this thing screams! 


	Dave,

	Did you need to make any modifications, or did it just slide in
	where the stock pickup was?  

	-gary

    The humbucker is a standard size humbucker (say gibson style) so
    routing was necessary at one time, I was replacing an older
    unidentified humbucker with the Jeff Beck. You also need a pickguard
    that takes a humbucker (roughly $20 in shops). the stacks are a stacked
    humbucker, essentially 2 coils mounted abover each other, they give a
    strat 'single coil' sound but don't hum at all, regardless of the
    amoung of gain you use, I find them to be better than most stock
    humbuckers. They have a very bright 'strat' sound without the noise
    and hum that is so annoying.                      
    
    Prices run about $60-65 for duncan pickups, at least these pickups.
    They are available in several colors. I special ordered the JB in
    black (black plasitc coil forms) as they normally come in cream,
    the stacks come in three colors, white, black or maroon. Default
    is maroon and the other colors are again special order, I ordered
    black, but in this case the color is a cover that is removable.
    Duncan blew the order and shipped maroon but replaced them for free
    with black ones...
    
    another satisfied customer
    
    dbii

    just curious, has anyone had any experience with Seymour Duncan
    "Pearly Gates" humbuckers?  These are named after Billy Gibbons
    old Les Paul.
    
    /rick

    an amusing thing I heard in a shop a little while ago about waxing
    pickups.
    
    "you MUST use beeswax to wax pickups as it is a softer wax and
    therefore is more reasonant and warm sounding"
    
    chuckle
    
    dbii

    hey, I tried a beeswax equipped guitar and it was a real honey :-)

    
    Does that mean it sounded so sweet that you're gonna stick with
    it?
    
    Mike D

    Or stick to it :-)
    
    Mike

    Yeah, as used by Sting
    
    
    Sting.......bee.........?
    
    Aw, never mind
    
    Bob

    	Overheard while shopping for car stereo speakers.
    
    Woman: Why can't I use a small set of home stereo speakers in my
    car? They seem to sound better and are less expensive!
    
    Salesman: Cars use DC...Home speakers are wired for AC.
    
    Me: Ha HA HA Ha HA HA Guffaw, choke gasp.....
        Ha HA HA Ha HA HA Ha HA HA Ha HA HA Ha HA HA 

    
    
    
    
    	How about comparing prices on Fender-Lace Sensors???   I'm really
    looking at maybe building another Strat (one without a humbucker) and
    I'd like to use those "gold 50's sounding" jobs that Fender talks about
    in their ads..... actually, I'd really like to buy one of those EC
    models and be done with it, but won't ever be able to afford one...
    
    	Regards,
    	Steve

Victor Litz has them for $49.95, all models


dbii

    Hey dbii, who/what is "Victor Litz"?  Also, how many different models
    of LACE SENSORS  are there?  I have seen silver,gold, and blue,
    is there more?  Anybody know what the differences are?  I know the
    blue ones are hotter than the gold ones.
    
    
    Thanks,
    
    Don

    I went out at lunch and have the answer to my own question.  Lace
    sensors come in four flavors...
    
    Gold     "50's Strat"
    
    Silver   "Fat Strat"
    
    Blue     "Classic Humbucker"
    
    Red      "Mega Output"
     
    
    I got the price of $45 for the gold and $50 for all the other ones.
    I was also told that they should be able to get the wiring diagram
    and parts for the TBX� tone control system.  More things to think
    about...
    
    
    
    Don

Victor Litz: 
305 N. Frederik Ave.
Gaithersburg, Md. 20877

1-800-828-5518 (credit card orders)
1-301-948-7478 (product info)

enjoy

dbii

    2 questions about pickups:
    
    1. I did an partly acoustic gig last weekend. I had one of those 
       pickups you fit into the soundhole of my acoustic. I was having
       a problem in that the pickup seemed to be amplifying the unwound
       (high E and B) strings well, but not the wound strings. I had never
       noticed this problem before and was wondering if it was because 
       the wound strings were bronze instead of steel (I used to just 
       use electric strings on my acoustic and haven't had cause to
       amplify it for about 8 years). Anybody know about this?
    
    2. What's your 'rule of thumb' about how close to set the pickups
       to the strings (on an electric).
    
    thanks - Dave

         <<< Note 31.54 by JURAN::CLARK "are you, uh, experienced?" >>>
                             -< pickup questions >-

    1. I did an partly acoustic gig last weekend. I had one of those 
       pickups you fit into the soundhole of my acoustic. I was having
       a problem in that the pickup seemed to be amplifying the unwound
       (high E and B) strings well, but not the wound strings. I had never
       noticed this problem before and was wondering if it was because 
       the wound strings were bronze instead of steel (I used to just 
       use electric strings on my acoustic and haven't had cause to
       amplify it for about 8 years). Anybody know about this?
    
    > The unwound strings do tend to pickup better than the wound ones. I
    > believe this is because the materials commonly used to wind acoustic
    > strings (bronze, brass, etc) do not have the same magnetic properties
    > as those used to wind electric strings. Some pickups (like my
    > Seymour-Duncan) are set up spefically to compensate for this. If your
    > pickup has adjustable pole-pieces under each string, crank the ones
    > under the high strings down, the others up. If not, try setting the
    > pickup in the sound hole such that the upper side is closer to the
    > strings than the lower side.
    
    2. What's your 'rule of thumb' about how close to set the pickups
       to the strings (on an electric).
    
    > My rule of thumb is, as close as I can get them before the strings
    > touch when fretted at the base of the neck (actually, I'd back off
    > just a little from this so as not to affect the intonation of the
    > strings). I have humbuckers, and I want to get as much output from
    > them as possible. I don't play a strat, but the ones I've seen don't
    > seem to have the pickups set as high. Is there some reason for this?
    
    - Ram
    

    re .-1
    
    thanks, Ram!
    
    the reason Strats don't have the pickups up as high is that the
    more focussed magnetic field of the single coil pickups can 
    actually impede the free vibration of the strings ifthe pickup
    is too close. Also, it causes intonation problems (ever notice
    how the low E strings on a lot of Strats have intonation prob-
    lems?)
    
    -Dave

    I bought a '59 humbucker that I want to put in the bridge
    position on my guitar, but I didn't realize until after
    I bought it that it's intended for the neck position.
    
    Does anyone know what the difference between a Seymour
    Duncan pickup designed for the neck position and one
    designed for the bridge position? Do the bridge position
    models have hotter output? Thanks,
    
    -Tom

According to DUncan's literature the neck vs. bridge pickups are wound slightly
different so that the output levels balance when used together.

Me I'd try it in the position you want, doubtful that you'll notice that much
of a difference

dbii

        
    Arrrgghhh...
        
    I've got two EMG 85's on order, but it looks like you guys Stateside
    are being gready (8*>) with them coz my store has run out, and so has
    the UK distributer! Its been about 3 weeks and they reckon it will
    be a month before EMG send them over the pond 8^(
                     
    Come on guys, send them over here ! 8^)
                                      
    -Tony

    
    
    	I'm one person who likes the sound of weak pickups. I've
    	got a '57 Strat reissue that isn't even as loud as my
    	buddys' '70something Strat. I just crank up the amp and
    	get the funkiest sound out of the thing. I like the sound
    	of the whole guitar, not just the pickups. IMO, the hotter
    	the pickup, the less it sounds like the guitar, and more
    	like just the pickup. None 'o that increased sensitivity,
    	more sustain, less noise, more dynamic range, no squeal or
    	microphone feedback at any volume pickups for me, thanks.
    	I like my guitars to sound good.
    
    	Neal
    
    		
    		
    	
    	

    A couple of questions on Seymour Duncan's....
    
    1. anyone tried the "Hot Rails" yet?  If so, how 'bout an opinion...
    
    2. Are the SD Hot Rails supposed to be equal to a "PAF" style humbucker
       in tone (fatness) and response (hotness).  I really don't want to
       cut my strat, but I would like at least one pickup with a fatter
       tone.
    
    Steve

I dunno about the hot rails but the quarter pounder is fatter and hotter than 
a stock strat pickup by a mile...


FWIW you can always trade up/equal on Duncan's within 30 days...

dbii

    Dave,
    
    "quarter pounder"??  Are you serious?  I don't see that model available
    in my catalog....do you know the model #  ?
    
    Steve

I have an older catalog and it's listed as a SSL-4 or SSL-4T (Tapped). Perhaps 
they no longer make them (too bad, they were powerful) also listed is the
quarter pound staggered SSL-7 & SSL-7T, staggered magnets to get a more classic
strat sound (FWIW)

dbii

    thanks, Dave
    
    I think those model numbers are in my catalog, I just don't remember any
    nicknames like Quarter Pounder or Mac Pickup.  Sheesh, I just got the
    urge for some MacNuggetts........8^)
    
    Steve

    More data...
    Just called the guy I bought my Strat from (Clarke Music/Atlanta).  He
    says that the SHR-1 (SD Hot Rails) is actually  two side by side coils
    in a single coil size pickup. He claims it is a paint peeler, but also
    says it will not authentically emulate a full size side by side
    humbucker.  Since I do not want to cut on my axe, I think the Hot Rails
    will be my first experiment.  I'll post a response here when (and if)
    I take the plunge.
    
    Steve

    I think you should get a Jackson j200 pickup for it just for some
    light hearted gnads bustin'
    
    ;^)

    I solved my pickup/tone problem.....I swapped my strat for a Les Paul
    deluxe.....it worked!
    
    Steve

Gee I once swapped a beat LP custom for an immaculate blonde strat and then 
swapped the strat for a tele thinline that I still have...but I always seem
to play my strat (other strat)

dbii

    Has anyone had the opportunity to give a listen to the Ultrasonic
    pickups?
     These resemble expensive EMG's and are advertised as having a flat
    frequncy response. 
    
    Thanks. Andrew.
    

    Never actually heard them, but they had this really stupid advertizing
    campaign using the slogan "Suck Tone".  I saw some on sale really cheap
    at my local store, I guess nobody wants that "suck tone"...  8^)
    
    Greg

    I've heard them on a Zion Radicaster that I tried in LA last month.  I
    tried the same guitar with EMGs right afterwards and they do sound
    similar.
    
    Many of the Zion Radicaster players that I know only use Ultrasonics,
    EMGs, or Andersons.
    
    Mike

Did anyone ever try a hot rails?

dbii thinking of getting one....

                 
    I beg your pardon Greg ?? Suck Tone ??
                 
    Don't even think about trying dude 8^)
                 
    -Tony  (Tone)

    Funny guy, Tony...  It was *their* stupid advertizing slogan.
    
    Greg (who don't suck nothin')

    8^)

    
    Just a thought but perhaps the term "suck tone" is being used to
    describe a similarity to the fat sound one gets when drawing (or sucking) 
    on a harmonica rather than sexually assaulting our Mr. Dallison :-).
    
    Cheers
    		Pete.

    Actually, I think it was supposed to mean that the pickups would "suck
    every bit of tone you could get out of your guitar".  But you only read
    that in the small print on the side of the box, or inside the brochure. 
    The outside just says "SUCK TONE".
    
    My tone sucks enough without help from bad pickups...  ;^)
    
    Don't take that as bash on that brand, 'cause I've never heard them. 
    That slogan slays me though!  8^)
    
    Greg

    
    
    	Mates, I just installed Fender-Lace sensors in my Stew-Mac Strat
    and I really like them alot.  Much less clacky than my re-issue
    pick-ups and nice blues tone and sustain...  So I'd vote for them, but
    what I really wanted to share was:
    
    	With each sensor came a little user brochure which includes
    standard Strat wiring diagrams (yawn) and a technical explanation of
    the sensor and it's parts.......  DUH..... Is Biflux Dual Fields? Micro
    Matrix Comb??  Radiant Filed Barrier (I know, I know, must be for
    50-60hz hum cancelling) but gee.. aren't these cool high-tech terms???
    
    
    	Anyone who would like a copy of this tech note can send me mail
    including your mail stop and I'll shoot one off to you.
    
    
    Regards,
    Steve

    	Which Lace Sensor's silver or gold label...?
    
    					Rick
    

    The Lace Sensors sound like nice pickups.  What are they going for?
    
    Greg

I've seen mail order (VIctor LItz) as low as $39.95 but usually about $50 per
for lace sensors...

I prefer to spend the extra $15 and get Duncan stacks and skip the hum, yes 
Virginia, Lace sensors hum, not  as bad as stock fender single coils but
they still hum....

stacks don't hum

dbii

    
    
    	Good question.. I got the gold one's, and with my cool RFI setup I
    don't have much hum.. course I play in my basement at low volume
    <grin>.. but that's gonna change pretty damn soon...
    
    	I paid $60 for mine at my local Fender dealer they were marked
    79.95, but like dbii said, I'm sure they are half that mail order or at
    the big city stores.... they do have one hell of a lot more sustain
    than I expected.. I almost went with a blue one in the bridge position,
    but I wasn't sure how well it would balance with the gold AND... I've
    NEVER owned any kind of Strat style guitar with three of the same
    pickups in it... thought I'd try it for a change.
    
    	Hey, dbii how bout a nice clacky re-issue pickup fer your lead
    II???    Hmmmmmm???

What is the distinction between the various colors of Lace Sensors?

I've been considering a mod to my Fernandes strat copy to get a more "Gibson" type
sound (not too good on the terminology, I'm  afraid!), but want something I can just
"pop" in.  Do any of the Lace Sensors fit the bill?

Brian

    RE: .84
    
    I *think* the blue lace sensors are billed as "classic humbuckers".  I
    have never road tested the blue ones, tho......
    
    FWIW,
    
    Steve

re: reissues for my Lead...ack barf! it's got two duncan hot stacks and a 
jeff beck humbucker, why would I want to ruin it?

dbii

    
    
    	Grin... OK dbii, stick with yer "sissy" hot-stacks... Hee hee..
    
    
    Here's the breakout as I understand it...
    
    Gold Sensors.. classic 50s strat sound (I own em' I love em')
    Blue Sensors.. clasic humbucking.. higher output.. sweeter distortion
    Red.... Megadeath hyper output (although, I've never met or heard him
    play, these sound like "coop" style pickups) the hottest Fender
    offers..
    
    
    	I play blues (barely) and I am really loving these gold things they
    are cool.. I replaced my re-issues with them and they work great...
    
    
    Steve

So, If I were to pick up one of these blue babys for my pseudo-strat,  what would be 
the best place to install it (which pickup to replace)?  Do the humbuckers sound better
in one particular place, or is it just a matter of preference?

Thanks again,
Brian

    I would put a blue L.S. in the bridge position, if I bought one,
    JMHO.
    
    
    Don

    
    
    	Yeah, me too Don.

Yo Grieve drag your panzy home made guitar and those wimpy pickups and your
barely adequate amp over to my studio and I'll give you a lesson on real
guitar sound courtsey of those "sissy" stacks and a rivera...

yuk yuk yuk

dbii many times :-)

ps: Have I been reading too many KH replies lately?

    
    
    
    	Gee, Davey boy, I didn't know that you were so intimidated by my
    stuff (Amp: Fender Super 60, designed by Paul Rivera, Pickups:
    Fender/Lace Sensors, designed by some unknown musical instrument
    company in , California) hee hee...  Good thing your chops still blow
    me away... 
    
    Steve
    
    wimpy home made guitar owner <sigh>

Face it Steve, you're intimidated by my collection of awesome guitars, mostly
equipped with Duncan's....but hey...everybody needs to be in awe of something...

:-)

yuk yuk yuk

dbii

	I also installed 3"gold" Lace Sensors in my Strat and I found they 
are very nice pickup's with lots of bluesy tone and great sounds. 
	And no noise.... :^)  Sure beats the price of a Strat +(except
for the JB/SRV CD) Whimpy ... no way! 
	I heard the "blue and silver" Lace also. The humbucker is pretty
    standard sounding. 
						Rick

    

    
    
    
    	Rick, I've heard the gold (they're in my Strat) and the Blue (in a
    whatchamacallit... deluxe strat plus, or something like that) but I
    haven't heard the silver... How do they compare to the gold one's??  If
    you were playing blues, would you want the gold or silver???  Thanks
    
    RE: .-2,  DBII, yer too much in AWE of yourself, Dude <grin>
    
    
    Regards,
    Steve

	Well Steve, after using the gold's this weekend playing I'd say
don't bother with the silvers. but here's my best description

	The Silver Lace Sensors,are duller with less bite and really
not real stratish if you ask me. They are also less crisp,They seemed to 
be more of a rythmn guitar sound to my ear.(rounder sounding) I had heard 
them in a Strat + deluxe,but I wonder if they would cut through. They have 
more of a humbucker sound to me. They also kinda remind me of a set of the 
EMG SA's too. 
	For blues and rock I think the gold Lace sensors really are 
your best bet,and much better sounding than HS2's,I like there tone over SD
Pro alinico's also.... 

	Even the bass player in the band noticed a big difference 
in tone. Clean and distorted....for some of the blues tunes we were doing.
    
