Again, Thank you, MJ!

Lee_M.

Lee_M.

Brockburst Toneologist
To all ~

I've composed this thread before, but I feel the need to repeat it because of MJ's consistent, phenomenal work.

2 weeks ago, I picked up a rather plain looking '59 VOS from guitarsale.com that had wonderful highs and warmth with the standard BurstBuckers. Once I received her and plugged her in, I knew she was going to be a phenomenal candidate for MJ's hand-wound PAFs.

So, MJ sent me out a pair of PAFs around 7.7K / 8.78K. I installed the pickups with a pair of vintage bumblebees and the result was just heaven.

Unlike my other Les Pauls, this guitar has a something special that is totally a result of the wood and the wood, only. With its natural tendency to sound bright, I knew that MJ's AII PAFs would be magical.

Plugging in through my Lovepedal Eternity (a plexi type OD) and my Vibrolux, I got so close to the Allman Brothers that it was scary. It was pure PAF tone that gets very close to ****ey and Duane from the Fillmore East.

With distortion, the bridge pickup is nothing shy of phenomenal. Think "Statesboro Blues" or "Stormy Monday" with enough note-bloom and sustain to bring down the house.

The neck pickup is the same. It is creamy PAF tone that nails that early '90's ****ey Betts '57 Goldtop tone.

Anyway, I just thought I would share that since I've been through every PAF clone imaginable. What I've determined is that you have to fit each pickup to each guitar. While I love the RS Fralins, they have their place with certain guitars. In a brighter guitar, MJ's pickups are unbeatable.

So, if you find that you have a guitar that is lacking something special and is touch bright with SD '59s or PGs, dial up MJ and get a pair of her Custom Shop pickups. You can't go wrong!

Best,
Lee Moore
 
Re: Again, Thank you, MJ!

Following your posts here and on the LPF, when would you prefer the Fralins? Without all the $ to experiment with these pickups, one has to rely on word of mouth, like you stated. Please...
 
Re: Again, Thank you, MJ!

See, this is where I get confused.

Lee_M. (07-19-06) said:
By way of background, I've recently installed nearly every single PAF clone into either my '58 or '59. These pickups include:

1. Tom Holmes
2. Timbuckers - w/ weak and stronger magnets
3. Voodoo '59's
4. Every Wagner Set (except the Ceramics)
5. Duncan Custom Shop PAFs (wound to sound like Duane @ the Fillmore)
*I have 2 sets of these.
6. RS Fralins
7. Pearly Gates
8. Seth Lovers
9. Antiquities

Versus the other pickups I mentioned above, the RS Fralins provide note detail and note bloom that is unmatched. I have first-hand results since I swapped all those pickups over a 6 month period and test drove them through my Fender, new Soldano and custom Blockhead 50W Fillmore head.
Click to expand...
So you had the CS Duncans installed in the '58 and were getting less satisfactory results than with the Fralins in that particular guitar? Then, you decided to try them in the '59, and had the revelation? I'm sorry, but your posts leave me with crossed eyes in terms of where to look next.
 
Re: Again, Thank you, MJ!

MJ is DA BEST!

The pickups in my Parker Fly Deluxe are beneficiaries of MJ's Midas touch. She rebuilt 3 of them to: CC, A2P, and Brobucker specs. Currently, I have the BB and A2P installed (br/neck). I love the sound.
 
Re: Again, Thank you, MJ!

Guitarist said:
See, this is where I get confused.


So you had the CS Duncans installed in the '58 and were getting less satisfactory results than with the Fralins in that particular guitar? Then, you decided to try them in the '59, and had the revelation? I'm sorry, but your posts leave me with crossed eyes in terms of where to look next.
Click to expand...

Here is the scoop, my friend. Sorry for the confusion.

I own 4 Les Pauls at this point (+ 1 Goldtop coming soon). I have 3 sets of Fralins and 3 sets of MJ's PAFs (2 are 'Duane Winds' and 1 is a variation on the Duane...which is what I recently installed).

1. My '02 R8 Teaburst, '06 R9 Brockburst, '06 R9 VOS Haynesburst have Fralins.

2. My '06 R9 Washed Cherry has the MJ 'Variation PAF' Set (a little different from the 'Duane Set'). **The other two MJ sets are being sent back for rewinds since they're not quite bright enough for the other 3 guitars.

