Custom Shop Peter Frampton

[SFW]

For some background... I own three sets of Antiquities and love Peter Frampton...

I love PAF style pickups. While i do use some more modern flavor pickups, I have always come back to PAF style pickups for their dynamics and overall tone. Frampton Comes Alive was a game changer album for me. I discovered it in the late 80s. (yeah... yeah... I was a bit late to the party. Frampton's tones have, IMHO, always been stellar. So when the MJ 40th Anniversary Frampton pickups became available, I decided to give them a shot. I figured if nothing else, I would be super cool to have a set of pickups signed by MJ and Peter Frampton.

I installed them in my Les Paul Standard and was so blown away that I ordered a second set after 10 minutes of playing. I love my Antiquities, but these are just next level tone. Its everything that I love about the Ants, just more of it. They ooze tone and mojo.

Congrats to MJ on 40 years!

 

[Mincer]

Thanks for the review! I think you are the first person here to have a set of these. I love Antiquities, too, so what are the sonic differences?

 

[SFW]

Thanks for the review! I think you are the first person here to have a set of these. I love Antiquities, too, so what are the sonic differences?

They sound bigger... for lack a better way to say it. lol. On the Ants, sometimes the bass response can be a little loose. On the FCA, the bass response is full and firm. The bridge pickup sounds balanced across the frequency range. The highs are a little sweeter. Chords sound full. Single notes sing a little more. For me, it is the perfect pickup. The neck pickup isn't muddy. You can clearly head all of the notes in a complex chord. Get above the 12th fret with some gain, and I honestly feel these do a better Slash tone than the AP2s. There is a creaminess to the mids that just makes you want to keep playing.

$395 is a lot of money for a set of pickups. And to be honest, I almost didn't order the first set. But a glass of bourbon told me to try them out...lol! Literally within 10 minutes of playing, I ordered the second set. These maybe the best set of pickups that I have ever played.

 

[Mincer]

They sound like something I would really like. Are they potted?

 

[SFW]

They sound like something I would really like. Are they potted?

The info page says that they are not potted. I play with high gain all the time and have never had an issue with an unpotted pickup. I do feel like the lack of potting adds something to the tone.

 

[Mincer]

Actually, I prefer them non-potted.

 

[beaubrummels]

Sometimes one time throwing down the ducket$ on the right tool for the job beats wasting hundred$ of dollars constantly buying cheaper alternatives that never work.

 

[Guest]

I have them as well as the two other sets as well. I want to install all of them into a few of my guitars. Actually, I already have 2 Les Paulitas, one with Bare Knuckle Peacemakers which blew me away and one with Green Magic pickups for the out of phase style leads.

I actually want to install the Frampton set into an SG.

 

[OsvyRock]

For some background... I own three sets of Antiquities and love Peter Frampton...

I love PAF style pickups. While i do use some more modern flavor pickups, I have always come back to PAF style pickups for their dynamics and overall tone. Frampton Comes Alive was a game changer album for me. I discovered it in the late 80s. (yeah... yeah... I was a bit late to the party. Frampton's tones have, IMHO, always been stellar. So when the MJ 40th Anniversary Frampton pickups became available, I decided to give them a shot. I figured if nothing else, I would be super cool to have a set of pickups signed by MJ and Peter Frampton.

I installed them in my Les Paul Standard and was so blown away that I ordered a second set after 10 minutes of playing. I love my Antiquities, but these are just next level tone. Its everything that I love about the Ants, just more of it. They ooze tone and mojo.

Congrats to MJ on 40 years!

They sound bigger... for lack a better way to say it. lol. On the Ants, sometimes the bass response can be a little loose. On the FCA, the bass response is full and firm. The bridge pickup sounds balanced across the frequency range. The highs are a little sweeter. Chords sound full. Single notes sing a little more. For me, it is the perfect pickup. The neck pickup isn't muddy. You can clearly head all of the notes in a complex chord. Get above the 12th fret with some gain, and I honestly feel these do a better Slash tone than the AP2s. There is a creaminess to the mids that just makes you want to keep playing.

$395 is a lot of money for a set of pickups. And to be honest, I almost didn't order the first set. But a glass of bourbon told me to try them out...lol! Literally within 10 minutes of playing, I ordered the second set. These maybe the best set of pickups that I have ever played.

