How to make a Super 70?

[marcello252]

I'd like to try a Super 70, just for an experiment.
If I correctly understand it might be a PAF with a A8 magnet in it.
Could a SH-1 be a right choice?

thank you.

 

[JB6464]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

59 with a A8 magnet.
It's the closest i've heard so far and that's what i'm currently using in 3 of my guitars right now. You get the clairity from the low wound pickup and the warmth and beef from the A8 magnet.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

I had a set of Super 70's in an Ibanez and they were an odd duck.
Pros: They were dark, round, full and sound good clean.
Cons: They were cold, dark and didn't distort well. They also didn't respond well to hard picking. Even clean they didn't have the best touch sensitivity. Instead of screaming, they farted out.

Candidates for conversion:
Dimarzio 36th Anniversary
Dimarzio Air Classic
Gibson Burstbuckers
Gibson 57 Classic
Gibson 490T
StewMac Golden Age
Duncan 59
Seth Lover
Alnico Pro II
Pearly Gates

 

[marcello252]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

uh, the fact about sensitivity starts worrying me. it's worth a try anyway,
thank you

 

[JB6464]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

uh, the fact about sensitivity starts worrying me. it's worth a try anyway,
thank you

It all depends on what guitar you put the pickups in,amp tones and speakers,and your technique.
I find the super 70's to be fat with plenty of sensitivity.
Listen to the Van Halen I album, half the record was recorded with a super 70's pickup.
Don't think Ed was missing any sensitivity there.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

The name super 70 is used because they are ibanez's take on a early 70's
gibson pat.# sticker T-top. A stock duncan 59 neck or a jazz bridge model is very close to a T-top. Puttin a 8 in a 59 is not a S70 it is just a 59 with a 8 in it! Lol there are two pu winders that make a S70 copy one is SMITS and the other is Jeff at HIGH ORDER.

 

[JB6464]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

The name super 70 is used because they are ibanez's take on a early 70's
gibson pat.# sticker T-top. A stock duncan 59 neck or a jazz bridge model is very close to a T-top. Puttin a 8 in a 59 is not a S70 it is just a 59 with a 8 in it! Lol there are two pu winders that make a S70 copy one is SMITS and the other is Jeff at HIGH ORDER.

Your right , the 59 with a A8 is not an exact copy of a Super 70's pickup but it is close. The Original Super 70's had A8 magnets in them and the Original T-Tops that i have ever seen,had A2's or A5's in them.
It just depends on how much money one wants to spend to exactly recreate the super 70 pickup or just buy the real thing.
You can get a 59 cheap all day long and throw a A8 in it and it will get you real damn close.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

Listen to the Van Halen I album, half the record was recorded with a super 70's pickup.
Don't think Ed was missing any sensitivity there.

I dispute that assumption! Too many people have blindly idealized the Super 70's without ever playing one. The pickups I had didn't sound much like that album and I doubt they would have been capable of that level of performance. All of the PAF recreations I mentioned would sound better with an A8 magnet than a Super 70.

Edit: I listened to the sound clip at Smits and their 7T pickup does sound a lot like the pickups I had! The fat, dark, clean and round properties are there. The Smits 7T is a bit cleaner, doesn't fart out when picked hard and has better sensitivity. However it still has that odd Super 70's quality of sounding clean no matter how much distortion you use. That always clean property is what aggravated me about the original Super 70's, it didn't react like every other PAF I have tried.

If you want something that will sound a lot like a Super 70 the Smits 7T pickup would be a good choice. Otherwise if you want a more traditional PAF sound with an A8 flavor try adding a A8 magnet to a PAF recreation.

 

[JB6464]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

I dispute that assumption! Too many people have blindly idealized the Super 70's without ever playing one. The pickups I had didn't sound much like that album and I doubt they would have been capable of that level of performance. All of the PAF recreations I mentioned would sound better with an A8 magnet than a Super 70.

Edit: I listened to the sound clip at Smits and their 7T pickup does sound a lot like the pickups I had! The fat, dark, clean and round properties are there. The Smits 7T is a bit cleaner, doesn't fart out when picked hard and has better sensitivity. However it still has that odd Super 70's quality of sounding clean no matter how much distortion you use. That always clean property is what aggravated me about the original Super 70's, it didn't react like every other PAF I have tried.

If you want something that will sound a lot like a Super 70 the Smits 7T pickup would be a good choice. Otherwise if you want a more traditional PAF sound with an A8 flavor try adding a A8 magnet to a PAF recreation.

You can't say all Super 70's pickups sounded like your Super 70's experience.
Different woods used in the guitar along with it's electronics will make it all sound different. Not to mention the amp/speaker setup as well.
Maybe your experience was that way but my old Ibanez guitar with Super 70's i had did'nt sound that way. Mine did have a warm midrange attack with a balanced tone but i never had sensitivity issues. Quality 500K pots also took care of some of the issues.
I can also say with a Marshall Superlead it sounded fantastic but with a Fender type amp where the mid/high tones was'nt as strong like Marshall amps are , it sound to warm for me. So i really think the complete setup really makes a different in the final mix.
And lets not forget the studio magic used when Ed recorded that first album. A lot of that magic helped shape his tone as well.

 

[Adieu]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

Uh... are you, perchance, looking at those 3 or so ridiculous people on ebay selling them for 350 a pop? Or are you more into the building the pickup part than the actual owning/using it?

Cuz, otherwise, you can get CERTAINLY get Maxon/Ibanez Super 70s, the real deal from the actual 70s, for probably less than the new SDs you were considering modding.

