The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

[Joeyfingers]

I recently had the pleasure of playing the Frankenstein guitar (replica of Eddies old guitar). This guitar had to be the absolute best playing and sounding guitar I`ve ever heard in my 30 yrs of playing. I read in an article that the custom shop had that pickup available so of course I purchased it For a lot more than I should have! I am very dissapointed with the tone! I know the wood makes a difference but the tone of this pick up isn`t even close to the Frankenstein guitar and I played it through a crappy little amp and it still blew me away! Does anyone know if SD changed the way the PU was made? I have 11 guitars and almost every one of them has seymour Duncan pickups in them. I guess I`m looking for some explanation from anyone that may have any information about this Pick up. I was originally going to buy it from ebay for 100.00 less but I didn`t want to take the chance. I feel very let down after sticking with this company for 30 years. I was really looking forward to that great tone that Eddie HAD 30 yrs ago or something even close to it.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

A couple of questions. What kind of guitar do you have the 78 in? What pots do you have? How high/low is the pup? Is it covered? Have you checked the wiring, especially if it is 4 conductor? Sometimes those red and white wires like to get a bad solder joint or sneak apart.

I have 2 of 78s, one in my PRS CU24 and one in my LP R8. I LOVE that pup, it's probably one of my favorite PAF tones. It has a chewy thick mids sound with a really aggressive overall tone and lots of cut. Is that a description of what you heard from the Frankie replica? What do you not like about the one you have?

Also SD did another pup for the Fender $15K guitars if memory serves....whether or not it's any different is beyond me.

Luke

 

[C-Martin]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

Also SD did another pup for the Fender $15K guitars if memory serves....whether or not it's any different is beyond me.

Luke

25k and its a different pickup, not the 78 from the custom shop

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

25k and its a different pickup, not the 78 from the custom shop

Dang, 10K bucks off!

Right it measures 0K ohms I remember that.....I'm just not so sure that other than that slight-of-hand it's actually a different pup. Only Seymour and guys who've got the money to buy one to pull apart know I guess.

Luke

 

[Joeyfingers]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

Hey Luke, I had it instaled in a Charvel Jackson,very similar to a strat ,theres no cover over it and it`s not wired for splitting the coils. It`s set up pretty close to the strings when I`m hitting a note(less than an 8th of an inch). I basically ordered the same model that was supposed to have been in the frankenstrat. I`m playing through a 1971 marshall super lead 100 with a TS 808 overdrive ,a boss 7 band eq and I have the amp set up with a THD hot plate so I can get that great marshall sound by turning up the channel volumes of the amp at bedroom volume levels. I`m also using the line out from the hot plate into a delay then to a Marshall 50 watt power amp then into another cabinet so I can get the wet/dry sound. And both of my cabinets have 4-25 watt Greenbacks in them! My other guitar (an ESP with the Duncan distortion PU) sounds Amazing!! I thought that the 78 model would be the better sound but the ESP with the duncan distortion sounds more like VH than the custom "78"...Go figure!!!

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

Hey Luke, I had it instaled in a Charvel Jackson,very similar to a strat ,theres no cover over it and it`s not wired for splitting the coils. It`s set up pretty close to the strings when I`m hitting a note(less than an 8th of an inch). I basically ordered the same model that was supposed to have been in the frankenstrat. I`m playing through a 1971 marshall super lead 100 with a TS 808 overdrive ,a boss 7 band eq and I have the amp set up with a THD hot plate so I can get that great marshall sound by turning up the channel volumes of the amp at bedroom volume levels. I`m also using the line out from the hot plate into a delay then to a Marshall 50 watt power amp then into another cabinet so I can get the wet/dry sound. And both of my cabinets have 4-25 watt Greenbacks in them! My other guitar (an ESP with the Duncan distortion PU) sounds Amazing!! I thought that the 78 model would be the better sound but the ESP with the duncan distortion sounds more like VH than the custom "78"...Go figure!!!

So let me guess, the 78 is sounding thin?

I'm going to chalk it up to two things. First is that attenuators always seem to add high end. Second the pots.