Your words actually inspired me to purchase the Frampton set. While I'm not a Frampton fan, I highly respect him as a musician and performer.
Mine should go to my Heritage H-150. It has the Antiquity set on it. I thought it could be silly to buy a lower DC Rating PAF type pickup, but at the same time I knew my tone could be improved.
Antiquity, while good sounding may feel a little bit tamed or off sounding on the EQ at times. To my ear, it lacks power in certain mids frequencies in the bridge, while the neck could be more smooth for my taste. Something sweeter, smoother, full sounding, creamy, and clear is definitely what I need.

Let's see how it goes! I purchased my set just a few minutes ago at the CME website.

 

[hamerfan]

Your words actually inspired me to purchase the Frampton set. While I'm not a Frampton fan, I highly respect him as a musician and performer.
Mine should go to my Heritage H-150. It has the Antiquity set on it. I thought it could be silly to buy a lower DC Rating PAF type pickup, but at the same time I knew my tone could be improved.
Antiquity, while good sounding may feel a little bit tamed or off sounding on the EQ at times. To my ear, it lacks power in certain mids frequencies in the bridge, while the neck could be more smooth for my taste. Something sweeter, smoother, full sounding, creamy, and clear is definitely what I need.

Let's see how it goes! I purchased my set just a few minutes ago at the CME website.

Maybe its a bold statement, but the Ants lack in the fuller sound dept. because they use demagnetized A2 magnets. Non of my 3 Ants use them now. With A4, A5, A6 or even full charged A2 they come alive.

 

[Mincer]

Something sweeter, smoother, full sounding, creamy, and clear is definitely what I need.

The Seths match that description.

 

[orpheo]

To my ear, it lacks power in certain mids frequencies in the bridge, while the neck could be more smooth for my taste. Something sweeter, smoother, full sounding, creamy, and clear is definitely what I need.

I agree. The antiquities can sound a bit friendly, compared to other great PAF pickups. That's why I swapped the bridge for an A4 and the neck for an A3. The bridge gained more bite, a bit more bark, and a touch more output; neck got a bit less tubby and more howling and clear.

The Frampton pickups appeal to me, but I have no more guitars to put them in and I don't want to make yet another guitar for these. I'm done

 

[OsvyRock]

Maybe its a bold statement, but the Ants lack in the fuller sound dept. because they use demagnetized A2 magnets. Non of my 3 Ants use them now. With A4, A5, A6 or even full charged A2 they come alive.

I agree. The antiquities can sound a bit friendly, compared to other great PAF pickups. That's why I swapped the bridge for an A4 and the neck for an A3. The bridge gained more bite, a bit more bark, and a touch more output; neck got a bit less tubby and more howling and clear.

The Frampton pickups appeal to me, but I have no more guitars to put them in and I don't want to make yet another guitar for these. I'm done

Yes! There’s a weird EQ with them. They’re not bad pickups per se and I did like tones I got out of them, but we all know Les Paul style guitars do have their tone, and the Antiquity seem (to my ear) to be the set for a very nasal, but woody guitar. It will stabilize and balance the sound. I get a good tone, but don’t feel I’m getting the best out of my guitar.
I pulled the trigger on the Frampton due to MJ’s love for Frampton. She has always expressed being very happy for the time she created pickups for him. I believe that if we do something for someone we love or appreciate, we could do something AWESOME! Love the fact that it’s signed by MJ, Frampton itself (a music legend), that it’s limited edition (for now) set, and that my birthday is next month. Really didn’t have like a guitar for it, but my H-150 could benefit of something new.

The Seths match that description.

I have considered getting those in the future but do have others in my queue (wishlist) like the Custom Shop Pearly and the Slash 2.0. I’m definitely a Slash fan but didn’t like my experience with the APH-2. It feel lacking and not hot enough. I’s to my understand that the 2.0 solves this issue. Another thing is that I can’t have a lead guitar tone all the time since I play rhythm mostly, so I need a balance for both leads and rhythm tones.
I hope I didn’t make a mistake by getting a Frampton set.

 

[Mincer]

I am sure you will love the Frampton set. Every review has been positive.

