What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

P

Petitvulcan@imode.fr

New member
Hi,
I just bought a Schecter Telecaster PT Fastrack (Alder body/Mapple neck) but I totally dislike the stock Pups which are SD designed.
They are the opposite of what I want: very dark sounding, even the bridge pup (which is supposed to be inspire by The SH4 JB...) I had an SH4 when I was younger and liked heavy distortion sounds but now I want clear pups, whith much highs.

For the neck pup, I plan to buy a mini humbuckers because they are the only pups that will fit the guitar without routed it...
And it's great cuz I like a sound between a single coil and a humbucker !
I'm thinking of the SD SM-1...

I'm very undecided and even quite lost concerning the bridge pup !
What I need is a sound that is very usable on clear settings, something with a full sound and quite a lot of highs (not thin) and clarity...
A humbucker pup mixed with somes of a single coil characteristics (highs and bite) would be great.
(of course I'd like that the 2 pups balance well in output)
I'm thinking about choosing a PAF type pup but what ??
SH1 --> I read they were a little bit agressive in the bridge position... and I may like that!
SH55 or Antiquities ?? I think about them because I heard some demo on a german pup maker which I like very much. http://www.leosounds.de/index_en.html
The pup I like is the 59 Bucker classic, they have the same resistance value as the Antiquities. If some of you may take the time to listen to the demos on the website and tell me what SD pup would be the closer, it would be great! (sorry, I can't put a direct link)
I also think about the Screamin Demon or the Pearly Gates ??
And yesterday I stumble upon the EJ CUSTOM BRIDGE DP212 on the DiMarzio website: This quote was really appealling to me
you will see they're very similar to PAF®-style models. However, their performance is very different in two important areas. They have less power and much more treble response than "vintage" humbuckers. In fact, treble response is comparable to that of typical single-coils, but since bass response is still very solid, the EJ Custom™ isn't thin-sounding
Click to expand...
..but I don't know much abut DiMarzio's, I've never tried one...

Onather possibilty is the SD Phat Cat. I usually find P90 have too much mediums and not enough highs but I've read somewhere that the Phat Cat do have less mediums and more highs. Unfortunality, there's ne sound demo on the site so I'm not sure it's true...

Any thoughts on any of these pups and every advices will be very appreciated !
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

Welcome to the forum,

I think the PG will work well in the bridge.

I have this same guitar as a backup. I can tell you that the mini humbuckers will not fit in the neck position. You will need a TV Jones type pickup for the neck. If you go with a mini humbucker you will have to have a new pickguard made.

I had mine routed for a humbucker in the neck and then put in the Jazz neck and JB bridge. I also had to have a new pickguard made. This was after I took a mini humbucker that I had laying around and noticed that it wasn't going to fit.

Here's the link to the TV Jones website. :)

http://www.tvjones.com/
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

OK thanks for the info.
I'm not sure I'll like Gretsch like pups. I never tried one myself but I find them "plucky" on the TV Jones demos. Maybe it's only on the demo.. Billy Gibbons seems to make them sound quite good ! :D

Maybe I'll go for a new pickguard then.. at least I will not have to get the guitar routed!
Would a mini humbucker need a bigger or a smaller hole in the pickguard that it is now ?
Do you know if a P90 would fit ? (seems too big too, no?)

The PG is a good idea: it has the same resistance value as the pickups i liked on the LeoSounds website. Will it have the same bite as them. (for what I can hear, the LeoSound classic seems to have more bite and less mids than "true" PAFs and that's what I like)
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

Sorry Toejam, I was writting my post when you posted yours!
Well, PG or SH1 or... it's exactly the question I ask myself for 2 weeks! :)
So what are the differences between the SH1 and PG ?
It seems to me that the SH1 is more clear sounding which is what I'm after.. but the PG seems to have a little more rawness that I like too. it sounds to me a little bit more on the P90 side than the 59' (tell me if I'm wrong..)
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

59
PG
Screamin Demon (my personal fave of the three for "hot PAF" tones.)
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

Well, you could hybrid a PG and 59... I think there's a how-to in the vault. With pictures!
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

I have thinked about the Alnico II Pro for the neck position actually, but it would mean routing the guitar...
Well, you could hybrid a PG and 59... I think there's a how-to in the vault. With pictures!
Click to expand...
:eek13: I don't think I can handle that !
BUT: I saw some PG plus available one eBay: It the PG that are in some fat stratocasters and if I had been well informed, it's a PG with an Alnico V bar instead of the II so it maybe a good solution to achieve the PG/59 hybrid you were talking about, no ?
Anyone had tried those PG+ ?
I assume they have even more High than PG because of the Alnico V..am I wrong ?
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

The PG+ is nice sounding, I've got one in my Fender Double Fat Strat, with a '59 in the neck. It's got a little more gain and treble than a regular PG, not as rude sounding as the regular PG either from what I remember (a friend had one years ago). I'm a big fan of the '59 in the neck or bridge, but it can be a little too dark and bassy in the neck at times.
Here's info from Duncan's site about the PG+