True story, I got my first 78 (for my PRS) and was really digging it but the high end could cut you in half if you didn't ride the tone knob when you were cutting lose on the high strings. A couple of months went by and eventually I decided to try a 250K pot. I ended up using it on the tone knob. WOW what a difference!!! It shot the excessive highs to ground giving the PRS a lot more chunk and thickness. Now I'm not a VH-head in the least but with some EQing I can get some pretty convincing VH tones. Little Dreamer specifically because the guitar sounds a little more aggressive and bitey there than on Runnin' with The Devil for example.

I would try one or two 250K pots and see if that rectifies the situation. Sounds like you have the rest of the rig.

Luke

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

I recently had the pleasure of playing the Frankenstein guitar (replica of Eddies old guitar). This guitar had to be the absolute best playing and sounding guitar I`ve ever heard in my 30 yrs of playing. I read in an article that the custom shop had that pickup available so of course I purchased it For a lot more than I should have! I am very dissapointed with the tone! I know the wood makes a difference but the tone of this pick up isn`t even close to the Frankenstein guitar and I played it through a crappy little amp and it still blew me away! Does anyone know if SD changed the way the PU was made? I have 11 guitars and almost every one of them has seymour Duncan pickups in them. I guess I`m looking for some explanation from anyone that may have any information about this Pick up. I was originally going to buy it from ebay for 100.00 less but I didn`t want to take the chance. I feel very let down after sticking with this company for 30 years. I was really looking forward to that great tone that Eddie HAD 30 yrs ago or something even close to it.

The 78 you buy from the custom shop is not the same model they used in the Frankie replica's

 

[Joeyfingers]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

You pretty much hit the nail on the head! It does sound a bit thin! It`s not completely horrible but I was expecting the tone to be at least close to Eddie`s sound. I`ll definetly try the different pots. I`m not about to spend another dime on any more of those 78 models. I heard that when they first came out they were great Pickups but I think that SD had to change something in them due to Ed`s new deal w/ Fender. That dude seems to be very tempermental...he`s like a chick!

 

[Joeyfingers]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

The 78 you buy from the custom shop is not the same model they used in the Frankie replica's

Well , that explains a lot then! I should`ve realized that but I guess I`m too trusting sometimes! I just blew 300.00 on the 78 pu ! 167.00 from the custom shop, 60.00 to over night it, and 90.00 to have it installed. That really sucks for me huh?

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

Well , that explains a lot then! I should`ve realized that but I guess I`m too trusting sometimes! I just blew 300.00 on the 78 pu ! 167.00 from the custom shop, 60.00 to over night it, and 90.00 to have it installed. That really sucks for me huh?

Try the pots before you pass the judgement. :cool2:

We as guitarists are spoiled today, we "know" that 500k is the "norm" for buckers. Gibson did it, and eventually everyone followed suit. BUT if you take the timeline context of Van Halen for example, he knew he needed a pot, a short one like Fender uses because it was a strat body. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess he didn't exactly go to GC and ask for a 500k pot or Gibson pot. I'm going to guess he used what he had around, what fit, or what he canibalized.

Luke

 

[NoOnesFang13]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

Well , that explains a lot then! I should`ve realized that but I guess I`m too trusting sometimes! I just blew 300.00 on the 78 pu ! 167.00 from the custom shop, 60.00 to over night it, and 90.00 to have it installed. That really sucks for me huh?

:eek2: is that what it costs to install a pickup????? i need to start charging my friends... that is rediculous for the 15 min of work it takes

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

Well , that explains a lot then! I should`ve realized that but I guess I`m too trusting sometimes! I just blew 300.00 on the 78 pu ! 167.00 from the custom shop, 60.00 to over night it, and 90.00 to have it installed. That really sucks for me huh?

$90.00 ???!! for one pickup?!? when i had no technical skills, i had almost all of the electronics done in my epiphone dot done for $50. i had the pickups replaced, 2 holes drilled for new pots, new pots installed, and the output jack replaced(a real b**ch in a semi-hollow).

 

[claytonc]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

before getting too crazy, I would try it again without the Hotplate.

"bedroom" levels with a hotplate will severely screw with the tone.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

I've had a Custom Shop 78 in one of my Strats for some time now and love it! It's my favorite bridge humbucker of all time in a Strat. My Strat is alder bodied,
rosewood fingerboard and has medium jumbo frets. I use it with just a 500K volume pot - no tone. It's wound to a little over 9K if I remember right. It's just an amazing pickup, IMO.

