Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

[EricTomas2]

Why are the pickups manufactured by Maricela so famous? Just because Slash used some? Are they built with better materials than current pickups like Bare Knuckle or Wolfetone?

I have a set of 59s manufactured by Maricela Juarez. I'm looking for some PAF for my sg 61Ri. I do not know if BK The Mule or Wolfetone are higher quality.

Will you install the Seymour Duncan or buy a BK or Wolfetone?

Best Regards

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

Maricela wound pickups are like Maricela made tamales. There are plenty of other people that can make tamales, but MJ just makes them better. Granted, part of the reason people like her pickups better could be a bit of confirmation bias, as MJ now runs the Custom Shop.

I had an MJ wound JB and it was oodles better than my other one wound by Lidia Daniel the same year. Each winder before the days of automation had their own way of winding the exact same pickup, so minor differences were common among the same model of a pickup.

Abigail Ybarra is another big name for SD pickups.

Also Bare Knuckle Mules are nothing like 59s. I have no experience with Wolfetone. I'll let other people elaborate on their opinions regarding this part of the question.

 

[gregory]

Re: Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

Each winder before the days of automation had their own way of winding the exact same pickup, so minor differences were common among the same model of a pickup.

When did this change and what was the objective method by which these differences were determined?

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

When did this change and what was the objective method by which these differences were determined?

I'm just recounting the arguments made by others, all I know for certain is my JBJ doesn't have the bothersome upper mid spike that my other ones have. Well, that and that MJ makes some darn good tamales.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

Abigail Ybarra is another big name for SD pickups.

Fender

 

[gregory]

Re: Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

3rd party anecdotes that are almost certainly not based on objective measurements.

Well, whatever helps people command a high price for their used pickups I guess.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

Fender

Good catch, I got my companies mixed up.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

Given the wind is machine done and guided, the initials of the winder represent the person loading the empty bobbins and subsequent unloading once done.....then the assembly onto the baseplate.
For mine the natural variation common to all pickups, plus significant knowledge of a owning MJ pickup is enough to explain the difference people hear.

As to pickup choice.....well my own journey/ears has led me to winders like Zhangbucker and Vineham (both owners post here) as well as Wolfetone, ReWind and Tysontone. All of these have fulfilled what I like to hear out of a PAF strength pickup - which is 100% authentic tone to vintage. Not everybody likes this however - especially as the pickups become more temperamental to their host guitar and need to find the 'right' chassis to shine.
Duncans might have a slightly more generic tone, but they certainly play nice in almost every guitar you care to throw them in.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the best sounding Duncan pickups I own or have owned were wound in the Duncan Custom Shop.

Pickups like the Antiquity Humbuckers, Antiquity Surfers, Duncan 78 and the A2 Hot For Tele Tapped bridge model.

I don’t need anything other than my ears and the way I feel when I play my guitars with those pickups to verify that.

I’m also a big fan of Lindy Fralin and Tom Holmes and own pickups wound by them as well.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Seymour Duncan 59 Maricela Juarez or Current PAFs

I think the OP is not comparing apples to apples. If MJ were to make a Mule or a Wolfetone then you've got a comparison. But comparing 59's, regardless of the winder, to Mules or Wolfetone is going to be more attributed to the pickup recipe difference than the winder.