evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

[orpheo]

There are SO many 'van halen' pickups around! but many stories seem to contradict eachother. I see that there's the set of his new wolfgang, and then there's the 'frankenstein pickup'. alnico 2 if I recall correctly, 16k, something like that. and then there's the 78 by duncan. a whole different animal, I know.

but whats the difference between the wolfgang and the frankenstein pickup?

also, how do you guys think the frankenstein-pickup would sound in a les paul?

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

 

[orpheo]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

Please don't get the impression that I want that van halen tone. Thats not my goal. I just want to know in what way they differ. if they're name had been 'apple pecan pie' and 'apple crumble pie' I suppose that wouldn't have caused your reaction?

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

There are SO many 'van halen' pickups around! but many stories seem to contradict eachother. I see that there's the set of his new wolfgang, and then there's the 'frankenstein pickup'. alnico 2 if I recall correctly, 16k, something like that. and then there's the 78 by duncan. a whole different animal, I know.

but whats the difference between the wolfgang and the frankenstein pickup?

also, how do you guys think the frankenstein-pickup would sound in a les paul?

OK here goes,
Duncan 78= lower output PAF type with alnico II magnet great for the tones you hear on VH II thru DIVER DOWN
EVH frankenstein= copy of the medium high output,overwound,aged alnico II,14.6K PAF that was in his red/black/white original frankenstein guitar best for the FW through 5150/OU812 tones
EVHwolfgang= 16K neck and 14K bridge models these are wound by fender for his EVH wolfgang guitars, these are high output pu's that i believe use ceramic magnets, the tone of these is similar to the peavey wolfgang pu's but have a more refined,smoother tone,these are quite good sounding pu's and dont really reflect and of his earlier tones except maybe on balance,VH III.
eddie has used many pu's over the years and all are really good so it is up to the player to decide which you like best.
In a LP i vote for the 78! the frankenstein is also good but may sound mushy in a paul?

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

lol I gotcha man. Just poking fun at what will probably turn into another notorious EVH thread.

I wish I could help but I'm sure someone on here knows all about it and will answer you shortly.

Edit: BAM! EH gotcha already.

 

[51501984]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

 

[devastone]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

The Duncan Custom would be a better choice in an LP.

The rest I won't touch...

 

[orpheo]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

its really about the pickups. not Evh himself, sorry.

@EH: thanks for that info. but, 16k for a neck and 14k bridge? sure thats not the other way around? the 78 is very, very fat for a les paul, according to duncan's helpdesk

the wolfgang pickups seem to be nice, but I think they are 'too generic' sounding, compared with other brands and types. I think the frankenstein pickup might stand out more and be more unique.

I forgot to mention that I actually set my mind on that pickup, but I was just curious about the differences

 

[orpheo]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

The Duncan Custom would be a better choice in an LP.

The rest I won't touch...

I had it once in a les paul, but I really didn't like it. too warm, too mushy. I prefer the JB or a distortion (or a jb/fullshred hybrid or a custom/59 hybrid) over the custom when it comes to 'modern' style pickups. the custom is a great choice, though, in a full maple body strat with floyd.

 

[devastone]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

Custom too warm and mushy? Sure it wasn't a Custom Custom?

 

[orpheo]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

Custom too warm and mushy? Sure it wasn't a Custom Custom?

it said sh-5 (custom) on the baseplate, and I bought it from an official dealer, so yeah, I figured it was a real duncan custom

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

its really about the pickups. not Evh himself, sorry.

@EH: thanks for that info. but, 16k for a neck and 14k bridge? sure thats not the other way around? the 78 is very, very fat for a les paul, according to duncan's helpdesk

yep 16 for the neck one and 14K for the bridge, the same goes for the peavey version.
keep in mind that resistance is not always going to determine the final output of the pu, what wire is used is a big factor as well as magnet type.
for example the steve special by dimarzio is a 17K pu but it is not
as hot as the lower resistance 14K super d.
I learned the hard way to not use just resistance as a guide when choosing pu's.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

the wolfgang pickups seem to be nice, but I think they are 'too generic' sounding, compared with other brands and types. I think the frankenstein pickup might stand out more and be more unique.

Well the ones i heard were not generic at all but i also dont feel they are worth the custom shop price they are asking for these($160 a pup!:eyecrazy
If i am spending that MJ gets a call from me then!:naughty:

 

[orpheo]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

no, I know that resistance doesnt tell the whole story, but I do know (or feel) that higher resistance ofen equals mushyness, especially on the neck pickup, but ey, then again, I might be wrong

 

[devastone]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

it said sh-5 (custom) on the baseplate, and I bought it from an official dealer, so yeah, I figured it was a real duncan custom

I believe you, just double checking. If the Custom was too mushy, I'm thinking any of the "VH" pickups will be more so.

But, WDIK, YMMV, etc....

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

I believe you, just double checking. If the Custom was too mushy, I'm thinking any of the "VH" pickups will be more so.

But, WDIK, YMMV, etc....

+1 devastone is correct is you found the tight and bright custom SH-5 mushy then the EVH frank will be a mud bomb to ya!:14:

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

no, I know that resistance doesnt tell the whole story, but I do know (or feel) that higher resistance ofen equals mushyness, especially on the neck pickup, but ey, then again, I might be wrong

depends on the construction, wind and wire type, the HS-3 is a very articulate pu at 23K as is the 21K PATB-2.
but yes typically the higher resistance takes away clarity and a high resonant peak for brightness.

 

[orpheo]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

haha, okay, I understand

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

haha, okay, I understand

Cool, listen the best advice i could ever give is that if you have a guitar that you love and want the perfect p'u for it,then definitely go the extra mile and order a custom shop duncan.
You may go through 2-5 models or MORE before you find THEE pu for your guitar if you just randomly try models like i did.
I got lucky and didn't have to go CS and only because the p'u i wanted was already designed for someone.(screamin demon)
But i had to go through many different duncan's to find that out.
If i would have just went with a CS p'u i would have saved a lot of money,time and effort.:eyecrazy:
$150 for a p'u is not a lot when it saves you in the long run.:naughty:

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: evh pickup, wolfgang pickup, 78... can't make heads or tails out of it!

everybody knows he used EMGs

derp