						Rick

    
    
    
    	Yeah, Rick, I tried a blue one in my strat in the lead position and
    I wasn't pleased at all....  It sounds somewhere between the Gold
    sensor and a decent humbucker... real nasal.. yuch.  I hate it for
    blues and I'm going to put my gold back in.. the good news is (I guess)
    that it distorts really well.. so for folks who like to make em scream,
    it might be OK, but overall the tone sucked.
    
    
    Steve

    Here's a little question for the LES Paul people out there...
    
    What depth would you set your pickups from your string, when fretted
    at the 12th position?  At the moment I have mines set something
    like... 1�5 mm for high E on the bridge pickup down to about 2�5
    mm on low E, and for the neck pickup 2�5mm for high E & 3�5mm for
    low E.
    
    Anyone got any differing settings, and why you set them at any
    particular depth?
    
    Bob

    	Steve,you might want to try it in the bridge,but the gold's
    just have so much more character in all the different switch
    position's,It takes alot these day's for me to be happy with tone....
    
    						Play dem.. blues...boy.

    
    
    	Yayus!!   Holy shit, what a difference, I replaced my bogus, Blue
    for a Gold and am now emitting killer tones, the FCC should license
    these things... now I don't have any excuse, but to learn to play the
    thing.
    
    

    FYI,
    
    I was asking about microphonic pickups somewhere in this note.  Since I
    went to  Kitty Hawk M3 head and a rather large 2x12 cab, my feedback
    squeal is gone.  I have a Les Paul Deluxe (baby humbuckers) that was
    "squealing" at me constantly thru a small Peavey combo....but no more!
    I think it was treble induced.  This new cab has great mid and bass
    response.
    
    
    Steve D.

    Anybody have an opinion about the following situation?
    
    I have a Strat. I like the sound of it real well except that for my
    taste, the bridge pickup was just too thin. I replaced it with a
    DiMarzio HS-2, "Compared to a stock single coil pickup, the HS-2 has a
    little more output..." I play my guitar alternatley between no
    distortion, some distortion, and heavey distortion, and as I said I
    like the sound real well. Now the problem comes where I'm playing with
    a group that requires a heavey metal sound for every song. (the
    other guitar player has one of those damn signal processors - he keeps
    it full blast everything, maybe to get his money's worth)
    
    In this situation, The stock Strat pickups just don't make it - way too
    thin. I end up only using the replaced bridge pickup. What I'd like to
    do is replace the other pickups with probably the HS-3, which has a
    higher output than the HS-2. the question I pose to you folks is how
    would you configure the two HS-3's and the HS-2. Would you for example
    move the HS-2 to the middle, or to the neck, or at all? I know some of
    you will shout about Duncans and I'm not opposed to them, tho I do
    prefer Dimarzio if for no other reason than I can keep the white color
    by using same. In either case tho, what I'd really like a sampling of
    opinion about is where to put the more powerful pickups when I get
    them?
    
    "sakman" 

    Yo, Sakman, check this out dude...
    
    The HS-3's aren't everything they could, or SHOULD be!
    
    If I were you (I'm not, but...), I'd blow of the HS-3s and go with
    the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails!!!
    
    I'd configure it like this:
    
    ||bridge||  Lead     Middle    Rhythm   ||neck||
    
                Hot      HS-2       Hot
                Rail                Rail
    
    Check them out...they have MUCH more gain and sustain than the HS-3s,
    AND, they clean up when you turn the volume down.  I seriously think
    if you go with the HS-3s you'll be bummin.  They have a nice sound,
    but they STILL SOUND like a Single coil (cuz they are, really) ...
    the Hot Rails are actually TRUE Humbuckers!
    
    Fud 4 thought,
    B.

Yo again,

 The hot rails is Duncan's hottest pickup made according to the literature I
 have

dbii

    My Strat has the Dimarzio Shock Wave system on it, which allows you to
    keep the "Strat" sound or use a boost switch to make it scream. 
    Although this set up won't blister you like the humbucker in my Kramer,
    it's still pretty hot if you've got the OD really cranked on your amp.
    
    Scary (who'd love to find some knobs that go to "11")

	I'd also consider using a SD Hotrail in the bridge position,put a
hs2 in the middle since you have it already and consider putting in a coil 
cutting switch for the bridge pu. However HS2's and 3's were pretty bland 
sound wise. And as was previously stated I didn't notice a big sound change. 
I was dissapointed....I was told the HS2 is the closest to vintage. It really 
depends what kind of tone/sound you want when using the neck position pickup
as to what I'd install.
	Consider that what you may need is not an increase in gain,but a 
tone change. I found that in playing with a group that single coil pickups 
"cut" better than humbuckers even the stacked flavor. There seems to be an 
interaction with what amp your using also and it's preamp gain....An hs 2
in the bridge just didn't cut it for what you are tryin to do.....as I 
remember....
	BTW,I was also told that Hot rail's do not have a good clean sound.
..but sound good distorted...the coil cutting switch may help this....
    and as is mentioned previously.....
	You can also consider the Dimarzio SW system pickup's if you don't
    want to buy SD's. You can buy the individual pickup's without the preamp...	

							Rick
                   

    
    
    I'd like to put new pickups on my ES-335, At this time I'm considering
    Seymour Duncan's - looking at the "59-Humbuckers" and the 
    "Pearly Gates" not sure if I should go with the same for bridge and
    neck position or maybe get the PG"s for the bridge and the '59's for
    the neck.
    
    Anyone have any comments on either of these.
    How do you think they would sound on a 335 ??
    
    Ray.

    Ok Dave, I just checked out the price of the Hot Rail at Music
    Emporium. They're gettin' $73.50 for 'em. When I told him I just bought
    the HS-2 and wondered about returning it in favor of the Hot Rails,  the 
    dude laughed in my face. Ok, in my ear actually. 
    
    Anybody out there in reader land
    got a better place to buy? I live in Merrimack and work in Marlboro.
    BTW, I just ordered 4 6L6s' for $6.99 each at Prosound in Colorado as
    suggested by a reply in the TUBES note. 
    
    Anyway, one other question, if I go with SDHR's any reason I can't
    paint the plastic white? Seems to me there's no reason but I've learned
    alot reading about all y'all's experiences. I figured I'd ask.

    Can't you order them in white?  I though you could order SD pickups
    in black, white, or cream?  
    
    
    
    Don

    RE: .109
    
    Try MacDuff's out in Shrewsbury.  I checked out prices of Seymour
    Duncan all over the state, and found them to be the cheapest.
    
    Their number is: (508) 752-2704
    
    Mike

    re: .110
    
    I think it depends on what model your getting.  My Classic Stacks
    are white and look just like the originals.  I think the Hot Stacks
    are maroon-like in color and don't have the individual pole pieces,
    but instead, one continuous magnetic band.
    
    Mike

re: Duncan colors

They advertise that they come in about 50 different colors, I orderded a 
Jeff Beck in solid black about a year ago with no problem, the problem is 
usually when your local dealer has them in a different color..

re: '59 I put one in a bandmate's Ed-34x (the 'stereo' thing that looks like
a 335). You could not tell it from the stock pickup (the one we replaced
had given up the ghost) sound wise so if you're looking to change the 
sound you might try something else...

dbii

    
    I'm thinking about putting a hotrails in the neck position of
    Frank (as in Frankenstein).                       
                                                          
    I've got an EMG 85 in the bridge position and at present have a coil 
    tap humbucker in the neck, but I still find that I can't get the
    scream I want.
    
    Anybody think that and EMG 85/SDHR is a bad configuration??

    Well, after getting the feedback that I did yesterday, I stopped in on
    the music store on the way home ( Daddy's). They just so happened to
    have a used SD 1/4 pounder for $29. I bought it and installed it last
    night in the bridge position, after moving the DiMarzio HS-2 that I had
    previously installed there into the neck position.
    
    Havent't tried it out yet on my amp, but I did try it thru my Rockman.
    Sounded pretty damn good but now the middle pickup, which is still the
    original, sounds OBVIOUSLY too thin by comparison to the other two
    heavier pickups. My wife just frowned at me when I mentioned it to her
    last light; she knows whats next.  
    
    Now, for those of you in the know, or who have literature, what is a
    1/4 pounder by comparison to other pickups, ie Hot Rails or DiMarzio
    HS-3s?
    
    Sakman
    
    Oh, btw - the 1/4 Pounder I got is black and it doesn't look bad in my
    Cream/White Strat. It does look BAAADD though! 

re: wives

yah mine got disgusted all over again yesterday when the testerossa that I 
didn't meniton to her showed up....hee hee it's gig money you can't say anything
dear...

dbii

Rut-Roh !

Whats she gonna say when the bay shows up ??

jc (Who is about to send DB a message)

    What she gonna say when the SP-1000 shows up?
    

I actually discussed the SP-1000 with her...she pointedly reminded me of the
folowing statement:

"gee this Rivera is so hot I don't anticipate requiring anything else"

well wash my mouf out wif soap!

Hey you gotta be flexable in this life eh?

dbii quatro/testerossa rack mount madness puke

Matrimony:

2.5 months and counting...

Oh boy, I can't wait !

The one thing I can say in defense of my appetite for guitar goodies:

I earn enough with the band that I break even...My rack is paid for
in blood sweat and tears (to coin a phrase)...

Of course she DID buy my MP1 for me at Xmas time, so...

She still wonders why I want a Gibson, when I always say I don't
like them.  Hey, gotta keep 'em guessin; right boize ?   ;)

jc (Dual-Charvel/Ibanez-Metaltronix-ADA-Rocktron-Kitty-Marshall-GK Puke)

    Coop is smart!  He got all of his gear first, then got married!
    
    "honey?  can we split up for a year and reunite next year?"

	as Wife is to shoes.

RE: .122

Agagagagagagagaaaa...

Well, hopefully (!) I can still play with the ring on my finger...I hear
it's tuff with the attached ball and chain.

;)

    Quick!  Someone send -1 to CJ before he deletes it!

    The ring on your finger (in my case ...) gives you a more "solid"
    feeling on your hand.  It's the ring through your nose that might
    hamper your chops !  8^)
    
    Scary

    
    Hmmm, may be I should get married...
    
    
    
    Put up with the constant nagging...
    
    
    
    Many questions asked about why I spend so much money in guitar...
    
    
    
    Put up with their credit card bills from shoe stores...
    
    
    
    Curfews set forth...
    
    
    
    "You're never at home with me!"
    
    
    
    Put up with the in-laws...
    
    
    
    That once a month grand old time...
    
    
    
    
    
    NAAWWWWWWW!  ];->
    
    J-Dot who_likes_his_women_at_arm's_length
    

if the ring is constructed properly you can use it for slide

chuckle

dbii

I hear ya... I  keep telling her that "this'll be the last piece of equipment
I'll need"...Right.  Now hun, about those 4x10's we saw...<slap!>

jc

re:.126

>   The ring on your finger (in my case ...) gives you a more "solid"
>    feeling on your hand.  It's the ring through your nose that might
>    hamper your chops !  8^)
 
Makes *my* ring finger feel like it's getting tendonitis.  But if I suggested 
playing without it...

That nose ring has been hell on my chops, fer sure.

re: .127

Yep, you've about hit on all the high points.

Greg  (who always wondered if it was just him)

    Actually, My girlfriend ( > 5 yrs ) took the news that I had bought a
    brand spanking new GP-16 w/foot controller pretty well. She did not,
    however, buy the " last piece of equipment " fable.
    
    							John.
    
    " But, honey, what's wrong with the couch we have now? "

SOrt of a mini-review of the Duncan Alinco II tele pickups

They're great. I always wondered how Jeff Beck got that super crunchy/growling 
tone out of his tele's. I think that he must use these pickups since I can
now get the sound perfectly through my Quattro (curnch mode) and using
these tele pickups.

These are the first "single coil" pickups that I've bought in years that 
weren't in fact, stacks. I used a heavy aluminum foil tape to line the 
body cavities on the guitar and made extra effort to make the guitar
shielded as well as I could and it's 95% as "clean" as a stacked humbucker.

For anyone looking for a crystal clear, semi hot tele replacement pickup
this may be just what the doctor ordered.

dbii

    db:
    
    	I know you got the Alnico II pickups for your tele but I'e been
    tinking of changing the pickups in my Schecter Strat.  So... any idea
    how the strat Alnico IIs would compare to, say, the Fender Lace golds? 
    I've yet to find a guitar with Strat Alnico IIs in them to try and any
    of your observations would be welcome.
    
    	Also, I've been thinking of the following combination(s).  Can
    anyone guess as to how it would sound?  (I can't stand having to buy
    pickups before I know how well they will work together.)
    
    	Here's what I've been thinking...
    
    	Neck:		Fender Lace Gold (or Seymour Duncan Alnico II)
    
    	Middle:		Fender Lave Gold (or Seymour Duncan Alnico II)
    
    	Bridge:		Seymour Duncan JB (with a switch to tap the JB down
    			to single coil for a thinner sound).
    
    The reason I've been thinking about this is that my Schecter Strat has
    a 2 single-coil with bridge humbucker already installed and the
    humbucker already has a coil-tap switch.  I'm looking for the same
    versatility but with better pickups.
    
    ideas?
    
    - John -

Well I haven't heard the duncan strat alinco's but, I'm considering
getting some to re-outfit my strat....they also make a humbucker

Asking me is easy: get the duncan's

I tried lace sensors (not in my guitars but on strat plus's) and they're
ok pickups, better than a stock fender, but I can't really compare them to
a strat alinco,

I really like the bridge pickup on my tele. It growls it howls and it screams.
I highly recommend that one to any tele owner.

dbii

    
    
    	Jeeze, I swapped my es335 copy for a new Fender Standard Tele.  I
    like everything about it except that the strings don't go through the
    body, but I may modify it so they do (like the American Standard Teles)
    anyway, I got it so that I could put a humbucker in the neck position
    (like my new hero Sen�r Twelve Bar has on his Tele Deluxe)...  Here's
    the pickup question:
    
    
    	I know that the neck pickup needs to be directly over the second
    harmonic that exists there, but for a humbucker, how would I locate the
    pickup?
    
    
    		A. with the primary coil directly under the harmonic
    
    		B. with the secondary coil directly under the harmonic
    
    		C. with the harmonic directly over the gap between the
    		   two coils????
    
    
    
    
    Graphically speaking:
    
    
          | harmonic
    A.  |   |   | humbucker
    
    
              | harmonic
    B.  |   |   | humbucker
    
    
            | harmonic
    C.  |   |   | humbucker
    

    -1
    
    I'd go with "A".

    
    From my rusty knowlege of physics the place where a harmonic occurrs is
    called a node & it doesn't move ( in reality it will but not so much as
    the rest of the string).  The humbucker has two coils wound anti-phase
    so common signals get cancelled.  Seems logical to me to line the
    harmonic up with the gap between the coils.  I can't see any reason for
    doing otherwise...but then again music ain't always logical.
    
    Cheers
    		Pete.
    

    ANy guitar I've ever seen has had the major (screw) pole pieces line up
    on said-node harmonics!

    
    Fine!
    	
    I can't help it if guitars defy the laws of physics :-)  Most things in
    my world do but I put that down to God having a little joke with me!
    
    Cheers
    		Pete.

    Re: .137
    
    The flaw in your thinking is that the nodes move based on which note
    you are fretting!  For example, the octave harmonic you get at the 12th
    fret of the open string is always found 12 frets above where you are
    currently fretting.  So you can't actually avoid not having *some* node
    eventually be above the pickup.
    
    							Brian

    
    re -1 is perfectly true.
    
    Cheers
    
    	Pete.

    I've just been down to my local music shop to try out an ADA MP-1
    (Which I will have next pay day....).one of the guitars I tried it with
    was the Ibanez JEM777 (Steve Vai design) which sounded HOT. The hum
    buckers on these are made by DiMarzio, who also sell them. I have one
    on order, Will let you know what it sounds like.
    
    Roger
    
    P.S My brother-in-law has one of Gary Moore's Jacksons which is fitted
    with EMG's and it sounds Wonderfull.

    Has anyone heard the Schaller '59 pickups sold by Stewart-Macdonald's?
    How do they compare to the Seymour Duncan '59 pickups?
    They are about 1/2 the price.
    
    

According to Stewie-mac's the shallers are not potted!  

Major reason not to buy unless you want to do them yourself.

All Duncan's are factory potted, for that matter any decent factory pickup 
is.

dbii

    What does potted mean?

    Potted means dipped in a substance that coats the coil windings
    so that they don't rattle and produce microphonic feedback (high
    squealy stuff). Popular substances for pickups are wax shellac and 
    sometimes epoxy. Epoxy is often used to hide trade secrets
    and is a little tricky for the average do it yourselfer, as it tends
    to expand or contract while it hardens, not good for those tiny
    wire in your pickup
                                                          fje

    OK, thanks

    Though I haven't heard the duncan '59s, I do have one Shaller from SM,
    and am not all that impressed with it.  Umpteen years ago I just HAD to
    have a PAF in my Hagstrom Swede, so I put a Gibson PAF in the bridge
    position, expecting it to blow away the Swede neck pick up.  To my
    surprise, it sounded just about the same as what was there, so I never
    bothered relacing the neck PU until the mounting ring broke last year. 
    Hag PUs are sized slightly differently from other humbuckings, so I had
    to replace the pick up.  I bought the Shaller, and it really doesn't
    sound anywhere near as good as the Gibson or the Hagstrom pickups. To
    my ear it sounds muddy and lacks definition.  It's not SO bad that
    I'm going to rush right out and replace it, but it's definitely not
    what I'd consider a performance enhancement.
    
