Stephens Design Vintage Lab 3 pu's review and clip!

[dretot]

Ok, here's my initial impression.
The vl3's are Dave's best "paf" clone yet. Total vintage tone. They are different from the 2's. The best way for me to describe my experience with them would be to compare them against the 2's.

vl2 (A4) bridge- clear and warm, a "bark" in the attack, with honk. smooth top.
vl3 (A3) bridge- clear and bright, chirpy attack, very vintagey tone. Lots of treble harmonics.

vl2 (A5) neck- clear with a little punch. tight bass, glassy top end.
vl3 (A2) neck- clear with a "spongy" feel. softer bass with a buttery, yet bright top.

vl2 middle- warm chirp
vl3 middle- bright chirp............. more chirp than the 2's.

I tried to set the amp up the same as the vl2 clip, but the camera angle is different so it's not exactly the same.

I'm bummed 'cause I have to return them, then get in line for my set.................oh, the wait.............but it's worth it!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arraKLLWj-0]YouTube - STEPHENS DESIGN VINTAGE LAB 3 PAF CLONES[/ame]

I do want to say, my lp is very bright and airy. So I feel like the 2's, being warmer and rounder, are a better match for my guitar. The 3's are more of a true paf sound and would work better in a warmer guitar. That's just my opinion, so judge for yourself.

thanks for listening,
dre

 

[FF_Pedals]

Very nice

 

[honduras]

Great sounding pickups, but I agree with you that the VLII set sound better in your particular guitar.

 

[Quill]

Thank you, dre. I've been waiting for this clip. Wonderful. I like the way the III's sound in your guitar - but I like the II's in it, too.

 

[Tone Seeker]

The VL3's have a rawness that I enjoy. The VL2's are smoother and sweeter, in relative terms. Two voices.

This is a great demonstration of the difference that pickups can make. Thanks for putting this together dretot. Great demos. I enjoy your playing.

Dave, you've got some great pickups there.

Terry.

 

[dretot]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I appreciate that. Here's an edited clip of the 2 sets. Makes it a little easier to hear the difference between the two.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gP1WWh8OkA]YouTube - STEPHENS DESIGN VINTAGE LAB PAF CLONES (vl2 and vl3 comparison)[/ame]

You summed it up nicely Terry. The Vl3's have a rawness and the vl2's are sweeter and smoother. (in my guitar)

dre

 

[relaxo]

I've seen this brought up before, but many people, including myself, don't seem to hear what we think of as "chirp" in guitar tones. Could you explain what you mean by the term "chirp?"

 

[dretot]

I've seen this brought up before, but many people, including myself, don't seem to hear what we think of as "chirp" in guitar tones. Could you explain what you mean by the term "chirp?"

Scott,
Maybe I'm using the wrong adjective, but I've always thought of that distinctive middle position tone as "chirpy" or "strat-like". I've found that the weaker and brighter the pu's are, the more this sound in the middle position is emphasized.

Whatever you want to call it, the vl3's have more of it than the vl2's

dre

 

[relaxo]

chirp=quack?
chirp=spank?

 

[jwinger]

great sound...quite p90 like to my ears

 

[dretot]

chirp=quack?
chirp=spank?

(For me) it's closer to quack than spank, I guess. How do you describe the middle position tone of a les paul...........in a few words?

I actually use the term "chirp" and "cry" to describe the attack of a good paf also, so maybe I need to expand my vocabulary


dre

 

[Tone Seeker]

(For me) it's closer to quack than spank, I guess. How do you describe the middle position tone of a les paul...........in a few words?

I actually use the term "chirp" and "cry" to describe the attack of a good paf also, so maybe I need to expand my vocabulary

I have a set of pickups that do this, and "chirp" fits well with what I hear. There's something different going on in the high end; something is being emphasized. I agree with dretot, "quack" could fit but that's a bigger leap.

Terry.

 

[zoork_1]

Great demonstration, thanks!

/z

 

[Shai`tan]

Truly, thx. I am considering the VL IIIs for my impending Replica.

 

[SD Pickups]

Chirp is maybe my own coined word. Chirp is what I hear in a telecaster in middle position, some people call it a "country" sound, Page uses this well now and then in some videos you see. But you also hear some of it in the pickup by itself at brighter cleaner levels and I hear it in Dre's demo's but not so much in mine. Playing clean is really the toughest test for a PAF clone. I really love how the II's sound in his LP, in my Epiphone LP the III's get this tone with my amp and setup, probably my guitar is noticeably darker.

I think he used his Super Reverb on about 3 vol, and is using the bright switch. Very different than how I play. I think his guitar in my amp and my settings would thicken up. Its real hard for me to relate to these Historics as they don't seem to exist in our part of the country and they sure don't seem to sound at all like the Les Pauls I grew up which mostly dead sounding shoulder weights, they were truly horrible.
Anyway, awesome demo as usual Dre, a ton of thanks here

 

[Quill]

dre, the edited videos really help a lot. Thank you very very much for all the work that must have involved.

