Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

[ash_s137]

Which do you prefer? Which best emulates the sounds of the 60s and 70s? They say Antiquity humbuckers (neck and bridge) sound like what a Les Paul would sound like today if you bought it vintage, ie. aged? Also does this mean the Seth Lovers would sound most like what you hear on classic rock records?

One more question, what pick up combination would you go on a strat? The Antiquity series again receives all the rave reviews but what would be the tonal difference between custom custom texas hot and say custom, rw-rp middle and texas hot on the neck?

For the strat sound I really like Clapton, Hendrix, Gilmour and Jeff Beck. I realise they all have very different tones, so anyone has any favourites for each of them that would be great too! I'm not so sure the antiquity series would do Jeff Beck sounds very well but I could be wrong...


Thank you all for your help, this is my first post, so don't be too harsh!

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

They're very similar, but the Antiquity is slightly warmer, whereas the Seth has an initial bite and a more prominent "midrange honk", as it's described. I have both and love them. Antiq in a LP & Seth in a LP/SG reissue.

The Seth is supposed to be what a '50's PAF would have sounded like right out of the box. There was a similar thread asking for a comparison of the Gibson Burstbucker and Antiquity or Seth. Look for it and see Simon_F's response. He gives a link for a great site that reviewed the Seth, Antiquity, Burstbucker, '59, & '57 Classic. Check it out.

Good luck,

Jeff

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

Here's the link:

http://www.legendarytones.com/humbpus1.htm

 

[WICKED LESTER]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

I think the ANTIQUITY is more " real deal"
it has the feel tone and even the look of a original PAF
soem say these dont "NAIL" the originals tone??? :smack:
well first off every P.A.F sounded ever so slightly different from one another due to the inconsistancies they had i can assure you that the duncan antiquity sounds EXACTLY like the original ONE seymour had to copy from.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

They're very similar, but the Antiquity is slightly warmer, whereas the Seth has an initial bite and a more prominent "midrange honk", as it's described. I have both and love them.

Totally agree with Jeff's description.

No preference here - they are both excellent, just slightly different.

 

[ash_s137]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

Gee that still makes the decision really tough! It's the same problem as deciding between the Antiquity I and II for strats!

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

The consolation with Ants vs. Seths is that you can't really go wrong (if you want classic PAF tone).

I don't feel I can say whether one or the other is what you hear on classic rock records - there are so many other variables in the equation, and both will put you right in the ballpark for Bluesbreakers, Cream, Free, Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC....

You could consider the acoustic tone of the guitar - use Ants to warm up a bright guitar, Seths to brighten a dark-sounding guitar.

Then there's the look to consider. Do you want the aged covers? Obviously you shouldn't base a pickup choice entirely on this, but it's all food for thought.

Then there's the price - Seths are cheaper..... but in no way inferior, just different. :smack:

 

[Kelsey]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

I have the Antiquity set in a LP and the Seths in an ES-137, and they are both great. The Ants seem to have more space in the mids and a slightly smoother tone, whereas the Seths have a bit mroe bite and honk as noted above. You can base your decision as much on the aged vs. shiny covers as on the tone in this case, as you can't lose either way if you're after vintage PAF tones. I also like the APH neck and Pearly Gates bridge combo in my other LP, but that sounds a little more modern and gainy than the Ants or Seths.

As for the Strat pickups, I'm not sure that I am going to keep the Texas Hot neck and Ant I Custom bridge that I just put in my Texas Special Strat. They are nice pickups for sure, but I think I prefer the SSL-1 neck and Twangbanger bridge in my other Strat. I would probably like the Ant II neck, but I don't think I'd care for the Ant II Custom bridge, so I'm not sure what I'll do now. Perhaps I'll go back to the 5/2 Strat and Twangbanger combo that I was considering.

 

[ash_s137]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

I was doing a long search and hearing a lot about the Twangbanger, would that give a more 'Beck' sound?

 

[Kelsey]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

I'm not sure. As I under stand it, he has used the APS Strat pickups and something along the lines of the Fender Hot Noiseless. The Twangbanger has less lows and highs, but stronger mids than a vintage Strat bridge or something like the Antiquity Custom bridge. It's not really a Tele tone, but it's in that direction, which is why I like it. However, I do wish the low end was a little stronger. You might prefer the Custom bridge for something that approaches a more classic Strat bridge tone but has more power on tap.

 

[WICKED LESTER]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

also the antiquity is wound slighty hotter BUT has a aged magnet
the seth is wound to average PAF resistance (K's) but uses a full strength mag :dance:
some guys put a full strength mag in the antiquity and like em more this way
and viseaversa the seth with a aged 5 sounds real good as well :beerchug:

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

I like them both but I use the Seth Lover. The Seth seems a little brighter to me...but I have not tried them both in the same guitar.

Lew

 

[bryvincent]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

i have both in the same guitar. in different positions though. antiquity on the neck and seth lover on the bridge. with both stock, the antiquity sounds weaker even at max. height compared to the seth. not a good match so i put a full strength A2 and it sounded(and matches) better. i agree with the earlier statements that the seth is a bit brighter and has that "honk". the difference bet. the two constructionwise, (aside from the aged mag, aged cover) is how the wire is wound the antiquity is scatterwound and the seth is layerwound. you can see this clearly when you compare the bobbins of the two pickups. my ant neck measures 7.67K and the bobbins are almost full , while the seth measures 8.1K and the bobbins is just a bit more than halfway full and looks like it has less wire than the ant.
BTW, i only went for the seth because of the double creme when i bought the pickup to replace the burstbuckers on my LP but i wasn't expecting it to sound that good. so immediately ordered an antiquity for the neck( i didn't go for the seth neck because my guitar already has aged hardware and don't wanna bother aging the pickup cover) and after the magnet swap it was perfect with the seth.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

Nice Lester!! :32: :fing2:

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

Nice Lester!! :32: :fing2:

That's what I was thinking! :beerchug:

 

[The Vault]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

triple that statement... nice top on that LP.


I have a question to add. The artilce on Legendarytones.com was informative. With both the Ant's and the Seth's, is it better to go with 500k or 250k pots?

:smoker:

Tv.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers v Seth Lovers

With both the Ant's and the Seth's, is it better to go with 500k or 250k pots?

There are no rules, but common practice is to use 500K pots with humbuckers and 250K pots with single coils. Gibson puts 300K linear taper volume pots in its production model humbucker guitars, and a common mod is to replace them with 500K audio taper to get a bigger brighter tone and better control of the volume rolloff.

I recommend 500K audio taper pots with Antiquity HBs and Seths.