Antiquity Humbuckers

[benbenben]

Starting reading about these now and I'm really damn interested. I've got the Jazz/JB combination in my paul right now and was thinking of changing em to Seths, Alnico IIs or something a long that line.

Then pops into my head the concept of Antiquities in which i've got a Set in my tele right now. What are the Antiquity Humbuckers like? I am looking for a vintage warmth to my buckers. The Jazz is too clean and when i said i wanted nice cleans, people suggested the Jazz. I realise i want a more WARM clean as opposed to a nice clean. I sorta just grouped it together. I wanna play more bluesy stuff and rock. That typical humbucker sound. What should i go for. How can i wire the Ants and what other choices are there.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers

I think the Ants are right on. I tend to look for a hotter bridge version (you get them actually in a very wide range - ive seen them from 8.1 up to 8.7k) , which is now 8.4k and swapped in a full charged A2

 

[benbenben]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers

The Ants come in only the single conductor wire, so that means i would wire it as per vintage specs? No fancy smancy stuff? Just 2 Vol 2 Tone?
Keep em coming on about the Ants.
I just sorta wanna know about the Ants and Seths. The Ants are slight more expensive, but i don't mind as they look cool. The Seths seem to have more oomph and the Ants are more woody?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers

Ants are 2 wire...no spliting or other such wiring. I have a pair of Ants in my R8 and couldn't be happier...amazing pickups for sure, big, warm, woody and 3D are all terms I use to describe Ants to people...they are for sure a world and a half away from a JB/Jazz set in both tone and output so just keep that in mind.

 

[benbenben]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers

I understand they will be different to the Jazz/JB and i and hoping for that. The Jazz/JB are great pickups and i understand why they are so popular, but they just aren't warm enough me. They don't feel organic and warm enough for me. I think they are just a bit sterile for my playing. Not enough for that roundness and warm, especially for clean playing.

You think the ant's are what i'm looking for?
How do they react with say overdrives. I've got a Fulldrive II, a Crunch Box and a Hotcake.

 

[Glass Snuff]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers

I think the Ants are just what you're looking for. They are very highly regarded on the Les Paul Forum, where people are always searching for the original PAF tone. The Ants hold their own with all the really expensive boutique pickups.

Being a lower output pickup, the Antiquities will give your overdrives more headroom. You should be able to get sweeter distortion and more sustain as you won't be hitting the first stage as hard.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers

All my bucker loaded guitars currently have some kind of Alnico II Duncan buckers in them...my Yamaha SG2000 has an Alnico II Pro in the neck and a Custom Custom in the bridge my Gibson Moderne has a Pearly Gates set and my R8 has a set of Ants...all 3 of those sets are rounder and warmer than the JB/Jazz set you have now but for overall warmth the Ants take the cake IMO...as for using OD pedals I use them all the time with all my guitars and amps and have no issues at all.

 

[benbenben]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers

Sweet. I'll go for the Ants then.
Are there gonna be any problems with installing it? i.e., screw spacing, or sizes not the same? I have a epiphone lp, so it's not a gibson.
I recall having some issues installing the ants on my american tele. The screws were too long, so i had to cut them.

 

[Mike D]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers

I love my Antiquities in my R9. They're very special pickups. And yes, they do have a range in DC - my bridge pup is actually a nice 8.74 and the neck is a 7.57.

 

[benbenben]

Re: Antiquity Humbuckers

What sorta wiring configurations do you recommend?
What sort of caps, blender pots, 2v and 2t?