My Les Paul Forums - Pickups

SM-2 or SM-3? Quick Question?

Benguitar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:20:46 GMT

Which one has a hotter output? Seymour Duncan's SM-2 or SM-3 mini-humbucker?

I'm looking for mini-humbuckers to put in my new firebird. My local luthier suggested getting whatever Seymour's hottest mini for the bridge and then getting two vintage reissue Seymour's (SM-1's) for the neck and middle positions.

:hmm:

Magnet Wire, what is what?

MrRhoads — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:29:05 GMT

Hi folks, i just learned something today about the insulation on magnet wire.

Enamel;
Is "glas" which is put on to the copper wire.
For what i know the "Plain Enamel AWG42" is the most common PAF wire with the exception that there are variations, different colours on the wire which affects the sound.

PolyUrethane;
Is a form of "rubber" insulation and is used by Gibson among others.
It�s the wire of the famous T-Tops/T-Bucker.

PolyNylon;
Is a "plastic" insulation.
Don�t know which pickups it�s used for.

Hope you had fun reading this:)

Screamin' p90?

progfusion — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:48:31 GMT

Hello all, 1st post.

Looking for experienced recommendations for a replacement P90.

I'm looking for a fat, growling, screaming P90 for the bridge position in a '67 Reissue SG. Want to avoid brittle/harsh top end or muddiness. Need more horsepower than the stock P90.

The guitar is used for classic hard rock, and classic metal ala Sabbath. Using Laney, Marshall, and 5150 half stacks.

Would like a U.S. sourced PU, BareKnuckles are great, but the rate of exchange is a killer.

Thanks

Cool Larry Dimarzio Interview

EEF13 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:56:23 GMT

YouTube - Intervista a Larry DiMarzio - Parte 1

YouTube - Intervista a Larry DiMarzio - Parte 2

I'm really digging the DiMarzio Super Distortion...

stephen78 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:31:27 GMT

I recently installed one into my Les Paul Custom. I was jamming with it today through my Peavey Classic 30. Awesome rock tone! So thick and in your face. I can see why the Super Distortion works great with low gain amps. :dude:

any one like the

schmidty123 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:48:35 GMT

sh-1 59 seymore duncan neck pick up i need a new neck pick up so i wanted to see what u guys think of it

Quick question about Mini HBs

brianugly — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:39:08 GMT

I am interested in getting some new mini hbs for my LP Deluxe,

Has anyone tried the guitar fetish Crunchy mini, or the fat mini? Any help would be great.

Identify these Shin-ei Pickups! (please)

clear and blue — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:36:16 GMT

hi, i was hoping someone around here might know what these are? not exactly les paul oriented (look gretsch type or something) but out of the forums im a member of, you are the most learned bunch! anyway they are Shin-ei Companion pickups and apparently made in Japan according the a sticker on the side of the box and under the pickups.

i got these about 10 years ago (can't remember where, maybe a boot fair) when i'd first started playing and wanted to make my squier strat "fat". i also around this time had a seymour duncan SH-5 but these things had more of everything bar harshness (the seymour won there).

i opened them up a few years ago and if i remember right, there was one coil and 2 bar magnets at the base. they have a really fat round sound that growls when driven and feel about twice the volume of the strat single coils. i always thought that they were meant to be a lot further from the strings than i was able to get with a strat.

at a guess, i'd say they were made in the 70's. one of the "made in japan" stickers came off when i first installed them 10 years ago and even still the marked difference in color from under where the sticker would have been suggests that they are pretty old.

if anyone can tell me anything about these it would be great. the only thing that comes up in searches is a fuzz pedal made by the same company.

cheers

DUNCAN JB vs 59 on bridge position..which model is Better??? your opinion please...

vladmaximus — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:57:34 GMT

Friends...
between duncan JB & duncan 59...in bridge position...
which model is good for you???
and please tell me why???
i want to know your comment..

thanks...ROCK ON!!! :dude::dude::dude::dude:

Humbucker sized p-90's

singlecut — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:29:54 GMT

Whats available in a humbucker sized p-90 these days?

I know of the phatkats, any others?

How hard is it to wind a pickup?

Goldtop75 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:42:08 GMT

Can a winder share? What else is there other than making sure the wire doesn't break and that you hold the wire steadily and let the machine turn the coil for you? what else is difficult about it? what are the points to know about tension, winding patterns etc etc?

Would like to know more to be able to appreciate the art of it.:thumb:

Talked With Tom Holmes Today

Torren61 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:14:27 GMT

I spoke with Tom Holmes on the phone today. He was really cool and spent a lot of time talking with me.

Here are some things I learned from him:

Pickup covers: A lot of guys used to get microphonic feedback in the sixties and seventies so they took off the covers. Then they figured out that if they wax potted the pups...the feedback was gone. Some say there is a difference with them on or off but he says he can't hear the difference.

Pickup screws: I read in a Dan Erlewine book where they said they grind off the screws on the back side and it lowers the capacitance and makes it brighter. He doesn't know anything about that but it would make some sense but the sound would have to be very small in the difference. (I did that to a set of SD Jimmy Page pups and they DID sound a bit brighter BUT they came out of a '77 LP with a mahogany body and went into a '94 PRS with an alder body.