    							Joe

    OK Joe, that's the kind of info I wanted.
    My kramer baretta has gone through an EMG, now has a SD Invader ( with
    huge pole magnets ) and I've been thinking of putting in a '59 type,
    as it comes stock with it. The invader is a high output passive type,
    and I can't get a clean sound.
    
    Anyone familiar with any other PAF types, as from DiMarzio?
    They seem to have some nice pickups, I have some in a BCRich but
    they're a bit high output := distorted. 

    Does anyone know how much it costs to purchase original equipment
    Fender Stratocaster pickups??
    
    Thanks
    Bruce 

    
    	About $25-$30 a piece!
        lace sensors are around $49 for the gold
    
    Steve

    Hmmm .. that's not too bad !  Might grab a lace for my bridge pu !
    
    Scary

    Dumb question.  Are Lace sensors like double coils in that they are quiet
    (ie; humbucking)?  Seems like the neck p/u would be a good place for one...

    -pb

    
    
    
    	Negatory, good buddy.. they are a whole new breed of single coil
    pickup that accomplish the task using lower level magnetic fields.  I
    love the sound of them in my strat...  The blue ones DO sound like a
    humbucker, but they're single coil too..  Dr. Greve has spoken, deal
    with it dudes...  Hey Pat, you want I should send you a little booklet
    that talks all about them??
    
    
    Steve

    re .153
    
    The lace sensors are like humbuckers in the sense that
    they're very quiet compared to regular single coils. 
    However, lace sensors aren't humbuckers, and operate on a 
    different priciple that I don't really understand.
    
    If you're near a Fender dealer, give 'em a try. I think 
    they're pretty neat.
    
    -Tom

    
    	Steve, thanks, but you don't need to send me a booklet (a copy
    	would be cool tho'!)  If it ain't too much trouble...GSO1/E5.
    	Also, thanks for the clarification.  They do sound cool.
    
    	-pat

...and compared to either the ducan or dimarzio stacks aren't a hum-free
either....

dbii

    Yo Pat,
    
    Check out the latest edition of Guitar Player magazine for a
    description of the design of the Lace Sensor pickups and why they are
    able to get good output with lower magnetic fields (essentually because
    they use a whole bunch of little fields as opposed to just a few big
    ones).  I think it was in either the "Questions" column, or the
    "Repairs" column, but don't remember for sure.  Pretty interesting
    reading!
    
    Greg

    I don't get you Fender types...
    
    Y'all rave about "The Strat Sound" then buy new pickups.
    What gives ?
    
    jc (This isn't a slam, but curiousity gets the better of me)

    
    
    
    	Mine came with em' Coop...   [;^)  <-- flat top, gray-haired old
    fart blues guitar student...

>flat top, gray-haired old fart blues guitar student...               
    
    With a chainsaw
    
    ;)

    A fellow notyer in here (he knows who he is) has a strat with stock
    pickups that ROOOL (yes, both the guitar and pickups rool!).  I'd
    KILL to have a strat like that...it was perfect in every respect!!!
    
    Buck, who always finds the sh*tty strats  ;^(

    
    
    
    	.156  On it's way dude...

    RE: Buck
    
    I hear ya...  Every strat must be different, cuz I've had two
    in the past that s*cked; one I even 'metaled out' by putting
    humbuckers and a real wiggle stick on it... 
    
    Then again, the ones Jerry and Pat have are REAL nice...
    
    I'd like to have a 'real nice one' but it's tough to justify
    the bucks (no pun) to the wife when I run around telling her
    I don't like strats...
    
    Ho Hum.

    
    Will Collum gets seriously killer sound outta his Strat=>Boogie 
    set up!!!
    
    J.

    
    	re:158
    	
    	Yeah, I read that article, but it was hard to hear how quiet they
    	are, ya know?
    
    	;^)

    
    	Coop, you were definitely off kilter as a young'n.  Didn't you
    	tell me you also filled the F holes of an ES with f*cking Bondo!
    	You poor, sick laddie.  Oh yeah, Clapton uses the Laces, so it's
    	must be A-O-Tay!

re: why do we go on about that strat sound and then change the pickups?

we're guitarists

dbii

    RE: .168
    
    Dave, your killin' me.  What a perfect answer !  Agagagagagagaga...
    
    RE: Pat.  Yep.  I was a sick pup.  Had a nice gibson that squeeled. I
    wished I'd bought a gibson with no F-holes, so I filled 'em up with
    Bondo; Sounded pretty good!  Ah but alas, I dumped it a few weeks later
    for an Ibanez Blazer with a Whammy bar (! that was the cats meow !).  
    Should of seen the Kent LP copy that I had - Tried to blow it up  with
    a king-sized-home-made M80 (about ten of them!).   ;)
    
    Anyhow, I've mellowed into the laid back stuff now... Metallica,
    Anthrax ya know...Old foggie music.  ;)
    
    jc (Who plays NICE music...sometimes)

    
    
    
    	Hey, dbii!!!  What did the guitar player get on his IQ test??
    
    	Saliva...

Hey Dr. Frets (AKA the Greve unit) I wouldn't want to brag! :-)

dbii

    
    
    
    	Rats... I meant drummer... shoot, I thought I was in the DRUMS
    notesfile.  

    Why do Strat owners want to change the sound? Well, speaking for
    myself, I'd say that part of the reason was experimental. Another part
    was because of the type of music I'm doing, which requires a fatter,
    more full bodied sound. Just dickin around at home I wouldn't suggest
    to anybody that they should change the pickups. If I played country and
    western, or even jazz, I wouldn't change 'em. 
    
    I changed mine to a DiMarzio in the neck and a S.D 1/4 pounder in the
    bridge. I still have the original in the middle, but rarely use it
    since the difference is quite noticeable. All things considered, when
    I made the change, I was playing on an old Fender Super Six. Now, I use a
    Fender "twin" with a really great overdrive channel. With this kind of
    amp, and others like Boogies, KH, and a Marshall turned up, the
    difference between the pickups becomes much less apparent. I'll be
    changing the middle pickup soon only to compensate for the volume
    differential when I switch to it. Alternatively, I've been thinking of 
    wiring the switch so that all three pickups are on when the switch is
    in the middle position. Any thoughts on this out there in reader land? 
    
    "sakman"
     

    
    
    
    	SAKMAN!!!!   Yayus!!! I like what you said about experimenting! 
    Stop!!!  Dont' rewire the middle.. rewire a "hot switch" from the neck
    position pickup to the output.  Then you can turn that baby on when
    you're at the detent just above bridge for all three pickups  AND...
    you can turn it on in the bridge position to get just neck and bridge.. 
    I did this on a strat copy that I had and I loved both tones.. haven't
    got the bags yet to start cutting up my new Strat.. but I'm getting
    there... Yer, gonna like this switch combination!!!  If you want a
    little diagram let me know..
    
    Regards,
    Steve

    Hi Steve,
    If you could post a diagram, or mail it to me, I'd be greatful. From
    reading your last, I can't quite envision what you suggest. When I turn
    on the neck pickup, it is wired to the output. Not sure what you  mean.
    I'm thinking that perhaps you mean a separate switch to select the neck
    pickup when the bridge is on. What would that do as opposed to using
    the middle for all three?
    
    Oh, I just drew a diagram of what I was thinking for wiring three
    pickups together in the middle position. I see now why it's not done at
    the factory ... It can't be done without losing the adjacent two
    positions. The three middle switch positions would be the same pickup
    configuration. Well I'll be dipped in sh*t and called stinky. That's no
    good. Might try your configuration Steve.
    
    "sakman"

    
    
    
    	Yeah I'll be happy to send you a diagram, sacky boy... Maybe the
    switch (yep a separate one... I'd use a pull-up tone pot if it were my
    guit) better way to describe this switch is to call it a "Rhythm Pickup
    On No matter what switch"... Picture this, a switch that puts Mr. Neck
    pickup to the output no matter where the 5po is.. The 5po still selects
    it bu the "hot switch" over rides it.  So...
    
    Standard Strat Would Be:
    
    1	Bridge
    2	Bridge + Middle
    3	Middle
    4	Middle + Neck
    5	Neck
    
    	So, if I switch NECK on while I'm in Position 1... I get NECK and
    BRIDGE...  AND if I'm in position 2 and I switch NECK on I'd get ALL
    THREE...  Here's a quick drawing...
    
          Hot Lead from Neck Pickup  /                 Volume Pot
    ||{  -------------------------- O  ---------------- /\/\/\ ------- Out
                                  SPST                    ^            Jack
                                                          |
                                                     -----
    
    
    Regards,
    Steve
    
    Shrewd Guitar stuff trader...

    Steve...My Man...good idea!  I'm gonna be installing a new pickup soon,
    and when I settle on one I'll try this mod. In worst case, it doesn't
    require any cutting on the guitar, only drilling a small hole in the
    Pickguard above the volume and tone control cavity. In fact, hell it
    seems to me that since I never use the tone controls (always fully up)
    I could sacrifice one of em and wire the other as a master tone
    control.
    
    Thanks again,
    
    "sakman"

    
    
    
    	Cool.. lemme knmow how you make out.. Lemme know if you need more
    help... lemme know if you ned a place to store your TWIN.. (heh, heh,
    jest kiddin')

    I have installed a Fender Lace Sensor - Red ("HOT") in the bridge
    position of one of my Strats. Now the guitar has a Seymore Duncan 1/4
    pounder in the neck, a DiMarzio HS 2 in the middle, and this FLS as stated.
    I'm not sure I like the FLS but let me explain and solicit opinion.
    
    Firstly, the FLS although called "hot" seems any thing but. I like to
    position pickups close as close to the string as possible without it
    interfering with the string. In setting up the SD and DiM. the FLS
    doesn't seem to have as much gain. I've got the FLS only microns away
    from the string and although slight, perhaps even negligible, the gain
    seems to be less than the other pickups that are positioned further way
    from the string.
    
    Other than that I like the sound, especially when I use it clean. Truth
    be known, I think I may be expecting the FLS to sound like my other
    Strat which has a DiMarzio Super distortion humbucker (dual coil)
    bridge pickup. It doesn't, and that may be good. Rather than two guitars
    that have the same sound for one of the pickups, I have two guitars for
    two different sounds. But it may be bad since underneath it all maybe I
    want to hear what I expected - a hot pickup. I jus dunno.
    
    The other thing youse guys might like to know about this guitar with
    three different pickups and types; surprisingly, the DiMarzio is by far
    the quietest. I expected the FLS to be because of it's operating
    principle. I held the guitar up to the top of the amp and tested the
    hum that the pickups "heard". The DiMarzio was dead quiet, the other
    two about even. Not a problem for me though. If I played in a place with 
    a lot of EMI,  I'd just use the other guitar with the two dual coils.
    
    So here I am, happy with the the FLS, but I don't know yet if I'm
    satisfied. I'm wondering if I'd be happier with the DiM. HS-3 or the 
    SD Hot Rails. One other thing. Prior to the FLS, the SD 1/4 pounder
    occupied the bridge position. I thought that it was a bit "shrill" for
    my taste and used the DiM. which was in the neck position. Now, I
    absoluletly LOVE the SD in the neck. The DiM in the middle makes a fine
    complement.  
    
    "sakman" (I'll try the mod you suggested next Steve)

    -1
    
    FYI, the HS-3 don't have that much gain either...its just very
    midrangy!  Go for a Duncan is you want true gain!

	You may have suboptimized the location of that pickup. I think
	of the fields around a pickup as being like a flame - it's never
	hottest near the base. Back the pickup off a bit so that the string
	is in the field and not under it.

    re .179 
    Well here it is a week later since I installed the FLS. I'm still
    reserved about comparing it in favor of any other, but I will tell you
    that my Strat is one you'd like to hear if you're considering replacing
    the stock pickups. The remarkable thing is the tone of the guitar when
    played thru a Fender amp clean. Notes just sort of "pop". 
    
    I've always liked Les Pauls and thought of it as "the" guitar.
    Nowadays, I can't see any reason not to get a Strat. There's just so
    much you can do to 'em and with 'em. After all these years of pickin'
    and owning guitars, I think I've finally found the one that's gonna
    stay with me until I can't (or don't want to) play anymore.  As I think
    back, I don't know why I never tried a Strat. It's not that I didn't
    like them (e.g. Ibanez - nothing against them, I just don't
    like 'em), I was just ambivalent about 'em.
                                                  
    "sakman" 

    -1
    
    Don't like Ibanez???
    
    Duuuude, we gotta talk!
    ;^)

    
    DYLIW you get a yell from the dock saying "Mark, your box is here!"
          and when you open the box you see a F Spaced,Green MEGADRIVE
          for your RG550 and a F Spaced,White DOUBLE-WHAMMY for your
          Double-Neck. B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)
          B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)B^)
          
         Mark_who_is_feeling_a_little_bit_under_the_weather_so_I_
         better_go_home_and_get_some_rest_.  ;^)

      
          The Megadrive is a *great* bridge p/u. That's what is screaming
    	in my B.C. Rich ST-III. ENJOY!!!!
    						
    							-BooM-

    Dudes...
    
    I looking into replaceing the lead and bridge pickup in my Ibanez.
    Do you recommend a Double Whammy, PAF Pro, Fred, or MEGAdrive?
    
    Buck, requesting sound comments on all.
    
    PS - I have the X2N in my Jackson...too much gain for me!

    I like the Megadrive in my Ibanez Les Paul copy quite a lot too.  It
    does have significantly higher output then the stock one though, so if
    you're not looking for gain, it might be too much.
    
    I've never tried any of the others.
    
    Greg

    Buckster,
    
    Now this might not be easy for you to describe or me to understand, but
    how does a guitar sound with a pickup with too much gain? I have DiMarzio 
    Super Distortion HB'ers in one of my Strats. It sounds really great, but
    when I'm facing the amp and I'm right up close (like to adjust a setting),
    the pickup will squeal if I'm using the distortion channel with the gain
    set about 6. I tried to dampen it by placing foam underneath but that was 
    no real help. I can control it by backing off the guitar's volume but I 
    like the sound better when the guitar is up all the way. Is this an example 
    of too much gain?
    
    "sakman"

    -1
    
    Yeah.  I mean, I play LOUD, and it's harder to control that microphonic
    feedback when its up there.

    Now that you guys are finally discussing it...
    
    So how do you you control it ala Satch's intro to "Flying..."?
    
    Mike

    -1
    
    It's done with mirrors!

    Hey Mikey,
    
    I don't know the tune "Flying..." off the top of my head. I've only heard 
    it once or twice. But I'm sure that's not microphonic feedback you hear 
    but rather harmonic feedback. Harmonic feedback has the strings resonating
    at a frequency (-ies) that is reinforced (as opposed to decay) by the 
    frequencies emanating from the speaker. This means you're hearing the
    strings which is desireable instead of the pickup. Harmonic feedback is 
    controlled by tone, volume, proximity an angle to the speaker. Hendrix
    was the real musical pioneer of this technique, as far as I know he 
    invented it. Santana refined it. Vai, Satch, et al have applied it to 
    great use I think.  

    Sakman, yeah that what he did.  I saw him last week and he does his own
    variation on the Hendrix trick.  What I want to know is how they can
    control it, alter the pitch, etc. once it starts feeding back!
    
    Mike

    The easiest way to alter the pitch is by bending strings, and using
    the whammy
    
    Mark

    Actually, if you use the whammy, it alters the string in the flux
    field, and decreses the feedback signal.  I'd say direction to the
    speakers and using your tone control would affect the harmonics
    sounding!

    If dimarzio's propaganda is true then I'd go twith the paf pro (I'm
    currently considering ordering an f-spaced pro myself) since I like the
    tone of it's many users, Vai, Satch etc...
    
    dbii

    What is "f-spaced"?  Fender spaced?  I'm not familiar with the term.
    
    Greg

    Yeah, what;s with this F-spaced stuff?
    
    B (whos spaced!)

    My Ibanez RG550 has the lastest DiMarzio "sound alikes", known as the
    V2 series humbuckers.  They scream!  Supposedly they have a higher output 
    than the DiMarzios.
    
    Mike

    Last source *I* heard from, Dimarzio was winding the Ibanez pickups
    for them!

    From the Ibanez catalog...
    
    PAF Pro humbucking pickup
    
    Based on the classic PAF, but with increased power and string balance.
    
    FRED humbucking pickup
    
    Using the PAF Pro as a model, DiMarzio added midrange body without
    sacrificing treble response.  A solid, open-sounding puckup with some
    unusual overtones and harmonics.
    
    IBZ/USA F1 pickups produce vintage lead sound wilke adding increased
    output and midrange punch.
    
    IBZ C2
    
    The C2 vertical humbucker in the neck position delivers a hot, full
    fhythm tone with rich harmonics and clarity.
    
    IBZ F2
    
    A medium high output humbucker with emphasis on bass and midrange
    frequencies but with no sacrifice of dynamic range.
    