Now, the reason for all the swapping is that I tried MJ's sets, first, in the aforementioned guitars. The reason for the swap to Fralins in some of the guitars is because they are more midrangy/low-end in EQ. The Fralins are a perfect complement for that type of EQ, so they helped brighten up those guitars quite a bit.

However, the '06 R9 Washed Cherry is a very bright guitar. MJ's "variation wind" on the Duane Set is more balanced in EQ, so it was a perfect mate.

Now, the MJ Sets and Fralins Sets have different tonal qualities. My MJ sets are 100% pure, mellow PAF tone with AII's. It couldn't get more mellow PAF if you tried.

The Fralin PAFs are brighter with the A4 mags and get a much different middle tone. More Zepellin-esque.

Both, the "variation wind" and the Fralins have great note bloom and dynamics. If you have a very bright / moderate bright guitar, MJ's are a perfect match. If you have a midrangy / mellower guitar, the Fralins are the best for helping boost the EQ frequency.

Does that help?

I still stand behind my feeling that for ANY guitar, the Fralins are the best PAF clone out there. But, if you have a brighter guitar and are looking for sweet, mellow PAF tone, MJ's pickups are perfect.
 
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Re: Again, Thank you, MJ!

You have absolutely no need to apologize, Lee. You are simply putting your findings "out there". One has to respect and appreciate anything one has to say, especially when they are simply trying to assist others in "the search".

So, thank you. That did help clear things up. :) BTW - I'm working on a CS set from MJ right now...very much looking forward to it!
 
Re: Again, Thank you, MJ!

Thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate it and respect your question. I'm glad you asked it, so I could clear it up. I try to be as consistent as possible about pickups from Forum to Forum. My conclusion (after all of these expensive purchases) is that you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO MATCH THE GUITAR TO THE BOUTIQUE PICKUP SET. There is no other way to do it when you are using high-quality, custom made pickups.

Why?

Custom pickups provide SO MUCH MORE clarity and frequency response and those attributes are REALLY ENHANCED by the natural tone of your guitar; particularly a nice guitar.

After all the guitars I've owned and hours spent tweaking them (Pickups, Pots, Caps, Wiring, TonePros Systems, Pigtail Studs, etc.), I've determined that it is so much easier to choose pickups with a naturally BRIGHT guitar. There are so many more options and pickup choices to help tame 'unruly highs and spikes'. You can use low power AII pickups or simply roll down the Tone control.

If you have a dark sounding LP, though, you really have to work to get the BRIGHTNESS back into the mix. Trust me, it is really frustrating and very hard to nail down.

My '02 R8 is the darkest guitar on the planet; no two ways around it. I've tried all of the boutique PAFs in that guitar and while some sounded good, none of them had the upper frequency response needed to "liven up the guitar" (except the Fralins). The Fralins are the only pickups that work in her. She now sounds like a dream, but I've spent thousands of dollars and lots of man hours trying to figure it out. One tip I can provide is to use 9's to add a little more brightness. There was a big difference between the 10's and 9's in terms of this guitar's amplified tone. The 9's were definitely brighter and worked really well with this guitar.

The same EQ problem is somewhat true of my Custom Shop 2006 '59's. Both are from the same batch of Mohagony and Maple, thereby making them very similar sounding guitars. They are midrangy in nature and need a pickup that has a nice upper end. While the Duane Wind worked well in both guitars and had great vibe, you could clearly tell that you needed an EQ pedal to boost the treble a smidge. When I'd run the guitars through my Blockhead, they sounded great, but I had to play around with speaker combinations and setups to get the necessary highs you hear from Duane Allman's guitar at the Fillmore East. It is a headache.

The only guitar I own that doesn't need additional highs and/or tweaking is my Washed Cherry R9 that I bought off the rack (site unseen and untouched; was recommended by John Boles at Guitarsale.com). This guitar has a natural brightness to the wood that resonates in perfect harmony, unplugged. While I could have put the Fralins in this guitar (making it sound phenomenal, I'm sure), I wanted to utilize MJ's creation because I knew it would be a perfect match of highs/midrange/lows when amplified.

