Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

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BigSlick

New member
I own a 1983 Reissue Les Paul. I am the original owner. I had some Dimarzio PAF's installed (double cream thing) and they sounded OK. Everybody always said they sounded "fat". I decided to put the original Shaws back in to refresh my memory on what they sounded like. They are OK. Not nearly as "fat" as the PAF's. After much agonizing on what pick-ups to try next I decided that the JB/Jazz combo would ba a good place to start. I decided to stay with the nickle covers for now, may do the double cream later...maybe a hybrid. Anyway, (this is getting longer than I expected) I won a "covered Jazz neck" on ebay for $51 including shipping. I get the pick-up today and it is a Seth Lover. It is like new so I plan on putting it in the next time I change srtings (probably a few days....this weekend). So, in the meantime I will be trying to decide whick pick-up to pair with the Seth. I did a search but almost every thread has "Seth" in there somewhere. I have a JCM 800 2210 and play mostly classic rock and blues stuff.

What are a few suggestions on a bridge pick-up to pair witht he Seth?
 
Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

Yea...I was thinking of the Seth bridge but was wanting something a little hotter (I think). On the SD website it suggested pairing the SL with the CC but I didn't really care for the sound of the CC on the clip (I realize it is just a clip so it probably doesn't do it justice).

Any of you guys have a SL neck? What do you use in the bridge?
 
Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

Just a thought: Let the DiMarzio PAF bridge rewind to 9.5k (the inner coil must be rewound to 5.5k) and put a Alnico 4 in the neck PAF. Cost about 40 bucks. This is my killer set after i swapped in a Custom 5, a Custom, a L-500, a Custom made 11k pickup and a JB.
 
Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

a 59B would give a little more oomph than a seth ... a C5 would give you even more ..a CC would give you some push with lotsa A2 goodness

good luck and let us know what you pick and how it works out

cheers
t4d
 
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Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

Hey Bigslick, welcome to the forum. I'm going to paste a copy of my generic pup breakdown/comparison, so grab a cup of coffee (or beer depending where you are) and get comfy.

Antiquity---A pup that is hand made by Seymour or MJ that has been artificially aged. The magnet has been degaussed and the cover has been distresses along with the screws so as to appear vintage. Everything is done to make these pups as close to an original that you would buy from a collector that was out of a guitar that was played everyday and gigged with. They have complex mids and are smooth. They are available in A2 or A5 magnet varieties. Vintage 2 Conductor Wire

The 59---The 59 is the quintessential A5 PAF (patent applied for) pup. Imagine getting in a time machine and going back to 1959 and swiping a brand new A5 pup from the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo and bringing it forward to today. They have found most homes in many neck slots. It has symetrical coils and lots of quack. It has thumping bass, a scooped mid, and cutting highs. Vintage 2 Conductor Wire

The Seth Lover---This pup is as true to the original as can be. This pup is unpotted and comes standard with a gold, or nickel pup cover. It has an A2 magnet and has good quack and fair mids. For this pup imagine going back in time to 1955 and grabbing one of the very first PAF's before they debuted in the LP's. This pup is warm and creamy, but can also get bright with the tone knob on 10. Vintage 2 Conductor Wire

The Alnico 2 Pro---The warmest of the Duncan PAF line. It has symetrical coils and is a modern take on the A2 PAFs. It has round bass and smooth treble, it also has lots of mids to make the guitar really sing. It will warm up the coldest or shrillest of guitars. The most well known Alnico 2 Pro user is Slash of Velvet Revolver and GNR. Standard 4 Conductor Wire

Pearly Gates---The PG is the hottest of the Duncan PAF line. It has asymetrical (mismatched) coils and an A2 magnet. The mismatched coils give this particular pup its rude personality. It has a frequency push in the Presence/Cut knob frequency band. This is the "Sizzle" PG owner talk about. It has the most mids of the Ducan PAF line and is also the hottest. Its patron is Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Standard 4 conductor Wire

The Jazz---The jazz is the pup that bridges the gap between Vintage and Modern pups. Its output is at or around the vintage level. Don't let the name fool you this pup is very versatile and smooth. It has an A5 magnet and is very widely used in the neck slot. It is articulate regardless of the tuning as well. This pup negociates cleans or overdrive very well. Standard 4 Conductor Wire

The Custom Series---The Custom Series is all on pup configuration but with different magnets. The coils are symmetrical and the pups come with Standard 4 Conductor wire

Custom---The Custom is a PAF kicked up a few notches. This pup gets its aggressive edge from its Ceramic magnet. This pup has lots of grind with good treble and midrange. It also has ample bass for palm mute playing.