Does it sound to me like m-a-y-b-e the VL II set is sitting a little nicer under your hands? I'm not saying one sounds "better" than the other; I'm leaning to the III's, but I like a kind of bright that a lot of people don't - and sometimes I get complaints about that!

I suppose I mean I'm wondering if the VL IIs sit with your playing ... "more comfortably" is not the right way to put it, but I'm at a loss for words on this question I'm trying to ask. Because you seem to play really differently with the VL IIs than with the VL IIIs. It's as though you linger longer, with the VL IIs. I want to know why! Why aren't you lingering with the VL IIIs? That's totally it. We need to forget about all this "chirp" and "quack" nonsense, and address the far more serious lingering question. What's going on, with the lingering, and then the not lingering?

(really just trying to get you to talk more about them!)

 

[LawDaddy]

Chirp is maybe my own coined word. Chirp is what I hear in a telecaster in middle position, some people call it a "country" sound, Page uses this well now and then in some videos you see. But you also hear some of it in the pickup by itself at brighter cleaner levels and I hear it in Dre's demo's but not so much in mine. Playing clean is really the toughest test for a PAF clone. I really love how the II's sound in his LP, in my Epiphone LP the III's get this tone with my amp and setup, probably my guitar is noticeably darker.

I think he used his Super Reverb on about 3 vol, and is using the bright switch. Very different than how I play. I think his guitar in my amp and my settings would thicken up. Its real hard for me to relate to these Historics as they don't seem to exist in our part of the country and they sure don't seem to sound at all like the Les Pauls I grew up which mostly dead sounding shoulder weights, they were truly horrible.
Anyway, awesome demo as usual Dre, a ton of thanks here

+1 on the term "chirp". I use it, too, along with "chime". I also liken it to the tele middle position. I can hear Bloomfield getting the same sound from both his LP and Teles.

It's a big part of my sound for blues; I also use a Super, though it's a '90s Super Amp. It's a real sweet tone when you get it right. If I had the cash laying around, I'd take a flyer on these pups just for the chirp factor.

 

[dretot]

dre, the edited videos really help a lot. Thank you very very much for all the work that must have involved.

Does it sound to me like m-a-y-b-e the VL II set is sitting a little nicer under your hands? I'm not saying one sounds "better" than the other; I'm leaning to the III's, but I like a kind of bright that a lot of people don't - and sometimes I get complaints about that!

I suppose I mean I'm wondering if the VL IIs sit with your playing ... "more comfortably" is not the right way to put it, but I'm at a loss for words on this question I'm trying to ask. Because you seem to play really differently with the VL IIs than with the VL IIIs. It's as though you linger longer, with the VL IIs. I want to know why! Why aren't you lingering with the VL IIIs? That's totally it. We need to forget about all this "chirp" and "quack" nonsense, and address the far more serious lingering question. What's going on, with the lingering, and then the not lingering?

(really just trying to get you to talk more about them!)

ok!!!.......OK!!!!.......I'll fess up!!!!!!!

In all seriousness, I feel like the vl2's match up better with my guitar, (because it's on the bright side). The warmer, rounder tone of the vl2's kinda balance out my sound and the tone I get with them is more of what I've always wanted out of my lp. A horn-like honk and chirp (sorry) and
a sweetness that just works.

Now, I do love the vl3's also and feel like they would be perfect in my '61 sg. It has a dark and warm tone and is very resonant. It needs a bright and clear pu, just like the '50's lp jr conversion I have (which currently has a set of original vl's).

Then again, the vl2 video was shot on a Sunday morning with the garage door open and I didn't want to be too brutal on my neighbors........... and the vl3 clip was shot on a Sat. night with few beers and a couple of shots of tequila ha ha .............so go figure.


dre

 

[relaxo]

To my ears the II's have a sound that's closer and more akin to to the traditional PAF clone tone. The IIIs sound unique and on a different road than most PAF clones. Do you find that to be true?

 

[Quill]

To my ears the II's have a sound that's closer and more akin to to the traditional PAF clone tone. The IIIs sound unique and on a different road than most PAF clones. Do you find that to be true?

Interesting - with limited familiarity with the available range of clones, I had this thought, myself. Though there's an overtone or a high harmonic or something going on in the II's that, to my novitiate but very serious ear, is special.

... I feel like the vl2's match up better with my guitar, (because it's on the bright side). The warmer, rounder tone of the vl2's kinda balance out my sound and the tone I get with them is more of what I've always wanted out of my lp. A horn-like honk and chirp (sorry) and a sweetness that just works.

Now, I do love the vl3's also and feel like they would be perfect in my '61 sg. It has a dark and warm tone and is very resonant. It needs a bright and clear pu, just like the '50's lp jr conversion I have (which currently has a set of original vl's).

That would be this lp jr conversion, would it not? I think the VL I's are - or, "were", I should say, to those of us who missed them - just beautiful sounding pickups.

There is a "shape" to the notes, coming out of the VL II's, that is very interesting.

Do you ever get to work with old (or old-sounding) Teles, dre? Or guitars with P-90s? I feel like the III's are encroaching on that territory, a little bit. Not to say they sound like single-coils ... rather, that they could do some of the things that normally only great single-coils can do.