Yesterday I installed a set of double cream Tom Holmes humbuckers (that I had previously had in a wonderful Gibson 59 Historic Les Paul I recently sold) in an identical Strat only this Strat does have a neck HB pickup and tone control.

This guitar already had a 500K volume and tone control and I installed a .02 Sprague Orange Drop tone cap and connected the tone control to the middle terminal of the volume control - same terminal that feeds the output jack to mimic the volume and tone controls in a 50's Les Paul.

I've always felt that the Tom Holmes HB's were up there with the very, very finest humbuckers ever made and these are identical to the pickups Billy Gibbons uses that he ordered from Tom Holmes.

I was surprised at how similar the Tom Holmes bridge pickup sounds compared the Duncan 78! They are extremely similar in tone.

I sure don't get a thin tone from the 78 in my Strat - but if I were a player who needed overwound humbuckers (like the Custom, Custom Custom, Custom 5, JB, Distortion, etc.) then I might feel that the 78 was lacking something.

But I'm not one of those guys. Really, the 78 is a little overwound compared to vintage Gibson pafs from the 50's.

Lew

 

[kjrocks]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

You'll definitely need to re eq. If you're playing pickups like the Distortion the 78 is a way different animal form the High output pickups and I find it responds to small changes in your setup more than any I've used. You have a lot going on in that rig so maybe try it straight up into one of your amps first before you unload it. The 78 is by far my favorite humbucker. Its in my Strat with a 500k volume pot with no tone control.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

The '78 is easily my Favorite Duncan HB :cool2:

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

The 78 you buy from the custom shop is not the same model they used in the Frankie replica's

Well , that explains a lot then! I should`ve realized that but I guess I`m too trusting sometimes! I just blew 300.00 on the 78 pu ! 167.00 from the custom shop, 60.00 to over night it, and 90.00 to have it installed. That really sucks for me huh?

What everyone in this thread is missing (as well as the other thread about someone claiming to replicate the Frankenstein pickup) is that the 78 and the pickup in the Frankenstein are not the same pickup. It's not because we had to "change" something, or because of any agreement with Fender, etc. It's because the pickup in the Frankenstein represents what is in his Franky today. It is not the 78, which represents a very special pickup Seymour wound in 1978. The Franky pickup is not a modified 78 either. It's a different pickup.

We can not and would not divulge any details, but suffice it to say, some details will probably come out over time. I can tell you this: Some of the rumors I see (as well as the assertions of the so-called replicas) are completely absurd. If you want the pickup that's in the Frankenstein, then buy that guitar, or wait around until someone like Eddie or Fender decides to sell that pickup. To go to a third party for what they interperet as the replica of that pickup, to me, is complete silliness. It's like making a "Slash replica" pickup. The guy has been playing Alnico II Pros right out of stock since the beginning. All you have to do is order an Alnico II Pro. Why would someone claim to "replicate" it? Do our employees somehow wind it differently when we can tell it will go to Slash? :banghead: No. It's the same great hand crafted pickup you can buy at your local retailer.

As of right now, I can tell you with nearly 100% accuracy that no one is making an correct replica of this pickup. I haven't tried them all, and it seems like every boutique pickup maker has a pickup with some fake Van Halen-ish name. Some are attempts to copy the 78, some are attempts to copy the Frankenstein pickup, and some are attempts to copy the Custom Custom, and no one can do it better than Seymour. So to me the rest of it is just fodder. But everyone likes a mysteries and treasure hunts, so it'll never end. And Eddie did use lots of different pickups and guitars, so depending on what you're trying to chase, it could keep you busy for quite awhile!

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

Watches the dogs chasing their own tails

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

Watches the dogs chasing their own tails

LOL c'mon Niels you were obsessed with something once too! :friday:

One thing that weirds me out, to be a "marginal" VH fan I always end up in these threads....maybe because I'm not doing a VH thing with a VH pup?

Luke

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: The "78" /AKA EVH pickup

Yeah...with playing...still sorta do that....as for gear....I am pretty catholic there....have had tons of stuff....still has too much, but I do not care
These days it is just...what does that thing do??? Oh cool it does that....hehe great, next interesting thing!