Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

[ExplorersRock]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

I just installed a set into my LP Classic last night, still doing a little tweaking to the pup heights but so far so good they are very clear sounding with a nice punch to them for being vintage output.

Btw... I LOVE this Les Paul. With the reverse zebras... HOT!

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

Got 'em last night and installed 'em!:banana:

Quick Verdict: The overall tone is full and balanced with good strong drive.:headbang:

I'm still in the test phase but I can give some general info. First, if you want a good rock-n-roll style pickup with some vintage flavor, this is the pickups set. I think the description of them being like '59s with less scoop, tamed highs, and the lack of the boomy-bass is 100% accurate. If you like '59s but hate the scoop, you should ABSOLUTELY try these. Also, they have less of a polished sound to my ear when distorted... like more punch (as J.LaGrassa said) and a touch of grit. It's really a great and versatile rock tone. Realistically you could make them do metal, but I wouldn't choose them for that. :nono: To me what's really fantastic is that not only are the distorted sounds great, the clean tones are outstanding and keep the treble in check. :approve: I'll report more when I get to mess around with them some more.

I will say this in closing. J.LaGrassa said he's dialing in the pickup adjustments. I spent some time doing this today and they are VERY responsive to height adjustments. In fact a little movement goes a long way! Some who like the plug-and-play stuff might hate this. If you like tinkering with your gear at every opportunity (like me) in order to dial in that just right tone, this is an awesome feature of these pickups!

Sounds about perfect! I have guits I could use for metal, (charvel, other LP) and Id like this other LP to just be a great sounding rock and roll machine. So this could be perfect!! Ive got an LP with a pearly gates set too that sounds great and covers alot of ground

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

The WLH's are the same thing the CS used to sell as the Jimmy Page pickups, those I have tried and they are very close to a set of 59's.

You could get into hair splitting all day long on them but they are very much in the 59 range of tone.

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

J.LaGrassa, that is a beautiful LP. The zebras look incredible. Man, Seymour is really churning out some winners, lately, eh? I have been really tempted to try out some of the Bareknuckle pickups, but I don't know.....the Slash set and WLH are high on my GAS list. Still, I'd like to try some PGs too. F-it. I need more Les Pauls.

 

[J.LaGrassa]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

Well the more I play these pickups the more I dig there tone, I seem to like both pickups set at around 3/32 on the high E strings and just a tad lower on the Bass side I initially set them up at 1/16 on the treble and bass strings. The neck pickup is very nicely balanced definitely not boomy like a 59N and the bridge can get some nice chunk and tight low end but stays clear sounding with dirt and it gets a nice treble bite to it and at first I thought it might be to much but once I dialed the height down it took a little edge off but still cuts great.

I think these pickups respond well to an amps EQ you could probably play any style of music with these, I also like they way they clean up!

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

Glad you guys are liking 'em. I think they're great! :fing2:

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

You could get into hair splitting all day long on them but they are very much in the 59 range of tone.

They are, but with some cool differences. I have always struggled with the '59n in a Les Paul. Nice top end but boomy on the bottom strings. No such issue with the WLH - lovely even response across the strings.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

hoping to get something that needs buckers in the near future and these will be in it for sure

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

They are, but with some cool differences. I have always struggled with the '59n in a Les Paul. Nice top end but boomy on the bottom strings. No such issue with the WLH - lovely even response across the strings.

I like what I'm hearing here. I was running into the same issues.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

I have always struggled with the '59n in a Les Paul. Nice top end but boomy on the bottom strings.

This "symptom" was what got me into mag swapping... I had it with both my stock JazzN and my '59n as well in my 335 copies.

Well, you know the rest, I think.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

J.LaGrassa, that is a beautiful LP. The zebras look incredible. Man, Seymour is really churning out some winners, lately, eh? I have been really tempted to try out some of the Bareknuckle pickups, but I don't know.....the Slash set and WLH are high on my GAS list. Still, I'd like to try some PGs too. F-it. I need more Les Pauls.

I fully agree!!! I have a PG set in one and its KILLER! I have a BK rebel yell set in one and its killer! I have only one more and Im dying trying to figure out whether to go with the WLH, Slash set or the distortion/AIIP set I orig planned.

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

Lol, you my friend need more LPs, too.

 

[J.LaGrassa]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

I will be testing these pickups out tonight with my band and see how I feel with these, overall I really like the tone but a little on the fence with the treble of the bridge I'm just use to a warmer bridge pup where my LP is a bit bright anyway!

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

Any body know if you can buy the pups individually and how much for one? I would like to try the neck version.

Edit: Never mind just found out. 95$ for one uncovered

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

I will be testing these pickups out tonight with my band and see how I feel with these, overall I really like the tone but a little on the fence with the treble of the bridge I'm just use to a warmer bridge pup where my LP is a bit bright anyway!

Ooh. Another MA forumite. Does your band play out?

 

[ExplorersRock]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

I will be testing these pickups out tonight with my band and see how I feel with these, overall I really like the tone but a little on the fence with the treble of the bridge I'm just use to a warmer bridge pup where my LP is a bit bright anyway!

Really, too bright? I think they're clear and have some grit in the bright range, but I wouldn't categorize them as bright. Then again, even though mine are in a strat, that guitar is surprisingly warm. I think if I put them in my other strat they would come off as a tad bright. Just a matter of matching the right guitar to 'em I guess, and if you're LP is bright, well that'd do it. I find the highs less cutting than the '59 and also less bright than the C/59 that I had before. Post up some more info about your experiences, I'm really curious to see what impressions you have. Especially after playing with the band! Good luck on the gig.

 

[J.LaGrassa]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

Really, too bright? I think they're clear and have some grit in the bright range, but I wouldn't categorize them as bright. Then again, even though mine are in a strat, that guitar is surprisingly warm. I think if I put them in my other strat they would come off as a tad bright. Just a matter of matching the right guitar to 'em I guess, and if you're LP is bright, well that'd do it. I find the highs less cutting than the '59 and also less bright than the C/59 that I had before. Post up some more info about your experiences, I'm really curious to see what impressions you have. Especially after playing with the band! Good luck on the gig.

Just got home and the pups actually worked out quite nicely in a band mix, I think its just a matter of my ears getting use to the clarity the bridge has It's bright but not over bearing! I definitely prefer the "Whole Lotta Humbuckers" over a set of 59's

 

[J.LaGrassa]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

Ooh. Another MA forumite. Does your band play out?

Not playing out as much these days but do still get out there, playing a benefit in a couple of weeks in the North Shore area also have a few private bashes coming up!

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

I want a set in zebra but can't find them anywhere.

 

[JohnZAH]

Re: Whole Lotta Humbucker. Who's tried them?

I really like what I'm hearing about this set. How would the WLH set compare to something like the dimarzio 36th anniversary set in a les Paul? I'm more of a Duncan guy but I've heard good things.