About the radiusing the pickup screws and the zigzag pattern of the screw slots: I've been radiusing my screws to match the radius of the neck of the guitar. For example, my LP has a 12 inch neck radius so I set the outside screws lower and the center screws higher to match that radius. I set the screw slots to a zigzag pattern.

He kinda chuckled and told me to just get the screws even and raise of lower the pup from the strings until it sounds right to me.

Caps and pots: All of the guitar players he works with use 500K pots. CTS pots in fact. They all use .022 caps in both the neck and bridge positions. He hasn't seen a 1 meg pot in anyone's guitar. If you think you have a bad pot, just wire it straight to the jack and listen to hear if the sound you don't like is still there. Use the amp's volume.

Japanese Tom Holmes pickups: They aren't made by Tom Holmes. Japan sent a guy over here to learn how to wind pots from Tom Holmes but they use different materials except for the magnets and screws. They're licensed from him. There is going to be a Japanese THC (Tom Holmes...I dunno what the "C" stands for) guitar coming out of again.

He makes about 600 pups every year. By hand. There is a six month waiting list. Here is a copy of the email I got from his wife, Karen:

Hi William,

This is Karen � Tom�s wife & email secretary, Tom doesn�t do email.

Tom does not have a brochure or any printed material on his pickups. All pickups are hand wound by Tom. The most popular combination is the H450 rhythm (5000 turns/bobbin approximately 7.4K) and the H455 lead (5500 turns/bobbin approximately 8.3K). They are available in double black and zebra, with or without covers. The double cr�me is available but only with a cover. Covers are antique, nickel, and gold. Either 2 or 4 conductor, and either potted or unpotted.

The price is $280 each with antique or nickel cover + shipping. $220 each without a cover and $300 each with a gold cover.

Tom is currently backordered about 6 months. Please let me know if you would like me to add you to the waiting list.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact Tom by email or phone, 615-876-3453, between 10a.m. � 9p.m. CT any day.

Thanks for your inquiry.
Karen

Tom Holmes also makes guitars. The Bo Diddly guitar in particular. He has worked closely with Billy Gibbons and Bo Diddly and made pups and guitars for both of them.

He worked with Gibson to get their reissued '57 humbucker straightened out. It was after that that he started to make a name for himself for winding pups and went out on his own. If you have an early reissue '57 pup from Gibson then you have as close to a Tom Holmes pup as you can get without it being hand wound.

He does everything himself from the winding to stamping out covers. That's why it takes so long (it doesn't take six months to make a pup it's just that he has a long list of folks wanting his pups).

The guy is really humble and isn't into advertising. He could make a lot more money if he had a whole shop of guys making pups but he wants to do them all by hand. Every Tom Holmes pups has been made entirely by him personally.

I got on the waiting list. I'm ordering a set of double black four conductors for my PRS. I need four conductor because my PRS is a '94 and has a 5 way rotary switch and I wanted to keep it that way.

I think his prices are in line with what most of the pickup winders are charging. It's way cheaper than buying his pups from the internet shops or eBay.

He only makes the H450 and H455. That's it.

I wish I could have thought of more questions to ask him.....

This is the Tone of my Duncan 59s...please listen to it & please comment here...

vladmaximus — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:46:15 GMT

Friends...
ive change my stock pickups to an old set of Duncan 59s (with nickel covers)
and i do change my les paul modern wiring to 50s wiring too...
all i can say is,this pickups is a GOOD pickup...and i like this pickup so much...
and then,ive record a soundclip about my 59s pickup tone...
im recorded it thru Marshall jcm 4 by 12 stack,all EQ is FLAT...
then im using AKG 414 mic...and a tube screamer for a crunch tone...
please listen to it and please leave a comment here ok...

The soundclip start with...
- clean plucking tone...
- clean strumming tone...
- crunch dirty tone...
- simple blues lick...

the audio clip start with --->
BRIDGE then MIDDLE & NECK pickup configuration...
last 3 licks is a roll off the tone knob tones...

if u guys wanna listen to my 59s pickup demo...please go or click this link--->

IM A MUSIC MAKER on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

then on the top list songs on that player,double click "PLAY" on --->
(TOKAI REBORN & SD 59 TONE DEMO) song...

listen to it and please leave a comment...
i do want to know what your comment...

this is the guitar & pickup that ive use on that demo...

and...many many thanks for all your comment ok... :dude::dude::dude::dude:

A request for a pup shoot out . . .

kissfanps — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:48:38 GMT

If some one is able to pull this off, it would be greatly appreciated.

I would love to hear the differences between WB's VTP, VTPH, Habs, and Firewarters. I think a great way to do this would be to plug straight into a Marshall non-master so you can see how each pickup pushes the amp. A lot of people do a pup demo with a ton of gain and it is too difficult to discern the tonal differences.

This would be a useful tool for people who can't afford to try out all the models.

Pickup Suggestions Anyone?

Represent601 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:20:22 GMT

I am looking for some pickups to put into my Les Paul and was wondering if anyone has suggestions. I love classic rock, hard rock, and blues. I love :slash: so at one point I was thinking of putting in 2 Alnico Pro II's. I don't know if that is a good idea though because I'm worried that will give me too specific of a tone. Are there pickups out there that could play Clapton during his Bluesbreakers era but still be versatile to play some Zepp, GnR, Ozzy...
I figured why not ask the people that mod their guitars and know some stuff when reading pickup descriptions didn't lead me anywhere. Thanks!