I swear that there isn't a better sounding PAF tone to be had with a Historic. This guitar (with MJ's PAFs) sounds like Duane Allman when you crank it up. Even better, it sounds this good without swapping out the Pots, Strings or bridge system. Changing out the pots to RS SuperPots (~700K) would make the guitar sound even better and crisper.

Anyway, sorry for the long reply. I'm glad you're not angry because I definitely don't want to lead anyone astray. I'm really happy you are getting a pair from MJ. Depending on what you get, I'll buy them from you if you don't like them! I'm sure they'll work in one of my guitars!! :)

Bottom Line: MJ's pickups are some of the best pickups in the world. You just need to be very clear with her about how your guitar sounds from an EQ perspective (unplugged and amplified) when she winds the pickups; this will produce mind-boggling results if you tell her what is lacking!!!
 
Re: Again, Thank you, MJ!

I like posts like these because it gets into real hair splitting.....and I mean that in a good way. Since I really like Pauls and Strats the most, I've gone through a lot to get them dialed. When I tried Fralins, I was trying them out in a bright LP Std, and the neck Fralin was perfect, but the bridge seemed too bright. That guitar now has the nickel Brobucker/Jazz B in neck. My Prem Plus LP Std sounds nice with the 50th Anniversary Seths, although I'd like to brighten up the neck....maybe with higher value pots or caps.
My LP Black Beauty 57 is a very big and dark sounding guitar, being all mahogany (C-5/59n/59n) Hmmm. Maybe 3 Gold Fralins is what that one needs.
 
Re: Again, Thank you, MJ!

Guitarist said:
Since Lee is offline right now, I figure that I can save the wait-time, and confidently post what must be his favorites...

http://www.rsguitarworks.net/rsstore/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=101
Click to expand...

You got it, my friend. The RS FRALINS are what you want to buy. They are based on a real 1960 PAF set, owned by Roy Bowen at RS Guitarworks. Lindy spent tons of time trying to recreate them and did a phenomenal job. According to Roy, Lindy is 99% accurate on the recreation.

I wish I owned the original set......what a freakin awesome set of pickups.

I want to add a few more things:

1. The RS Fralins (there is a big difference between those and the regular Fralins) are glassy in nature and have the most incredible middle position you can possibly imagine. If you are using 9's, you'll get a tone that is simply stupid awesome. It is so Led Zeppelin it is scary. The RS Fralins also compress really well (still in a glassy fashion). It is more of a Warren Haynes type tone, but more PAF sounding (i.e. more vintage sounding; like an old 50W Marshall on 10 vs. a Soldano on 10).

2. The MJ PAFs are truly the definition of raw PAF tone. They have great double-tones, raspiness and sizzle that varies from the Fralins. It isn't necessarily better, just different.

3. Now that I have a really bright-sounding Historic Les Paul, I can truly appreciate the feel and tone of the Antiquity PAF winds with weakened magnets. Previously, my guitars didn't have enough natural highs to enhance the weaker mags in the MJ winds. Now that I have it, I can harness the phenomenal, raw PAF tone that you'd hear from Derek Trucks or early Aerosmith. That is exactly what I think of when I play my Washed Cherry R9.

4. The RS Fralins are simply a glassier, more compressed version of the Antiquities. They have great highs, note bloom and harmonics, as well as no squeal with the covers on (they are completely silent). Lindy uses A4 mags with those pickups, which accounts for the glassier nature of the pickup.

Conclusion:
-As Joe mentioned, we are splitting hairs with these 2 pickups, but the subtle variances are important when discussing the full set. Using the RS set provides a truly unique middle position and unmatched compression in the neck and bridge. The MJ PAFs provide the raw Derek Trucks tone that will work with any amp and distortion system. It is raw (yet mellow) PAF tone from AII mags.

So, if you have a bright or balanced EQ'd guitar, call MJ for a pair of 7.7K/8.8K AII (18 Gauss) PAFs. Have her lightly pot them and call it a day! You'll get all the PAF tone you ever wanted.

If you want the ultimate universal PAF that can cover Zeppelin/Allmans/Skynyrd (as well as Gov't Mule) purchase the RS Fralins. They will work in any Les Paul and breathe new, unique life into your rig with their beautiful compression and perfect highs. Just be sure to hold onto your seat because the notebloom will knock you down.....:)
 
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