sherryhead
New member
I am building a badass "Les Paul-Killer" Firebird from Warmoth parts. For the bridge p/u, I've decided(after much enthusiastic/exhaustive online research) to go w/ the '78 Custom Shop Humbucker! But something important occurred to me during my extremely informative/enlightening product comparisons. Most Van Halen Fanatics know that EVH used his celebrated Frankenstein guitar, as well as his (imitation korina) Ibanez Destroyer (& POSSIBLY his old white Les Paul Custom that his kick-ass alky dad:alcoholic bought him when he was a teen)...For over THIRTY YEARS, it has never been clarified as to whether the famous '335 P.A.F.' was used in ALL of the recording guitars on VH1 or just in the Frankenstein, while the other(s) remained stock;pickups,warts n' all!! I think the tone-chasing public-at-large believes there's ONE 'Holy Grail' p/u that all these aftermarket signature model/tributes are based on,when there are actually TWO--the EARLIEST version(the one the '78 Custom is based on),& one he used from '81/Fair Warning onward,that had a much higher dc resistance,14k or so. This is the one that The Custom Custom & The EVH Series h/b's are based on. ADD to the mix the '58 Gibson Flying V EVH played on "Hot For Teacher" & other stuff on 1984,& you have,hypothetically,as many as FIVE different h/b's that all sounded pretty frickin' BROWN to ME!!
I guess my point is:I'm quite sure the '78 custom is the one for me,I think it's misleading of people like EVH to insinuate that their products are something they're NOT!! His signature model is NOT based on the pickup(s) heard on"Runnin' w/The Devil","You Really Got Me", "Jamie's Cryin'",etc. That being said, should I go & find an old Ibanez P.A.F. clone, or would any old 70's Gibson do? For the money you pay,for something that ultimately AIN'T what they say it is,maybe Edward shoulda come out w/ a series of signature pickups, based on the era/situation during which he played w/ them? The '78 Model SAYS what it is,y'know? All the rest are putting these p/ups out there & uh...kinda...exaggerating? Crazy thing is, EVH probably coulda made more money w/ a 'Fair Warning' or 'Hot For Teacher' p/up--Hell,for the 'HFT',he coulda just taken a PAFpro,a Burstbucker 2, or a Duncan '59, & just put his NAME on it!! Talk about a NO-BRAINER!! Basically, players will buy ANYTHING based on whose name is stamped on it(nothing new);the current crop of Ed-inspired p/ups are not marketed properly--you really have to research these p/ups, & understand that a true "brown sound" p/up is a low-output,vintage-style PAF w/ unbalanced windings! Any thoughts out there?
I guess my point is:I'm quite sure the '78 custom is the one for me,I think it's misleading of people like EVH to insinuate that their products are something they're NOT!! His signature model is NOT based on the pickup(s) heard on"Runnin' w/The Devil","You Really Got Me", "Jamie's Cryin'",etc. That being said, should I go & find an old Ibanez P.A.F. clone, or would any old 70's Gibson do? For the money you pay,for something that ultimately AIN'T what they say it is,maybe Edward shoulda come out w/ a series of signature pickups, based on the era/situation during which he played w/ them? The '78 Model SAYS what it is,y'know? All the rest are putting these p/ups out there & uh...kinda...exaggerating? Crazy thing is, EVH probably coulda made more money w/ a 'Fair Warning' or 'Hot For Teacher' p/up--Hell,for the 'HFT',he coulda just taken a PAFpro,a Burstbucker 2, or a Duncan '59, & just put his NAME on it!! Talk about a NO-BRAINER!! Basically, players will buy ANYTHING based on whose name is stamped on it(nothing new);the current crop of Ed-inspired p/ups are not marketed properly--you really have to research these p/ups, & understand that a true "brown sound" p/up is a low-output,vintage-style PAF w/ unbalanced windings! Any thoughts out there?
