Closest Duncan to Wolfgang Nec?

['59]

The Wolfgang neck is a bit of a weird pickup because due to it's wire guage the DCR of the neck pickup is higher than the bridge despite having less copper on the coils.

What's the closest pickup I can get to one without breaking the bank? it doesn't have to be identical if that's not possible,

Just a similar ballpark.

 

[Mincer]

What are the specs of that pickup?

 

['59]

Alnico 2, 17k, and symmetrically wound. I don't know anything beyond that outside of the neck uses different wire than the bridge.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I don't think there's anything in the Duncan lineup like that. That pickup is kinda the antithesis of the Duncan neck pickup recipee, LOL.

I wonder if it's wound with 44 or 45 AWG. If it's 44, then probably something like an RTM in the neck?

 

[ErikH]

So, the website description says 16.4-17k then further down under "Specs" it says 14-14.6k. Which is it?

https://www.evhgear.com/gear/accessories/evh-wolfgang-neck-pickups/0222137001

There's nothing I know if in the Duncan lineup like that.

 

[Chistopher]

I have a wolfgang set and measured the neck at like 16.5k and the bridge at something around 14k.

It doesn't sound anything like you'd expect a 16.5k A2 to sound.

 

[Chistopher]

A lot of the complaints you hear about the bridge being thin and the neck being muddy I suspect are people installing them based on the DCR

 

[beaubrummels]

Description reads like a Custom Custom, but really we should be talking about what it SOUNDS like to find something similar.

 

[Chistopher]

Yeah, the bridge is kinda like a Custom Custom.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

A lot of the complaints you hear about the bridge being thin and the neck being muddy I suspect are people installing them based on the DCR

I've been curious about how those pickups sound for a while.

I suspect they're kinda dark-ish and mid-focused?

 

[Chistopher]

The Wolfgang bridge is basically a Custom Custom but I feel it has a little less bass and the midrange is shifter up a little bit compared to the CC.

The neck sounds about what you'd expect a neck model of a Custom Custom would sound. The American made ones have an A3 in the neck which I greatly prefer. The non-American ones have an A2 which can sound a little bloated.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

The Wolfgang bridge is basically a Custom Custom but I feel it has a little less bass and the midrange is shifter up a little bit compared to the CC.

The neck sounds about what you'd expect a neck model of a Custom Custom would sound. The American made ones have an A3 in the neck which I greatly prefer. The non-American ones have an A2 which can sound a little bloated.

That's interesting. I really want to try the neck pickup. Honestly, I wanna try both, but I don't want to swap the SSH+'s out of my Les Pauls either. Do you think the neck pickup would sound good in a Les Paul?

 

[Chistopher]

If it's a particularly bright one. Maybe 1 meg pots. My biggest concern would be the shorter scale length. It would be great in a 24 fret 24 3/4" though I think.

 

[soulforger]

By spec would be a JB with an A2, 16-17k 44g poly wire.The Peavey version is basically the exact pickup with A5
I was always curious to swap positions neck to bridge and vice-versa, but I no longer have a Wolfgang to try it with. The WG bridge is very close to a Custom Custom as said. There have been some people who have suggested in online forums before that swapping positions make them sound "closer to the Dimarzio Axis/EVH pups" which would make sense, as the Axis bridge is indeed very close to a JB, and the Axis neck was designed to replace the CC that Eddie was using in the neck position of the prototype EBMM he was using to record F.U.C.K. at that time.(I should add that the poly wire type I read somewhere online but don't have a WG to confirm)

 

['59]

This has all been very interesting. So an A3 JB would be the closest thing to an American Wolfgang neck?

 

[Mincer]

The odd thing here is that Eddie didn't really use a neck pickup much or at all. Certainly not on his most famous stuff. So it looks like this particular neck pickup is designed to sound a bit like the bridge pickup in that guitar...and what's the point of that?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

The odd thing here is that Eddie didn't really use a neck pickup much or at all. Certainly not on his most famous stuff. So it looks like this particular neck pickup is designed to sound a bit like the bridge pickup in that guitar...and what's the point of that?

I wouldn't think it would sound like a bridge pickup just because it's high DCR. I don't think there's anything that can make a pickup in the neck sound bridge-y, honestly.

I remember on the DiMarzio article that recollects how they came up with the Tone Zone mentions that they originally showed EVH the Humbucker from Hell (which is super bright) because said he tended not to like neck pickups because he said most neck pickups were too dark and muddy for him (I'm paraphrasing), and he didn't like it either.

 

[ErikH]

The odd thing here is that Eddie didn't really use a neck pickup much or at all. Certainly not on his most famous stuff. So it looks like this particular neck pickup is designed to sound a bit like the bridge pickup in that guitar...and what's the point of that?

Since around 1990-ish, he used a neck pickup a lot starting with his EBMM sig, and probably a few other things in the studio. Heck, the clean parts of Hot For Teacher are done with a Flying V on the neck pickup.

 

[Mincer]

Since around 1990-ish, he used a neck pickup a lot starting with his EBMM sig, and probably a few other things in the studio. Heck, the clean parts of Hot For Teacher are done with a Flying V on the neck pickup.

Oh I get it, but the bulk of VH's popular guitar sounds were before his EB and Peavey. BTW, I love both the EB and the Peavey. Fantastic instruments, and I like the neck pickups better than the bridge (I don't play any VH, though).

 

[ErikH]

Oh I get it, but the bulk of VH's popular guitar sounds were before his EB and Peavey. BTW, I love both the EB and the Peavey. Fantastic instruments, and I like the neck pickups better than the bridge (I don't play any VH, though).

Valid point.
The Peavey model is my least favorite. Never really gelled with it when I played them in the stores. The EB I loved, the neck is so awesome. BUT, again, me being 6'3" tall, the body looks like a kids toy on me. Same with the EVH Wolfgang, though it plays like a dream too.