Hollowbody Humbuckers

Fresh_Start

Fresh_Start

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My buddy has an Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor. Spruce top, laminated maple body, maple neck & rosewood fingerboard. Stock pickups are alnico 5.

He's a late beginner (like me) and wants to play jazz & some classic rock tones. Likes old Santana too. Only amp is a Princeton Reverb clone I built for him. Typically has the treble on 7 and bass on 2. Weber 10F150-T speaker has plenty of bass. No pedals at all.

The pots are crap, so we figured new pickups make sense if we're tearing the electronics out anyway. New switch & jack are probably in the works while we're at it.

I've done some searches here on pups for hollow bodies but would appreciate some input. Right now, a '59 bridge coupled with either a Seth Lover or AIIPro neck seems like a good starting point. Would the '59 be too bright in the bridge though?

Sort of the reverse combination would be a Pearly Gates bridge with a '59 neck. However, I love the Antiquity neck in my 335 clone through his amp. At the same time, I'm not crazy about the Antiquity bridge tone in that guitar - too thin and not enough output. I know it's not all about magnets, but any advice on neck vs. bridge and A2 vs. A5 would be appreciated.

BTW he already has some feedback problems so we should avoid anything hotter than a '59 or PG.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Chip
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

You're right, high output PU's are going to feedback easier, plus they mask some of the acoustic harmonics. No point in putting them in a hollowbody.

I have a Joe Pass also, & the wood on mine is very dark-toned. I put in a couple of Gibson PU's, a 490T/490R, and replaced the stock A2 magnets with A5's, which gives more definition & clarity. Fits the wood better.

I find a lot of bridge PU's to be on the bright side, and use one of two methods to warm them: warmer magnets or 250K pots. For example, on a guitar with a pair of '59's, I use two 250K's on the bridge (500K's on the neck), and the EQ's are balanced; neither PU is too dark or too bright. Or I use a warmer replacement magnet (A4, A3, A2, or A8); each will give a different tone.

As far as what PU's to use, keep in mind that a neck Antiquity will sound different in his hollowbody, than your 335 (different wood, different body design). For the Joe Pass, you'll want 7,000 to 8,000 ohms on the neck. The bridge should be several hundred ohms hotter to balance the output.

PU sets that I'd consider for a hollowbody would be: '59's, Jazz's, PG's, Gibson '57 Classics, Dimarzio PAF's & Virtual PAF's, and Carvin C22's. All of these will give high quality tones. Or you can mix & match PU's. With his rig, I'd avoid a '59N as they can be rather bassy to begin with. A JazzN (A5) would give clarity & tone down the bass a little. While a PG set is popular, some guys aren't thrilled with the bridge PG & you see those sold used more often than the neck model. Some guys are trying different magnets in their '59B's, like A2 & A8, and getting nice, warm tones. If I had to pick one pair, without changing pot values or magnets, it'd be a Jazz, '57 Classic, or C22 set. If I mixed a pair, I'd lean towards a '57 Classic/JazzN.

Also, I'd get 4-wire leads so that you can do Artie's coil swap mod, which is a soft virtual HB (one coil from each PU), and less harsh than a coil cut. Excellent for a hollowbody.
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

Howdy,

If it's any help, the '59s in my Gibson ES-335 are great for smooth, Jazzy tones. Another possibility would be DiMarzio's 36th anniversary PAFs. Good luck!

Eggman
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

blueman335 - thanks!

Oh oh - my buddy is doing some "research" as well...

Any opinions on Lollar Imperial humbuckers vs. the S-D offerings?



Chip
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

almost any pickup is gona feedback in a guitar that big and the spruce top doesn't help either...

