I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

[phil_104]

Hey guys,

So I have this awesome story to tell before I get started. As you might know, I had to sell most of my gear to pay for school, keeping only my prs as an electric. It is also important to know that I gig a lot, in bigger venues and small dirty bars. I hate taking my prs to the small dirty bars with drunk people with bar seats 4 ft away from me.

Anyways, as you also might know, I have a girlfriend who also is a mad guitar freak. And, I don't think I have mentioned this, but I have a brother who is a very accomplished classical piano player. They decided I needed a guitar I could bring to bars and didn't are if it got beat, so I could stop being worried about my prs and just play.

Anyways, the 2 teamed up, as a suprise last week, to find me a used mexican 50s classic series strat, in seafoam green! I was pumped! The neck was a little off, but I fixed it, and now it's in prime playing condition.

The only thing, as my girlfriend pointed out, is that the pickups in the strat suck. They suck horrible. I mean, I have never heard such horrenous pickups.(Rant over!).

So I am looking around for pickups, and I really need something that can cover all bases. The everythin axe set seems to fit the bill perfectly, and is not crazy expensive. The small 59 seems like the ideal neck. The duckbucker seems like the perfect middle for that quack. The JBjr, if it is anything like my JB, will rock my socks. On top of that, if I can split them, I would be set.

So in theory it is good. Now I ask you kind brothers, who here has that set on a guitar, and what do you think of it? It is a wicked as it sounds? Is there some combo out there that would work better?

Thanks!

 

[jasona84]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

Hey man, congrats on the new guitar! That's pretty cool they did that. Sadly I've never had a strat so I wouldn't know the different sounds. I feel the pain of being a broke college student. I don't know if it helps but I can throw you the neck pickup from my caparison if you want? It's pretty much a duncan hotrails. Anyway, yay again.

 

[Robert S.]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

I have a somewhat simular set in my Strat except I have the full sized JB in the bridge and a Hot Stack in the middle and a lil59 in the neck. I think you'll like the JB jr in the bridge. It isn't quite as high in output as its bigger brother but it will match up with the other two pickups nicely.

I have installed several Duckbuckers/Vintage Rails in the mid slots of Strats for customers and they always love them but I find that between the rails, lil and jr series single sized humbuckers they lack a little oomph. I prefer the Hot Stack between humbuckers as it is a little hotter and thicker in the mids than the Duck. Another nice choice for a middle single that is hum cancelling is the Classic Stack Plus. Those too have a little more presence over the Ducks to my ears.

I wouldn't split the JB jr or the lil59. I think you'll prefer the 2 and 4 positions with the HBs not split, especially with a hum cancelling middle pickup. If you really want splits in the 2 and 4 positions then get a SSL-1 neck (regular wind/polarity) for the middle position.

It will definately be a cool guitar. Something else to consider is putting in a bridge pickup on/off switch so you can combine the bridge and neck pickups. With two humbuckers that is a very nice tone as well.

 

[bryan the rocker]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

I think you should check also other review sites, for more info on the Evry Axe set

and if the reviews are ok order it, and check who is reviewing, An experience professional musician, just a garage kid, or a hobby guy, like me

I think seymour duncan has and exchange policy, if you dont like it, you could always return it,


I have experience with the L-280s Neck and L-200s Mid and L-298 bridge of Bill Lawrence, and I used it for all styles of playing, its Low Noise, Its pretty inexpensive and its nice sounding,and Musicial, to my ears, I recommend it,

I am not a full time musician, I am an Engineer and guitar playing is just my hobby, so I have limited experience in live gig situation, and I dont put much money in guitar equipments also, if it sound good to my ears, then I am contented,

By the way I need advance guitar lessons,

I played in a company gig sometimes, and its a lot of fun

Being a musician is Fun, a lot more enjoyable than my job,

Also

this forum has lots of experienced real musicians who took the time to set, check, play their equipments for a long time, before doing a review, so they can really help you, unlike some review sites reviewer who just had their equipment for just 2 hours, then did a review, (not pass the honeymoon period),

and Will Seymour duncan ever reply and appear to our forums ?



By the way, Other members will give their experience on the Evrthng Axe set,

 

[baritone]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

I use standard wiring with a 5-way pickup selector, and I get 5 distinct sounds. It's a really versatile set of pickups. The Duckbucker is awesome for Strat tones.

 

[phil_104]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

Thanks for the advice guys,

I think I'll follow Robert's suggestion of getting something with more presence in the mid position.

I'm still not to sure about the splitting question, but If i do split, I want everything to be split at once, or all on humbucker at once.

I guess I'll really have to think this one over, but if someone else has anything to add, it's always appreciated.

 

[bryan the rocker]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

I totally agree with grumpy, BL are nice and affordable pickups,

Seymour duncan, pls lower your price on pickups, pls

I go for a more modern, more versatile setup, thats why I go for a L280s neck rather than a L200s Neck , I am not after a pure strat sounds, I manage to make a Humbuckerish, P-90 ish sound with my L-280s neck with pickup height settings and EQ adjustment,

Grumpy can you do a review on the L-45, hope you tried it in other position, other than the bridge do you have a neck or middle L-45, how does it sound compared to L280s,

I check the BL forums and no reviews on the L-45,

Thanks,

 

[phil_104]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

I totally agree with grumpy, BL are nice and affordable pickups,

Seymour duncan, pls lower your price on pickups, pls

I go for a more modern, more versatile setup, thats why I go for a L280s neck rather than a L200s Neck , I am not after a pure strat sounds, I manage to make a Humbuckerish, P-90 ish sound with my L-280s neck with pickup height settings and EQ adjustment,

Grumpy can you do a review on the L-45, hope you tried it in other position, other than the bridge do you have a neck or middle L-45, how does it sound compared to L280s,

I check the BL forums and no reviews on the L-45,

Thanks,

I will check those out for sure. As for lowering their prices, lol, I don't know about that. They have always seemed fair to me for a high quality pickup.

 

[jimijames]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

Well, MIMs are routed HSS no? I would put a humbucker in the bridge, get a 5-way superswitch, maybe some GFS or used SD pickups and keep it like that. From my experience, GFS makes pretty good pickups (not as good as SD but better than the MIM pickups). I would go with a cool rails in the neck, vintage rails in the middle, and (again, if it were me) a hybrid in the bridge for versatility. (Hmm, that's funny, I just happen to have all three available for sale...)

Forgive the shameless plug, but the reason I have them is because I was planning on eventually building another strat in the future, but with the forum singles coming out, I figure those with a p-rails in the bridge is as versatile as it gets. But for a no-hum versatile setup for everything from blues-rock to jazz to metal and beyond, I figured it would work well in a workhorse axe.

 

[A-Ro]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

Just to throw another wrench in...a:

Tone Zone S bridge / Fast Track 1 middle / Air Norton S neck

would be WAY versatile as well. Plus it would cost a little less.

 

[Robert S.]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

Splitting the Duck or Vintage Rail isn't an option. One side of the Duck covers 3 strings, the other side covers the other 3.

You can split a Hot Stack but it gets tricky because you should split to the upper coil and there are phase and wind issues with the humbucker to consider.

The 2 and 4 positions with single sized humbuckers on the outside and a VR or a Hot Stack in the middle are already very nice sounding and I prefer the tone non split when combined with those pickups. If you want a slightly brighter sound from your 2 and 4 positions, use the SSL-1 in the middle and then split the buckers off of the 5 way switch, which is pretty easy to do.

A JB jr/Hot Stack/lil59n Strat is a killer sounding rig with a lot of very useable tones and no hum. I can get my hands on any SD pickup with 5 days notice and those are the pickups that have been in my Strat for a couple of years now. If you knew how many sets of pickups I went through before I settled on these you'd think I was crazy.

Everyone that plays my Strat wants it.

 

[phil_104]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

A JB jr/Hot Stack/lil59n Strat is a killer sounding rig with a lot of very useable tones and no hum. I can get my hands on any SD pickup with 5 days notice and those are the pickups that have been in my Strat for a couple of years now. If you knew how many sets of pickups I went through before I settled on these you'd think I was crazy.

Everyone that plays my Strat wants it.

I think I'm going to have to follow your recommendations in that case! Thanks a bunch everyone!

 

[guitarded]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

I put these in my 93 US Strat Plus a few years ago. This has been my main guitar as it is my most versatile. I have a TBX tone pot which makes the notch positions sound like they they should. The JB Junior is awesome...... and I have another Strat with a full size JB in it it but I prefer the tone and response of the Jr. My amp is a Boogie Mark IV, but this guitar sounds good through just about anything.

 

[phil_104]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

I put these in my 93 US Strat Plus a few years ago. This has been my main guitar as it is my most versatile. I have a TBX tone pot which makes the notch positions sound like they they should. The JB Junior is awesome...... and I have another Strat with a full size JB in it it but I prefer the tone and response of the Jr. My amp is a Boogie Mark IV, but this guitar sounds good through just about anything.

That's very interesting, specially concidering I play through a mesa express.

What are these TBX pots you speak of?

 

[Robert S.]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

The TBX pot is a dual concentric pot that cuts top or bottom end depending on which way you turn it.

I rip it out of every guitar that I see with it.

 

[phil_104]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

The TBX pot is a dual concentric pot that cuts top or bottom end depending on which way you turn it.

I rip it out of every guitar that I see with it.

Lol. Fair enough.

 

[Robert S.]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

Seriously consider a bridge pickup on/off switch. The JB jr - lil59n combo is very nice. It's simular to a mid position LP tone.

 

[phil_104]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

Seriously consider a bridge pickup on/off switch. The JB jr - lil59n combo is very nice. It's simular to a mid position LP tone.

Awesome! I will totally give that a shot then.

So right now it looks like it's going to be a JBjr-hotstack-Lil59 combo, with an on off switch for the bridge.

 

[Robert S.]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

Ha ha, you're getting closer!

 

[phil_104]

Re: I think I want the ''everything axe'' set.

Since I have never matched 3 pickups before, is there something I should know about pickup polarity for this combo?