    IBZ/USA F1 humbucking pickups preserve the vintage lead sound while
    adding increased output and midrange punch.
    
    IBZ/USA C1 vertical humbucking pickups deliver single coil tone without
    the noise and hum.
    
    IBZ/USA F3
    
    With its blistering output, smooth high end and clean, mean lows, the
    IBZ/USA F3 pickup is perfect for sledgehammer lead impact with endless
    sustain.
    
    The IBZ/USA F4 is based on DiMarzio's PAF Pro but features an extended
    lower frequency response and slightly less highs.
    
    The only comment about the V1, S1, and V2 pickups is "RG500 guitars now
    feature completely new American designed pickups wound specifically for
    the RG500 series."
    
    Greg

    Re: FRED
    
    It has some interesting out-of-phase characteristics too!  
    
    I remember reading the Satch & Vai interview in Guitar World this
    summer when they were talking about FRED.  I guess DiMarzio created a
    bunch of different prototypes, all named after Flinstones characters.
    FRED was the one Satch liked.  Vai said, "Let me know when you get to
    Bam Bam!"  ;-)
    
    Mike

    Personally, Wilma is my fav Flinstone character, and if they marketed
    a Wilma pickup, I'd buy two, regardless of what they sounded like!
    

      Andrew Dice Clay says F-spaced is when you boink a dizzy broad!
    
      But really it is the designation used to let you know that the
    spacing for the poles of the pickup is set to Fender standard. 
    Or maybe the "F" stand for Floyd Rose?
      When you use a standard humbucker it is "spaced" for Gibson
    which started all the humbucker stuff in the fifties. When you put
    a standard humbucker on a strat or strat clone you'll notice the
    poles under the E strings will not line up with the string and 
    hence not have the best signal for these strings.
      My Dimarzio Megadrive for my B.C. Rich ST-III is F-spaced and
    "lines up" quite well. I believe the spacing of the Seymour Duncan
    Trembucker is even wider spaced than an F-spaced because many
    locking trems use wider string spacing.

    
    						-BooM-

    I asked a fellow noter what F-Spaced meant last night, and he explained
    it is to line up the low and High E strings better with Floyd Rose-type
    tremolo units.

    re: -.1 yeah 
    
    f spaced is to compenstae for the fact that floyds and kahlers are
    wider than a standard les paul bridge (what most humbuckers are sized
    for) in my case my lead one has a jeff beck humbucker that almost
    completely misses the high e string causing a thin sound until it's
    bent. So I've been considering a paf pro f-spaced replacement for it.
    
    
    dbii

    I've got a pair of old DiMarzio super distortion HB'ers on my strat and
    I don't notice anything "thin" or otherwise rcognizable as a fault
    because they aren't "f" spaced. Don't know if that means that F spacing
    is marketing bullsh1t, but that'd be one test I'd like to make. One
    thing I damn sure of however is that the audience wouldn't hear the 
    difference.  
    
    "sakman"

    -1
    
    RE: Marketing BS...why do you think Van Halen mounted the humbuckers
        in his modified strat guitars on a slant?  So the low and high E
        strings would line up with the pickup pole pieces!
    

    
    
    
    
    	This is a wiring question...  I was looking at the wiring setup on
    a guit that I recently got from dbii (thanks, dude) WHILE... reading
    Bronsac's "Electronics for musicians.  He clearly states that Les Pauls
    (and many other 2 humbucker guitars) route from the pickups to the
    switch then to the controls.. BUT, it's been my experience with all Les
    Pauls and with this new guitar that it's the opposite... Looks like Les
    Pauls go from the pickups to the controls THEN to the switch...  Howcum
    they use all the extra wire???    What're the pros and cons of each
    method???   Help...
    
    
    Gree Veee Broken Hand

    Well, if you have only one volume control and two pickups, for
    instance, you would wire from pickups to switch to volume.  About LPs,
    that statement seems wrong, if the signal went to the switch first, how
    could you control the volumes separately?
    
    						Brian

    If the switch is a quad-pole switch, you could place it before or
    after the controls and it would work either way.
    
                 + ---------------  o1 -----------to vol and tone----|
      lead pickup               |        |                           |
                 - gnd          --- o2 ---                           |-jack
                                                                     | tip
                 + ---------------  o3 -----------to vol and tone----|
    rhythm pickup               |        |
                 - gnd          --- o4 ---
    
    in position 1, only the lead pickup is kicked in (pole 1).
    in position 2, both pickups are kicked in (poles 2&3), but they are 
    		   isolated.
    in position 3, only the rhythm pickup is kicked in (pole 4).
    
    
    Using this type of switch allows you to place the controls wherever
    you want them. Ever check out a Gibson switch up close. they have
    several metal bars separated by fiber spacers. When the switch is in
    the center position, both poles are kicked in , but there are separate
    shorting bars which complete each circuit. If they didn't do it this
    way, the controls would interact.
        
    Fender Strats are done differantly, but keep in mind a Strat has only
    one master volume, and one of the tone controls is shared between the
    middle and bridge pickups.
    
    Mark
    

    
    
    
    	OK, lemme ask you this.... This 2 humbucker dude I got from dbii,
    lets EITHER volume control work for total volume when the switch is in
    the middle.  I kind of like it that way... do Pauls work that way??  I
    used to own one but forget... Duh, droolin' in my porridge, agin.
    
    	Thanks for previous replys.
    
    
    Steve

    Hiya Steve...
    
    I think the answer is:  Kinda...
    
    My LP allows you to control whether the volume is UP and all by 
    cutting output when either of the volumes is off...Otherwise, it
    allows you to control the "mix" of the two pickups output...But, if
    you cut the volume (either) off, no sound comes out.  Is that what you
    mean ?
    
    jc

    
    
    
    	Yeah... that must be it....  Either volume pot, given a sharp twist
    in the counter clockwise direction will shut down all volume when
    pick-up select is in the middle....   But why is that, coop???  Is it
    because the two pick-up signals are "joined at the waist" when they get
    to the switch and that either pot going to ground bleeds all the
    signal???    Duh??

>>>    because the two pick-up signals are "joined at the waist" when they get
    
    Yes, that's exactly why.
    
    Will

    
    
    	OKEY DOKEY DUDES!!!  I guess I'll stick with that scheme when I
    replace parts in my new and gnarly washburn A20 (I'll sacrifice this
    guitar to any fellow noter for $1400).
    
    
    Thenkews...
    
    Gree Veee

    I was gonna say that it was that ancient Gibson technology...
   Wagagagagagagaga
    ;)

    
    My pickups are in place, and ready to sing.
                           
                       Double-Wammy/Megggga-Drive.  
                                                      Mark.

    Mark, how would you descrive the sound of the Double-Whammy pickup?
    
    Greg

    
    Greg,  I will be heading for my rig with them tonight, I will
           let you know the results tomorrow.
                                                      Mark.

    I own a new Les Paul Studio, and while I really like the sound of the
    neck pick-up, I dislike the sound of the bridge pickup (too "squawky"
    or something). 
    
    Any suggestions for replacement pickups are welcome, and by the way is
    it easy for a novice like myself to replace a pickup? What tools would
    I need, etc.? Prices of replacement pickups? 
    
    Any other LP owners who've had to modify/change their pickups?
    
    
    Wes
     

    -1
    
    Personally, I'm all over the Ibanez pickups...I think they rule!
    The DiMarzio PAF Pro is a cool pickup, too.

     Hi Wes,

     if you mean squawky the same way as I mean squawky, that's exactly
     what I like and what you can expect from an LP...

     However, I've heard that f.ex. Bill Lawrence makes very fine hum-
     buckers, both PAF (the most squawk sounding ones) replicas and some
     more smooth sounding ones as well. I once tried a DiMarzio PAF re-
     plica on my LP, it was terrible hard sounding, couldn't stand it...

     Poul

    ANother plug...the Duncan "Custom" pickup...nice!
    
    The "custom", fyi, is a super-wound PAF-style pickups...similar to, but
    different than, the Dimarzio PAF Pro.  The PAF Pro has more windings
    than a normal PAF, but is voiced with a higher presence range of freq.
    The Duncan Custom pickups has more windings, but is voiced with an
    increased midrange response.  Take yer pick.
    
    Buck, who likes PAF-style pickups a lot.

    slap an Ibanez V2 in there!
    
    Mike

    My LP has Seymour Duncan baby humbuckers in it.  It screams.
    I second SD for the replacement.
    
    How about a FRED though??  

    Isn't the FRED pickup the one that Satriani uses? I heard that these
    are so powerful that they could pull the chrome off a trailer hitch
    
                                JT "GONZO"

    Re: FRED & Satriani
    
    Yup!

    FWIW I didn't get the impression from the literature I read that the
    Fred was an extremely high output pickup.  It's similar to a PAF Pro
    but voiced for more midrange.
    
    Now my Duncan Invader definately WILL pull chrome off yer bumper!
    
    Greg

I you had a LP and wanted to swap out one of the pick ups, which one goes?

Jim (who has a LP and is considering this rather than buying another guitar)

    Hmmm, I don't think I'd bail either one, but it'd be the
    bridge pickup if I had too... I'd probably put in a Fred;
    I like the color.
    
    ;)

    ...but they come in your choice of several colors.
    
    ?

    
    
      Not to get off the original subject, but..
    
      Anyone ever hear an SD Holdsworth?. 
    
    
    
    RichC
    

    RE: a few back
    
    When I first swapped out a pickup in my LP, I put a Dimarzio SD in the 
    NECK position!  The guy who did the installation thought I was crazy!
    But what the scam was I was using the neck pickup for all my solos, and
    I wanted that cleaner, crunchier sound in the bridge!
    
    So, whatever your need...
    B

I am in the market for a new telecaster, and therefore zoom in on any 
discussions around them.

My hero, Danny Gatton, is drooling about Joe Barden pickups, and the UK guitar 
mags are giving them rave reviews.

I gather they are US made, Danny refers to how he taught Seymor Duncan to wind 
pickups and how (I think) Joe worked with them.

I don't know if Joe is doing any models for LP's but if I was in the market 
for a pickup upgrade, I would want to try a JB first, or at least include him 
on my shopping list.

Dave

    A few years ago, a friend of mine put Alembic Active pickups in his
    vintage strat. The range of sounds he was able to get out of them
    was nothing short of astounding .... from the cleanest "Nashville"
    sound to the "Les Paul thru a Marshall Stack on 10!!" sound. If there
    were any guitarists in the audience, there would invariably come up to
    him and ask what he was using to get that killer sound. 
    
    I was so impressed with these pickups that I put a pair of the Alembic
    bass pickups in my '67 Jazz Bass. What a difference !!! I still get
    that vintage Fender bass sound, but I can also get more high end off it
    than I do on my Steinberger. As a matter of fact, I'm actually thinking
    of replacing on of the EMG's on my Steinberger with an Alembic (if they
    make one that fits...) JMHO, of course ................
    
    
    /Billy K

	Now that I'm going to have two guitars with dual humbuckers, I'm
interested in hearing more about split-coil configurations.  My impression from
the notes in this topic is that they come close to sounding like a single coil, 
but not quite there.

	What are the recommended brands for this type of pu.  And if I don't
want to alter the guitars, can I go with a switch on one of the knobs?

	Dan

    
    
    
    	Dan, I'd also look at parallel configurations.. when I split
    dmarzios or Seymour Duncans.. I find that things get really thin.. even
    thinner than a single coil.. dono y though.  Parallel seems to satisfy
    me though kind of like a high power single coil... my biggest success
    (tone-wise) was wiring a JB in parallel in the neck of a standard tele. 
    This guitar still has one of the collest sounds I've heard (so why did
    you sell it you dumb turd???)  heh heh
    
    Steve

	I think I have that very setup on my Les Paul copy - when the switch 
is set in the center position the tone that comes out can be a lot thinner based
on the volume setting of the two volume knobs.  Is that what you're talking
about?

	I guess I was just thinking that if I have two gibson-type configurations
I should look into getting at least one single-coil-type pickup in the works.

	Dan

    I'm not going to go through the previous 239 replies to see whether
    this has been discussed before, so ...
    
    How far away should the pickups be from  the strings? I was jamming
    last night with a friend who just bought an '85 Strat (maple neck).
    It seemed to have standard Fender pickups, but it seemed to capture
    a lot more of the fine points of the picking attack, etc. than my
    American Standard. I did notice that his pickups were much closer
    to the strings than mine. Does raising the pickup affect tone that
    much? I've heard arguments for and against. 
    
    - Dave

I found that having the pickups too close to the strings on my
old standard strat interferred with the vibration of the strings.
This was the cause of some very undesirable overtones on the lower
strings. Using super-steele type strings was even worse because they
were even more effected by the magnetic field. My pickups are
now set pretty low, especially at the lower end.

BTW, it took me a long time to figure out what was causing this effect.
I kept trying to adjust the intonation and looking for something loose.

    
    
    
                  The travel of a vibrating string should be centered
        within the "flux density" of the pickup.  
    
    	    	  This is easy if you have a field map of your pickups.
                                            
        If not, use your ear...pluck, adjust, pluck, adjust etc..

    The effect you get when fretting higher up the neck on the heavier
    strings is called "wolfing" commonly.What you want to do is raise the
    pickups 'til you get that strange added harmonic sound when fretting up
    there,and just back them off slowly til it *just* goes away..I find
    this to be the optimum point,at least on my Strat.

    You'll find that a magic ## of 1/8" off the poles workes as a place to
    start from.  The higher the magentic pull, the farther away ya want
    to be.  It's really touch & go, no pun intended.
    
    Jay
    

    re .244
    
    is that 1/8" when the strings are not fretted, or 1/8" when you're
    pressing down on the 22nd fret (or somewhere in between)?
    
    thanks - DAve (an engineer who likes things expressed numerically :-) )

    I found on the 22nd fret.  This allows ya to then adjust it to
    ya own personal taste.
    
    Jay
    

	This is probably discussed (in depth) somewhere already, but ...
    
    	I'm gonna throw at least 1 Lace Sensor in my Strat in a couple
    	days.  Here's what my local music dealer had to say about 'em,
    	quoting from the Fender literature.  I also included the list/cash
    	prices as well.
    
	RED - Mega hot !  Increased output and gain.  ($90/$69.30)
	BLUE - Classic 50's humbucker sound.  ($89/62.30)
	GOLD - 1950's vintage  ($79/55.30)
	SILVER - Fat blues/R&B, increased midrange.  ($89/62.30)

    
    	My question is, what are your opinions on these ?  And please,
    	spare me the, "I think the s*ck because ..." replies.  I'm looking
    	for input from folks who already use 'em.  The Lace Sensor is
        definitely the type of pickup I want to go with - just trying to
    	decide which ones. 
    
    	Right now, I'm considering a BLUE in the bridge position, and 2
    	SILVER or GOLD.
    
    	Talk to me !   8^)
    
    
    	Scary

   My American Std Deluxe Strat has 3 Gold FLS pickups.  I can't compare
   these to the other colors as I've never heard those, but to me the gold
   ones sound GREAT.  (I believe your "chart" may be a little off on the
   description of the different sounds though:  As I remember it, the gold
   are supposed to be "Classic Strat" sounding, not "50s vintage".  The blue
   ones are supposed to fill that niche.)  The gold ones retain the standard 
   Strat sound while virtually eliminating hum and buzz problems.  I regularly
   use my Strat in a basement with flourescent lighting and have no problems
   at all, while my bass with single coils is almost useless in the same
   environment due to the noise.

   They are outrageously expensive as aftermarket pickups, though...

   -- Sam

    I agree with sammax about the gold lace sensors. I played a strat
    with 3 of them in it at MacDuff's last week and was amazed at
    the sound. I'm definately going to purchase some of them when
    I can afford it (c'mon,  DEC stock, you can make it up over 100!).
    
    I can't say I'm too interested in any other sound out of my Strat
    anyways, so I haven't bothered to check on the rest of them.
    
    Mr. C quoted me a price of $120 for 3 gold ones, BTW.
    
    - Dave

    I think I'm gonna go with a blue FLS now, and see how it does.
    
    Thanks for the help guys !
    
    Scary
    
    BTW - does anyone know if they wire in the same as the stock Amer. Std.
    pickups ?

	Scary,

	I tried both the silver and the gold in the bridge position on
	my Blade, and I would definitely go for the silver, it has a
	far more 'vintage' sound, where the gold was too sharp, IMHO.

	I also tried the gold in the middle, and here it sounded nice.
	I still miss to try the silver here, though. When I decide, I
	will go for 1 silver in the bridge pos. + 2 gold OR just 3 sil-
	ver.

	Compared with my traditional singlecoils on my Blade, the Lace
	PU's had clearly more output and less hum. My $.02!

	Poul

    Awhile back I played a couple of Strats back-to-back in a store, one
    was like a mid 70s model or so and had stock (appearing) pickups and
    the other was a new Strat+ with gold Lace-Sensors.  
    
    The old Strat had a lot more output then the Strat+, but the Strat+ was
    quieter and had a (subjectively) "sweeter" sound to it. 
    
