Pickups

[DeanM]

so i got my Epi LP ultra last week!! its class!! love it!! its so cool havin a second guitar!! and its quite a contrast from the jackson, which until i got the LP i didn realise how much of a beast it was!! lol but anyway the jackson has a JB in the bridge and is great for higher gain stuff, van halen and some heavier rock like ozzy etc and for metal. and was tinkin of puttin a SD 59 in the neck!

so anyway the jackson can do metal and van halen high gain type stuff! so i want to get new pups for the LP. i want it to cover blues/rock. i want it to clean up well for clean to bluesy tones and also be able for led zep type tones etc!

i saw a set of used gibson 57 classics for fairly cheap!! its a set of gold covered 57s for €130, where as new a single one cost €103 what do you guys think of them? i was originally thinkin a pearly gates in the bridge and an alnico II pro in the neck. so does anybody know how they compare or which would probably suit the description above best? basically im not sure if the 57s could cover all of that? like in the vid below, they wouldnt have that much bite would they? as i said, id like a good bluesy tone and also enough reserve in them to get dirty like the vid! or is that too much to expect?

im really not sure what to do! or what would be the best option!! so any input is appreciated! p.s. in the vid the guy has bareknuckle nailboms, i dunno if id really need that much gain! but either way, i wouldnt have the money for something like those!

Cheers!
DeanM

[youtube][/youtube]

[LivewireBlanco]

The '57 Classics are a good choice. I would also like to throw in the Seymour Duncan Seth Lover. It's a good PAF style pickup. If you aren't too into the PAF sound then go with the '57.

[surfnorthwest]

Both my gibsons have 57 classics and I like them the best of any Gibson pickup. The only other pickups I would consider if I were to change would be the Steve Stevens pickups from bare knuckles

[DeanM]

thanks guys!!

to be honest livewire im not exactly certain what the "PAF" sound is! if by PAF sound you mean "The tone is vintage P.A.F. The unpotted cover gives a slightly "honky" microphonic quality." then i think maybe the 57s would be better.

Surf, the reason the 57s caught my eye is cos iv heard you swear by em before!! i remem you sayin you thought they were the perfect pickup for a les paul! so that is why im considering them now!

quoted below are some of the setup info for the pearly gates and the alnico II pro. both seem to match well together and it also says for both that they are suited to brighter toned instruments and hollow or semi hollow bodies. my LP ultra is chambered so i thought they would suit well. would you guys know what the trade off would be between a set of 57s or a pearlygates/alnico II setup would be? im thinkin maybe go with the 57s and if somethin doesn work then maybe change the bridge if im not gettin enough bite or change the neck to an alnico II if the 57 doesn suit? would that be a good idea or should i just go for either 57 set or the SD set and not mix them?

i think basically i had an idea of what i thought would suit so im kinda just worried that if i go 57s then it will deviate from the ideas i had first? Hmmm its a tough choice!!!!

Pearly Gates
complete setup
Often used in both neck and bridge positions. Can be used in the bridge with an APH-1n Alnico II Pro in the neck for smoother tones; or, a Pearly Gates in the neck with an SH-11 Custom Custom for heavier rock sounds from the bridge position.

guitars
For brighter toned instruments. Works especially well with maple and ebony fingerboards. Also works great with hollow and semi-hollow body guitars.

Alnico II
complete setup
Often the APH-1 is used in both neck and bridge positions. Or, in the neck with a higher output pickup like an SH-11 Custom Custom or SHPG-1b Pearly Gates for heavier rock or hotter blues sounds from the bridge position.

guitars
For brighter toned instruments. Works especially well with maple and ebony fingerboards. Also works great with hollow and semi-hollow body guitars.

[Fuggle]

Love my Lollar Imperials - PAF Style, Great tone!

[surfnorthwest]

Surf, the reason the 57s caught my eye is cos iv heard you swear by em before!!

That don't mean anything my friend, just my opinion and I am a nobody, heck I'm not even in a band. But yes the 57s match up very well with a Les Paul.

