Whole lotta humbuckers set?

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welmo

New member
Hi, I just got a PRS Chris Henderson and am thinking on changing pickups and maybe the wiring. I mainly play classic rock, but want the bridge to be strong enough for higher gain. So I was thinking in installing a Whole Lotta Humbuckers ser I have, but perhaps in the middle and neck positions along with a stronger bridge humbuckers. I also have a Freeway switch that I may use for this project. If you tell me the WLH bridge can hold its own in the bridge, then I may choose a different humbuckers in the middle, like a '59 , jazz or Pearly gates.
Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks in advance.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

What is wrong with the other pickups? What kind of music are you playing?
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

Likewise just put one in the bridge of my LP and absolutely love it. Classic Rock and Blues here.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

Mincer said:
What is wrong with the other pickups? What kind of music are you playing?
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Well, I wanted something more suited to classic rock and not so hard rock/metal. Something more versatile. I may put the WLH set then, with an Alnico II Pro, Pearly Gates in the middle
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

Perfect! Then I may try the set, with a Jazz/APH/Pearly Gates in the middle and maybe throw a Freeway switch for more tonal options.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

I sort of think of the WLH set as PAF-plus. They are very traditional sounding from clean to "rock" gain, but they are also better at high gain stuff than my more traditional PAF-y pickups (Seths, Gibson 57s, etc.)

If I were a guitar maker, I'd put WLH in my guitars as stock. I can't imagine any genre where they wouldn't work.

I did a comparison/review of them. I'm crappy at posting links and stuff, but if you go to my page and go to threads started, it should be easy to find. I compared them to Seth Lovers.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

WLH's are warmer than PAF's normally are (surprising with their A5 magnets), but at the same time have good clarity.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

WLH can also bridge classic/hard rock. Into a good Marshall or Friedman, they sound spectacular.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

I also have a WLH bridge in my LP Jr. and it sounds great clean, and screams in a nice way when Played loud in a Hot Rod Deluxe, Blues Jr. For real classic cleans I put it through my nice
Princeton Reverb re-issue and it sounds like Mike Bloomfield (my favorite reference). You will not be sorry, and everything everyone else said is true.
Steve Buffington.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

Mincer said:
WLH can also bridge classic/hard rock. Into a good Marshall or Friedman, they sound spectacular.
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Ok, perfect! And what middle pickup would you recommend me? I have several to try: Jazz, Screaming Demon, Alnico II Pro, '59, Pearly Gates, Seth Lover, '78, Custom Custom


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Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

I'd go for something maybe cleaner and clearer, like the Jazz to provide some variety for clean tones. You could even do something like a split StagMag for single coil sounds, too.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

The WLH pickups are SPECTACULAR. I put a set in my PRS-SC58 a couple of years ago and they brought that guitar to life. I sold that guitar last year when I bought a PRS McCarty 594 (my #1).

I just had a set installed in my class 5 Les Paul. I just picked it up this afternoon and that guitar rocks with those pickups. In short, they are great for set-neck guitars of mahogany/maple construction.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

Mincer said:
I'd go for something maybe cleaner and clearer, like the Jazz to provide some variety for clean tones. You could even do something like a split StagMag for single coil sounds, too.
Click to expand...


To me, middle HB's sound weaker and have less tone and punch than they would in the bridge or neck slots. I prefer a warm bridge HB in the middle slot to make up for that.

Someone here a little while ago had a great idea for wiring HHH guitars: using coil cut to pair up screw and slug coils from the 3 PU's, so you can get virtual HB's, like positions 2 & 4 on a Strat.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

blueman335 said:
To me, middle HB's sound weaker and have less tone and punch than they would in the bridge or neck slots. I prefer a warm bridge HB in the middle slot to make up for that.

Someone here a little while ago had a great idea for wiring HHH guitars: using coil cut to pair up screw and slug coils from the 3 PU's, so you can get virtual HB's, like positions 2 & 4 on a Strat.
Click to expand...

Yeah that is a good idea. I never dug 3 humbucer guitars because the middle pickup got in the way of my pick & fingers.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

But I bet a Demon would slay in the middle of a 3hb guitar.

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Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

Mincer said:
Yeah that is a good idea. I never dug 3 humbucer guitars because the middle pickup got in the way of my pick & fingers.
Click to expand...

Interesting concept, how would that be achieved?


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Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

welmo said:
Interesting concept, how would that be achieved?


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Middle pickups on Strats get in my way too, so it isn't unique to humbuckers.
 
Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

welmo said:
Interesting concept, how would that be achieved?
Click to expand...

It should be possible to do that with a Freeway switch. Lots of great possibilities there.

My first thought would be to treat the first three positions as standard wiring. Then with the Freeway toggle cocked forward, three positions using other coil combinations. If you pair any screw coil with any slug coil, you can retain full noise rejection without magnet flipping. I might use coils in series for a second lead tone, and two more settings with parallel coils. Or have all three of the extra positions combine various coils in parallel, or even a low-output setting using only a single coil from the neck pickup... You also can flip the magnet in one of the pickups depending on which coils you want to use, then you could combine two screw coils and/or two slug coils.

Part of the secret of quack is the spacing of the coils; to get close with humbuckers you want them to be a couple of inches apart. Might take some experimenting to maximize the notch effect.
 
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Re: Whole lotta humbuckers set?

I have a WLH set in my LP Traditional. They are perfect for classic rock. However, my band plays post-hardcore metal. The WLH set is very versatile and will take you anywhere you want to go.
 
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