'78 or IM1?

[koffo]

Hi there,

This is my first post on this forum.
I'm building a Frankenstrat with a Swamp Ash body and maple neck and fingerboard. The bridge I'm going to use is a (quite old) Gotoh Floyd Rose (Stainless steel + brass sustain block), just to be 100% precise, the bridge is going to be flush on the body.
The guitar will have a single humbucker with a volume pot, which pickup do you recommend for a tone close to the VHII album?

I saw that the SD custom shop sells the '78 and IM1, which one do you think is best for VHII tone?
And what about the custom custom?

Thanks in advance, this forum is cool!

[Edgecrusher]

Re: '78 or IM1?

If you got the chops and the rest of the gear the 78 will get you there...

Just a warning though the subject of vh tone and what eddie used had can bring out the zealots in droves. Epic wars of words, the like battle of somme only in type...

[koffo]

Re: '78 or IM1?

I can imagine I've already seen a lot of discussions on EVH tone

For what is concerning the gear, I have an heavily modified JTM45 clone, basically the tone I have is similar to VH I album, but with a Gibson SG.
I was wondering if, with a proper guitar, I could get closer!

I was initially thinking about the '78 too, my only concern is about the fact that I will have a floyd rose and my fear is that the sound could become thin.
For the IM1 I have absolutely no idea on how it could sound!

[BigEasyD]

Re: '78 or IM1?

I am new here as well. Because you speak of 3 pickups engulfed in EVH lore, this should get interesting indeed.

On the web, I've read where all 3 pickups you mentioned were in fact prototypes and he supposedly chose 1....as in IM1

Also, I have heard of college professors peering into the matter in university science labs - one prof. was certain that the SH-11 was Eddie's main pickup during early years.

Ahh, the '78. Several years ago some actually attached EVH to the title "78 (now stated as EVH stands for evenly voiced harmonics, alright) .... a tip of the hat to the real one? Who honestly knows? Yeah, Seymour and a few others, but they probably cannot reveal the whole story.

Whether or not Ed used it I don't know, but I really like the IM1. Of the 3 you mentioned that's my favorite brown sound pup. But I wonder what a "tone chart" would indicate about this one as well as the '78? I am trying to find a brown sound for a mahogany/maple guitar.

[darthphineas]

Re: '78 or IM1?

I have both. Actually have had all 3. Don't really consider the CC to be in the same category unless you're looking to save $. Part of it depends on your level of playing. The 78 will be a little more forgiving. The IM1 is a little closer to what came after VH2 to my ears.


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[koffo]

Re: '78 or IM1?

I have both. Actually have had all 3. Don't really consider the CC to be in the same category unless you're looking to save $. Part of it depends on your level of playing. The 78 will be a little more forgiving. The IM1 is a little closer to what came after VH2 to my ears.


Sent from my armored space station via iPad using Tapatalk

What amplifier do you play with? What are the main differences in terms of tone?

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: '78 or IM1?

78 should be better for VH II. He didn't replace that pickup until the early 80s I think.

[darthphineas]

Re: '78 or IM1?

it's interesting, as it was this time last year that I was offering to do a review of the IM1. hmmm.......

the 78 will be more like the first few albums. the IM1 will be closer to the mid-80s.


to be fair, it'd also be worth your time to look at the BKP VHII model and the Arcane BrownBucker model.

the VH tone is going to be more about the fingers and the amp

[King IzzO)))]

Re: '78 or IM1?

I couldn't care less about VH tone, and PAF/clones aren't my thing. The 78 is awesome and so much more than either of those things. It won't be too bright in that guitar.

[esandes]

Re: '78 or IM1?

78!

i can't wait to get my hands on one!

[darthphineas]

Re: '78 or IM1?

We could use a few graphs and charts to compare the different options.


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[BigEasyD]

Re: '78 or IM1?

"... it was this time last year that I was offering to do a review of the IM1. hmmm.......

Well IM1 person but sure I would like to read your review.

" to be fair, it'd also be worth your time to look at the BKP VHII model and the Arcane BrownBucker model."

Grosh also makes an excellent VH pickup called the BLOWN'59 - sounds really close to the "brown sound" to my ears.

[darthphineas]

Re: '78 or IM1?

Given how things have been mismanaged, I don't really do reviews on SD pickups these days. This thread has already gotten more out of me than usually posted in the open.

MJ is great and deserves 100% of the props she gets and I'm 100% her customer, so the best thing I can do is to refer people directly to her to get the absolute definite answer to any CS questions.

[koffo]

Re: '78 or IM1?

For those searching... the brown sound comes from a variAC running a plexi-style circuit at around 90-100V, not a pickup.

I already stated few comments before that I already own a Plexi, the brown sound comes from the major part from the amp for sure. The cool sound comes from the "cooking" power amp tubes when the amp is dimed, I also tried the variac... But that's another story!

I'm asking about pickups because if you own a plexi, you know for sure, that is a very transparent amp, so the guitar and the pickups matters!

More than reading stories from Eddie's interviews, I'm interested in opinions by the person's that already owned one of them or both pickups.

For what I have understood, I should take the '78.

[koffo]

Re: '78 or IM1?

FWIW, I did this with a variAC'd (100V) modded JTM45, alder/maple strat & a BK VHII:

RWTD

I'm sure the 78 would work, but I would emphasize an A5 magnet for the 1st album.

Cool, I can also hear a reverb, effect loop?