Re: Will a 59 set with Alnico 2 magnets sound more like Seth Lovers?
In the interest of keeping everything in one tidy place, I am driving Lew's thread into a ditch.
I spent the morning dialing in the hollow body with the WLH set, and I am pleased with the sound. I pulled the WLH set out of an '07 LP standard and dropped in a set of covered Seths. I pulled the '07 out around lunch to dial it in, and while the bridge is in my wheelhouse, the neck is just waaaaaay too dark. I am already not a big fan of neck humbuckers (most seem too dark and muddy to my ears), but the Seth is just unusable to me.
So here is what I have been doing for the last four hours
'97 Les Paul R9 with DiMarzio PAF '59 set
'07 Les Paul Std with Seth Lover set
'03 Les Paul Std with Antiquity set
'03 Les Paul Std with C5/PG set
All the pickups were set to a height of 1/16" from the strings fretted at the highest fret. All guitars ran dry into a '72 Marshall Superlead running in a '72 B cab loaded with 25w G12M
The Custom 5, DiMarzio '59, Antiquity and the Whole Lotta Hum bridge all sound similar, just varying degrees of "hotness." The C5 is the best hard rock tone with more "sizzle" than the others, but not a smooth as the others. Definitely has that distinct "awww" sound that I like.
Ranking the bridge pups to me are
Antiquity
PAF '59
WLH
C5
Seth
I don't know the ins and outs of wire, magnets and what not. I just know what I want to hear. They all sound great on their own, but back to back I clearly prefer the more vintage windings overall (I do have a new love for the C5 though)
Why does the Antiquity sound so different than other A2 based pickups? I have tried and discarded the '78, the RTM, the A2P and soon to be the Seth Lovers. The Seths are far better than the other A2 pickups I have tried but not as good as the Antiquity.
The DiMarzio PAF '59 reminds me of a cooler less gainy version of the C5. The more I played it, the more I liked it, especially when I adjusted the pickups to match the others. My only "complaint" if you want to call it that, is that the C5 does the hard rock thing better and the Antiquity does the PAF thing better. I supposed you could say the PAF '59 is the best of both worlds without being the best at any one thing.
I have not tried, but have read plenty about swapping the stock A2 magnet in the ants for a fully charged RCA2. Now I think that might make them more like the Seths instead of more like the PAF '59.
The Whole Lotta Humbucker set was in the chambered '07 Les Paul, and I remember them as being too bright compared to the R9 and the DiMarzios. However, in the hollow body Warmoth thing, they just kill. I played it for a couple of hours straight this morning, and it just sounds great.
The Seth bridge sounds like a weaker or more polite version of the Ants. I like it, just not as much as the Ants.
Most neck humbuckers to me sound like I have the tone on 1. Very dark and muddy. I like bright, clear and searing that I can warm it up with the tone knob. The Seth neck with the tone rolled back sounds like the teacher in Charlie Brown Christmas.
I ranked the neck pups as
WLH
Antiquity
PAF '59
PG
Seth
I have two more sets of WLH in the drawer, but I have already tried those in the '07. I supposed I could circle back around, but what I really want is the Antiquity with more of the C5 in it.
So do I just send back the Seths or try a different magnet? What about a different magnet in the Antiquity?
Sorry I totally highjacked your thread, Lew. However, I thought you would want to hear about this.
