Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

off the bat i would say the EVH pup. are you looking for a duncan pup specifically?
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

There is a lot of other factors but for a pickup specifically I would go with a Duncan '78.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

For early VH (especially the first album), the SH-5 Custom is the pickup.

I have done a ton of research on this topic.

As well, I have done extensive experimenting including modding my amp, using a variac, using a real EP3 preamp, etc...

See my thread here:

SD-SH-5-Custom-Is-The-One

The first clip in that thread will show you just how surprisingly close the SH-5 Custom gets you (with the appropriate rig).

OTOH, if you're looking for Fair Warning-1984 tones and have a Floyd Rose, get an SH-11 Custom Custom.


Here's that clip -

Ed ISO on the left, me on the right - my signal 100% dry; no DAW EQing, nothing. Tapped straight off the SM57:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6fVBUL3SmFidk5Xdm04OWp3RlU/view?usp=sharing
 
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Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

Does the 78 and custom custom clean up well to?
Need a nice full clean sound also.



For early VH (especially the first album), the SH-5 Custom is the pickup.

I have done a ton of research on this topic.

As well, I have done extensive experimenting including modding my amp, using a variac, using a real EP3 preamp, etc...

See my thread here:

SD-SH-5-Custom-Is-The-One

The first clip in that thread will show you just how surprisingly close the SH-5 Custom gets you (with the appropriate rig).

OTOH, if you're looking for Fair Warning-1984 tones and have a Floyd Rose, get an SH-11 Custom Custom.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

59/Custom Hybrid Model. It cleans up better than the Custom or Custom Custom. A little more output than a 59, and growls really nicely on big open chords because of it's mismatched coils.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

What are you using for an amp? tube amp? that makes some diff too.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

Does the 78 and custom custom clean up well to?
Need a nice full clean sound also.

Don't know about the '78 and haven't used a CC in a decade.

If you run a 500k vol pot, no tone pot and place a .001uF in-between the legs of the volume pot, the
SH-5 Custom cleans up very well with the right rig.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

Early EVH tone was really about the batteries more than the pickup or amp.

An EMG 81 running at 27V (3 x 9V batteries) and this Marshall micro amp will totally get you there:

marshall-micro-amp-black.jpg
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

Which Van Halen sound?

For the older VH stuff I like, I use a CustomCustom.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

Duncan '78

Fender "Frankenstein" (which is made by Duncan)

Duncan IM1

DiMarzio Virtual HOT PAF

Arcane Brownbucker

Duncan Custom

DiMarzio Super Distortion

AHB-3 Mick Thompson Blackouts

Custom Shop "Slug"

Any 8-string pickup

etc.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

Don't know about the '78 and haven't used a CC in a decade.

If you run a 500k vol pot, no tone pot and place a .001uF in-between the legs of the volume pot, the
SH-5 Custom cleans up very well with the right rig.

For a guy who seeks the VH tone I am pretty shocked you've never tried the '78. The '78 is the VH pickup from Duncan.

Yes the '78 cleans up nicely when you roll the volume off a bit.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

One of our writers reviewed a ton of VH style pickups over the past few months. He did pretty indepth reviews of all he tried. We both tried the Guitar Fetish VEH and were blown away by a $35 pickup. However there are some better options out there. You can check out some of his reviews below the VH ones are pretty easy to find.

http://www.tmrzoo.com/?s=pickup
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

The VH sound has been so copied that there is well more than a few ways to get the sound.

But pickup is low on my list of ways to do it.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

The best would be a PAF ripped out of a pre-1965 ES-335. Short of that, the others mentioned here should get you there I believe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

One that got me in the ridiculously close ballpark is the Gibson '57 Classic Plus (overwound PAF). That pickup in a Strat through a ragging Marshall is glorious.

The Custom Custom is a great option. Used to use one myself for many years.
 
Re: Best humbucker for Van Halen sound?

The Duncan EVH 78 is the Van Halen- in- a- pickup tone.
That said, for some other VH-1 stuff, you can try the SuperD, and the Super70 Ibby.

Lots of clones on the market, but my choice is the original one that the living legend Seymour Duncan wound, which is the EVH '78. Nails it. It helps to have some of the other mitigating factors inline, such as the Marshall amp and /or with plexi pedal , Northern Ash body / Maple neck and basic Strat tremolo .
 
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