[HappyBlues]

For nice tone, cleans and dirty I swear by DiMarzio PAF Classic pickups... They have a 36th Anniversary model right now I think. Nickel covers and fine fine tone. I liked them more than '57 Gibsons but remember, it is much more a matter of taste than "It's better, it's worse". Both are great pickups.

[Kongels]

Lollars!!!

[DeanM]

For nice tone, cleans and dirty I swear by DiMarzio PAF Classic pickups... They have a 36th Anniversary model right now I think. Nickel covers and fine fine tone. I liked them more than '57 Gibsons but remember, it is much more a matter of taste than "It's better, it's worse". Both are great pickups.

I saw a vid the other day that had dimarzios. was seriously thinkin bout lookin into gettin em!! but i already sent the money for the 57s!! just for the record i have a dimarzio steve vai evolution in the neck of my other guitar, its pretty nice.

here's the vid wit those dimarzios.
[youtube][/youtube]

[DeanM]

Lollars!!!

nah dude, too expensive! lol saw the 57s goin cheap so said id go for it! cos i was conciderin em before so i had to!!

[Fuggle]

I tend to believe some of the hype around hand wound pickups (scatter wound) that have lower impedance for the length of wire used vs. a machine wound pickup. Lower impedence / output = results in less high frequency loss. Scatter winding results in uneven spacing between wires and less magnetic inteference (lower impedence for the same wire length as a non-scatter wound pickup) according to some stuff I have read.

I am not an electronics expert by any means but it does seem to make sense. If true I would stay away from the big name pickup makers that use machines to wind. Lollar, Bareknuckle and others use a so called hand wound technique.

I would no believe it if I had not replaced my Gibson pickups (admittably crappy 500T and 498R)with Lollars. The difference was amazing (much brighter and fuller). Anyway, take it for what it is worth.

[kissfanps]

I tend to believe some of the hype around hand wound pickups (scatter wound) that have lower impedance for the length of wire used vs. a machine wound pickup. Lower impedence / output = results in less high frequency loss. Scatter winding results in uneven spacing between wires and less magnetic inteference (lower impedence for the same wire length as a non-scatter wound pickup) according to some stuff I have read.

I am not an electronics expert by any means but it does seem to make sense. If true I would stay away from the big name pickup makers that use machines to wind. Lollar, Bareknuckle and others use a so called hand wound technique.

I would no believe it if I had not replaced my Gibson pickups (admittably crappy 500T and 498R)with Lollars. The difference was amazing (much brighter and fuller). Anyway, take it for what it is worth.

To each his own. I believe the original PAF's, Patent No.'s, T-Tops, etc., were machine wound and these tones are pretty much what most of the hand winders are trying to achieve.

Skatterbrane pickups (im assuming named after the pattern of winding) sound amazing! I believe they are hand wound. However, Throbaks are wound on some of the original Gibson winding machines and they sound fantastic as well. Of course each will make your wallet much lighter.

I don't own any of these (yet), so this opinion is based off of some youtube clips.

I think the main difference you are hearing between boutique winders and larger companies (SD, Gibson, etc.) is that fact that the smaller guys will make sure each pickup they put out is perfect. Reputation is key in that business.

[DeanM]

Got my pickups tday!! 57 classics in gold plated cover! cant wait to try them! il have to wait till i get home from college so itl be the weekend before i can put em in tho!

[ironlung40]

Hello,

I've got a 61 reissue sg with 57 classics in it. I haven't had the guitar very long, but I like it a lot. I have not been able to play out with it yet either, but I've noticed when I play at lower volumes through my JCM 800 2203 or the VM2466 boosted, that I tend to get a really mushy fuzzy sound out of the 57's. Is this typical of these pickups?
I have other guitars with a dimarzio super distortion, and another with a gibson t-top in it, and if I plug them in with the same settings they are a lot more cutting and clear.

[DeanM]

i couldn say to be honest!! even tho i got the pickups ages ago. . . i still havent put em in!! just haven had time! too busy in college etc! so i dont know! but maybe it has something to do with the low volume on the amps?