MattPete
New member
Thoughts on Seth Lovers and EVH/78. Amps were my own hotrodded Ax84 P1-extreme and a Metropoulos Plexi (both power-scaled) through Scumback m25s and Weber Bluedogs.
This review is from a Flying V, but keep in the back your mind that I first tried an EVH/78 in a swamp ash Warmoth strat. Likewise, I first tried the Seth bridge in that guitar.
Pickup #1: Seth Lover neck…in the bridge! I bought this Flying V off of Ebay from a local seller. This is a Flying V 98 (http://www.flying-v.ch/f_98/f_98.htm) -- all mahogany and structurally like a 68 V but with 58 aesthetics. The neck pickup is stock 496r? All pots were switched to 500k by the previous owner.
Overall the sound was bright, yet even. No honk. No overwhelming treble or bass. Just even. It did pretty good ZZ top and passable Van Halen, and was clear enough to mimic T-top V's, like Schenker's live tone sans wah. The only downside was that it was a bit clanky and could use a bit more beef. 7.2k and uncovered.
BTW, this had gold pole-pieces just like the stock 496r.
Pickup #2: Seth lover bridge. I had this lying around after I bought it for an SG; it didn't work in that application. This read 7.8k and had the cover. Compared to the SethN, it was slightly hotter, with a tad less treble and a bit more mids. This was closer to what I was looking for in a bridge, but I thought I would try my EVH/78 just for the heck of it. I originally used a 250k volume pot with an externally switchable 250k resistor in series to see what the two different pots might sound like. 500k won, but if the control cavity was deep enough for a push-pull, I would have added 250k pot with a switchable 250k resistor, as I found the 250k useful, but not as good as the 500k overall..
I moved the SethN to the neck. It sounds great, compared to the 496r, and reminds me of the quiet part of "Unchained". I might try an A3 to bring out a bit more treble, but I can see myself leaving it stock.
Pickup#3: EVH/78 (9.2k). Middy, congested, and hot. I still don't see how people call this bright, because it isn't (my Duncan Custom is noticeably brighter, and I don't consider that a bright pickup). I had similar results with a hardtail swamp ash strat, but the V exaggerates the negatives. Middy, but with poor note definition. Exceedingly flabby bass. Muted -- harmonics do not jump off the fretboard (not in the least bit, especially compared to the Seths). I'm sure the shorter scale exaggerates the flabbiness, and the mahogany mutes the highs, but…[remember that I first tried this in a swamp ash strat].
The one positive thing I can say is that the major-chord/augmented-major progression that is the main-riff of "Unchained" is absolutely, eerily, spot-on, at least through my Ax84. It was mushier through my Plexi.
So, did EVH ever use a 78? I can say that for "Unchained", the bass noted definition is all wrong (I'm using 11s on a shorter scale, he was using 9s downtuned, either way, way too flabby). The only example I can think of that matches the 78 is "Hang 'em high" (under appreciated song, BTW). Listen to it: the poor note definition and flabby bass is there. I'll let you decide.
But who knows: perhaps my 78 is too hot of wind.
Pickup #4. same EVH/78 with an A5 (I also switched the Seth neck for an A3, which was a subtle change, but cool). No flab. Good definition. What was wrong? Too hot, too modern. Much too hot for a PAF, but it was more even, like the Seth Bridge. Having said that, it had a cocked-wah sound that I couldn't get rid of (I've heard that a bit in the Blues Saraceno PATB-3). The cocked-wah wasn't as noticeable in my hardtail strat, so I think it might just be a bad match for a V (mids reinforcing mids).
Overall, the A5 78 sounded too -- DiMarzio,
Truth be told, the a5 78 was my original plan for my V, but the sound is just too compressed and too modern (forget wire-type and resistance: the 78 is hot with a lot of output. Maybe the extra wire senses a greater area?).
