Pickups For Black Beauty?

Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Oh. Ok. Given the extra wiring options of a freeway switch, I personally would definitely get one for a three hb guitar. And then I would practice with it so that I learned to choose the positions that I wanted, effortlessly.

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Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

I've got a Freeway switch in my HHH LP, and although it is perhaps a little slower than normal, you get use to it like a manual gearbox :)
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Make sure you use a shielded cable for the run from the switch to the control cavity. I use a Freeway and needed a 6 core shield for this run.

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Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Better yet, I'll have 2 freeway switches. One to control which pickups are on, and one to control which pickups are split. :D

But honestly though, I might use a 5 way rotary and have the Strat combinations. Or stick with a 3 way and the OOP middle position.
 
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Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Chistopher said:
Better yet, I'll have 2 freeway switches. One to control which pickups are on, and one to control which pickups are split. :D

But honestly though, I might use a 5 way rotary and have the Strat combinations. Or stick with a 3 way and the OOP middle position.
Click to expand...

Freeway + 3 Triple Shots + 4 push/pulls:

IMAG0502.jpg
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Chistopher said:
What in tarnation?! Do you still have the diagram for that? And to be honest, a third set of volume and tone knobs in-line with the others would look pretty good on that.
Click to expand...

I think I still have it somewhere. Alisdair (Freeway guy) has always been more than happy to produce custom diagrams for customers - I even checked with him on mine before I'd even bought this one, so you could probably do similar I'd have thought.

No third pair of controls for me; The options are interesting, but prefer it still looks like a LP :)
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

So what do all the parts do on it? And what pickups you usin'?
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

You know what would be a good combo? Burstbucker 1 neck, 2 middle, and 3 in the bridge. Or PGn/PGb/PG+.
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Chistopher said:
The stock neck pickup is quite hot and way too bassy.
The bridge is okay, but if I replace the other two, I should replace that one as well. And I just don't care for the middle position with the current setup.

Tonewise, I'm just going for a good "frowny face" eq for the neck and bridge, and the OOP middle position to have a happy face.

I want a clear, articulate neck. My go-to neck pickups on Fenders are the PG or Jazz pickups. I don't care for the PG in Les Pauls and the Jazz is too modern sounding for this build. So I thought possibly Seth Lover.

For the bridge I want a hot PAF type deal, maybe an A2 JB or a Saturday Night Special.

And the P90 has to be a HB sized P90, so there's a Phat Cat. I don't know what magnet combo, so maybe someone will step in on that. But I want a good hollow lead sound. I don't have any experience with out of phase bridge/middle on a Les Paul so I don't have much info on that.

I'm trying to stick pretty vintage, think around the time people started using volume for distortion. This will be going through a Marshall DSL100 with a 412 cab.

Any pickup combinations that don't meet my requirements but you think are really good are also appreciated.
Click to expand...

Alnico II Pro in the neck, Custom Custom in the bridge, and a '59 in the middle, according to your specs. You may even substitute a Jazz for the middle, as sometimes the '59 can be bassy (it isn't, but it is scooped, and an already bassy guitar might get more bassy).
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Chistopher said:
So what do all the parts do on it? And what pickups you usin'?
Click to expand...

The Triple Shots taken as read; The push/pulls add a phase reverse for the middle pickup, a high pass filter, and placing the middle p'up in series with one of the other two. I think the last one puts all three in parallel. As you can guess, there's a lot of combinations!

Pickups are Custom Shop neck, and bridge, with a modded Slash bridge in the middle :)

One thing I would think carefully about, is what values you're likely to use for the pots - I'm struggling with the neck position, but want 250k with the bridge, so perhaps should've used 3V + 1T instwead of 3T + 1V... Except I like to set tone controls different for bridge and neck, wah!
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Mincer said:
Alnico II Pro in the neck, Custom Custom in the bridge, and a '59 in the middle, according to your specs. You may even substitute a Jazz for the middle, as sometimes the '59 can be bassy (it isn't, but it is scooped, and an already bassy guitar might get more bassy).
Click to expand...