The trick to procuring Super 70s is to buy them with the guitar. Which, then, you can sell at a premium with the above-mentioned Duncans as a "premium upgrade".

The secret? Despite the advertising, Super 70s were NOT unique to Ibanez guits, not by a long shot. Early 70s Grecos, Westminsters, and over9000 other Matsumoku builds had them standard.

Ex: 1972 Westminster (MIJ Matsumoku, certainly not Ibanez, although an identical product was simultaneously sold with Ibanez on the headstock... as well as another one that said Greco, lol)

Also, another trick is to look for the stranger designs, especially the open coils with the unusual brass (?) rim sealing it up and PAINTED black to look like plastic

I've gotten a pair for $125, with an awesome LP and a hardshell case to boot (see above). Not that they're leaving that beast. Super 70s pair NICE with maple fretboards... and, hey, zebras? HAWT.

 

[SAVAGE DISTORTION]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

I checked online about this for you and seen a few guys recommend the Gibson 490r with a A8 magnet sound logical(7.6K A8)
Might be a cool pickup?

 

[51501984]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

59 with a A8 magnet.
It's the closest i've heard so far and that's what i'm currently using in 3 of my guitars right now. You get the clairity from the low wound pickup and the warmth and beef from the A8 magnet.

This , I had 59A8 a few years back and it was very ballsy , great hard rock pickup. Then again I've never bought into that Super 70s mojo and have never used one so I can't say how they compare.

 

[51501984]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

Uh... are you, perchance, looking at those 3 or so ridiculous people on ebay selling them for 350 a pop? Or are you more into the building the pickup part than the actual owning/using it?

Cuz, otherwise, you can get CERTAINLY get Maxon/Ibanez Super 70s, the real deal from the actual 70s, for probably less than the new SDs you were considering modding.

The trick to procuring Super 70s is to buy them with the guitar. Which, then, you can sell at a premium with the above-mentioned Duncans as a "premium upgrade".

The secret? Despite the advertising, Super 70s were NOT unique to Ibanez guits, not by a long shot. Early 70s Grecos, Westminsters, and over9000 other Matsumoku builds had them standard.

Ex: 1972 Westminster (MIJ Matsumoku, certainly not Ibanez, although an identical product was simultaneously sold with Ibanez on the headstock... as well as another one that said Greco,

Also, another trick is to look for the stranger designs, especially the open coils with the unusual brass (?) rim sealing it up and PAINTED black to look like plastic

I've gotten a pair for $125, with an awesome LP and a hardshell case to boot (see above). Not that they're leaving that beast. Super 70s pair NICE with maple fretboards... and, hey, zebras? HAWT.

I fell for the old thread bump prank , welcome to forums

 

[GilmourD]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

I fell for the old thread bump prank , welcome to forums

As I was reading from the top I noticed how old the posts were when there was an appearance by Ed Hunter. LOL

I checked online about this for you and seen a few guys recommend the Gibson 490r with a A8 magnet sound logical(7.6K A8)
Might be a cool pickup?

Well, as somebody said above, the Super 70 is Ibanez's take on the T-Tops, and a 490R is basically a T-Top with an A2, is it not?

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

Allegedly, but I like a 490R with an A5, and I used to hate T-Tops. It's been years since I had one though, maybe my tastes have changed.

Super 70's have a pretty cool bright, raw rock and roll sound through a peavey butcher, I know that much.

 

[Adieu]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

I fell for the old thread bump prank , welcome to forums

Well shoot me, I wanna talk AlNiCo8 and Super 70s - been a long time wondering if it's the A8 or something else that makes my Super 70s so supremely cool, and keeps me coming back... it's even held me back from trying a Prail + Pearly Gates combo, and that's considering I luuuuuurve Pearlies so much I can even forgive Mr. Duncan for the folly that is JB, and weird tonal options versatility just appeals to the tinkerer nature in me!

and, well, this was the only thread that didn't spend 95% of its time fapping to EVH - who might not have even used them ...would you rather I provide some strange pretense?

 

[51501984]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

Well shoot me, I wanna talk AlNiCo8 and Super 70s - been a long time wondering if it's the A8 or something else that makes my Super 70s so supremely cool, and keeps me coming back... it's even held me back from trying a Prail + Pearly Gates combo, and that's considering I luuuuuurve Pearlies so much I can even forgive Mr. Duncan for the folly that is JB, and weird tonal options versatility just appeals to the tinkerer nature in me!

and, well, this was the only thread that didn't spend 95% of its time fapping to EVH - who might not have even used them ...would you rather I provide some strange pretense?

Again , welcome to the forums

 

[CloneRanger]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

Well shoot me, I wanna talk AlNiCo8 and Super 70s - been a long time wondering if it's the A8 or something else that makes my Super 70s so supremely cool, and keeps me coming back...

The A8 in the Super 70 is a little thicker (taller?) than standard; it is a strong mag, and the only good reason Super 70 is different from other 7.6K p'ups.

 

[Adieu]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

So that's why it seems like the neck pup has monstrous string pull when set to average heights??

 

[formula73]

Re: How to make a Super 70?

Allegedly, but I like a 490R with an A5, and I used to hate T-Tops. It's been years since I had one though, maybe my tastes have changed.

Super 70's have a pretty cool bright, raw rock and roll sound through a peavey butcher, I know that much.

This. Great pups, IMHO. 490Rs can be had all day, cheap, and I *hear* that with a RCA5, they're a T Top. It stands to reason slapping an A8 in one would get you pretty close to S70 territory.