    I think if I were going for a set I'd probably want the silver ones
    'cause I like a little more output.
    
    Greg

    OK, got my Blue Lace Sensor today - proceeded to wire the little guy
    in.  The enclosed wiring diagram showed the orange lead going to switch
    and the white lead going to the volume pot.  The stock pickups were
    wired the exact opposite - white to switch, orange/blue to volume pot.
    
    Who's right ?  I wired it (color-wise) like the existing pickups, which
    is the reverse of the enclosed drawing.  The pickup works fine, but it
    doesn't knock my socks off or anything.  Could I have it in backwards ? 
    Will this cause any damage to anything ?
    
    While I was at the store I played a Strat + with gold Lace Sensors
    (ordered 2 of 'em ...) through a Fender Bassman re-issue.  I didn't try
    any overdive units with it, but for an unbeatable clean tone - folks,
    that's your rig.  Mercy !
    
    Scary

	Hey Scary,

	You won't damage anything by reversing the wires...but if
	you use the pu switch so you play the new Lace in parallel
	with the next pu, you'll get an extremely thin and ugly
	tone, if it's wired in reverse order...

	So, how much did you pay for the blue one? And how much will
	the gold ones cost you?

	Poul (who's_soon_gonna_take_a_decision_about_silver_or_gold)

    Well, after I entered that note, I played it for a pretty good while. 
    The pickups is VERY touch sensitive, but as you say, when I put the
    switch on #2, it's pretty thin.  But to me, #2 and #4 is what make s a
    Strat a Strat.  Since I wired exactly opposit from what the diagram
    says, I very sure that I wired it backwards.  I change it when I get
    the 2 gold ones next week.
    
    I was quoted $89 (list) for the blue FLS and ended up paying $60 for
    it.  The gold ones I ordered will cost me $50 each.
    
    Here's the breakdown on which FLS does what .... taken from the Fender
    litereature ...
    
    2000 FLS (99-2000) - The Golden Strat mainly used on the Fender Strat
    Plus, the legendary 50's Strat sound.  GOLD
    
    2001 FLS (99-2001) - the classic 50's humbucker, an increased output,
    warm rich harmonic sound.  BLUE
    
    2002 FLS (99-2002) - quite possibly the hottest sensor made, full range
    frequency response with red-hot, mega-output sound.  RED
    
    
    I don't have any literature on the SILVER, but while at the music store
    yesterday I read up on it - it *supposedly* has boosted midrange and is
    designed for blues/r&b.
    
    The BLUE and RED are the most expensive (listing around $90) and the
    GOLD and SILVER are the cheapest (listing around $80).
    
    After playing the strat plus with GOLD fls's, that helped me make up my
    mind.
    
    Oh yeah, you can get these FLS's with a black OR white cover.  I just
    ordered one, expecting white, but black was all they had.  After I
    installed in, it looks *nice* (black strat with white pickguard, and
    soon-to-be 3 blacl FLS's ...).
    
    Scary

	I know it's thin sounding in pos. 2 & 4, because that's how
	it sounds when you connect two single coils in parallel...
	but now, if you connect one of them in reverse, it doesn't
	just sound thin, it sounds _weird_ thin  =8*{ ...

	Poul

Many players refer to the 2 and 4 positions as thin sounding. Fine.
But when the pickups that are summed by either of these two switch
positions are electrically out-of-phase, thin takes on a whole new meaning,
and a very negative one. Most of the signal is canceled. Not just
part (like the mids in the all too familiar Strat "out-of-phase" sound) but
MOST. Compared to what it is supposed to sound like, the guitar sounds
completely anemic. Yes, strat players usually want that "out-of-phase"
sound but the pickups aren't actually electrically out-of-phase. It's a 
mis-nomer.

Have I beat this topic far enough into the ground?

--rjb

    .... yes.  8^)
    
    Seriously, I understand what you're saying.  Last night at the club, I
    got to try out the new FLS (wired improperly, I'm sure).  In #1, it
    absolutely *screamed*, not much of a volume difference from the
    standard pickups (like I expected there would be).  In #2, it was very
    strat-ish, but #4 was somewhat louder.  From all I have gathered, I
    definitely wired it backwards, but I correct it when I install the
    other to FLS's next week ...
    
    
    Scary

    so, among the 'noise-free' single coils, which do YOU think is the
    best? 
    
    - FLS of various colors
    
    - EMG's (price?)
    
    - Alembic's (price?)
    
    - SD Hot Stacks 
    
    dave (lookingto upgrade the stock pickups in his Strat soon)

    I think it's all in what you want out of it - for me, the FLS's are
    gonna do the trick - they'll yeild the *TONE* I want.
    
    What results are you looking for ?
    
    
    Scary

    My Strat has a sd, a fls and a Dimarzio ( you didn't list that one).
    I can tell you that the DiMarzio is absolutely the quietest. Dead quiet
    even when I hold the guitar right up to the amp. FLS and SD are quiet
    enough, but not as quiet. 
    
    "sakman"

if your dimarzio is an HS-2 or HS-3 then it's a humbucking stack and comparing
a stack to any non-stacked single coil is almost apples and oranges.

re: which should I choose?

duncan hot stacks are great but are fat and midrangy compared to a stock
fender pickup. The classic stack gives you the humbucking and a sound that's
much closer to an original fender single coil.

My EMG active single coil is kinda bassy and not too powerful compared to the
EMG humbucker (in the same guitar).

good hunting!

dbii

>My EMG active single coil is kinda bassy and not too powerful compared to the
>EMG humbucker (in the same guitar).
    
    I have the same problem in one of my guitars with an EMG
    single/single/hum configuration.  The humbucker is an 81, which is
    known for being very bright.  I've thought of swapping it out with an
    85 which has better bass response and isn't so bright because there's
    so much difference that I can hardly use the single coils (after
    setting the EQ to sound good with the 81).
    
    Greg

    
    I really thought I wanted to get on the strat stock p/u upgrade
    wagon, but last night I tried out a strat plus (gold fls's) thru 
    my amp and was really unimpressed.  I was able to do a good a/b 
    test with the neck p/u (where I generally play).  To me, the fls
    didn't have the output or tone I like.  I was playing loud too, 
    with a few other guys, so I got to wring it out a bit.  It may 
    have something to do with p/u height, etc, but I've decided to 
    stick with the stocker.  I guess I really don't care about the 
    noise, to be honest.  
    
    -pat

    Agreed - the stock Fender "noise" never was that big a deal to me
    either.  We're you playing Ray's ?  I know you said before his Strat
    was wimpy, for some reason ...
    
    Scary

    
    Ahem.  Ray's guitar ain't wimpy - just different.  My axe (a std) seems
    to have a chubbier neck and heavier body though.
    
    -pat

    Greg (or anyone else who has EMG's) are yours rather compressed
    sounding? What I'm finding is that they are very clear, and very clean,
    not that hot (power wise, good but not 'insane'), and pretty compressed
    sounding. My singer thinks my lead 1 with the duncans has more 'bite'.
    I think it's just the smoother more compressed sound of the emg's he's
    complaining about...I do however, miss that bite myself.
    
    dbii

    re: dbII
    
    Yeah, now that you mention it, I think they probably are a little
    compressed sounding.  Steve Jensen (a *bigtime* EMG fan) and I were
    just discussing this last week.  
    
    I think the passive pickups I've used have had more "character" and
    "bite" and less clarity and consistancy then the EMGs.  I still like
    them a lot, wouldn't think of changing them out of the two guitars I
    have them in and have a spare set sitting around still that I may
    eventually use.
    
    Greg

Yup, I like EMGs.  But the thing I like about them is that the notes in a
chord can all be heard; even when gain is on 20....  Passive pickups usually
sound like mud to me in that situation.  The only "chord" that's any good is a 5
chord (e.g. A5 == A + E notes).  Plus, EMGs are quiet as a mouse.

Now, with that said, I am swapping out the EMGs in my Ibenez Rg750 and putting
the stock pickups back in.  That has more to do with my new amp (Marshall JCM
900) than any real dissatisfaction with the pickups.  I just have this gut
feeling that the Marshall will sound better with passive pickups...

What do I know anyway?  I just use what sounds good to me...

steve

    I posted a reply in 813 that hit upon this subject but I thought it
    ought to go here.
    ----
    I recently picked up a copy of Fender's Fronline magazine and right
    there in this Tech Tips column is a simple modification that the writer
    claims will cure a problem that's driven me crazy for years (since 1966
    to be exact).

    The writer is Larry Brooks who is Fender Custom Shop's Artist Builder.
    They say he builds guitars for most of the artists that Fender deals
    with.
    
    He says that the addition of a .001 uf cap and 150k ohm resistor to the
    volume control...

    1. remedies high-end loss in SINGLE COIL PICKUP SYSTEMS when the volume
       control is set anywhere less than full up and

    2. gives the control a smooth, linear taper for its entire range, i.e.
       no hot spots

    I haven't tried this on my Stratocaster, but you can bet that I will. It
    involves installing a cap and resistor as shown below:

     from PU ------
                  |  150k 1/4W
                  +--/\/\/--+
                  |         |
                  +----||---+
                  |  .001u  |
                  \         |
                  /         |
              vol \<--------+------- to output
                  /
                  \
                  |
                 ---
                 ///  

RE: active pickups

Has anyone tried teh Semour Duncan actives? All I know is they require 2 
batteries, according to the literature it's to avoid the 'compression' 
most people get with EMG's.

dbii

    
    
    Two batteries?  Two nine volt batteries?  In series?  I think
    attributing more dynamic range to the use of higher supply rails is
    simplistic.  After all, the preamp shouldn't be generating +/- 4.5 v
    swings (much less +/- 9v swings) on an "instrument" level output.
    
    I've haven't noticed the compression effect with the EMGs on my
    Steinberger, but then I haven't been looking for it, either.  Theory
    time: maybe the people that have this problem are running their pickups
    full out and causing the front end of their amp to operate closer to
    the saturation point?
    
    

RE .272:

The two batteries probably isn't for more voltage.  It's more likely to
supply a bipolar power supply (+9, -9, and GND) for an op-amp or two.

I think I put a note in here a few back that said I was going to swap out the
EMGs in my Ibenez Rg750 and put the stock Ibenez passive pickups back in and
give it a whirl.  If not, pretend I did.

Ok, the passive pickups sound much better through my Marshall than through my
Boogie -- *much* warmer.  I don't even want to guess why.  Do they sound better
than the EMGs?

I DON'T KNOW.  I just don't know.....  This is the other dilemma guitar player's
find themselves in...:)

BTW: I'm sure that EMGs spilt the 9v into +/- 4.5v supply so the instrumentation
amplifiers (type of op amp) work correctly.  I also agree with something
mentioned earlier.  I *can't* imagine that EMGs are the thing causing the
compression.  Rather, I'll agree that the preamp they're feeding is getting
pushed closer to saturation.

steve

    I *really* like the passive Ibanez pickups!!!
    
    My rg550 plugged straight into my JCM900 is tone heaven for me.

I foudn that if I boost the brightness to wow my EMG's sound much better and
less compressed. Maybe I was hearing a lack of bright as compression/lack of
bite...

FWIW

dbii

    I've found that the stock (passive) pickups sound a LOT fatter
    tru my Marshalls than the active stuff in my Charvel...Almost to
    the point that I think it's a little too fat (but I like
    thin,remember).  
    
    Marshalls (at least mine) are VERY sensitive to what instrument you
    plug into them.  The diff between my LesPaul and my Ibanez (550/570)
    is scary.  The LesPaul threatens to shake the house foundation apart
    with it's bass, and the Charvel will midrange you to death (and the
    550 will too).  The 570 sounds real fat and bassy, and the strat -
    well - the strat sounds like a strat (and I love it thru the clean
    channel on the marshall).
    
    Anyway, my point is that there isn't that much of a diff between
    instruments on all amps (especially where my rack is concerned.
    
    jc (Who doesn't like to diddle knobs so much)                              

    I *erroneously* responded to another reply in a *most* inappropriate
    topic. I've *copied* it to here in hopes that it will be more *welcome*
    so we can pursue *this* issue a bit further. As a Strat owner that's had
    *this* problem, I truly *am* puzzled by the implication that it is
    *especially* severe on single coil pickups and Strats *in* particular.


                 <<< CVG::WORK3:[NOTES$LIBRARY]GUITAR.NOTE;2 >>>
                              -<  Guitar Notes  >-
================================================================================
Note 2215.26                  Recording Bass Guitar                     26 of 29
LEDS::BURATI "No Gain No Pain"                       13 lines   5-JUN-1991 12:35
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>    If you're getting alot of wierd overtones you might try lowering the
>    pickups. All single coils to some extent, get wierd overtones, on
>    strats they get worse the higher you go up the neck on the lower
>    strings with the low e being awful on many/most strats past the 12th or
>    14th fret.

    You mean other types of pickups on other types of guitars don't
    have string-pull problems? I'm puzzled. I thought the problem of
    string-pull was caused by the magnetic field. The greater the field,
    the greater the interference with the string's motion. Do humbucking
    pickups have less magnetic field per se? Also, you indicate that
    the problem is especially bad on Strats? I must be missing something.

    I've never seen the problem as bad as strats on guitars with
    humbuckers. They do display the problem a bit but not nearly as bad.
    Some strats are worse than others. I used to have a blonde strat that
    you couldn't use the e,a or d string above the 10th fret 'cuz all you
    got was dork tones. It made the trip to a new owner...my current strat
    has the problem but not that bad, and I keep the pickups down on the
    bass strings. One of the pitches for lace sensors is the low power
    magnets, which helps curtail this problem. Perhaps an engineer type
    can shed some light on why single coils are worse than humbuckers?
    
    dbii

    
    Way back in 1970 I butchered my strat and put a humbucker on it. The
    humbucker had much less output than the single coils. So I switched it
    for a FENDER humbucker. Same. so I bought a new pickguard and put the
    single coil back on. Then I bought a Guild archtop with a big soap-bar
    neck PU and a humbucker installed at the bridge. I stuck the Gibson HB
    on at the neck. This guitar has much less output than my Strat.

    Never having had it explained to me, what you say would tend to indicate
    that Humbuckers do assert less of a magnetic field which is consistent
    with lower output. But I always figured that I had probably loaded the
    PUs too much by having the wrong value pots 'cause I thought Humbuckers
    are supposed to have lots of output.

    Do I sound confused?

    You had a blonde strat? Drooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllll.

    Yeah I got it cheap and eventually traded it for the tele thinline I
    have today since it had such a dorky sound playing high notes on the
    lower strings. I was pretty though and had a mean mean action....
    
    sigh...
    
    dbii

Ok, ......I'll chip in with some thoughts (guesses) on why single coils 
have more string pull.

Now I'm sure the pickup industry is full of hype and equally Seymor Duncan has 
(rightly) made his name by green finger application on the craft of pickup 
design.

But getting right down to it, ALL the characteristics of a pickup are based on 
the magnetic field strength and it's distribution (footprint if you will), and 
the number of winding turns (and their distribution). To a lesser extent the 
type (gauge) and resistance of the wire. The clever design of the Lace makes 
use of the different distribution of field strength. Different types of 
magnets are said to give harder or warmer tones but as a failed engineer this 
only equates in my mind to greater or lesser magnetic field ! The only area of 
doubt to this is the possibility that a vibrating metal string MAY cause the 
magnetic field of the pole pieces to change very slightly ( magnetic 
complience), and this in itself may result in tone differences. Any thoughts 
out there ? 

OK. Getting to my theory (I'll accept any more you care to post) the string 
pull is only down to the magnetic pole pieces, so for a given output the 
single coils act ON A SINGLE POINT of the string and all the magnetic pull is 
focused at that point. With dual coils the pole pieces are about one inch 
apart and pull at two points. This effect also gives the dual coil less treble
because there is a small amount of cancellation due to the two points of 
"pickup". Now, you can sit the single coils further away and this will help 
but the output volume and tone will change. 

I am not sure but the "typical" humbucker often has a large bar magnet and the
pole pieces screw into this resulting in a larger more distributed magnetic 
field. Compare this to the Fender approach of small pieces of isolated round 
bar magnet sat on a non metalic former.

So, in summary the single point of pull is more effective at influencing the 
string vibration and the resultant amplitude of overtones and because the dual 
coils pull at two points they work against each other in terms of string pull 
and the resultant inharmonic overtones. The weakness in my theory is that a 
strat has three pickups and why don't these perform a magnetic cancellation ?
Well, I think that is due to the distance between them ie two/three inches.

I just had an interesting thought...what if I mounted another single coil on 
top of the string to cancel the pull....I would not even have to connect it 
electrically since I only need it's field strength to perform 
cancelation..........hmmmmmmmmm

Dave
  

As a side note, Rickenbacker's old Lap Steels (the predecessor of the
pedal steels - these were very popular in the 1930's) had a pickup that
completely wrapped around the strings. This is an attempt an ascii diagram:


        /--------  ---------\
       (  *  *  *  *  *  *   )
        \--------  ---------/     this is a view where the *'s are the
				  strings. If you can imagine 2 horseshoe
				  magnets surrounding the strings, this
			          might make some sense to you.



