Specs on EVH wolfgang pickups

[frankfalbo]

AFAIK Bourns' standard guitar pot is higher friction than the EVH. If you want the EVH low friction you're stuck with the solid shaft...for now...

[David Schwab]

AFAIK Bourns' standard guitar pot is higher friction than the EVH. If you want the EVH low friction you're stuck with the solid shaft...for now...

I don't think I would want any less friction! I think they spin too freely as they are. I like smoother feeling pots. These just spin like there's nothing attached to them.

I'm not sure what the advantage is supposed to be.

[frankfalbo]

The low friction pots are for rock stars who flip the volume up and down really fast.

[dai h.]

Isn't the "friction" just due to how viscous the "damping grease" (around the shaft--this is a very light grease for moving parts such as pots, switches, cameras, etc.) is? Or is it more special than that?

[frankfalbo]

No that's pretty much it.

Many manufacturers seem to have a hard time maintaining a specific torque range within a batch, and from one batch to the next. Some do a better job than others, but if a pot company can get a specific torque and then repeat it, it's a good sign. And basically if someone is willing to pay for it, they'll go the extra mile. The EVH pot, for example, seems to be 100% repeatable. They'll all feel that way. The Seymour Duncan pot we now use on our pre-wired pickguards is that way as well. It's a little smoother and slower than the EVH, and again it's been very consistent.

[dai h.]

I could be wrong but it was my understanding that the "feel" just depends on the level of the viscosity of the damping grease chosen (it comes in different levels AFAIK) so it doesn't seem that there would be some particular level of difficulty in achieving consistency if all the pot manf. does is choose a specific grease(and its attendant level of viscosity). Or, are there somehow issues that contribute to results being especially inconsistent or something? And what about if someone uses pot cleaner/lubricant type stuff? Cailube MCL as an example does seem to leave some lubricant behind, but I wonder if the "feel" could change since I think the old stuff(original grease) gets washed away, esp. if sprayed with vigor.

[SkinnyWire]

Errr

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[SkinnyWire]

Did someone get ahold of that pickup to do a profile on it, or how was it spec'd to Eddie's original Franky PAF?.

I just bought one each of the Frankenstein and the EVH Wolfgang bridge pickups to look over. Haven't heard much about the "Erupter". I have a '78 that I bought last year to see what it was all about. Not too impressed with that one. The "Erupter" appears to be spec'd much the same as the '78. I hadn't heard of it before, so I might snag one to have a listen.

[big_teee]

I just bought one each of the Frankenstein and the EVH Wolfgang bridge pickups to look over. Haven't heard much about the "Erupter". I have a '78 that I bought last year to see what it was all about. Not too impressed with that one. The "Erupter" appears to be spec'd much the same as the '78. I hadn't heard of it before, so I might snag one to have a listen.

Did you have to rob a bank or Float a loan. I looked them up and they don't look all that special, but they sure are proud of them.
The Frankenstein looks like it is 2 wire at 14k. and the wolfgang says its 4 wire, I don't know what it is.
Terry

[copperheadroads]

i got some guy that keep telling me the next guitar they put together is a Frankenstein & they want me to do the pickup . i have done a little research but no that much to start winding ,i guess i will have to do some spec's on my nephew's pickup , he got one of those GFS VEH - I'm trying to be funny ... it's the van halen brown sound ...i agree with that but jay should of called it GFS - SLS sounds like shi_

[SkinnyWire]

Did you have to rob a bank or Float a loan. ...
Terry

No? Fortunately, I have an income that allows me to do these things. I'm just curious and interested in seeing them myself rather than depending on some "expert's" guess.

[RedHouse]

...You can check out KevinT (Kevin Taylor) at GuitarForcePickups.com to read about his "Erupter" pickup. From what I have read in past guitar magazines and online blogs, they all have relayed the same info about Eddie's original PAF pickup on the black & white striped and now has become the Frankenstein (red/black/white striped) guitar....

Ok went there, read this:

"The year was 1978. A hot new guitarist blazed onto the music scene with an innovative playing style and sound. It was a moment in rock history that signaled everything had changed. Folks, including myself, were awestruck by his technique and the shear power and pure rock tones that erupted from his guitar. He later coined his signature tone the "Brown Sound". The Erupter pickup captures the legendary tone of that time. This hot-rodded PAF-style pickup provides infinite sustain and the rich harmonics that he is known for. An A2 magnet delivers clarity and a smooth lively punch. Get ready for some 6-sting pyrotechnics. Specifications: Bridge DCR 9.1K Ohm, Magnet: Alnico 2. Available in 50mm spacing only, just like the original."