"What's the difference between your Pearly Gates pickup and the Pearly Gates Plus on a Lone Star Strat®?
The Pearly Gates is rather different than the "Pearly Gates Plus" that is on the Lone Star StratTM. The Pearly Gates Plus is only available on that guitar and not made for retail sales. The main difference in these pickups is that a Pearly Gates has Alnico II magnets, while the Pearly Gates Plus has Alnico V magnets. Alnico V magnets tend to give a brighter, glassier tone, while Alnico II magnets tend to have a warmer, rounder, more mid-rangier tone. The closest pickup available in our regular line to a Pearly Gates Plus is a '59 Model with 4-conductor cable. The '59 is an Alnico V pickup with a wind very close to that of the Pearly Gates Plus. The '59 usually comes in single conductor cable, but it can be ordered with the 4-Conductor wiring option.

What are the specs on the Pearly Gates Plus?
We do not list the specifications of the Pearly Gates Plus in our Tone Chart because this pickup is not sold retail and can only be found in the Lone Star Strat®. For comparison purposes, here are the specs:
Hum canceling: Yes
DC Resistance: 8.65k
Magnets: Alnico 5 bar
Resonant Peak: 6.62khz
4-conductor wiring "
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

Thanks for this !
Toejam said:
The main difference in these pickups is that a Pearly Gates has Alnico II magnets, while the Pearly Gates Plus has Alnico V magnets. Alnico V magnets tend to give a brighter, glassier tone, while Alnico II magnets tend to have a warmer, rounder, more mid-rangier tone. The closest pickup available in our regular line to a Pearly Gates Plus is a '59 Model with 4-conductor cable.
Click to expand...
it seems to match what I want... and I will be able to split it.

Anybody have infos on the Phat Cats ? (Clips would be sooo great!)
I read the reviews on harmony central and they're described as P90 with more highs and less mids. That could do it for me as I find the P90 demos on the duncan website too dark sounding...
I know they're not the same things as PAF style humbuckers but I guess that would satisfy my White Stripes/Humbert Sumlin/Marc Ribot side...
For clean sounds I like stuffs like Mogwai, Explosion in the Sky... a lot of bands of the Post-Rock scene actually and t's seems the PC can play well on this ground..
(Don't get me wrong, I'm very interested in the PG + but I want to explore all the possibilities before making my final decision...)
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

I cannot help with the original question, but if your screen name is really youe e-mail, you are going to be crushed with spam.

Advertizing bots crawl all over the web looking to e-mails...you might want to change your screen name.

Back tou your regularly scheduled program...
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

pedalinbob said:
I cannot help with the original question, but if your screen name is really youe e-mail, you are going to be crushed with spam.

Advertizing bots crawl all over the web looking to e-mails...you might want to change your screen name.

Back tou your regularly scheduled program...
Click to expand...
Don't worry, I created my account here for a long time and this email address
has been delete so the spammers will work for nothing!
I'd like to change my screen name but I don't know how to do it.

Now about my pickup quest, I finally found some Phat Cat samples here: http://tidalfrogs2.free.fr/matos/Seymour/ and I just love them !
It has all the Highs that I need, just enough mids but the big advantage compare to a PAF is this raw and mean sound: Wow !!

Now my main concern is to decide wether I will route the guitar or find a pup that can fit the neck position... I think I'll take every mesurements necessary on the guitar and compare them to the size of each pickups style available and go from here. If there is no pickups at all that fit the guitar, I'll probably buy a custom pickguards or have the guitar routed.
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

The issue with the TV Jones or Gretsch Pups is that the mounting screws are IN SIDE the pickup but on the guitar the neck pup is mounted on "wings" like a humbucker.
Maybe the solution would be to screw the tv jones on a base plate and fix the plate on the guitar...
 
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Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

If you want clear pickups with a lot of highs.. the 59 will be perfect! PERFECT!

if you want less highs, you can swap out the magnet for an alnico-2 for more midrange grunt later on, too.
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

I took the measurements of the pickguard hole & the hole underneath.
The results are:
A mini humbucker would be to small but it could find a way to put it in there but putting a piece of plastic to fill the gap that will show between the pup and the pickguard: So it's a possibility.
The TV Jones pups are 3mm too large for the pickguard hole! yes! Unbelievable isn't it ? The main issue is how to fix this kind of pup in the guitar ? The mounting screw holes are in the pickup... The added base plate is still a solution..
At my big surprise, the hole in the guitar is big enough for a Phat Cat neck to fit! It would need to route the pickguard but not the guitar.
A humbucker should fit too but I didn't check the size yet..

I have no experience with TV jones or Gretsch pups at all so It would be a great help if you could explain to me the differences in sound compare to a mini-humbucker...
 
Re: What PAF like bridge pup must I choose ?

Guys, stop shooting in the dark here, The Jazz bridge will be by FAR the best option. Tons of clarity, very bell like, good highs.

IMO, its alot closer to what he is look for than the PG and 59. Of course, I am one of the few that have tried this model.
 
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