ItsaBass
New member
Hi,
I've got this 2006 Gibson Explorer with the stock ceramic pickups, and before I invest in Phat Cats or the like, I'd like to see what I can do with a magnet swap. I imagine these pickups are pretty hotly wound, so there may not be that much I can do with a magnet swap to get them sounding more classic-like. But for the low price of a magnet swap, I want to at least give it a try first.
To give you an idea of my preferences, here is what I think of some other humbuckers that I have:
'57 Classic and Classic Plus. I have these in my MIJ Epi SG. I like them in that guitar OK, but they don't cut it in a Paul. Too "chewy" and not enough treble. The neck pickup ends up practically useless in a Paul. Very smooth pickups over all, which is great at low gain, but doesn't cut it for me under natural amp distortion, let alone with any stomp boxes. I need an icier attack and more treble (or maybe just less bass). They get too muddy. They are really good for jazz and blues at low to moderate volumes, but not good at all for loud hard rock IMO.
Burstbucker V's in my 2004 LP Standard. Swiss cheese body. With enough tweaking, they are bright enough, but the adjustments are rather extreme (neck pickup dangling below the ring and practically falling off the adjustment screws). Even though I have the tone where I want it, they are still a little bit too smooth for me. I think that perhaps I like the magnets, but they are simply wound too hot for my liking. Or maybe it is the other way around.
Stock humbuckers in my '68 SG Standard. My favorites. Bright and wicked sounding. Very sharp attack. But they do mud up if they go loud enough, and they are very microphonic and feedback prone. The Burstbucker V's in the LP are better in those respects. They keep definition better when you play at full blast.
So, I am thinking that I need a magnet that is pretty weak to combat the aggressive winding of the Gibson ceramics, but one which also gives me a full EQ range, without dropping the treble or what have you. A2's in the '57's don't have enough treble IME. A5's in the BBV's have enough treble, but don't have a sharp enough attack (too smooth). Ceramics sound like the worst of all worlds to me. They are at once too thick and too brittle, and don't seem to have a lot of tonal sweetness. The one thing they have going for them is a good poppin' attack on the note. They are nice and sensitive to the right hand variations. But what good is that when they sound like **** tonally?
Then again, maybe my hearing is shot and I set everything up way more trebly than I should.
Also, I'd need to know what dimensions I need for the magnets. AddictionFX guy has various sizes.
Thanks for reading the manifesto. I hope you can help me out.
I've got this 2006 Gibson Explorer with the stock ceramic pickups, and before I invest in Phat Cats or the like, I'd like to see what I can do with a magnet swap. I imagine these pickups are pretty hotly wound, so there may not be that much I can do with a magnet swap to get them sounding more classic-like. But for the low price of a magnet swap, I want to at least give it a try first.
To give you an idea of my preferences, here is what I think of some other humbuckers that I have:
'57 Classic and Classic Plus. I have these in my MIJ Epi SG. I like them in that guitar OK, but they don't cut it in a Paul. Too "chewy" and not enough treble. The neck pickup ends up practically useless in a Paul. Very smooth pickups over all, which is great at low gain, but doesn't cut it for me under natural amp distortion, let alone with any stomp boxes. I need an icier attack and more treble (or maybe just less bass). They get too muddy. They are really good for jazz and blues at low to moderate volumes, but not good at all for loud hard rock IMO.
Burstbucker V's in my 2004 LP Standard. Swiss cheese body. With enough tweaking, they are bright enough, but the adjustments are rather extreme (neck pickup dangling below the ring and practically falling off the adjustment screws). Even though I have the tone where I want it, they are still a little bit too smooth for me. I think that perhaps I like the magnets, but they are simply wound too hot for my liking. Or maybe it is the other way around.
Stock humbuckers in my '68 SG Standard. My favorites. Bright and wicked sounding. Very sharp attack. But they do mud up if they go loud enough, and they are very microphonic and feedback prone. The Burstbucker V's in the LP are better in those respects. They keep definition better when you play at full blast.
So, I am thinking that I need a magnet that is pretty weak to combat the aggressive winding of the Gibson ceramics, but one which also gives me a full EQ range, without dropping the treble or what have you. A2's in the '57's don't have enough treble IME. A5's in the BBV's have enough treble, but don't have a sharp enough attack (too smooth). Ceramics sound like the worst of all worlds to me. They are at once too thick and too brittle, and don't seem to have a lot of tonal sweetness. The one thing they have going for them is a good poppin' attack on the note. They are nice and sensitive to the right hand variations. But what good is that when they sound like **** tonally?
Then again, maybe my hearing is shot and I set everything up way more trebly than I should.
Also, I'd need to know what dimensions I need for the magnets. AddictionFX guy has various sizes.
Thanks for reading the manifesto. I hope you can help me out.
D)