     Neck is up this direction

       |   |   |   |   |   |	  This is a top view. The pickup completely
       |   |   |   |   |   |	  wraps around the the strings. I suppose
     +==========+ +==========+    The goal was an equal magnetic field.
     |          | |          |
     +==========+ +==========+
       |   |   |   |   |   |
       |   |   |   |   |   |
	 
	 Bridge is down here

	
By the way, the lap steel guitar that I saw this on was made out of cast
aluminum, and probably made in the early 1930's. I have no idea how the
pickup was wound, or where the coils are. The person who had it had not
tried to play it since the late 1950's, and remembers little about it (it
came with it's own amplifier).

Some MIDI pickups are designed where the string passes thru the pickup (a
seperate coil for each string), to keep the each strings action isolated.

								Jens

    Re: .284
    
    Rickenbacker continued to use the "horseshoe" pickups into the sixties. 
    Early models of the 4000 and 4001 basses used a similar pickup.  I've
    seen other ancient lap steels with pickups like that as well.
    
    						Brian

    About two years ago, I remember some new pickup that Floyd Rose had
    developed. I think they were installed on some Kramer guitar. The
    pickup was called the Sustainor and it seems to me that it wasn't
    really a pickup in the traditional sense, but rather a magnetic field
    type of device that kept the string vibrating - something like the EBOW
    except that it was mounted like a pickup (maybe it was also a pickup, I
    don't recall). 
    
    Anybody out there in guitar land have any experience
    with these things; are they any good; are they still available?

Is it the same pickup as the Sustainiac ???  Or am I really confused.
:)

Seems like Blues Saraceno had 'em in his Yammie.

jc

re: .-1

I'm sure it's the sustainiac thingy Sakman is talking
about.

Dunno anything about it, but it looks like another
gadget that died an early death. 

>Seems like Blues Saraceno had 'em in his Yammie.
    
    Whatchoo talkin about, boy?  Blues had Duncan Double-Whammy pickups in
    his Yamaha (a custom RGZ) at the clinic we saw.  :-)
    
    To respond to the question at hand, there was both a Kramer model with
    the Floyd Sustainer device in it and the Sustainiac guitar made by some
    company called ASI that did something similar (not sure if it had the
    genuine Floyd Rose device in it or not).  Neither did very well on the
    market.  I've seen some of the mail order places I get catalogs from
    dumping off both models for less then they asked for them originally.
    
    For example, in the newest Musician's Friend catalog, in the "Blowout
    Specials" section they list the ASI Sustainiac guitars for $349.88
    (list was $699.95 according to them).  Several colors are available, so
    there's probably a bunch of them.  They also list a Kramer Sustainer
    (PCS-1, in flip-flop red) for $889.88 (list was $1525.90) in the same
    section. 
    
    I remember when the Kramers were first out a local store had one and
    I'm very sure they wanted over $1K for it.
    
    Greg
                                              

    
    
    Has anybody tried the Dimarzio " X2N " humbucker pick-up?
    
    I bought a set and I'm pretty impressed with the sound and sustain, but
    I was wondering if there was physically a "hotter" pick-up on the
    market, besides active powered ones?
    
    
    

    -1
    
    I believe the Duncan "Invader" model was made to be a hotter, passive
    alternative to the Dimarzio X-2N.  One good thing about the Duncan's is
    they're potted...I used to use an X-2N, and found problems in
    high-volume, high-gain situations with microphonic feedback, and always 
    wished the Dimarzios were potted to eliminate it.  But, the Dimarzio
    is a great sounding pickup, if you can deal with the feedback problem
    (if you have that problem).
    
    Buck, who's Marshall 2205 *hated* those pickups (microphonically speaking)

I second Buck's response about the Duncan's Invader.  That is one hot and
powerful pickup!  I had to lower it a little from the strings because of 
the strong magnetic pull.  

I had the pickup in the bridge position of an old guitar that I sold.  (but I
kept the pickup when I sold the guitar).  Someday I'll find a new home for it.

It's a humbucker but it has a 4 wire confiq so you can split it if you want.

/marc

    fwiw, the Duncan Invader is fugly lookin...but sounds great!
    
    ...a perfect match for a Metaltronix M-1000 head!  8^)

Thats the baby that Greg House had in his Kramer, me thinks.
Buck is right - the pickup has these like round-headed allen
screw thingies (technical eh ??) for pole pieces...  that the one ?

Me also thinks "Hot" is an under statement.
:)

    Yeah Coop, that's it...those bug lug-type pole piece thangs...
    
    fugly!

Remember that old Dean "Z" I had ??  I think it had those in it...
They "looked" the same anyway.  The screws ought to go in a rack, not in
a pickup.

:)
jc

    There is only one pickup on earth that looks like that.  The Invader is
    instantly recognizable!

    Yeah, I had one in a Kramer I used to have.  I liked it's tone when the
    volume was turned up all the way, but the sound changed and it thinned
    out and sounded whiny if you rolled off the volume.  Neither the
    Dimarzio-made pickups in my Ibanez or my stock Gibson pickups in my Les
    Paul change so drastically.

    The Invader was made to shred and nothing else.  Don't bother with the
    volume or tone controls on the guitar if you get one.  Major output,
    but kind of like a bludgeon when it comes to finesse.

    Greg

I'm gonna eat a little crow here.

I've decided that the EMG's in my ESP are the best pickups I've ever worked with.
(It has an EMG81 humbucker and one SA single coil)

I love the  sound of the SA,  like a strat only better, much richer harmonically.
The 81 has a nice tendancy to break into feedback an octave higher than the
note you were sustaining, 'specially when using my kitty preamps on wow.

But best of all: no cord noise. I was always plagued by microphonic guitar cords.
But the low impedance of the EMG's and the drive the active electronics provides
has effectivaly eliminated that problem once and for all.

dbii

    
    What kind of problems do you encounter when you have a hot set of
    pick-ups that are up too close to the strings?
    
    Also, how much $ do these invaders usually run?
    
    

>> What kind of problems do you encounter when you have a hot set of
>> pick-ups that are up too close to the strings?

My biggest problem was when I used my Floyd Rose tremolo.  When I'd do a dive
bomb with it the strings would stick to the pickup because of it's magnetic
pull.  This is ok at a certain point, but I didn't like it happening 
prematurely.  On an older guitar it also pulled my strings out of tune (very
slightly).  I just added a little more distance between the pickup and the 
strings.

/marc

Single coils will pull onthe string and pull it out of tune. many strat owners
have experienced the low e string that won;t intonate and isn't in tune above 
the 10th fret no matter what. Usually lowering the pickups will fix this.

dbii

    I'd like to do a modification to my Strat. It has 2 dual coil
    humbuckers in it now and a three position switch. What I'd like to do
    is split the coils on one of the pickups so that I can switch them to
    series/parallel configuration. 
    
    I'd also need to change the switch to a
    5 position. Position 1 would be the bridge pickup. 2 would be a phase
    reversal between the neck and bridge pickup. The middle is neck and
    bridge in phase. The fourth is neck pickup with coils in series, and the
    5th is neck pickup with coils in parallel.
    
    Anybody got a schematic of how I might do this? I tried to figure it
    out and I end up confused.
    
    "sakman"
        

Has anyone heard, tried etc. Semour Duncan live wires? (They are duncans answer
to EMG actives).

dbii who really NEEDS to blow some money on pickups...

    re .302
    
    Ok, don't everyone reply at once here ... I'm not believing that nobody
    in here knows how to do this. Maybe I'm asking too much. So let's try
    just splitting the dual coil. Any help here? I've done this before so I
    know it can be done with a 2-pole 2 throw miniswitch. I just can't
    remember how I wired the switch and I get confused and frustrated
    trying to figure it drawing it on paper. Any help here?
    
    Thanx in advance  - "sakman"

    re .304 
    
    OK, OK, don't everyone jam the network on this one either. I can see
    I've hit a nerve here - a dead one. Jus' kidding, save the daggers.
    
    I called Dimarzio for the information and they faxed me a sheet with
    all the information I could ever want regarding  the wiring of pickups.
    
    
    If anyone's interested, their number is (800)221-6468 (outside of NYC).
    
    "sakman"

    Anyone know about this? On a Strat, when you switch the selector to the 
    2nd or 4th positions, are you placing two pickups aout of phase or are you
    switching the pickups relative position, ie, series to parallel. I'm
    pretty sure the switch is for series/parallel, but not definite.
    
    Also, what pickups are on in what position. I've lost too many brain
    cells since I last owned a conventional Strat.
    
    Thanx,
    "sakman"

When you go to the 2nd or 4th position on the switch you enable the 
middle/bridge or the middle/neck pickups in parallel. Phasing has nothing
to do with it.

dbii

    re: 307
    
    Dave,
    What pickups are on then for the middle position, all three? Yep, must
    be, its coming back to me now - its the middle pickup thats never on by
    itself, Right? You sure about parallel?
    
    "sakman"

Well no,, when you select the middle switch position all you get is the middle 
pickup.

 You can test this by taking a pick and clicking on the pickups with the guitar
plugged into an amp and try all 5 positions...

dbii

Hi Dave -

	My strat's wired so that my switch positions do:

	1 - bridge
	2 - mid and bridge (parallel, out)? - anyway, this position is quiet
	3 - middle
	4 - mid and neck - wired for humlessness
	5 - neck (hmmmmm)

	This is the Japanese Standard (1990) wiring. I can't speak for
	other models and model years.

    Damn, I guess I lost some brain cells and it shows here! 
    
    So the three pickups are never on at one time. Well hell I knew there
    was something that didn't happen. Thanx dukes!
    
    "sakman"

    Hey sakman, I believe you're thinking about the wiring on a three pickup
    Les Paul Custom.  Now to be honest, I don't remember exactly how it
    goes myself, but it is kind of funky.  I'm pretty sure there's an "all
    three pickups on" mode and also no modes with just the middle.  Can any
    Gibson gurus (Danny?) help here?
    
    The Strat modes described by dbII and others previously are the
    standard wiring for most all stock Strats.
    
    /rick

I recently did some pickup work on a couple of my guitars.

I pt an EMG-P in my squire p-bass, made all the difference in the world, the
bass sounds like a bass now, not some sort of clunky thing....

I replaced the EMG-81 in my ESP with an EMG-85. Much meatier ballsy tone. I dunno
what to do with the 81 now...

I bought, but did not install, EMG89/sa/sa for my steinberger. Stienberger get's
to install them since my burger only came with one pickup and no switch and 
there's noone up here who I'd trust to do that work on it...the 89 is a
humbucker/single coil, the sounds of an 85 in humbucking mode and the sound of
an SA in single coil mode, all in the standard humbucking size pickup.

dbii

    I finally made a modification to my non-traditional Strat. My Strat had
    two humbuckers instead of three single coil pickups making it sound
    more like a Les Paul than a Strat. For the Bridge pickup, thats fine
    with me since I rarely used the bridge pickup in my previous Strat. I
    find that pickup to be too thin. But I like the sound and flexibilty of
    a Strat with the neck and middle pickups.
    
    I modified my guitar by adding 2 Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounders in the
    neck and middle position. Now, I have a Dimarzio Superdistortion
    humbucker in the bridge position and the Duncans. To do this, I ordered 
    a pickguard from Music Emporium and was surprised to fine out that the 
    pickguard was not an exact replacement for my Strat. I had to cut some
    at the tail end of the pickguard to allow for my tremolo assemly. Also,
    the screw holes didn't line up.
    
    Anyway, here's the thing about the new pickups. Its close to what I had
    hoped for in making the modification, but I find the Duncans have more
    of a sonic bandwidth. That is to say that they're definitely not as
    midrange as traditional Strat PU's. Now thats either bad or good
    depending upon personal preference. For me, I think its less than what
    I hoped for as I wanted the Stevie Ray sound. Now I know Stevie isn't
    known at all for using Seymour Duncans. I guess I just fell into the
    philosophy that if some is good, more MUST be better. If a Strat pickup
    is good, a 1/4 lb 'er offering more power must be better. Not so!
    Not better, not worse, just different. 
    
    I like the modification. It does increase the flexibility of my guitar,
    but I really think I wanted *that* strat sound. One other thing I noted
    is that the duncans are a very good compliment to the Super Distortion
    humbucker. I don't know if a traditiona Strat pickup would be.
    
    "sakman"

    So now for the past week or so I've been experimenting with the duncans
    and as I said in my last, they seemed to sound different than I
    expected. Then, last night I tried something else. I fooled with the
    midrange setting on my amp. I had been playing with the midrange all
    the way up thinking since that was the sound I was looking for, that
    setting was the appropriate. I had tried adjusting the bass and treble
    around the maxed midrange. 
    
    Well I'll be dipped in sh!t and called stinky - I backed off the 
    midrange and the guitar came alive. What I discovered is that the 
    midrange on my amp must be an active boost. With the knob pulled out,
    the midrange circuitry is cut allowing the guitar itself to sound more
    midrange. 
    
    Oh happy day! I'm in love again. The combination of this guitar and its
    versatility, and the versatility of my "the Twin", I'm thinking maybe
    to just play in the cellar ain't gonna make it. I might just have to start
    thinking about playin in a band. Watch for an announcement as I take
    this thought "to the mountain top".
    
    "sakman" 
    

    The other pickup notes didn't touch on what I'm looking for
    so I'm adding this.
    (Moderator, move this if you think appropriate)
    
    Back in the 50's GRETCH used a particular type of pichup.
    About 1.25 ins wide withe the adjustment screws directly behind the
    poles. I have an old guitar with one on already and I'm looking for 
    another to restore to original.
    I asked about the guitar (LEVIN) in another notes some months ago 
    but in my own research I've found out that LEVIN were bought out by
    MARTIN  in the late 60's early 70's.
    None of the MARTINS seem to have the required pickup I want so I'm
    wondering if anybody (DWEBER?) can put one in my direction.
    
    If I can get any more info I'll post it
    
    Thanks.  
    KEVIN 
    
    (I'm in GALWAY,IRELAND. Also another of the small band of people
    leaving the company in the next month, but I\ve enjoyed my stay!)
    
    rgds

    The pickups you describe are Dearmonds; they're single coils.  I'm not
    sure if you can still get these; Dearmond itself may not be in business
    anymore.  Then again, Gretsch has been doing a lot of re-issues lately
    so they've got to be getting those old-style pickups from somewhere.
    My advice is to contact Gretsch; I've seen an ad for their catalog
    in recent Guitar Player mags.  Also, old Martin electrics used these
    so you might be able to scavenge one there (old Gretsch's are too
    valuable to scavenge these days).
    
    Just fyi, Gretsch changed from using the single coil Dearmonds to
    their own design humbuckers, Filtertrons (cool name!), in the late
    50's, about the same time as Gibson.  These are relatively low output
    jobs (by modern standards) with a sweet tone, much like a good Gibson
    PAF.  Pete Townshend was a big fan of these; the power chords in
    "Baba O'Reilly" were done on a Filtertron equipped late 50's Gretsch
    Chet Atkins.
    
    /rick

    Rick is correct about the DeArmonds. Gretsch's current lineup appears
    to be all Filter'tron powered, so I doubt that they'll be able to help.
    Your best bet is to call some vintage dealers. If you find one, don't
    expect it to be cheap.
    
    Danny W.

    Thanks guys. I do realize these will not be cheap but I dont mind.
    I'll let you know how I do before I go.
    
    Kevin.

    Anyone know anything about this new Fender pickup called the Texas
    Special? They put 'em in the SRV Stratocaster. Their claimed to be a
    regular single coil Strat PU with extra windings like (they say) many
    '50's vintage strat pu's have due to inaccurate counters on the pu
    winding jigs.

    I'm thinking about dropping one into the bridge position ona '57 reissue
    that I recently bought. The bridge PU seems a tad anemic, the other two
    have plenty of balls.

I see Paul Reed Smith is now selling pickups.

jim

I thought PRS used DiMarzio pickups ??

Are they pulling an Ibanez now or what ?!?

    re .320
    
    I tried a set of the "Texas Wound" pickups (or whatever they're called)
    on a Custom Shop Strat recently.  (If you're interested, it was that
    white "Hendrix Re-issue" job in Wurlitzer, Framingham; still there last
    time I went).  They didn't strike me as anything special, but your
    mileage may vary.  They're also on the new SRV Signature Strat, if you
    see one of those.  I suggest try before you buy.
    
    /rick

>I thought PRS used DiMarzio pickups ??
    
    PRS has been using their own pickups for several years now.  I think
    you can get DiMarzio's or anything else you want in there, but if it's
    not one of their's it's a special order.
                  
    gh

Leo Fender modified sewing machines to wind pickup bobins back in the 50's
(In those days, you had to be creative), and there was a little counter
on the top to give you a rough idea how many turns there was on it. Getting
a few hundred extra turns was not improbable at all. I saw one of the
machines in Fullerton California back in the middle 1970's - they still
used it occasionally for prototype windings.

								Jens

    Jens,

    Sewing machines, really? What a guy. My hero Leo was. The owner of The
    American Guitar Center in Maryland (John Sprung?) told me that he owns
    and uses Leo's original PU winding jig. I had him rewind an old '65 PU
    for me on it for like $30 as couple years back. When I got it back I
    quickly realized something that I had read in a guitar identification
    book: that the old pickups were wound in the opposite direction from the
    later ones. Oh well, I just swapped the wires.

