New HSS: Seth Lover(b) and Underwound SSL-1(n)

Nice fret ends!

https://www.instagram.com/aveguitars/

This guy is amazing. He is doing tremendeus job on his guitar. Very young and talented. Moreover he works just 10 minutes far from my work :)

Definitely makes me think you've got a nice guitar on your hands, maybe a little bit to nice to be balancing on a handrail :chairshot

No worries. I'm good at balancing :)


That is one cool looking Strat! How does it play/sound?

Alright, I had the chance to play it for a short while yesterday. First of all, the SSL-1 on the neck, whether it's a placebo effect or not, sounded clearer to me. I always thought Duncan's common Strat single coils (I'm generalizing here) were overwound. Moreover, a winding of around 6.71K, in my opinion, can be too much for a Strat neck. I think the loss of clarity is significant, especially if pickup has strong Alnico 5 magnets. When it comes to strong A5s, the 5.5-6K range is the ideal zone for me. Even if I'm at the upper limit of that range, I'm happier than before.
The Seth Lover, on the other hand, is just the way I like it. It has a winding of 9.06K and an inductance of 5.66H. This provides a fat, slightly throaty, somewhat nasal while very balanced in the manner of output levels that doesn't overpower the other single coils (at least with the current pickup height adjustment). I really liked it, I always find A2 PAF clones to be very compatible with HSS Strats. However, there are two things I still want to try on the bridge; the first is a humbucker that will give exactly 5H inductance, a little more bite might be nicer. After all, it's a Strat :) The other thing I want to try is a V7 that I've modified myself. Since I personally witnessed that its values are very close according to my measurements, I'm very curious about the result on the guitar.Check this out;

https://www.tonejourney.com/post/modifications-re-animation-of-ibanez-v7


How does the seth sound in a strat?

Looks really cool.

I love the way that from where you took that, it looks like the light coloured bobins are all the same colour and if you don't look carefully the bridge pickup could be a single coil.

Thanks :) I made it purposely in order to achieve that appearance :)


i want a 9k+ seth lover

Haha, so do I!

>9K Seth Lover is a great tool. Maybe the best in the Duncan hb line along with Antiquities.

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Nienturi, thx for sharing: I find your tonejourney page really interesting.

If I can share something too: when you want to measure the capacitance of a pickup, it's a good idea to use a frequency beyond the resonance of the pickup... 10khz is a good choice for that if the meter offers this option. At lower frequencies, meters are fooled by inductors and measure absurd values - unless a pickup keeps working with a broken wire, in which case it behaves like a capacitor even at low frequencies.

FWIW. HTH.
 
i have a few seth bridge models and they arent 9k, one is 8.3k and the other is right around there too.
 
Nienturi, thx for sharing: I find your tonejourney page really interesting.

If I can share something too: when you want to measure the capacitance of a pickup, it's a good idea to use a frequency beyond the resonance of the pickup... 10khz is a good choice for that if the meter offers this option. At lower frequencies, meters are fooled by inductors and measure absurd values - unless a pickup keeps working with a broken wire, in which case it behaves like a capacitor even at low frequencies.

FWIW. HTH.

Man, your words for my blog is very meaningful because i always keep following your posts here. Thank you so much for your advice. I'll look how to do it. BTW, i know my capacitance measurements are not right. Values must be in piko farads, not micro farads. I just note them to compare.

Someday, i hope to achieve my own bode plots and resonance frequency values, too :)
 
i have a few seth bridge models and they arent 9k, one is 8.3k and the other is right around there too.

Mine from the Custom Shop are in the low 8s...I don't know if I'd like them hotter, though, as they are super touch sensitive.
 
i like the ones i have in the guitars they are in. a set of seths in a washburn, kinda sg like. and a bridge in a custom fendery thing paired with a cool rails neck and a5 middle pup i wound. in my lp i would like a little more juice. ive had some cs overwound antiquitys and they suited my needs better, i assume a 9k seth would fit a similar role
 
It's been a while but returned back :)

As you may see i re-measured the Seth Lover and here they are;
https://www.tonejourney.com/post/seymour-duncan-seth-lover-review-sh-55b

Measured DCR: 8,80 K Ohm (Series-measured through guitar)
Measured Inductance @100Hz: 4,80H (Series-measured through guitar)
Gauss: 250G slug, 220G screw (measured at top center of pole pieces)

I used a pedal patch cable and measured through it. And it was 8,80K. Moreover i've found my notes from the first measurements which i noted the ambient temperature: 35C. This one has been done at 27,5C. Inductance seems pretty low as expected. Direct measurement from the pickup would be 10-15% higher than through guitar.

Moreover, underwound SSL-1 works perfectly :) It's new measurement is 5.90K and i loved it a lot. I don't know if it is placebo or something like that but if feel it really is much better to me :)
 
Fantastic sounding Strat. That's the way they should sound. Amp? Effects?

Thanks. Setup is too simple. Blacstar ID Core 40:V2. Crunch channel. No deep adjustments, the topside knobs only. I think i've just added tiny reverb. Thats all.
 
I used a pedal patch cable and measured through it. And it was 8,80K. Moreover i've found my notes from the first measurements which i noted the ambient temperature: 35C. This one has been done at 27,5C. Inductance seems pretty low as expected. Direct measurement from the pickup would be 10-15% higher than through guitar.

Even 27.5C is much too high, you need to go down to 21C. Last time I did measurements on single coils at 18C. The values were 0.3k lower (= 5%) than they should. Ambient temperature have an big impact on these values.
 
Even 27.5C is much too high, you need to go down to 21C. Last time I did measurements on single coils at 18C. The values were 0.3k lower (= 5%) than they should. Ambient temperature have an big impact on these values.

Especially on higher wound pickups, yes, indeed.
 
Temperature really doesn't matter unless you are listing the DCR for an advertisement. Just so long as the values are close enough to what they are supposed to so that you know they aren't broken.
 
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