Liking the '78

[ronman45]

I recently put a new '78 in the bridge and a new '59 in the neck position on a four-hundred-dollar Hamer double-cut I have had for a while. I played one of those mid-90's Korean Hamers a while back and couldn't believe how good it played, so I figured I would find one to drag around to jam sessions, etc. Anyway, I bought one, set it up and it plays better than most of my vintage Gibby's but it didn't sound all that good. I often wondered if the '78 was worth the coin and decided to find out. When it arrived, I took the opportunity to put four new CTS pots and an Orange Drop .022 cap in it also. I had to be careful with the drill when I enlarged the four holes up to 3/8" to accommodate the new pots due to the maple veneer being so thin, but it turned out fine. After a few hours on the bench, I plugged it into my '65 DRRI and WOW! I really like the way that '78 sounds. Warm, articulate, well balanced. I have Seth's in my Les Paul and Midtown and figured if the '78 anywhere near as good as those I would be a happy camper.... I have been playing that Hamer so much I broke down and bought an SKB case for it. I'm 65 now and have been playing for 50 years (full time as a working musician back in the 70's and 80's) and remember very clearly how good some of those old PAF's and T-tops sounded, but they had nothing on the '78 model.
Just thought I would post this in case somebody else is eyeballing the '78 and flinching at the price. It's worth every penny!

 

[Masta' C]

The popularity of the '78 comes and goes, but it's definitely one of the best pickups SD offers!

 

[JOLLY]

And I'm liking your avatar pic.

 

[beaubrummels]

I’ve found most expensive pickups are worth it. I find I spend more than that trying to get close with cheaper options that don’t work out.

 

[JohnnyGuitarCA]

The 78 is amazing.

 

[CipherArcher]

Congrats man! I'm waiting on a Pariah Pasadena White to get here, supposed to be similar.

 

[Aceman]

How hot is the 78 - classic PAF zone?

 

[Mincer]

How hot is the 78 - classic PAF zone?

Generally, just a little bit hotter than a classic PAF.

 

[beaubrummels]

How hot is the 78 - classic PAF zone?

Like a Pearly Gates with a little more heat and a touch less low end. It's in the 9-10k zone.

 

[Aceman]

I just never paid much attention to these. No particular reason. I know people chase EVH with them. But yeah - I guess in 78 he was sporting a slightly hotter PAF

 

[beaubrummels]

My experience with my 78 is that, because it's weaker on the bass side, but has a bit of heat and the Pearly top end, it's able to get that starved plate Marshall sound through any good Marshall in a box without using an actual Variac on your Marshall. If you have an actual Variac on your Marshall, then something else would be better, like a Custom or Custom Custom or Super Distortion, etc.

 

[Benjy_26]

Ok, so...how does the '78 compare to the Demon, Brobucker, and the S Deco? Seeing as how they're all different takes on the slightly hot PAF sound.

 

[esandes]

Ok, so...how does the '78 compare to the Demon, Brobucker, and the S Deco? Seeing as how they're all different takes on the slightly hot PAF sound.

The demon and brobucker are A5. The 78 is A2. Huge difference right there. Don't know about S Deco.

Anyways, the 78 is actually wound by the man himself.

 

[beaubrummels]

Ok, so...how does the '78 compare to the Demon, Brobucker, and the S Deco? Seeing as how they're all different takes on the slightly hot PAF sound.

In my LP studio and my Jackson,
78 is the thinnest/brightest sounding,
Demon the next (for additional comparison, I put a row of hexes in my Custom 5 and it was very close to my Demon, though a bit louder and a touch fuller on the bottom end),
Deco is like a Jazz bridge but better,
Brobucker has a mid hump in between an A2Pro and a Seth, but the Brobucker one is desirable and makes it chimy clean and sing for leads.

IME Mags don't matter that much in comparing. Pickups sound like what they were designed to sound like.

 

[Benjy_26]

In my LP studio and my Jackson,
78 is the thinnest/brightest sounding,
Demon the next (for additional comparison, I put a row of hexes in my Custom 5 and it was very close to my Demon, though a bit louder and a touch fuller on the bottom end),
Deco is like a Jazz bridge but better,
Brobucker has a mid hump in between an A2Pro and a Seth, but the Brobucker one is desirable and makes it chimy clean and sing for leads.

IME Mags don't matter that much in comparing. Pickups sound like what they were designed to sound like.

Thank you! Very interesting. The Demon and the S Deco V are two of my favorite bridge pickups in mahogany, short scale guitars. Judging by what you're hearing, I'd probably like the '78 more than the Brobucker.

 

[BluesMan335]

Brobucker has a mid hump in between an A2Pro and a Seth, but the Brobucker one is desirable and makes it chimy clean and sing for leads.

I put an warmer magnet in my Brobucker, as hybrids are brighter and thinner than HB's with matched coils. My bridge pickups "sing" with midrange, and just enough high end for bite.

 

[jeremy]

the degaussed a5 in the bro makes is fat and not overly bright. never tried it with a full strength a5 but i bet the top end would be sharper for sure