Seymour's brightest sub-10k bridge humbucker is ?

[freefrog]

Just a quick question :

According to your ears, what is Duncan's brightest [bridge] humbucker, in the sub 10k region ?
The pick up is intended for a stupidly warm 'Gibson scale' guitar.

Thanks to all.
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EDIT : does Seymour Duncan have an equivalent to the DiMarzio EJ Custom ?

https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/vin...-custom-bridge

My archives and memories agree about the Jazz being the brightest sub 10k Gibson type Duncan HB.

That said...

If you wire a SH4 in parallel, it will measure roughly a quarter of its series DCR/inductance, approximating the specs of a Filter'Tron... or an inductance reading right between a DiMazio EJ bridge and a neck one.

I used such a JB in parallel in a cover band 20 years ago and it was totally useable albeit very bright.

If memory serves me, Paul Gilbert had also his DiMarzio super Dist wired in parallel when he played with RacerX...

FWIW (interesting idea or stupid off topic, you'll decide). Good luck in your quest. :-)

[ItsaBass]

I haven't used a parallel JB and an EJ Custom in the same position of the same guitar. However, my experience with both in separate guitars leads me to think of both of the EJ Customs as slightly "meatier" pickups than a JB in parallel in the bridge position.

Keep in mind that the EJ Customs use an interesting combination of specs that are not listed by DiMarzio: a lower number of coil windings and narrower gauge wire than your typical Gibson style humbucker. This results in different coil dimensions than a JB, even if you are close in inductance running the JB in parallel, and you have somewhat "normal" PAF-esque resistance. And coil dimensions do matter to some degree (at least according to Seymour Duncan, Bill Lawrence, and other pickup makers who've published their opinions on the matter). Look at an EJ Custom from the side, and you can see that the bobbins are only holding perhaps 70 percent of the amount of wire that they are physically capable of holding – making them electronically a narrower pickup (like, ahem, a Filtertron). And they use a brass baseplate, though there is still some debate about whether that makes a tonal difference vs. nickel silver. I say very little, personally...but maybe some small degree darker in tone.

At any rate, there is more than inductance to it. Construction details can make tonal changes as well. And let's not forget that just because two pickups are powered by A5 magnets does not mean that they both have the same strength. There's all sorts of variation in magnets from supplier to supplier, and even from batch to batch...then you've got pickup makers possibly tweaking the magnetic strength in house as well.

Bottom line, you can compare inductance figures and get some rough information...but it's just rough if there are other variables at play.

[freefrog]

I haven't used a parallel JB and an EJ Custom in the same position of the same guitar. However, my experience with both in separate guitars leads me to think of both of the EJ Customs as slightly "meatier" pickups than a JB in parallel in the bridge position.

Keep in mind that the EJ Customs use an interesting combination of specs that are not listed by DiMarzio: a lower number of coil windings and narrower gauge wire than your typical Gibson style humbucker. This results in different coil dimensions than a JB, even if you are close in inductance running the JB in parallel, and you have somewhat "normal" PAF-esque resistance. And coil dimensions do matter to some degree (at least according to Seymour Duncan, Bill Lawrence, and other pickup makers who've published their opinions on the matter). Look at an EJ Custom from the side, and you can see that the bobbins are only holding perhaps 70 percent of the amount of wire that they are physically capable of holding – making them electronically a narrower pickup (like, ahem, a Filtertron). And they use a brass baseplate, though there is still some debate about whether that makes a tonal difference vs. nickel silver. I say very little, personally...but maybe some small degree darker in tone.

At any rate, there is more than inductance to it. Construction details can make tonal changes as well. And let's not forget that just because two pickups are powered by A5 magnets does not mean that they both have the same strength. There's all sorts of variation in magnets from supplier to supplier, and even from batch to batch...then you've got pickup makers possibly tweaking the magnetic strength in house as well.

Bottom line, you can compare inductance figures and get some rough information...but it's just rough if there are other variables at play.

Agreed. That's why I've described a SH4 in parallel as "approximating the specs of a Filter'Tron". And yes, it would be slightly thinner than a EJ bridge... but the OP evoked a really warm guitar so I've not felt as a problem to post about a thinner sounding solution than the EJ bridge.

As a side note: I've real Filter'Tron's to compare with and to me, they can't be really imitated by anything else than... Filter'Tron clones. :-)

That said, I've got reasonably close with "tuned" inductive/resistive filters, custom made for this.