If it were mine I'd go Seths or Ants in N and B but a set of 59's woudl be killer too...if the bridge it too bright roll the tone control back a hair...
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

I have played Hollow bodies for many years. ANY pickup will feedback if you put some volume to it in a hollow body. If you want to play jazz or other quiet music then just get a jazz amp and turn it down low. If you want to play rock n roll with a hollow body then learn to mute the strings at the bridge, turn everything way up, and have a ball feeling the vibrations coming thru the wood! The sucker will howl like you've never know. I say go rock n roll and piss of the neighbors and watch the pictures rattle off your walls.
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

I want to channge the neckm pick up in my hollow body as well. Just not suer waht it will ultimatley be.
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

If you're going to play clean and Jazzy and if you want pickups exactly like Joe Pass or Wes Montgomery used, the Gibson humbuckers in their 60's guitars were both wound identically and were wound pretty much exactly like the Duncan 59B. Not the 59N - the 59B.
 
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Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

Are you recommending a pair of 59B's? That sounds like a neat idea. I've always been a fan of the 59-set for semi-hollows, and I was considering the 59-set for my full hollow.
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

baritone said:
Are you recommending a pair of 59B's? That sounds like a neat idea. I've always been a fan of the 59-set for semi-hollows, and I was considering the 59-set for my full hollow.
Click to expand...

No. Just commenting that if a player wanted the same pickups Joe Pass or Wes Montgomery used, the 59B would be closest.

Personally, I would still go with a 59N and 59B if I were going to get a set of 59's.

But the Gibson ES-175 guitar Joe Pass played had a single neck humbucker and in those days calibrated pickups did not exist and Gibson used the same pickup for the neck or bridge position.

The Duncan 59B is a recreation of that pickup. The Duncan 59N is not a recreation of any vintage pickup. The 59N is an underwound 59B.


In Wes Montgomery's L-5, BOTH the neck and bridge pickup would have been virtually identical to the 59B.

Same would hold true for any dual humbucking Gibson guitar from the sixties: SG, ES-335, etc.

Lew
 
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Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

hi I had a Epi L5 which almost the same as the Emperor and I was
most satisfied with SD SH2 neck gold with a AP2 bridge gold -
I tried a pair of GFS Dream90, too which is VERY good, in semihollow guitars.
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

Why not go all the way and get the real deal.......

.......A Gibson 57 classic.
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

wanmei1 said:
Why not go all the way and get the real deal.......

.......A Gibson 57 classic.
Click to expand...

You could. And it would sound fine. But the 60's pickups Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell, etc. used in their 60's Gibson Jazz boxes were alnico 5 - not alnico 2.
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

Thanks to you all for your input! We're going to try a Seth Lover neck and a '59 bridge. Hopefully the mix of alnico 2 and alnico 5 will work well. I'll report back after Thanksgiving.

Chip
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

Lewguitar said:
You could. And it would sound fine.

Sound fine ???
You mean sound glorious !

But the 60's pickups Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell, etc. used in their 60's Gibson Jazz boxes were alnico 5 - not alnico 2.

Just shows that even those guys weren't perfect,.... Is that what your trying to say ?
Click to expand...
.
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

May i suggest another brand, or is it illegal to do so here ?

Don't get me wrong, i LOVE Duncan pu's and will NEVER take the A2P's out of my Gibbo SG . . .

. . . but if the OP is open-minded enough, do look into either TVJones (got a set in my full-hollow Artcore AG75), and/or Stephens desighned pick up's @ http://www.sdpickups.com/

BOTH brands are making truely world class products.


James
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

Fresh_Start said:
Thanks to you all for your input! We're going to try a Seth Lover neck and a '59 bridge. Hopefully the mix of alnico 2 and alnico 5 will work well. I'll report back after Thanksgiving.

Chip
Click to expand...


Oppppsssss . . . did not see this post . . .
 
Re: Hollowbody Humbuckers

i am picking up on the bit in the first post where he has his amp with T=7 and B=2 ... that seems to indicate that the guy might just not like the natural tone of his speaker and guitar too much ... i mean, if he rolls that much bass off, i think we need to understand that he is not gonna want 'warmth' ... makes me wonder about his preference for low mids too ... TGWIF is right about the spruce too ... he's gonna have to watch the volume no matter what ...

so i think a set of jazz (n+b)

t4d
 
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