A2P in the neck is a great choice, one of Duncan's best neck HB's. The Custom series does very well in Gibson-design guitars, although some members have said CC's are a bit too warm and rounded in their LP's: I'd swap out it's A2 magnet for an UOA5 (A2-like texture with a bit more treble) or an A8 (more muscle).

Middle HB's are a challenge, as they sound nothing like they do when they're in the bridge or neck slots. I don't know if it's because of where they sit under string the nodes, or if it's because of magnetic-field overlap from having six coils in a row packed like sardines, or a combination of the two. It's a weaker-sounding slot, so I use bridge PU's in the middle to help make up for it. A 59B would be a good choice.
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Location location location. Weaker than the neck position; not as weak as the bridge spot. Fields do overlap, but comparing it to sardines is more than just a bit of an exaggeration. String "nodes" are solely dependent on the note that is fretted.

I have never seen anything to suggest that the purpose of a middle pickup in an LP was to do anything other than be combined with the bridge pickup. With this in mind, the 59B is a good choice unless you want more mids (the specific guitar also has a say in the matter, of course). If you want even less output when the switch is in the middle position, the 59N can also be a good choice.
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

gregory said:
I have never seen anything to suggest that the purpose of a middle pickup in an LP was to do anything other than be combined with the bridge pickup.
Click to expand...


Actually, I think that part if the reason for a third HB was to add to the looks and bling factor, being a premium model compared to the LP standard. Three gold HB's in a row simply look elegant, & add to the effect of the extra binding, big block inlays, and diamond headstock motif. To get the consumers to pay the higher price of what was essentially the same guitar, it had to look like it was worth it, and be loaded with high-end appointments, regardless of functionality.

Considering how innovative Les Paul was with electronics, it's surprising that Black Beauties had some of the most uninspired & least useful guitar wiring. Six coils with a 3-way toggle! And to think of all the ways those coils could be combined. To me it suggests that triple HB's were mainly about eye candy.
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

blueman335 said:
Actually, I think that part if the reason for a third HB was to add to the looks and bling factor, being a premium model compared to the LP standard. Three gold HB's in a row simply look elegant, & add to the effect of the extra binding, big block inlays, and diamond headstock motif. To get the consumers to pay the higher price of what was essentially the same guitar, it had to look like it was worth it, and be loaded with high-end appointments, regardless of functionality.

Considering how innovative Les Paul was with electronics, it's surprising that Black Beauties had some of the most uninspired & least useful guitar wiring. Six coils with a 3-way toggle! And to think of all the ways those coils could be combined. To me it suggests that triple HB's were mainly about eye candy.
Click to expand...

The guitarist that plays at this one place by the beach where I live modded his LP Custom for a middle HB. It didn't even have any magnets in it. All it was there for was to look cool and mess with how deep he could pick.
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Well I cut my teeth on my Black Beauty, so I see things from a different perspective. Bridge+Middle is a sound you can't get from a two pickup LP, and IMHO can't be beat (except by a Strat ;)).
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Chistopher said:
The guitarist that plays at this one place by the beach where I live modded his LP Custom for a middle HB. It didn't even have any magnets in it. All it was there for was to look cool and mess with how deep he could pick.
Click to expand...
So you're buying a 3HB Epi "LP" for looks then???
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

Those [Epi] looks may have taken a cost cut elsewhere - I was told a while back that it had a "compressed" body, but whether the guy meant plywood, or something else I've no idea.
 
Re: Pickups For Black Beauty?

gregory said:
So you're buying a 3HB Epi "LP" for looks then???
Click to expand...

No, that's the guy who plays at the beach. And gregory, did you BB have an out of phase middle position? I've read from so many places that that is standard for BBs, but I've heard from so many that it is not.
 
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