Inflames626
New member
https://soundcloud.com/devolve1980/hamer-tone
Above are some samples I posted of some nickel covered Gibson pickups: Classic 57+ in the neck and the 498t in the bridge. 500k Bournes pots with the 498t wired to split. Of the two brands I've tried, I recommend the Bournes over Alphas because the Bournes are more robustly built, but a bit more expensive. I want to call attention to the 57+ at about the 1:58 mark, which is the best neck PAF I have ever played thus far. The only downside is it does not split.
As for the 498t, it is the best all around rhythm guitar bridge PAF I have ever played. The lows and highs seem balanced. It has more high mids than the Custom 5 but seems to avoid all the grit and excess high end of the Custom (I have not played a Custom but have heard it).
The 57+ is an Alnico II while the 498t is an Alnico V. The closest relative to the 57+ is the 490t (I believe the 490r is the same as a Classic 57 but with an Alnico V magnet). To my ears, the 490s sound a bit stiffer and less fluid than the Classics.
I posted these because I seem to remember several forum members not being crazy about Gibson humbuckers, at least for the price Gibson charges. I can agree with that. However, I do find them superior to the Duncan PAFs I have tried, the 59 for the neck and the Custom 5. The 59 is too muddy in the neck and the Custom 5 is great but has a huge hole in the mids, as many have stated.
I thought I would offer these so players might take a second look at these models if you can find them used for a good price. I would rather pay more for a 57+ and get the sound I want than less for a 59 that is less than ideal.
That said, I would appreciate forum members pointing out analogous models in the Duncan/DiMarzio lineups. I assume the AIIP, AIIP Slash, and Custom Custom are the closest Duncan versions to these aside from the Custom 5.
I put these into a set neck/mahogany/rosewood Chinese made Hamer Scarab XT which I bought online for about $200 a few years ago. To my knowledge, these were some of the last mass produced Hamer guitars before Fender acquired them and ended the brand about two years ago. It's probably my best guitar for the money. My only gripe is the nuts are not slotted correctly, so if you go from 9 gauge to 10 gauge strings like I did, you will get buzzing from the nut. I had to have a new nut put on. This is played with the old nut and 10 gauge strings, but I got some buzz on the A, G, and B strings even though the amp on clean, although it isn't audible here.
If you find some of these guitars floating around online, they should suit you well for the money with some modifications.
I tend to prefer this guitar for my left/rhythm side of the mix, while I like my Jackson KV3 with Full Shreds on the right/lead side.
My intention here was to make a late 80s/early 90s boosted Marshall heavy metal sound with a bit of reverb and delay. It is much wetter and has more gain than what I would use in a multi guitar mix, so the gain and wetness are mainly there for stylistic purposes. I did it through Pod Farm Platinum 2.5 with a Tube Screamer>Marshall JCM800>Celestion Greenback 20s with a Shure SM57 on axis 0% room, a slight bit of compression, spring reverb, and digital delay. As always, I used a metal pick.
On the covered vs. uncovered debate, I did feel like I was hearing some kind of bright noise in the very, very high end of the pickup (say, 7k and above). I don't know if I was hearing microphonics, but generally I do find covered pickups somewhat brighter and less open sounding than uncovered pickups. That's extreme speculation and conjecture on my part, though.
Anyway, I hope this helps, and I appreciate comments.
Above are some samples I posted of some nickel covered Gibson pickups: Classic 57+ in the neck and the 498t in the bridge. 500k Bournes pots with the 498t wired to split. Of the two brands I've tried, I recommend the Bournes over Alphas because the Bournes are more robustly built, but a bit more expensive. I want to call attention to the 57+ at about the 1:58 mark, which is the best neck PAF I have ever played thus far. The only downside is it does not split.
As for the 498t, it is the best all around rhythm guitar bridge PAF I have ever played. The lows and highs seem balanced. It has more high mids than the Custom 5 but seems to avoid all the grit and excess high end of the Custom (I have not played a Custom but have heard it).
The 57+ is an Alnico II while the 498t is an Alnico V. The closest relative to the 57+ is the 490t (I believe the 490r is the same as a Classic 57 but with an Alnico V magnet). To my ears, the 490s sound a bit stiffer and less fluid than the Classics.
I posted these because I seem to remember several forum members not being crazy about Gibson humbuckers, at least for the price Gibson charges. I can agree with that. However, I do find them superior to the Duncan PAFs I have tried, the 59 for the neck and the Custom 5. The 59 is too muddy in the neck and the Custom 5 is great but has a huge hole in the mids, as many have stated.
I thought I would offer these so players might take a second look at these models if you can find them used for a good price. I would rather pay more for a 57+ and get the sound I want than less for a 59 that is less than ideal.
That said, I would appreciate forum members pointing out analogous models in the Duncan/DiMarzio lineups. I assume the AIIP, AIIP Slash, and Custom Custom are the closest Duncan versions to these aside from the Custom 5.
I put these into a set neck/mahogany/rosewood Chinese made Hamer Scarab XT which I bought online for about $200 a few years ago. To my knowledge, these were some of the last mass produced Hamer guitars before Fender acquired them and ended the brand about two years ago. It's probably my best guitar for the money. My only gripe is the nuts are not slotted correctly, so if you go from 9 gauge to 10 gauge strings like I did, you will get buzzing from the nut. I had to have a new nut put on. This is played with the old nut and 10 gauge strings, but I got some buzz on the A, G, and B strings even though the amp on clean, although it isn't audible here.
If you find some of these guitars floating around online, they should suit you well for the money with some modifications.
I tend to prefer this guitar for my left/rhythm side of the mix, while I like my Jackson KV3 with Full Shreds on the right/lead side.
My intention here was to make a late 80s/early 90s boosted Marshall heavy metal sound with a bit of reverb and delay. It is much wetter and has more gain than what I would use in a multi guitar mix, so the gain and wetness are mainly there for stylistic purposes. I did it through Pod Farm Platinum 2.5 with a Tube Screamer>Marshall JCM800>Celestion Greenback 20s with a Shure SM57 on axis 0% room, a slight bit of compression, spring reverb, and digital delay. As always, I used a metal pick.
On the covered vs. uncovered debate, I did feel like I was hearing some kind of bright noise in the very, very high end of the pickup (say, 7k and above). I don't know if I was hearing microphonics, but generally I do find covered pickups somewhat brighter and less open sounding than uncovered pickups. That's extreme speculation and conjecture on my part, though.
Anyway, I hope this helps, and I appreciate comments.
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