Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

[Erlend_G]

Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

I think the SD Pickup Booster- apart from its clean boost-

has a smart thing going- with "lowering the resonant frequency of the pickup plugged in"-

I wonder how this is achieved- maybe with a coil in series with the input signal?

Well, I got an Epiphone Wildkat. "Koa" model to be exact, with P90's.

Sometimes, I want a thicker, darker tone.

But the SD pickup booster is expensive, and hard to come by used here in Norway.

Any thoughts.

-Erlend

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

It’s just an active band pass filter EQ Control.

“Position 1 will give your guitar a little more ‘teeth,’ while Position 2 gives you a hint of that ‘cocked-wah’ tone filter vibe which is great for leads.”


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[Erlend_G]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Okay. I've thought about wiring a simple coil in series with my pickups, along with some boost- since the coil has some resistance.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

An easier way is to lower the input impedance. Resistance just reduces the signal. More windings on a pickup is different since it’s generating the signal. The windings add to each other.

But a lower input impedance also flattens the resonant peak. And every style pickup would sound different.

The Pickup Booster does have a fairly low input impedance. They have it listed at 250k, as opposed to 1M for most devices. That’s probably to not give a high end boost you get from a buffer removing the load from the pickup.

[EDIT]

Ok, the resonance switch just switches between two capacitors.

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[Mincer]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

I have to say that the Pickup Booster's resonance switch does wonders for single coils and P90s. It is thicker and low pass filtery.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Swapping in one A8 magnet on the side away from the neck can do a world of good for a P90 bridge pickup.
I'd like to try A6 in a P90 one day, fattens & warms without increasing output like A8 does.

Lovepedal Elephant Man is a mu-amp boost that subtly fattens even at unity gain. Great pedal for after dirt.

Fulltone makes a pedal called the Fat Boost; haven't tried it myself but plenty of used ones are available.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

You know they make a Wildkat with mini Humbuckers and block inlays, right?

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

You know they make a Wildkat with mini Humbuckers and block inlays, right?

The AlleyKat had a mini hum at the neck and a regular one at the bridge, cool guitars.
But they stopped making them more than ten years ago. Easy to find 'em used I guess.

Is there a model with two minis?

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Uptown Kat

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ETUERUMGH--epiphone-uptown-kat-es-ruby-red-metallic

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

^^ Nice axe.

But I'm a poor! bohemian- on welfare,,, and i got my koa Wildkat for the Koa top (and P90s)

Can't afford another guitar.

What I've considered doing, is to get a "surface mount" pickup, and install it just infront of my bridge PU. And wire it in series, with an on/off switch.

That would def. fatten things up.

(but the surface mount pickup is chrome, the rest is gold- and I don't want to drill more holes):

Thanks for any tips though.

-Erl

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

If you could make a mini Humbucker housing out of a dog ear P-90 cover, you could put mini Humbuckers in your Kat.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Uptown Kat

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ETUERUMGH--epiphone-uptown-kat-es-ruby-red-metallic

Sweet!And a real looker, too, in any one of those metallic finishes.
Not a big fan of mini hums myself, though. A bit too too tight & thin for my taste.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Interesting. I had a Wildkat back around '03–'04. It was a very muddy guitar. Thickness was the last thing it needed. It needed bass attenuation, not what the Pickup Booster does in mode 2 (makes a single coil sound more like a humbucker).

Just got my blue Uptown Kat today. It is an outstanding guitar for the price. This example is the nicest built import Epi I've ever seen, outside of the Japanese made ones (which are better built than Gibsons IME). I had to really look to find any flaws, and when I did, they were minor. Much better build quality than my '03.

Only mentioning that because someone else in the thread did. It doesn't solve your issue.

At any rate, I think you can get what you want with a combination of onboard control manipulation and amp manipulation. In other words, good-ol' knob twistin'. Boost the midrange and low end on your amp. Use more gain. And/or taper off the treble a bit with your onboard tone knob and/or your amp's treble knob.

I think a foot stompable active e.q. pedal is the first pedal everyone should have. You can set it to do so many different things...including what you are asking for. If everyone had these, and knew how to use them really well, the aftermarket pickup industry would take a big hit, and we wouldn't have a whole ton to rap about here.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

If you could make a mini Humbucker housing out of a dog ear P-90 cover, you could put mini Humbuckers in your Kat.

https://www.amazon.com/Dog-ear-Humbucker-Pickup-Adapter-1-Ply/dp/B074RDRKZB

https://www.amazon.com/Dog-ear-Humbucker-Pickup-Adapter-1-Ply/dp/B074R9NZGW

They only make low profile ones I think. But if necessary you could use standard dogear shims to raise the bridge ring.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Those Uptown Kats are a really cool update/upgrade to the Kat family.

I see they're made like the ES series, with laminate top & back and a full center block, rather than the carved-out-body/maple cap construction of the Wildkat & others. I didn't expect that and think it should help make them more feedback-resistant. It also increases the cost though.

Ebony board is a plus too. They're really pretty.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Those Uptown Kats are a really cool update/upgrade to the Kat family.

I see they're made like the ES series, with laminate top & back and a full center block, rather than the carved-out-body/maple cap construction of the Wildkat & others. I didn't expect that and think it should help make them more feedback-resistant. It also increases the cost though.

Ebony board is a plus too. They're really pretty.

Yes; they are basically a trapeze Epi 339, but with MUCH better looks.

The gold hardware on everything but the blue one really sucks, though. Ick!

They are what the Kat series always should have been IMO.

If I wanted a Kat with P90s, I'd get another Uptown and convert. Far superior guitars IMO.

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

I have a SD pickup booster. I think it's a great pedal. With the resonance switch in 0 it's a clean boost that doesn't color the sound. I don't have a guitar with P-90s but the resonant switch position 2 really fattens up my Tele's bridge single coil. To say it makes it sound more like a humbucker is fair.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

I have a SD pickup booster. I think it's a great pedal. With the resonance switch in 0 it's a clean boost that doesn't color the sound. I don't have a guitar with P-90s but the resonant switch position 2 really fattens up my Tele's bridge single coil. To say it makes it sound more like a humbucker is fair.

I agree. I use one with my Strat to hit the amp a lot harder. It isn't exactly like a humbucker, but 90%, sure.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

I have zero experience with the SD Pickup Booster, so take this FWIW,

Just based on the first post where OP says sometimes he wants a thicker, darker tone, I'd highly recommend the Fulltone Fat Boost. I bought the FB3 ten years ago and it's been awesome. You would be able to fatten/darken any guitar, or thin out/brighten it. With or without a bit of extra tweed-like push and bloom on your tone.

If the SD pedal is tough to find, would Fulltone gear be any easier to come across in Norway?

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[NegativeEase]

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

Re: Seymour Duncan "pickup booster"- to fatten tone of "Epi Wildkat P90's"

I have to say that the Pickup Booster's resonance switch does wonders for single coils and P90s. It is thicker and low pass filtery.

Pickup Booster is the kind of cool useful thing I would have thrown under the hood of my guitar 25 years ago and put a 3 way switch and dual ring concentric pot addition on the knob,.... I still have clean boosts and tube screamers inside a few guitars

-even had a guitar with a photoresistor on the pickguard -so if I waved my hand in front of it below the pickups it would trigger some momentary logic to insert the boost -instead of using a pedal. Never worked as well as I wanted -except at the house under controlled ambient lighting.

Back then all this awesome pedal circuit info wasn't easy to come by, i had a dad, books, and some magazine info -I can't imagine the kind of stuff that I would have been doing with all the education available instantly now.

look at this beautiful mess... lol