Verdict: The Seth bridge is going back in the bridge, perhaps uncovered. I'm also going to see if I can make the push-pull pot fit so that I can switch between 500k and 250k volume pots.
This review is from a Flying V, but keep in the back your mind that I first tried an EVH/78 in a swamp ash Warmoth strat. Likewise, I first tried the Seth bridge in that guitar.
Pickup #1: Seth Lover neck…in the bridge! I bought this Flying V off of Ebay from a local seller. This is a Flying V 98 (http://www.flying-v.ch/f_98/f_98.htm) -- all mahogany and structurally like a 68 V but with 58 aesthetics. The neck pickup is stock 496r? All pots were switched to 500k by the previous owner.
Overall the sound was bright, yet even. No honk. No overwhelming treble or bass. Just even. It did pretty good ZZ top and passable Van Halen, and was clear enough to mimic T-top V's, like Schenker's live tone sans wah. The only downside was that it was a bit clanky and could use a bit more beef. 7.2k and uncovered.
BTW, this had gold pole-pieces just like the stock 496r.
Pickup #2: Seth lover bridge. I had this lying around after I bought it for an SG; it didn't work in that application. This read 7.8k and had the cover. Compared to the SethN, it was slightly hotter, with a tad less treble and a bit more mids. This was closer to what I was looking for in a bridge, but I thought I would try my EVH/78 just for the heck of it. I originally used a 250k volume pot with an externally switchable 250k resistor in series to see what the two different pots might sound like. 500k won, but if the control cavity was deep enough for a push-pull, I would have added 250k pot with a switchable 250k resistor, as I found the 250k useful, but not as good as the 500k overall..
I moved the SethN to the neck. It sounds great, compared to the 496r, and reminds me of the quiet part of "Unchained". I might try an A3 to bring out a bit more treble, but I can see myself leaving it stock.
Pickup#3: EVH/78 (9.2k). Middy, congested, and hot. I still don't see how people call this bright, because it isn't (my Duncan Custom is noticeably brighter, and I don't consider that a bright pickup). I had similar results with a hardtail swamp ash strat, but the V exaggerates the negatives. Middy, but with poor note definition. Exceedingly flabby bass. Muted -- harmonics do not jump off the fretboard (not in the least bit, especially compared to the Seths). I'm sure the shorter scale exaggerates the flabbiness, and the mahogany mutes the highs, but…[remember that I first tried this in a swamp ash strat].
The one positive thing I can say is that the major-chord/augmented-major progression that is the main-riff of "Unchained" is absolutely, eerily, spot-on, at least through my Ax84. It was mushier through my Plexi.
So, did EVH ever use a 78? I can say that for "Unchained", the bass noted definition is all wrong (I'm using 11s on a shorter scale, he was using 9s downtuned, either way, way too flabby). The only example I can think of that matches the 78 is "Hang 'em high" (under appreciated song, BTW). Listen to it: the poor note definition and flabby bass is there. I'll let you decide.
But who knows: perhaps my 78 is too hot of wind.
Pickup #4. same EVH/78 with an A5 (I also switched the Seth neck for an A3, which was a subtle change, but cool). No flab. Good definition. What was wrong? Too hot, too modern. Much too hot for a PAF, but it was more even, like the Seth Bridge. Having said that, it had a cocked-wah sound that I couldn't get rid of (I've heard that a bit in the Blues Saraceno PATB-3). The cocked-wah wasn't as noticeable in my hardtail strat, so I think it might just be a bad match for a V (mids reinforcing mids).
Overall, the A5 78 sounded too -- DiMarzio,
Truth be told, the a5 78 was my original plan for my V, but the sound is just too compressed and too modern (forget wire-type and resistance: the 78 is hot with a lot of output. Maybe the extra wire senses a greater area?).
Verdict: The Seth bridge is going back in the bridge, perhaps uncovered. I'm also going to see if I can make the push-pull pot fit so that I can switch between 500k and 250k volume pots.
