SD Antiquity vs '78

Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

The Ant is more open, a little weaker (not nigh and day by a long shot) and has that deep 3D character that Ants have...the 78 is a little hotter, a little sharper, more aggressive and compressed.

I made this comparison with a pair of R8 Les Pauls, one with a set of Ants and one with a Seth/78 set.
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

^^ +1 The only thing I would change is that the aged A2 "muffles/mellows" the antiquity, IMO. Which can be a good or bad thing depending on the person.
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

i agree the aged a2 mellows the antiquity but i wouldnt say muffles
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

The Ant is more open, a little weaker (not nigh and day by a long shot) and has that deep 3D character that Ants have...the 78 is a little hotter, a little sharper, more aggressive and compressed.

I made this comparison with a pair of R8 Les Pauls, one with a set of Ants and one with a Seth/78 set.

Which did you like better, and for what style of music and amp?
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

The Ant bridge is somewhat fat, has a lot of honk. A little too dark for my taste.

The '78 is totally different. Very aggressive, thinner.

Both have lots of extra sparkle that make a boutique pickup.
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

How about an a3 antiquity bridge (say something hot like ~8.75K) versus a 78?

Now that's what I am curious about.

B :)
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

IMO A3 mags are only good in single coils. They seem lifeless in a Humbucker.

Funny. I have the exact opposite opinion. To me a3s in strat singles are steely, cold. (Tele leads is a different story, I love those "Blackguards" that Hamel used to wind.) And in a HB a3s to me give a bit more open tone than the a2s, with a bit less lowermids and more uppermids highs and a bit tighter bass.

B :)
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

Which did you like better, and for what style of music and amp?

Well, the Ants were in my R8 and the 78/Seth combo was in a buddys R8.

I liked them both, a lot in fact but if this means anything to you I didn't rush out and swap my Ants for a 78/Seth combo nor did the through relly even cross my mind...

It's a great combo but the Ants just sound right to me.

I've been fortunate to wrap my hands around several vintage Gibsons from the middle 50's to the late 60's including more than one late 50's Les Paul and the Duncan Antiquities realyl nail that tone and vibe, which for me is a benchmark.

As for style and amps...I play what I'd call blues and blues/rock and Iplay mostly through old Fender amps.

I could still have easily gotten good sounds for what I do with the 78/Seth combo but the Ants just sound right...
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

The Ant bridge is somewhat fat, has a lot of honk. A little too dark for my taste.

The '78 is totally different. Very aggressive, thinner.

Both have lots of extra sparkle that make a boutique pickup.

I don't even know what you mean by any of this...

The Ant bridge is fat and honky but not at all what I'd call dark...

The 78 is not at all thin...

Neither of them have a sound that makes me think sparkle at all...or boutique...

The Ant was fat sound but still articulate and had a bit of a smokey sound...it sounded old if that makes sense while the 78 was raw, rude and aggressive but STILL very much a PAFish wind with alnico II sag and compression.

Different, yes...worlds apart...not at all!
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

To my ears, A3 sounds like demag A5, or A5 backed away from the strings. Not going to rip open an Antiquity bucker for it.

Don't agree man.

A3 to me does not sound at all like a degaussed a5. A4 does, yes, but not a3. A3 is quite similar with an a2, just a bit different. But in some cases (e.g. Custom Custom) it makes a huge difference.

Moreover, I used to have an a5 8.75K antiquity and 7.60-70K ant neck, and they were one of the best set of buckers I have ever used. I sold them because of the Brobucker. I wish I did not sell the neck! :banghead:

I also have tried those with a2-a6. :friday:

It does not need to be opened or anything. The thing is already one of the most clear (yet soft and spongy) 3d bucker out there. So it does not NEED an a3 to rip it open.

Yet with an a3 both in the neck or the bridge, the tone gets a bit less spongy, a bit tighter, while retaining all those clear open 3d features.

Antiquity is one of the best buckers out there. Call me the Duncan Candidate, because every time the word antiquity is spoken, what I think is: The Antiquity HB is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful pickup I've ever known in my life.

Joking aside, I have compared them in my R7 and R8 against the most pricey boutique pickups, Holmes', Florance's, Rolph's, and some others that I have forgotten (WCRs for example..). They stood quite tall against all those guys.

Currently, am still using a neck Antiquity in my tele (7.50K), and I could not be happier. In my LPs I am using Timbuckers and Rolphs, not because they are "better" than antiquities, but because they represent different ends of the PAF spectrum. Timbuckers for nasal screaming type of thing, and Rolphs for thicker but tight type of thing. And, frankly speaking, if I had only one LP, I would have chosen my 8.75K ant bridge with an a4 magnet and 7.60K ant neck with an a3.

At one point in time I had 5 of those buckers, 2 necks (7.60K and 7.50K), 3 bridges (8.50K, 8.70K and 8.75K). And none of them had any squeling issues.

B :)
 
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Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

Don't agree man.

A3 to me does not sound at all like a degaussed a5. A4 does, yes, but not a3. A3 is quite similar with an a2, just a bit different. But in some cases (e.g. Custom Custom) it makes a huge difference.

