Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

[clay49]

Hi Folks,

This is my first post on this site. I'm looking for a pickup to help me achieve a late 70's early 80's sound that was synonymous with Mick Jones of Foreigner. You know that sound...."Juke Box Hero", "Double Vision", "Hot Blooded" etc. I've got the amp I need...Splawn Quick Rod (which is basically a vintage Marshall Plexi) and a Mojave 4x12 with Celestion G30's. My guitar is a Hamer Studio Custom...all I need now is the right heart (pups!). Can any of you Seymour Duncan sages and veterans help me out? I'm leaning toward a pair of Anitquities, mainly because they are hand wound. I'm also considering a pair of Lindy Fralin PAFs, Tom Holmes 455s and possibly WCR Fillmores. (I'm pretty much done with factory produced pickups....I've tried the JB and Seth Lovers and they have left me looking for more). Mick's rig (that he did most of his recording and touring with) was a '58 Les Paul Custom with the original pickups (re-wired a bit, as I understand it).

Thanks for any and all responses that you can give!

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

I've got similar taste and generally favor EL-34's, too. What I've found is that I like my neck pickups to be fairly true to PAF's (59's and Seths), but want slightly more output out of my bridge pickups, which lead me to a couple of my favorite Duncan combinations for Les Pauls.

Nickel Custom 5/59N Basically, the hotrodded A5 PAF set.
Nickel Custom Custom/Seth Lover neck. Hotrodded A2 PAF set.

I can't tell you exactly what Mick Jones, Mick Ralphs, or Paul Kossoff used, but I do know that a good LP with those 2 sets, running into Marshall, Splawn, or Bogner is the modern equivalent......often better.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

Bare Knuckle Pickups Stormy Monday will do the trick, too, but it'll set you back about $200 US each...

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/ZH-stormymonday.html

[clay49]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

....price is not really an issue to me...Tom Holmes will set me back at least $500 a pair...but after all, the pickups are the heart and soul...you've got to put some money there if it's going to sound good.

Do you know where I could find some sound bytes of the Bare Knuckle pickups? Their sight does not have them uploaded yet....thanks!

[Jeffrec]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

I believe Mick said he had his original PAF's rewound. I'm thinking that Seth Lovers will do it. Antiquties will be more like what he originally had in the guitar

Jeff

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

....price is not really an issue to me...Tom Holmes will set me back at least $500 a pair...but after all, the pickups are the heart and soul...you've got to put some money there if it's going to sound good.

Do you know where I could find some sound bytes of the Bare Knuckle pickups? Their sight does not have them uploaded yet....thanks!

I will be getting a set in the next week, and will be making sound clips as soon as I pop em in ... If you go to the Users page, there are several bands that are using Tim's pickups ... you can check out their sound clips, I would imagine. Hope that helps!

[Stevo]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

He definitely has PAF style tones, similar to Mick Ralphs. I agree on the above suggestions of Antiquity or Seth Lover.
A plexi-style amp with greenbacks would definitely be a huge contributor also.

[Jeffrec]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

He definitely has PAF style tones, similar to Mick Ralphs. I agree on the above suggestions of Antiquity or Seth Lover.
A plexi-style amp with greenbacks would definitely be a huge contributor also.

+1

[clay49]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

...just contacted Tim Mills at Bare Knuckle pickups in London,...sent him a some sound clips of Foreigners sound...he wired back "Emerald" pickups for that vintage Mick sound....what a great guy...e-mailed me two or three times within a 15 minute period...you can't beat dealing with quality small buisness guys who still do things the old-fashioned way. He even told me if I didn't like them he'd either swap them out or refund my money....take a few notes, SD, DiMarzio and Gibson...

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

Tim will not rest until you are 1,000% happy.
Glad you had a good experience!

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

How much does he charge for those Bare Knuckle 'Emeralds?' in US currency?

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

How much does he charge for those Bare Knuckle 'Emeralds?' in US currency?

They all run for about 95 pounds ... less 17% VAT = 78 pounds, roughly. Plus 6 pounds shipping = 101 pounds.

With the current exchange rate, that's about $180 US.

[Wattage]

Re: Looking for Mick Jones (Foreigner)....

...just contacted Tim Mills at Bare Knuckle pickups in London,...sent him a some sound clips of Foreigners sound...he wired back "Emerald" pickups for that vintage Mick sound....what a great guy...e-mailed me two or three times within a 15 minute period...you can't beat dealing with quality small buisness guys who still do things the old-fashioned way. He even told me if I didn't like them he'd either swap them out or refund my money....take a few notes, SD, DiMarzio and Gibson...

SD has a 21 day exchange policy, their customer service is first rate, they do take notes. In fact they write most of the ones the other guys copy!

I would venture a guess that the Seth's or A2P's would be your best bet. If fact if you call the SD Custom Shop and let them know what you are trying for I am sure they can wind you something dead on. Scatter wound A2P's on Antiquity hardware would be my pick. You might even ask if it was Seymour who rewound Mick's pickups.