Hi, To any who might be interested,
Here is my report, from 10 years of pickup and magnet hunting, of my two favorite pickups.
These pickups also sound the closest to the real PAF i owned, I'd say the Seth, exactly, with mag change.
!......SG '01-2 R.I. 7 pounds, medium thickness mahogany, bridge Antiquity, A4 mag 500K vol & tone, .022 cap
2......LesPaulJr., 7 pounds, medium thickness mahogany, bridge S.Lover, A4 mag 500K vol & tone, .022 cap
Both equal distance from saddles, Both equal distance from strings, slugs and screws; both w/finger on 12th fret.
Amp: Blues Jr. 3, Master 10, volume 3, reverb 2, bass 2, middle 5, treble 7. Very clean setting. No pre amp distortion.
Speaker: Celestion G12, '01, played hard in a closed back cabinet, in parallel with the stock speaker it came with, in it's standard open back configuration.
Antiquity reads 8.52. Seth Lover reads 8.50.
At this point I must say I have 4-5 Seth Lover Bridge pickups. They all read different: from 8.20-8.50 and all points in between. At random, it turns out the one in my LPJr. reads the highest. Totally random.
I only have 1 Antiquity, so by default, the only one I could use to measure. Both sets-strings: 9,11,15,24W,36,38.
I love A4 mags, they all came from AddictionFX, eBay, on the same day, same batch almost certainly.
1.....The S.Lover had a more clear, bell like quality to the single notes from the first fret to the 12th. overall the same clean sounding chords, notes very distinct and articulate within the chords being played. with chords played hard, think studio version of "All Right Now" by Free, Kossof. Single note break up when pushed or picked hard, and pleasing yet still bell like break up. Think BB King playing hard.
2.....The Antiquity had a fuller, softer sound on all chords, seemed to be a bigger or louder sounder, even though both pick ups measured almost on the dot the same. On single notes from the first fret to the 12th, they sounded a little softer, but still very crisp on top at the same time. On chords played hard, think Clapton's sound on opn G and E chords from "Spoonful" Cream, Wheels of fire. Notes were not quite as articulate on full chords, but pleasing to my ears just the same. When single notes picked hard, they had a little more break up, a little raspier sounding, think Jeff Beck on "Plynth" from Beck-Ola IIRC. I know Jeff Beck used a strat on a lot of Beck-Ola, but the reference is still good, still accurate.
I apologize if these references are from players in the late '60's early '70's, but it is what I grew up with and what I know. So to younger readers, if you have not heard these masterpieces, I urge you to. Great sounds, great riffs, genius on display for guys like me around 60 years old.
I also realize, that by changing the magnets, I have changed what they started out as. But, at the same time, By using A4 mags, I have equalized the pickups in a certain way, so what I am reporting on, is, with the magnets essentially out of the equation, the basic sound or "vibe of the original wind/sound of each pick up is what I am hearing as differences. And they do respond differently anyway. So in a way, maybe this is helpful, as there are a lot of mag swappers these days.
I believe if these pickups were played in a large venue, with a 50 watt Marshall or similar, I might be drawn to one or another more definitively. But at lower room and very small venues, I would, for myself, choose the Seth Lover, once again, you guessed it, for it's bell like quality at these levels.
If you have got this far, thanks for reading. I must say, I will still be bugging everyone on all sorts of related questions, because I am a GUITAR PLAYER. It is in my DNA. So while I have personally arrived at my destination, I still want to explore the territory I landed on.
Thanks to you all, could not have found these wonderful pickups by myself, also the magnets!
Steven J. Buffington
Here is my report, from 10 years of pickup and magnet hunting, of my two favorite pickups.
These pickups also sound the closest to the real PAF i owned, I'd say the Seth, exactly, with mag change.
!......SG '01-2 R.I. 7 pounds, medium thickness mahogany, bridge Antiquity, A4 mag 500K vol & tone, .022 cap
2......LesPaulJr., 7 pounds, medium thickness mahogany, bridge S.Lover, A4 mag 500K vol & tone, .022 cap
Both equal distance from saddles, Both equal distance from strings, slugs and screws; both w/finger on 12th fret.
Amp: Blues Jr. 3, Master 10, volume 3, reverb 2, bass 2, middle 5, treble 7. Very clean setting. No pre amp distortion.
Speaker: Celestion G12, '01, played hard in a closed back cabinet, in parallel with the stock speaker it came with, in it's standard open back configuration.
Antiquity reads 8.52. Seth Lover reads 8.50.
At this point I must say I have 4-5 Seth Lover Bridge pickups. They all read different: from 8.20-8.50 and all points in between. At random, it turns out the one in my LPJr. reads the highest. Totally random.
I only have 1 Antiquity, so by default, the only one I could use to measure. Both sets-strings: 9,11,15,24W,36,38.
I love A4 mags, they all came from AddictionFX, eBay, on the same day, same batch almost certainly.
1.....The S.Lover had a more clear, bell like quality to the single notes from the first fret to the 12th. overall the same clean sounding chords, notes very distinct and articulate within the chords being played. with chords played hard, think studio version of "All Right Now" by Free, Kossof. Single note break up when pushed or picked hard, and pleasing yet still bell like break up. Think BB King playing hard.
2.....The Antiquity had a fuller, softer sound on all chords, seemed to be a bigger or louder sounder, even though both pick ups measured almost on the dot the same. On single notes from the first fret to the 12th, they sounded a little softer, but still very crisp on top at the same time. On chords played hard, think Clapton's sound on opn G and E chords from "Spoonful" Cream, Wheels of fire. Notes were not quite as articulate on full chords, but pleasing to my ears just the same. When single notes picked hard, they had a little more break up, a little raspier sounding, think Jeff Beck on "Plynth" from Beck-Ola IIRC. I know Jeff Beck used a strat on a lot of Beck-Ola, but the reference is still good, still accurate.
I apologize if these references are from players in the late '60's early '70's, but it is what I grew up with and what I know. So to younger readers, if you have not heard these masterpieces, I urge you to. Great sounds, great riffs, genius on display for guys like me around 60 years old.
I also realize, that by changing the magnets, I have changed what they started out as. But, at the same time, By using A4 mags, I have equalized the pickups in a certain way, so what I am reporting on, is, with the magnets essentially out of the equation, the basic sound or "vibe of the original wind/sound of each pick up is what I am hearing as differences. And they do respond differently anyway. So in a way, maybe this is helpful, as there are a lot of mag swappers these days.
I believe if these pickups were played in a large venue, with a 50 watt Marshall or similar, I might be drawn to one or another more definitively. But at lower room and very small venues, I would, for myself, choose the Seth Lover, once again, you guessed it, for it's bell like quality at these levels.
If you have got this far, thanks for reading. I must say, I will still be bugging everyone on all sorts of related questions, because I am a GUITAR PLAYER. It is in my DNA. So while I have personally arrived at my destination, I still want to explore the territory I landed on.
Thanks to you all, could not have found these wonderful pickups by myself, also the magnets!
Steven J. Buffington
Last edited:
