Installed SD SH55 Seth Lovers... Thoughts...

[Goldtop75]

wow... these are bright...

They are in my Slash GT, and they're quite piercing to the ear in the bridge. It's got a very nice scream to it, and very vintage like. I expected the bridge to be a wee bit fatter, but it is nice still. I had to lower the treble side quite a bit, and the bass end is still jangly. I compared it to my BB Pro, and it's as shrill, and as responsive to picking, but not as snappy as the A5 mags in the BB Pros. Though the snap isn't there as much, it does sound a bit more brittle than the BB Pro bridge, oddly.

The neck is nice, and tight. It's a bit tighter than the APHs I had previously. I like it quite a bit... It's cleaner than the BB Pros when driven.

I sort of like the SH55 neck with the BB Pro bridge.

But one thing though, the middle position tones on the SH55s are very very sweet.

While the SH55s are indeed nice, I can't help but still prefer the BB Pros on my chambered Standard. I have a sneaky feeling I'll get tired of them after a while.

Edit: Here's the demo I just completed.

SoundClick artist: Demioblue - page with MP3 music downloads

For those who want to hear the Ibanez TS808HW and the Hardwire Valve Distortion in action, this what I could come up with. Non chambered LP with SH55s.

ugh... I hate playing with low gain...

 

[MrRhoads]

Could we get a demo/soundclip perhaps?

 

[Goldtop75]

Could we get a demo/soundclip perhaps?

I'll see if I can record something this weekend.

 

[MrRhoads]

I'll see if I can record something this weekend.

That would be great
haven´t had the oppurtunity to try them myself

 

[5F6-A]

uhmmm I normally find them a little flat and dull if anything.

 

[Goldtop75]

uhmmm I normally find them a little flat and dull if anything.

flat and dull? I don't find them like that... They are indeed lively... Maybe a bit too lively for my liking?

 

[5F6-A]

really? I had a Dave Stephens bridge VL PAF bridge and a Seth Lover neck in the same guitar. Flicking the toggle from neck to bridge it was like lifting a blanket off your amp. The Seth Lover sounded boring and dull compared to the other pickup. Honest.
Maybe it's all down to the wonderful tone of Dave's pickup!!!

 

[Goldtop75]

The Seth Lover sounded boring and dull compared to the other pickup. Honest.

You're comparing the neck tone vs the bridge tone? how about neck vs neck? Similar difference?

Listen to the clip I did... Is that what you heard in yours? Trying to establish a basis for comparison here... What may be dull to you might be "just nice" for me... Hahaha...

 

[5F6-A]

obviously a neck pikup is going to sound different to a bridge unit. Still the VL sounded richer and more alive. Don't get me wrong, the Seth Lover is a good pickup but I think a lot of pickups out there sound better and more similar to the best ssounding old PAf examples.

Still if you like them then play them and enjoy them by all means!!

 

[Goldtop75]

Don't get me wrong, the Seth Lover is a good pickup but I think a lot of pickups out there sound better and more similar to the best ssounding old PAf examples.

Honestly, I have no clue what a good sounding PAF really sounds like up close. Recordings can be skewed and post processed. I just know that there are certain tones I'm after. I'm not about to beat myself up if the Sh55 isn't a good PAf example, because I honestly can't tell. I only know if it sounds good, and so far it's pretty ok for me. I've not heard the Dave Stephens set you're refering to, so I can't compare. But I do know the SH55s seem more alive than a Dimarzio Virtual PAF or even a SD APH set.

But like I said, I got a feeling I might not stick with these for long. I oddly like the BB Pros that came in my other standard... Might go for a Yangbranes set from Skatterbrane in the end or a Sheptone BK siggy set.

 

[5F6-A]

I've not heard the Dave Stephens set you're refering to, so I can't compare.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aABkcSmBuGg]YouTube - Stephens Design Vintage Lab vs. Paf Demo (close mic only)[/ame]

 

[MrRhoads]

Well it sounds average.
Nothing that apealed to me.
Great playing by the way

 

[MrRhoads]

YouTube - Stephens Design Vintage Lab vs. Paf Demo (close mic only)

Old guitars has such a great acoutsic sound, due to the aging of the wood and also build quality

 

[5F6-A]

Well it sounds average.
Nothing that apealed to me.
Great playing by the way

do you mean the VL video? The point of it is how similar the two guitars sound...I think the guy went for a very dry, non flattering sound anyway.

 

[MrRhoads]

do you mean the VL video? The point of it is how similar the two guitars sound...I think the guy went for a very dry, non flattering sound anyway.

No, i was refering to the soundclip of the Seth Lovers.

 

[5F6-A]

No, i was refering to the soundclip of the Seth Lovers.

ahhh right!
the VL PAFs are hard to get and expensive but they do sound very special. I wish you were nearer so you could tried them out in the flesh.

 

[MrRhoads]

ahhh right!
the VL PAFs are hard to get and expensive but they do sound very special. I wish you were nearer so you could tried them out in the flesh.

that would have been great
great sound in the video.
but i have to admit that the acoustic sound of the 1960 Les Paul really is beatifull and so rich in tonal quality.
The 1960 Les Paul is the one i liked the best but the Stephens Design VL PAF kicked ass

 

[Goldtop75]

Well it sounds average.
Nothing that apealed to me.
Great playing by the way

Thanks.

I think you're right. The SDs and the DiMarzios I've had experiences with so far (More DM than SD) seem to exhibit a very flat yet solid character. They do one thing well, which is to provide stable and usable tones. Not really 3D or fully ranged dynamics perhaps, but they do get the job done.

I've had some boutique pickups before (more single coils rather than HBs) and I do notice a difference. It's odd that for single coils, the preferred set I always go to after trying so many seems to always come from Fender rather than any boutique winder. Yet for HBs, the Bareknuckles I've tried seem to be very 3D and have lots of overtones. But they don't seem to sustain as long, or rather, they sustain long, but don't keep a dirty crunch going for as long. The tones always seem to clean up sooner than most. Tim Mills attributed that to the scatterwinding. I don't know. Could be the crappy S series I put them in with the miniscule sustain block for the ZR Trem. I think I'll probably go for a set of branes or sheptones eventually though... Hahahaha...

But what I did fing surprising about the SH55s were that they were as bright as the BB Pros without the snap. The upper mids seemed to be jarring unless you brought down the highs.

I think what I was really happy about for this demo was realising how well the TS808HW and the SC2 worked with the PODXTLive.

 

[Goldtop75]

do you mean the VL video? The point of it is how similar the two guitars sound...I think the guy went for a very dry, non flattering sound anyway.

This is odd. Acoustically, the Reissue sounded more warm and fatter, while the 60s LP was brighter, more trebly and had more woody tone.

But plugged in, it was the other way round!

I do see what you mean by the tones of the Dave Stephens... Lots of snap. Very nice. I think found what I was after from many Skatterbrane clips and the Sheptone Brian Kahanek clips. Like I really need another set to add to the GAS at this point! hahahaha...

I just had to get the itch that the SH55s might have been what I was after settled, otherwise I'd have felt stupid spending so much money on a set of boutique pups when a cheap SD set might have worked... hahaha...

 

[5F6-A]

right....

the VL PAFs have a snap and clarity that I've never experienced in other pickup. Maybe the exception is my 6707 WB Greenie bridge but still this one has even more. The funny thing is that bright and clear as it is it does NOT sound shrill. It moans, tickles, pops and sings in an unique voice.

Apparently Dave is giving some finishing touches to the "new" VLII pickup set. In his own words:

"Its a further development, hard to describe, even more PAF-like...."

Wow!!