    This guy Sprung is quite a collector. His big thing is Tweed amps. He
    also owns that fully functional (and heavy) one-of-a-kind lucite
    stratocaster that Leo made as a sales prop. It was in a Guitar World
    fold out a while back.


    \rick,

    Thanks, I'll check out on of those guits next week. Trouble is pickup
    nuances are such...nuances. Trying to tell what a PU will do in your ax
    and with your equipment from playing a guitar strung with .009s on some
    wierd Princeton Chorus or something is next to impossible. But what the
    heck, I'll try. Hell, someone's got to do it!

    --Ron

    re.: .320
    
    Personally and this is just my opinion, it may well give you the
    "tone" and alittle more power and (from what I hear) should be
    placed in the "neck" *and* "bridge" positions. The neck position
    if you really want to get closer to that SRV tone. The bridge...
    well, alot of different p/u's sound great in this position including
    a Duncan vintage Hot Stack which has alittle more power and the bite
    to match, plus it's extremely quiet compared to stock Fender p/u's.
    
    
    Rock on,
    	Fred (Strat person who'd put that Texas Special p/u in the neck only 
              for that "tone").
    
    P.S. BTW...  how much is it?

    RE: PRS pickups
    
    They certainly make their own humbuckers. I'm pretty sure (though the
    brain isn't what it once was :^) that the single-coil pickups used on
    PRSs are Seymour Duncans...
    
    Nick

    .327

    I have not trouble at all getting good stuff from the neck pu. I always
    found SRV's sound pretty easily emulated. I've just found this unit's
    bridge pu to be a tad bit light sounding. Doesn't sound like the signal
    level is up where it's supposed to be. I've already raised it a touch
    higher than the bridge pu on my '65. Idunno, maybe it's me ears...or me
    brain for that matter (shaddup Buck!).

    --Ron

    Fred,
    
>P.S. BTW...  how much is it?

    The new buyer's guide from GW doesn't show the Tex Spec. But all the
    standard type Fender PU's list for $42. I'd guess that it would be close
    to that if not the same.

    --Ron

    Has somebody tried a Bill Lawrence L-500? I'm very interested in it 
    since I saw Nuno Bettencourt(sp?) used it on his N4. Is it passive
    pickup?

    Kaz

    I got one question for yu-all:

    What the HEY-ILL is a Lindy Fralin pickup? Huh?

    --Ron

    Lindy's a custom pickup rewinder specializing in restoring vintage stuff.
    He's located in Richmond VA.  Covers all the big guys - Fender, Gibson,
    Gretsch, Rick, etc. and he'll do weird off-the wall stuff too if you
    want.  He's especially noted for his vintage Strat rewinds; lots of folks
    regard them as the best (e.g., the guy from Kendricks Amps), although
    this stuff is always a matter of religion.  You can buy Fralin rewound
    pickups outright too.  Prices for pickups and rewind jobs are competitive
    with Duncan, etc.
    
    You probably don't hear much about him because he hasn't gone the
    high profile high volume route like Duncan, Van Zandt, etc.  but
    he's well known and highly regarded in the vintage guitar world.
    If I needed a vintage replacement pickup, he's one of the first
    people I'd talk to.
    
    Last phone# I had was 804-358-2699
    
    /rick

                              pickup angst

    Dear Abby,

    I've decided that the pickups on my '65 Strat are substancially stronger
    in the midrange frequencies than the standard single coils on my '57
    reissue made in '84. Conversely, the '57 reissue's pickups sound a bit
    more open, brighter. They sound nice and everything, but they seem 
    unable to drive the input on my preamp as well as my other guitars do.
    (such bad grammer, I know) The neck and middle PUs on the old Strat are
    original (dated march-65 on the bottom of the bobbin), whilst I replaced
    the bridge PU around '69 or '70 with an off-the-shelf replacement from
    Fender. A great sounding (and playing) guitar.

    So I'm thinking of replacing the pickups in the '57 reissue with
    Seymores or maybe one of Fender's newer single coils like Texas
    Specials. I have one Duncan already, though it's a left handed one, and
    I'm VERY PLEASED with the '54 replacement in my '54 Tele.

    And then there are these things that Fender just calls Custom single
    coils that they use on the Robert Cray signature. Oh me, oh my.

    So Texas Special or Seymore Duncan...

                ...Texas Special or Seymore Duncan...

                            ...Texas Special or Seymore Duncan...

    --Ron (Fender guy)

    Dear Ron Fender Guy,
    
    You obviously have a bad case of vintage GTS.  I would like to be able
    to help you, but I'm afraid I may only further confuse the issue.  I
    personally have not found either the Seymours or the Fender Texas
    Specials to be entirely satisfactory for the sound you describe.
    A couple of other suggestions:
    
    Lindy Fralins - I know you asked about these before.  I've never heard
      em but they are very highly spoken of among vintage Strat
      enthusiasts.  He'll go so far as to have a 50's wind, an early 60's
      wind, a late 60's wind, etc.  Worth a look, I believe I already posted
      the number somewhere.  Note that Fralins are starting to show up on high
      end Strat copies, so he may be starting to go big a la Seymour.
    
    Van Zandts - Some blues players I know in Boston (Rick Russell for one)
      swear by these.  Probably the best vintage Strat repro pickup I've
      tried, better imo than the Seymour Alnico Pros, which were my
      previous favorite.
    
    Joe Bardens - non-traditional dual blade types that nevertheless are
      supposed to offer true vintage tone with the advantages of
      humbucking.  As most people know, Danny Gatton is big on the Tele
      versions, but I've seen more blues players using the Strats as well
      these days.
    
    Evans - Canadian made, the pickup of Jeff Healey.  Jeff's tone knocked
      me out a couple of years ago at Nightstage, so I've always been
      curious about them.  Again, not a traditional look if that's
      important.
    
    Oh yeah, for my money the Robert Cray pickups sounded better than the
    SRV ones, but then again that may have been the guitar.
    
    /rick

    As always, rick, you're a veritable fountain of information.

    Thanks,

    --Ron

    Over the weekend I dropped the pickups from my basketcase '62 strat into
    my '57 reissue. The guitar now has a markedly different sound. Not as
    bright, more in the mids and definately more output.

    --Ron

    
    
    I have an old Duncan humbucker that just says DC/B.  I'm assuming this
    means "Duncan Custom/Bridge?  Is this a fairly old model or does Duncan
    still make the "Duncan Custom"?
    
    Kevin
    

    Yes, Duncan still makes the Custom.  It's similar to what Dimarzio
    calls a PAF Pro.
    
    gh

    
    The Duncan is in the bridge position of the 'Paul I just bought.  I'm
    inclined to keep it although to my ears it doesn't have the sound of
    the Jeff Beck humbucker that I'm used to.
    
    The guitar also has a Dimarzio in the neck position.  No model number
    on that puppy at all.  It just says Dimarziosomethingorother on the
    bottom of the pickup.
    
    Kevin
    
  
    
    

    I've been trying several pickups for my YAMAHA YG-1221 and already 
    decided to put a DiMarzio PAF into neck and a Fast Track 2 into middle. 
    For bridge position I've tried PAF pro, FRED and JB. All of theese 3 
    pickups are F-spaced or Trembucker. These pickups were very good but I 
    think I'd like to install them into other guitars if I could find more 
    suitable pickup for bridge position on a YG and these pickup combinations.

    Yesterday I bought a TB-5/Duncun Custom Trembucker for next attempting
    and did the replacing work last night. When I was going to install a
    TB-5 into pickguard I noticed that the pickup was too wide to put into 
    the rectangle hole of the pickguard. Should I cut the pickguard or 
    should I back TB-5 to shop?

    I think the hole is not small because my another YG was installed 
    EMG-85 in the same rectangle hole.

    Kaz

    Hi Kaz,
    
    I'd vote for getting another pickguard and experimenting with that one,
    preserving the one that came with your guitar.  Here in the States
    pickguards are about $20 to $30 US.  You can get them for almost any
    guitar or you can get blanks and make your own.
    
    I think modifying pickguards is a great way to get into working on
    electric guitars.

-2

How do you like the Dimarzio FT2, I was thinking of using the either the ft2 or
an SD hot rails for a brifge replacement on my Ibanez blade 

I also have a SD 1/4 lb  in the bridge which i'm thinking of putting in the neck
pos.  I'm considering a HS-2 for the middle.

wadda you guys think.  I know someone else has played this game before...

Do you like how it sounds, i'm especially curious to hear how the 1/4 lb will
sound in the neck pos...

thanks,

Nick

>How do you like the Dimarzio FT2, I was thinking of using the either the ft2 or
>an SD hot rails for a brifge replacement on my Ibanez blade 

    I could not say much comment on FT2 because I've tried it for the middle
    position only. In my impression, FT2 is very similar sounding to typical
    Humbucker like a PAF and output level is also similar. Interesting point
    which is different from a typical Humbucekr is a picking response. It is
    compressed like a sound via compressor.

    I also attempted to put a SD/HR for the same position on the same 
    guitar. It is much powerful than a FT2 and it also has the edge. I 
    think it is suitable pickup for people who need a single coil sound with
    MEGA power. The advantage of single size humbucker is that you will not
    get a noise like the real single-coils or other normal size humbuckers.

    Kaz.

    
    
    Anybody know which pickups Gibson installed in LP Customs in '78?  I
    just noticed that both PUs in my LP are Dimarzios -- I knew *one* was a
    replacement when I bought it 10 years ago, but that wasn't important at
    the time.  Now that I'm cleaning this puppy up for sale, the pickup
    complement has assumed new importance.  If anyone has some Gibson
    pickups they'd like to sell, let me know.  Otherwise, I'll go buy
    whatever Gibson installed, if they're still available.
    

    re: -1
    
    I 'think' they were the '78 version of PAF's by Gibson.  Only your
    Weber will know for sure.....
    
    8)

    Are they full size or mini humbuckers?
    
    Dave

    >>Are they full size or mini humbuckers?
    
    HEY! Pay attention!  Only Les Paul deluxe models have the mini's!!
    
    Bass players.......sheesh!
    
    :*}

>    Bass players.......sheesh!
    
    Hey, pal, compared to *my* humbucker, they're ALL mini's!
    
    Hmph.

    re: -1
    
    True, Dave, true.......isn't one of your pickups about the size of
    Connecticut?
    
    8*}

>    Connecticut?
    
    Rhode Island.  That Music Man had one the size of Connecticut.
    
    Dave

    A '78 LP Custom would have had standard gold-plated humbuckers. Gibson
    also had higher output models called "Series VII" or something like
    that--these were standard on the 25/50 and L-5S and optional on LPs. 
    
    Current standard humbuckers or PAFs, or even a combination of the two,
    would be appropriate replacements.
    
    Danny W.
    

    
    
    Thanks, Danny, that's just the info I needed!
    
    

    BTW, Gibson pickups are available through Stewart MacDonald. 
    The number is listed in the Manufacturers Adres note. 
    
    Mark

    Jeepers, over the last few weeks I've been successfully fighting this
    jones to experiment with new pickups in my '57 Vintage Reissue
    Stratocaster and the new Guitar Player arrives with a cover story on 45
    different pickups! I'm cooked. help.

    
    
    Why not just do it?  Just don't make any irreversible mods...
    
    

    The problem I've always had with replacement pickups is that they're
    expensive, sometimes as much as $80 *each*, and you can't really try
    them out before you buy 'em!  There's no way to really do a valid A/B
    comparison, since every guitar sounds different, so what do you do? 
    Read the hype descriptions the manufacturers put out and play "pin the
    pickup on the guitar" hoping it works out?
    
    Greg (who's had a few he liked, a few he didn't)

    Right. Trying to decide if PU 'A' might be too hot or if 'B' is not hot
    enough from manfacturer descriptions gives me the hesitation blues. The
    last thing I want is a few more (expensive) pickups lying about.

    Whilste watching the Maple Leafs beat the Sharks this weekend I decided
    to perform yet another hideous experiment on my '57 reissue Strat. You
    see, I've had this lefty Seymore Duncan vintage replacement pickup
    (SSL-1L I think) kicking about for a few years. I had noticed some time
    ago that it is reverse-wound and I had read that the really cool pickups
    that come in sets of 3 usually include a reverse-wound/reverse-polarity
    middle pickup for hum cancelling in the 2 combo positions on a Strat.
    The only difference is that pole piece heights are also reversed on this
    thing, i.e. the short magnet which is usuall on the B string is on the A
    string. So what, I thought. So I decided to install it during the 2nd
    intermission. (OK, it's not all that hideous.)

    It sounds pretty good, but the 2 and 4 positions are quite different in
    the upper midrange from my stock '65 unit, that is the mids are more
    scooped out than before. To put it another way, there isn't as much
    upper midrange bite in the 2 and 4 combo positions with the
    reverse-wound middle pickup.

    The pickup by itself sounds nearly identical to the stock middle pickup
    in my '65. After dicking with the height and setting the amp tones a
    little different I liked the different sound. So I decided to keep the
    guitar setup this way.

    regarding hum: no hum in the 2 and 4 switch positions. Very quiet.

    To sum up: hum cancelling works well but I suspect that using
    reverse-wound/reverse-polarity middle pickups changes the 2 and 4
    position sound significantly. The result, however, isn't bad, just
    different.

    And the Maple Leafs won and go to play Vancouver.

    Okay, all you old Pickup Gurus, can someone give me a little history
    on DeArmond pickups. I've seen DeArmond pickups on everything from
    cheap Harmonies to top of the line Gretches. They seems to be the
    pickup of choice among Dobro players. I'm referring the the wafer-
    thin DeArmond pickups that were made 25-30 years ago. A friend of
    mine has 2 of these, but he refuses to sell me one of them. He 
    let me borrow one to try on my Dobro and basically had to pry it
    away from me. There was an ad in Vintage Guitar magazine recently
    about a "reissue" of this old style DeArmond pickup which was
    selling for $175 (ouch). 
    
    I've also seen DeArmond acoustic guitar pickups that attached to
    the soundhole and had built-in volume controls. These were not
    quite as desirable, but were probably the only game in town 30
    years ago for acoustic guitars.
    
    The Harmony Rocket II that I bought recently has a pair of the
    wafer-thin DeArmonds on it. These are really cool looking pickups
    with a thin gold-plated mesh behind a chrome frame. They also
    sound great. 
    
    Any info on old DeArmonds would be appreciated.
    
    Mark 
     
    

    I'm contemplating ordering a set of "standard" Humbuckers. They
    apparently come with chrome or nickel (as well as others) covers.
    Can anyone shed any light on why I might want chrome vs nickel. Is
    is just a cosmetic thing? Will they affect sound? Will chrome be
    more resistant to scratching etc?
    
    jim 

    Gibson's up to 1964 or so had nickel plated hardware, then they
    changed to chrome.  Some of the re-issues (like 80's dot 335s)
    used nickel again to get the vintage look.  Other than cosmetics,
    there is no reason to go with one vs the other; get whatever matches
    your existing hardware (or suits your fancy).
    
    Nickel tarnishes easier, but many people like the look of nickel better
    anyway.  If you don't know how to tell, nickel gives off a slight
    yellowish overtone to reflections, chrome a slight blue.  Easiest way
    to see the difference is to look at a known nickel and a known chrome
    piece side by side; it's subtle, but you should be able to tell the
    difference
    
    /iron_man
    

    btw, latest word on cool PAF replacements is supposed to be Tom Holmes
    pickups.  These are hand wound versions of the current Gibson '57
    re-issue PAFs (Tom did some consulting work on these) but the covers 
    are cosmetically closer to real 50's PAFs than the Gibsons.  Real nice.
    
    Has anyone seen or tried the Duncan Antiquities?
    
    /seth
    

    Well I just install 3 new pickups in my 83 Start
    
    Neck Blue Fender Lace Sensor
    Mid  Silver Fender Lace Sensor
    Bridge Red Fender Lace Sensor
    
    I am extremely happy at how quiet the pickups are the range of tones I
    now get.
    
    The stock piuckups were thin and this is the setup that only has one
    tone control.  I am going to replace the tone control with a TBX tone
    control as soon as I can get my hands on one.
    