 

[SFW]

Your words actually inspired me to purchase the Frampton set. While I'm not a Frampton fan, I highly respect him as a musician and performer.
Mine should go to my Heritage H-150. It has the Antiquity set on it. I thought it could be silly to buy a lower DC Rating PAF type pickup, but at the same time I knew my tone could be improved.
Antiquity, while good sounding may feel a little bit tamed or off sounding on the EQ at times. To my ear, it lacks power in certain mids frequencies in the bridge, while the neck could be more smooth for my taste. Something sweeter, smoother, full sounding, creamy, and clear is definitely what I need.

Let's see how it goes! I purchased my set just a few minutes ago at the CME website.

Just checking in to see how they worked out for you.

 

[OsvyRock]

Just checking in to see how they worked out for you.

Hi there! The Frampton Comes Alive set is Pure Perfection.
I can get Frampton's ''Do You Feel Like I Do'' tone on the middle position, Slash's/Gary Moore creamy neck pickup tone for melody is here with enough bite, and it can certainly ROCK (& METAL) on the bridge pickup. Not being wax potted, it can feedback at times (at least when I record in front of my speaker monitors), but haven't heard a thing playing thru my Blackstar HT-40.
They're worth the investment and I do prefer them over the Seymour Duncan Antiquity Set.

Whatever you like Frampton or not, you'll definitely have the LP (Les Paul) guitar tone that's historically iconic. There's really nothing I can't get out of them, and I don't hope to sell them anytime soon. They'll remain on my guitar.

My pickups specs:
Alnico II Pickups
Bridge: 8.37K
Neck: 7.58K

I haven't popped up the covers to see what's underneath of them. Mine is [NODE="153"]Foo Fighters tone[/NODE] out [NODE="160."]Amp Shopping....[/NODE]
Signed by MJ & Peter Frampton. There's also a little bit extra signed by Seymour & MJ. Very cool, memorabilia, and collector's item.

I made an unboxing a few months back on my IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvGaSbxrE-t/?img_index=1
I also played around a little bit when they got installed. You can listen to them here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv4r9dHtIsn/
Just some random noodling (on purpose) to test them out.

 

[jeremy]

can you compare the frampton and antiquity bridge pups?

 

[OsvyRock]

can you compare the frampton and antiquity bridge pups?

Sure!
While I did like the Antiquity bridge, the Frampton Comes Alive feels better.

The Antiquity bridge is a very good rock and roll vintage sounding pickup but tamed, and held back. Perhaps the aged magnet is the culprit. I also felt it didn't cut properly nor has the LP sound.
To my ears, it could be the right pickup for an ES or perhaps an SG, just not a LP. I felt a dip in the upper mids. Regarding noise/feedback concerns, the Antiquity never gave me any sort of feedback issues, the Frampton set did.

The Frampton Comes Alive set feels like a set made for a Les Paul. It feels natural and right. The bridge has cut, the upper mids and lots of clarity. Beware! Treble may feel too much at times depending of amp, speaker, amp sim, and IR settings. Tone knob has to be used.

The thing is if you would like a smoother, vintage, and tamed experience or just have the right experience from the get go.
The Frampton set will remain on the guitar, and the Antiquity set got sold to someone in Texas. I believe that says something.

Recommendation for the Antiquity set: Restore upper mids and get rid of what's holding back the pickup tone.

For the Frampton Set: I like it as it's. Balanced with no scooping or mids boosted (mid frequencies). I would definitely request a little more mids for it, but nothing that can't be done by adjusting settings. Perhaps that's the intention. I wonder if the Frampton Set is supposed to be a P.A.F. made for Frampton or a copy of the Tom Holmes he uses... Perhaps is a copy of the set MJ wound for him back when she met him.

 

[bubs_42]

Well thanks for the thread fella’s. I have really been wanting to try the Frampton’s but with the lack of info about them I didn’t want to plunk the money down to disappointed. I am a fan of the Alnico II Pro, but sometimes I do feel that it is a little too soft feeling or a little too scooped. A little flatter response and a little more muscle with a clear neck pickup really sounds like a fantastic combination.

 

[hamerfan]

Well thanks for the thread fella’s. I have really been wanting to try the Frampton’s but with the lack of info about them I didn’t want to plunk the money down to disappointed. I am a fan of the Alnico II Pro, but sometimes I do feel that it is a little too soft feeling or a little too scooped. A little flatter response and a little more muscle with a clear neck pickup really sounds like a fantastic combination.

Get your hands dirty, buy a A4 and A3 magnet and swap them into your Alnico II Pros. A4 in the bridge and A3 in the neck.