Moreover, I used to have an a5 8.75K antiquity and 7.60-70K ant neck, and they were one of the best set of buckers I have ever used. I sold them because of the Brobucker. I wish I did not sell the neck! :banghead:

I also have tried those with a2-a6. :friday:

It does not need to be opened or anything. The thing is already one of the most clear (yet soft and spongy) 3d bucker out there. So it does not NEED an a3 to rip it open.

Yet with an a3 both in the neck or the bridge, the tone gets a bit less spongy, a bit tighter, while retaining all those clear open 3d features.

Antiquity is one of the best buckers out there. Call me the Duncan Candidate, because every time the word antiquity is spoken, what I think is: The Antiquity HB is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful pickup I've ever known in my life.

Joking aside, I have compared them in my R7 and R8 against the most pricey boutique pickups, Holmes', Florance's, Rolph's, and some others that I have forgotten (WCRs for example..). They stood quite tall against all those guys.

Currently, am still using a neck Antiquity in my tele (7.50K), and I could not be happier. In my LPs I am using Timbuckers and Rolphs, not because they are "better" than antiquities, but because they represent different ends of the PAF spectrum. Timbuckers for nasal screaming type of thing, and Rolphs for thicker but tight type of thing. And, frankly speaking, if I had only one LP, I would have chosen my 8.75K ant bridge with an a4 magnet and 7.60K ant neck with an a3.

At one point in time I had 5 of those buckers, 2 necks (7.60K and 7.50K), 3 bridges (8.50K, 8.70K and 8.75K). And none of them had any squeling issues.

B :)

Excellent post and very informative Doc! You da man on this stuff.
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

How do they compare?

Ants: more PAF like? Open sounding?

78: more R&R due to the slightly higher output?

You've got to remember there is no ONE PAF sound. I mean think of Cream's I feel free compared to La Grange. Both tunes used a Burst and a 4 hole Marshall but sound a good bit different.

The Ant is more open, a little weaker (not nigh and day by a long shot) and has that deep 3D character that Ants have...the 78 is a little hotter, a little sharper, more aggressive and compressed.

I made this comparison with a pair of R8 Les Pauls, one with a set of Ants and one with a Seth/78 set.

I also would like to add that the R8s in question (me and Christian's) are very similar in terms of weight, wood, necks, etc etc. So all in all I thought it was a great comparison. Now at that time I wasn't running covers, but now I am and the sharpness is subdued a bit. Additionally covers add a bit of texture at the cost of a loss of focus.

My R8 originally had Ants in it and so I got to compare Ants and the Seth/78 in the same guitar too. Additionally the 78 is made with the Seth/Ants period correct materials to leave nothing to chance. All that said....the above results still ring true.

Right...mellow sure, muffled...not at all!

The Ants have plenty of bite

Oh yeah, especially without covers.

Well, the Ants were in my R8 and the 78/Seth combo was in a buddys R8.

I liked them both, a lot in fact but if this means anything to you I didn't rush out and swap my Ants for a 78/Seth combo nor did the through relly even cross my mind...

It's a great combo but the Ants just sound right to me.

I've been fortunate to wrap my hands around several vintage Gibsons from the middle 50's to the late 60's including more than one late 50's Les Paul and the Duncan Antiquities realyl nail that tone and vibe, which for me is a benchmark.

As for style and amps...I play what I'd call blues and blues/rock and Iplay mostly through old Fender amps.

I could still have easily gotten good sounds for what I do with the 78/Seth combo but the Ants just sound right...

Christian might not agree with my assessment, but I'd almost say that with the Ants his guitar "sounded older" than mine. The funny part being that my guitar is about 8 years older than his. That has to have something to do with the weaker mags. I can't help but think a degaussed mag set with my current pups would REALLY sound amazing.

Luke
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

DUDE! I'm SO glad you saw this...I was going to try to get you to chime in here this weekend but you never answer the ohone anymore!

Anyway...I started to mention the age int he sound...I know it's a strange way to describe tone but Antiquities do sound OLD...it's a very strange thing!
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

DUDE! I'm SO glad you saw this...I was going to try to get you to chime in here this weekend but you never answer the ohone anymore!

Anyway...I started to mention the age int he sound...I know it's a strange way to describe tone but Antiquities do sound OLD...it's a very strange thing!

When did you call?! This weekend was hectic Jamie's sis and bro-in-law were in town.

The other thing worth mentioing is the airiness of the Ants. The 78 has a touch of compression that I don't hear in other SD PAFs. I don't agree with smebodys assessment in another thread saying it sounded like a compressor on full tilt all the time. To me that describes a high output pup.

Luke
 
Re: SD Antiquity vs '78

When did you call?! This weekend was hectic Jamie's sis and bro-in-law were in town.

The other thing worth mentioing is the airiness of the Ants. The 78 has a touch of compression that I don't hear in other SD PAFs. I don't agree with smebodys assessment in another thread saying it sounded like a compressor on full tilt all the time. To me that describes a high output pup.

Luke

Hey Luke, that was me! lol

It might be worth pointing out that it was a 10k overwound '78... and I think I may have bought it from you a couple of years ago? Anyway, I bought off a forum bro and in my L.P that's exactly how it sounded.... very squishy? :friday:
 
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