Custom Custom---The Custom Custom is a midrange heavy pup that lends itself to leads and warming bright guitars. This pup gets its huge midrange from the Alnico 2 magnet. I has smooth bass and treble. Essentially it is an overwound A2 PAF.

Custom 5---The Custom 5 is a pup with an EQ very identical to The 59. It has thumping bass, scooped mids, and cutting treble. Like the 59 it is a bright pup that will liven up dark guitar, but the bass can be overwhelming in a bassy guitar, or the the treble overwhelming in a trebly guitar.

<to be continued>
 
Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

<continued>

JB---The JB is in a class of its own. There is really no other pup like it. It has fair bass and lots of treble. This particular pup has a large upper mids spike that allow it to cut through the mix like no other. It can be heard on countless recording especially throughout the 80's. Lots of people like to pair it with a Jazz or 59 in the neck. In bright guitars it is usually soldered to a 250k pot just like the original Seymour made 30 years ago.

I think you'd really like the Brobucker, which is a custom shop pup. It has more heat than the regular line PAFs but not as much as the Custom series. The Brobucker is a pup designed by the forum members and sprinkled with magic dust in the Custom Shop.

Brobucker---An assymetrical coil configuration resulting in approximately 10K DC resistance and a bit of a 70's bark/snarl. The DC resistance puts it in the medium output category. It will have more output than the 59 but less than the C5. It uses the same type of wire as the Antiquity line and is 42 Gauge wire for the clarity associated with PAFs. The original had an aged A5 magnet like used in the Antiquity line. The aged A5 magnet will have less lows and highs than a full strength A5, but more mids. It will have less mids than an A2 magnet, but more highs and lows. It is lightly potted and comes with either single or 4 conductor cable.

Hopefully some of that is worth something to you. Also the Custom Shop is having a sale on the 78 model. It would probably pair up with a Seth nicely.

Luke
 
Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

The CC/Seth is so popular it's almost considered a set at this point, although I like the tighter bass, and more open mids and highs of the C-5.
 
Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

Gearjoneser said:
The CC/Seth is so popular it's almost considered a set at this point, although I like the tighter bass, and more open mids and highs of the C-5.
Click to expand...

That's the set I used in my Hamer Monoco.

And the CC is still my favorite "hotter than a paf" bridge humbucker to use with the Seth neck.

If you want vintage output go for a Seth bridge.

Lew
 
Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

Thanks for the replies guys.

I am going to put the Seth in this weekend (or sooner). After taking it for a test drive I will decide on a bridge pick-up.

Luke, thanks for the info!
 
Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

For just a little bit hotter I would definitely suggest a Custom Shop 78 Model/EVH(possibly a Brobucker as well) or... I can make you a 59/Custom Hybrid

If you go with a 78/EVH you could probably get one from Lew and he could add a Nickel Cover to match your Seth Neck.
 
Re: Bridge Pick-up To Use With A Seth Lover Neck?

Well....I tried a few different set ups with the Seth, The original Shaws and the DiMarzio PAF's that have been in my Les Paul since the eighties. I ended up going back to the DiMarzios. I never would have thought that would be the case. The Seth sounded good but just wasn't a good match with the Shaw at all. When in the middle position I was getting some kind of out-of phase sound. (best way I could describe).

I think I am going to get a SD 59b and put it up against the DiMarzio and see which I like best. Since those pick-ups are pretty close to the same specs it should be a good match up.

Thanks for the replies guys.
 
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