Recent content by Kelsey

Has anyone replaced the bridge pickup in a Fender CS 56 or 60 Strat with an SD Antiquity I Texas Hot (or Custom Bridge) pickup? I'm considering such a swap, and I'm wondering about whether the pickup leads are wired normally (white to switch, black to ground) or need to be flipped to work with...

I'm still trying to figure out which bridge pickup to use in my new Fender Custom Shop Showmaster. This guitar is light and responsive with a pretty balanced acoustic tone. It has a double-cut mahogany body with lace wood top, set mahogany neck with ebony fretboard (12" radius), Techtonic...

I picked up a Fender Custom Shop Showmaster with single bridge HB at the local GC Memorial Day sale. It's a very cool guitar with a single bridge HB, single volume control (no tone control), mahogany body with carved lacewood top, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard, locking tuners and Techtonic...

I've been using SD pickups for a few years now, including Antiquity Strat and Tele pickups, Antiquity HBs (now gone), Jerry Donahue Tele lead, Hot Tele lead (now gone), SSL-1, Twangbanger, 5-2 Strat, 59 HBs, Seth Lovers, and Phat Cats. I recently installed a set of Phat Cats in my McCarty...

I've got a few new Strat pickups waiting to be installed and I'm considering a few different combinations. One set will go into my Hotrodded American Series Texas Special Strat and the other will go into my American Deluxe V-neck Strat. Both of these Strats have medium weight alder bodies and...

Can anyone post a step by step tutorial on swapping HB magnets, including do's and don'ts and caveats? I'm thinking about trying full-strength alnico 2 or alnico 5 magnets in my Antiquity HBs. Will the A2 and A5 magnets from my Gibson 490R/498T pickups work in the Antiquity HBs? Thanks in...

I have Seths in a semi-hollowbody and an Antiquity HB set in a LP. The Ants in the LP sound nice but are a little weaker than I'd like. How would Ants with new alnico 2 magnets sound compared to the stock Antiquity tone and the Seth Lover tone? Bascially, I'm trying to figure out whether I...

Does anyone know whether the SSL-1 Vintage Staggered and the Antiquity II Surfer are wound in phase (in the same direction) and with the same polarity? From what I can tell with my SSL-1's and the specs of the Antiquity II, they should have the same magnet polarity, but I can't verify...

I have an Antiquity HB set in my LP Classic. I love the neck pickup, but I'm starting to rethink the bridge pickup after putting a Pearly Gates bridge in my LP Studio. The Antiquity bridge sounds nice, but a bit thin and not as impressive as the PGb. I haven't had a chance to run the Antiquity...

I just picked up Antiquity Texas Hot neck and Custom bridge pickups for my Texas Special Strat. I want to wring them out thoroughly before I consider ordering a RWRP middle pickup. Can I use one of the stock Texas Special pickups in the middle with the Antiquity Texas Hot neck and bridge? IIRC...

Has anyone tried combining the 5/2 Nashville Studio Strat neck and RWRP middle pickups with a Twangbanger in the bridge? This seems like it should be a good combination, given the lower resonant peak and EQ listed for the 5/2's as compared to SSL-1's or APS-1's. I like the SSL-1/SSL-1/TB combo I...

I bought a Fender American Deluxe V-neck Strat last week, and it has been a real joy to play. I am more of a Tele player, but this Strat is keeping me satisfied with its warm, rich tones. The SCN pickups are shockingly good, and the S1 switch options are very useful. The bridge pickup is among...

If you were to combine a Strat neck pickup with a humbucker bridge pickup in an alder/maple Strat, what combo would you choose. I don't care about the middle pickup -- I'm thinking an HS Strat for this one. I want a combo that will sound good together in terms of output and tone for blues and...

I've read the recent threads about differences among the 59's, APH, PG, Seths, and Antiquity HBs. I'm trying to pick a set of pickups for an older Les Paul Classic with nickel hardware that is quite light in weight and a for a recent Les Paul Studio that is considerably heavier (although lighter...

I am looking to add another dual EL-84 15-18 watt combo amp to my collection, and I think it's down to a choice between a used Marshall 1974X 18-watt handwired combo (excellent condition) or a new Bad Cat Cub II (nonreverb, custom ordered). The prices are in the same ballpark. I've played both...