    Happy with my GTS purchase

The famous Seymour W. Duncan posts to rec.music.makers.guitar:

Article 31163 of rec.music.makers.guitar:
From: [email protected] (SeymourwD)
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar
Subject: Re: Adjusting Pickup Height
Date: 17 Oct 1994 18:06:04 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Lines: 8
Sender: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
References: <[email protected]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: newsbf01.news.aol.com

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Brandon
Corey) writes:

Press the strings down on the last fret and the Bridge pickup should be
adjusted about 1/16" from the strings.  The neck pickup should be adjusted
1/8" on each side.  If the bass is still too full, just lower it another
1/16" to 1/8".  Let go of the strings (from the last fret) and it should
work pretty good for you.  good luck. Seymour W. Duncan

Article 31159 of rec.music.makers.guitar:
From: [email protected] (SeymourwD)
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar
Subject: Re: Can you make Strat sound like Tele?
Date: 17 Oct 1994 17:45:02 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Lines: 15
Sender: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
References: <[email protected]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: newsbf01.news.aol.com

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (David Morning)
writes:

The Telecaster has a ferrous bottom or elevator plate which is copper
plated to keep it from rusting and ease in soldering the beginning wire of
the pickup to ground.  The bridge plate is also steel and surrounds the
pickup and pulls the magnetic field from the pickup out further from the
pickup.  The bottom plate pushes the magnetic field up towards the
strings.  The magnet is in the pickup to magnetize the strings which move
within the magnetic field and generate an alternating current to the
amplifier.  I have made similar pickups for the Stratocaster for players
like Jerry Donahue and Jeff Beck.  We made special plates for the Strat
pickup to simulate the field of a Telecaster.  The angle of the Telecaster
pickup is different from the Strat too.  The bridge plate and bridge
saddles help contribute the tone of a Telecaster.  Good luck.. SWD


Article 31166 of rec.music.makers.guitar:
Path: jac.zko.dec.com!crl.dec.com!crl.dec.com!caen!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!gatech!swiss.ans.net!newstf01.cr1.aol.com!newsbf01.news.aol.com!not-for-mail
From: [email protected] (SeymourwD)
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar
Subject: Re: Can you make Strat sound like Tele?
Date: 17 Oct 1994 18:19:08 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Lines: 6
Sender: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
References: <[email protected]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: newsbf01.news.aol.com

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
writes:

The American made Jerry Donahue guitars use pickups made by Seymour Duncan
and the Japanese JD guitars use Japanese pickups with a slightly different
wiring. SWD

    
    
    	A mate had to borrow my amp and effects to do a gig so he came
    over the other night to pick the stuff up and do a quick run through
    on the gear, he brought his own guitar.
    
    	He has got EMG SA81 pickups in it.  Boy do these things sound 
    different to the Gold lace sensor pickups in my Strat.  
    	Anyone had any experience with putting these type of pickups into
    a normal strat.  They have the battery mounted such that if you need
    to change it you would have to remove the pickguard and strings( not
    such a great idea if it goes down during a gig)
    	Im not sure about having someone route out my guitar though.
    
    	Does anyone else use the Fender Golden Lace sensor pickups? 
    They just seem a bit bland to me.
    
    P.K.

SA81's are screaming little pickups...I have one in my ESP. I routed
my strat myself a few years back, it's scary to hack up a guitar but I had
practiced on my lead 1 before that....use a sharp (very sharp) bit and be careful.

dbii

    I have a tele with blue and red lace at the neck and bridge.  I got
    them because I wanted something a little hotter than the vintage sound
    which is what the gold lace emulates.  I actually like the sound of the
    blue lace which emulates the humbucker and is a little more versitle
    than the red sensor.
    
    I wouldn't have any problem hacking out under the pickguard as long as
    you keep all the old parts so you won't lose your resale value if you
    want to sell the guitar some day.  Even though the lace sensors didn't
    require any cutting I still kept old parts just in case.
    
    Mark

    re -2 Thanks
    
    	Does anyone know the diffference between the 81 and 85 (and dont
    say 4).
    
    P.K.

Yes. I have both...

The 85 is a fairly standard PAF-like pickup. The 81 is hotter and has a slightly
enhanced high end and high mid output. I like the 81 much better than the 85,
which I removed after trying it in place of the 81 and have as yet, not decided
what to do with it.

dbii

    -1 
    	You could give it to me......8^).
    
    P.K.

    I'll have to disagree.  I thought I'd posted a reply about this in here
    before, but perhaps my lousy modem connection went south on me (as many
    of them have the last few days).
    
    81s are ok...if it's all you have in your guitar.  It's totally
    unsuited for mixing with anything else in a set because it's WAY TOO
    BRIGHT.  I had two different sets of EMGs with an 81 and 2 SAs and the
    SAs sounded dark and muddy if you set up the amp so that the 81 sounded
    right.  Conversely if you set up the tone controls on the amp for the
    SAs, the 81 would CUT YOUR HEAD OFF!  Therefore, I could only use that
    one pickup if I was playing that guitar.  I took 'em out and sold 'em.
    
    I haven't used an 85, but from the description, it sounds like it'd
    have a better tonal balance for mixing in pickup sets.  Like I say, the
    81s simply don't (unless you *like* switching to a lead pickup that's
    really REALLY bright, I don't).
    
    The 81 works fine in a single pickup guitar, since you can set your amp
    for it and not worry about what happens when you switch pickups.  But
    IMHO, the 81 is a HEAVY METAL pickup, and really isn't very good for
    much of anything else.  Sounds thin and compressed to my ear.  I
    believe I'd prefer an 85 or an 89.
    
    Greg

    Pickup news...
    
    I found out the deal on those Seymour Duncan "Seth Lover" models;
    they're just Antiquity PAFs without the phony aging and dirt from
    Seymour's back yard.  A nice idea, unless you actually believe that
    business about dirty pickups sounding better :-)  The Antiquity's seem
    to be current state-of-the-art in PAF repros, although I did hear a
    usually reliable source tell me he liked the Fralin PAFs even better.
    
    An interesting item re Gibson P-100s; these are stacked-humbucking
    versions of the P-90, used on current Gibsons that use a P-90 style
    pickup.  I found out a common mod on these (at least around Boston)
    is to disconnect the hum-cancelling coil; apparently, a lot of players
    think a castrated P-100 sounds better and is worth the noise problems.
    These are still not as phat as Gibson's own real P-90 re-issues or
    similar from Duncan, but it is a less expensive alternative.  As I
    said, this is common mod around town so it appears to be more than
    just a few flakes (maybe it's lot of flakes?).
    

    I wouldn't refer to these as castrated. Perhaps vasectemy would be a
    better term, since the mod is reversable :^)
    
    Mark
    

    Quick report from the lab.  A bunch of us mad scientists got together
    over the weekend to do some pickup testing.  We had two of the Seymour
    Duncan Antiquity PAFs and one "real" PAF; the testbench was a '63 SG.
    All three pickups measured within 100 ohms of each other (8.3 - 8.4k).
    The Duncans were of course "aged"; one of em had this green crap all
    over it and looked like it had spent a week in Seymour's toilet tank.
    
    We popped each one into the bridge position of the SG, ran it through
    several amps of various flavors, and listened.  The Seymours do indeed
    sound good, but when we plugged in the original PAF it was like someone
    threw a switch and turned the lights on.  Thicker, wider, more open;
    more of everything.  I've only played real PAFs a couple of times now
    but each time it was the same experience.  They just sound the way a
    pickup ought to.
    
    I'd still recommend the Antiquities; they're one of the best PAF repros
    I've heard.  But the originals are still the real deal.
    
    /rick
    

    NEED HELP BADLY!!!!!
    Hello guitar buffs,
    It's taken me several months to go through all the comments in this
    section seeing I only have a little time each week. First thing I've 
    noticed, is that alot of you people play strat's. Not many Gibson
    specialist out there stateside. I've really enjoyed reading all of your
    wisdom,now maybe someone can help me. I have a '63 Gibson SG. It is all
    original and I want to keep it that way. My problem is that my ax
    sounds really good but a little to timid for my liking. I play in a
    band and we do alot of our own material. Sort of a cross between
    Santana and Van Halen mix. Everything is fine but now we are going to
    be doing some work in the recording studio and my ax has alot of hum
    coming from it. I do believe the original pu's are p90's. What do you
    suggest I try. Keep in mind that I don't want to have to cut the pick
    guard and second I live in Ottawa Canada. I just about sh!t myself 
    when I read how much pu's are going for in the states. Up here they
    are about triple that price. 
     BTW-I read just a little back about p100'a and these PAF pu's. What
    the h@ll are PAF? From the sounds of that note the PAF are kickers
    compared to the P100's. Don't forget I can't afford to buy pick-ups
    up here for $180 each just to find out that they have no balls. 
     Any info is muchly appreciated....
    
     might ax with micky mouse pu's
    

    PAFs are a short name for original Gibson humbuckers from the late 50's
    and early 60's.  This style and size pickup has been commonly used on Gibsons
    ever since, although technically only the early ones are true PAFs.
    
    Your P90s are single coils; there is no way to install a PAF style
    humbucker into your guitar without cutting wood. I'm guessing you don't
    want to do this.  Mini-humbuckers, used on 60's Epiphones and 70's Les
    Paul Deluxes and (another variant) on some Firebirds will fit nicely
    into your SG.  These pickups will have more power than the P90s, but
    may sound a little more raspy and brittle; it's just something you'd
    have to try.  Seymour Duncan and probably some others offer a few
    different versions of these.
    
    Also, awhile back DiMarzio made a PAF style humbucker in a special
    soapbar-style package, especially for retro-fitting P90 Gibsons.  Don't
    know if these are still being made; they would sound thicker and fuller
    than the mini-humbuckers.
    
    Gibson's P100 is a humbucking replacement for the P90, but I don't
    believe it is intended to provide more gain; the idea is to have a P90
    sound with less noise.  Probably not what you want.
    
    Good luck
    
    /rick
    

    Oh, one more thing.  To mount mini-humbuckers in your SG you'll need
    a special type of mounting ring as used on Les Paul Deluxes; shouldn't
    be impossible but might be tricky to find (Seymour may even provide
    these already).
    

    Rick,
     Thanks alot,this is exactly what type of info I was looking for. Your 
    right,I'm definately looking for a pu with more gain and sustain. I'm
    going to call around this afternoon to find out if DiMarzio still makes
    these pu's and if they do,find out how much they are. I'll let you know
    the price of them up here. 
     If you can think of any more pu's that might slide in and have the 
    punch I'm looking for let me know. 
    
                                        Thanks again,
    
       more toys,less money
    
    P.S. Now the only problem is justifying this to the wife. Kraft dinner
    isn't so bad as long as you don't eat it every night.

    I'd stick a Firebird Pickup in the neck position. You just can't 
    beat those Firebird mini-hummers, especially in the neck position. 
    
    Mark

    More info to add to reply .379.  The DiMarzio pickup that replaces 
    the vintage "soapbar" and Mini-Humbuckers is the DLX Plus DP154.
    They go for $84.00 stateside.
    
    Mark

    Mark,
    This Firebird pick-up. Will this fit right into my guitar or will I
    have to cut? If so then it is no good for me as I want to keep the old
    pick-up and when and if I sell it,I'll put the old pick-up back in.
    I'll let you know about the price of the DiMarzio DLX plus DF154 here
    if they even carry it any more. I might have to order it but that's ok.
     I know this is probably not the place for this but I use effect pedals
    and I was wondering if anyone out there has heard of the Camelean
    (can't spell I know) effects rack? If so about how much are they out
    there and is there a place in the states close to me where I can get
    one?
    
                                        Thanks again,
    Bob
    

    I don't think you'll have to cut, but you may have to get a special
    mounting ring a la Les Paul Deluxe.  The Firebird mini-hummers and the
    Deluxe style mini-hummers are the same size.
    
    /rick

    Good morning,good morning,good morning,
     I haven't had a chance to call around yet. If I find out that I have
    to order these pickups and they can't give me a time of when they will
    arrive,is there anything I can do in the meantime to fix my problem?
    Such as rewiring the ground to the pickups,or anything. I have already
    taken a quick peak at the insides. It is really dusty and I bought this
    special cleaner to clean all the connections but that hasn't done any 
    good so far. Are there any other suggestions to get rid of the crazy 
    hum. About the only thing that I can do is use my other guitar players
    Gibson RD standard for now for recording. It is a beautiful guitar 
    and talk about balls,it screams but I find the body too big and I have
    a hard time damping the strings in trying to control it. It probably
    isn't the guitar but just me not being use to it. But any suggestions 
    would be much appreciated.
    
    Rock on...........
    
    Bob
    

     Hello boys,
     Just got off the phone with Steve's music here in Ottawa. I asked
    about pick-ups for my ax. He told me that Semour Duncan Vintage Soapbar
    pick-ups were about the same as Firebird mini-humbuckers and they
    are having their 30th aniversary sale so I could get them for about 
    $84.95 each which is a really good price here in Canada. I also asked
    him about the DiMarzio dlx plus dp154 pick-ups but he said that they
    were not listed in his computer nor in the catalogue. He didn't
    actually say that they were discontinued,just that they were not 
    listed for him. Can somebody see if they are still available in 
    the states. He said that the SD's were really hot and that they
    also had SD Hot Soapbar's for the neck position. I don't know 
    about that. I wouldn't think that I would put a hotter pick-up
    in the neck position than a pick-up in the bridge. To me that
    would make it very distorted and very woofy (for lack of a better
    word) sounding. What do you think? I also called another place 
    but there was only one guy working today and I have to call him
    back for the price of the pick-ups but he said they would be 
    around $125 or in that neighbourhood. The only problem with Steve's
    is that they don't have any in stack at their store and there is
    none at the store in Montreal either. If I was to order them he said
    it could possibly take a couple of months before they would come in
    and also I would have to go down and put a 10% deposit which is alright
    by me. But before I do anything I figured I would see what your 
    response was. 
     Let me know. 
    
    Bob
    

    The distributer in Canada for DiMarzio pickups is SK Music at
    514-633-8877
    
    Mark

    
    I disagree that a vintage soapbar pickups will sound the same as a
    Firebird Pickup. A soapbar pickup (by definition) is a single coil
    pickup, not a hummer. Firebird Pickups are specially designed and
    sound like no other pickup. I would either check into getting a set
    from Gibson, or check out the Seymour Duncan Firebird pickups. I 
    believe SD also sells the surround rings which are chrome plated to 
    match the pickups. I've heard that these are almost identical to the 
    Gibson Firebird Pickups. 
     
    Your mileage may vary. I agree that you should use the same style
    pickups in both the neck and bridge position for balance. I think
    you'll find the Firebird pickups have plenty of gain, very sweet 
    tone, and won't sound muddy in the neck position. 
    
    I seem to recall a deal where you can purchase the pickups directly
    from SD, and if you are not satisfied with the sound, you can swap
    them for another model pickup. SD also makes the standard mini-hummers
    that were used on Les Paul deluxes, and other Gibson models. These 
    would also fit into a P90 rout. I'm not sure if the direct-sales
    approach is available to Canadian customers. It wouldn't hurt to call
    SD. Their California number is 805-964-9610. They have a tech support
    line at the factory to answer any questions you may have. 
    
    Mark

    Sorry boys that it's taken me so long to get back to ya but this note
    file was out of order for the last couple of days. I think you are 
    right with your advice about the Firebird pickups being better. I will
    try to see if I can get them here in Canada. I'll let you know what 
    happens in a couple of days. 
    
     Bo

    Better is a relative term. Some folks like P90's better than other
    pickups. All I'm saying is that your' guitar already has soap-bar
    pickups. Replacing them with "Vintage Soap-bars" will have little
    or no affect on your tone. Switching to a humbucker with more gain
    will. There are few choices in mini-hummers that will fit the P90
    rout on your guitar. 
    
    I've owned several Gibsons over the years, and I presently have 
    5 or 6 in my possesion. My Firebird V wins the tone competition
    by a sizeable margin. I have 3 guitars with full-sized humbuckers
    but I prefer the tone of the 'bird over all of em. I usually play
    the Firebird through a Deluxe Reverb amp. No channel switching, no
    gain controls, just pure Fender tube tone. The Firebird brings out
    the best in this amp, providing nice clean sweet tone when you 
    play soft, and gnarly distortion when you dig in. 
    
    Mark

     
    Sorry if this is already discussed in the previous
    391 replies, but: 
    
    How does removing the pickup covers on for example
    humbuckers in a Les Paul effect the sound?  I've
    heard people say it makes for more "distortion", and
    I remember the Dimarzio super-distort pickups had
    no covers, but I've also seen pickups on a "jazz"
    guitar without covers in pictures of Borys guitars. 
    I believe these were Armstrong (?) pickups. 
    
    THanks!
    
    Dave
    

    RE: Uncovered pickups
    
    I've heard that the high end response increases slightly without
    covers. Not enough for me to make a determination though in hearing
    two Les Paul customs (one with and another without covers). Distortion
    increase? I'd say not much to be a BIG difference IMO.
    
    
    	Rock on,
    		Fred (who's had Les Pauls with and without covers)
    
    

    
    RE: -1.  If its not the covers, then is 
    a "super-distortion" pickup one with a 
    higher than usual "gain" (?) or "output" 
    from the pickup? 
    
    Dave - who wishes he's been a EE instead
    of CSCI sometimes!
    

    Super-Distortion was the product name of an early DiMarzio humbucker.
    It claimed to have higher output than most other humbuckers on the
    market at the time.  Increasing the output of a pickup is accomplished
    by increasing the number of coil windings and/or the strength of the
    magnets, and it's part religion part science as to what yields the
    best results.  The Super-Distortion came out at a time when
    aftermarket pickups were still a new idea, and this product sort
    of launched DiMarzio as a major company.  Larry DiMarzio has said
    that part of what he was trying to achieve with the Super-Distortion
    was a pickup that would imitate Leslie West's searing tone.
    
    /rick