And don't see anything there where Kevin is claiming he had access to the pickup to do an accurate profile of it. Is there something else there you were meaning for me to read?

That was the substance of my post above, we're seeing a lot of folks selling pickups with verbiage similar to "just like the original" and yet wouldn't one think you'd have to have the original in hand to make one just like it? at least long enought to do some basic measurements. (balanced/dominant-coil, DCR, ResPk of coils and assembly, Gauss etc)

As far as I can tell (which isn't very far apparently) only Seymour has had the thing in his hands to do any kind of profile on it, is that not accurate?

[LtKojak]

As far as I can tell (which isn't very far apparently) only Seymour has had the thing in his hands to do any kind of profile on it, is that not accurate?

Oh no, it's a lot more fun just to parrot internet buzz, hearsay and sheer speculation...

As Seinfeld said: "If you believe it, it's not a lie anymore!"

[frankfalbo]

That was the substance of my post above, we're seeing a lot of folks selling pickups with verbiage similar to "just like the original" and yet wouldn't one think you'd have to have the original in hand to make one just like it? At least long enough to do some basic measurements. (balanced/dominant-coil, DCR, ResPk of coils and assembly, Gauss etc)

As far as I can tell (which isn't very far apparently) only Seymour has had the thing in his hands to do any kind of profile on it, is that not accurate?

That seems accurate to me, but today you can buy the EVH Frankenstein pickup in either the aged version, which is what showed up in the $25k replica, or in shiny new/modern form, and have a looksee. Eddie has used a lot of pickups, and Franky has had a few pickup changes throughout the years, but really there were two main pickups in Franky. This is the easiest way I can break all the EVH pickups down:
Early Van Halen: ~9k overwound PAF-ish, Alnico II
Van Hagar Franky: ~13k "modern" humbucker, Alnico II
EB/MM: Dimarzio recipes, bearing some small resemblance to a Tone Zone/Air Norton combo. Mismatched coil wire, brass baseplates, other Dimarzio-isms, ~18k bridge ~12k neck (I think)
Peavey Wolfgang: Trying to go after the EB/MM vibe, not the Franky vibe, Peavey patented the technique of starting the coil with one gauge of wire, then switching to another gauge wire to finish the coil.
Fender/EVH: Again trying to live in the EB/MM space, we worked with them a lot right up until the end when they decided to build it in house. (We even have brass baseplates in the warehouse)

I would say we are experts in the first two categories I listed, and there's a good chance we built the pickup that became the last thing I mentioned. The Fender literature says there were a few final tweaks there at the end with what Fender is making today, I couldn't say how significant they are.

As for Seymour inspecting the "real" Frankenstein, yes we did, and we also had Eddie here for 3 days dialing it in for final approval. But that pickup is not like the 78 from our Custom Shop. I think that's where some confusion lies in the public forum. The pickup in the Frankenstein when it got here was the "Van Hagar" pickup, and I am sure I can NOT say publicly, but it sure is plausible that it was something Seymour made. (they came to us to replicate it, right?)

A pickup. *ahem* "a lot like" the 78 we make in our Custom Shop was in that Franky guitar for a long time prior to that.

Today, anyone who wants to duplicate these pickups can buy what they're duplicating out on the open market, either in a guitar or as a replacement part. The question is, why? If you can buy an EVH Franky from Eddie, why try to re-make it? It's a replica pickup, so the best you're going to do is get an exact copy. Technically if you make it "better" in any way, you've made it worse.

[RedHouse]

That seems accurate to me, but today you can buy the EVH Frankenstein pickup in either the aged version, which is what showed up in the $25k replica, or in shiny new/modern form, and have a looksee. Eddie has used a lot of pickups, and Franky has had a few pickup changes throughout the years, but really there were two main pickups in Franky. This is the easiest way I can break all the EVH pickups down:
Early Van Halen: ~9k overwound PAF-ish, Alnico II
Van Hagar Franky: ~13k "modern" humbucker, Alnico II
EB/MM: Dimarzio recipes, bearing some small resemblance to a Tone Zone/Air Norton combo. Mismatched coil wire, brass baseplates, other Dimarzio-isms, ~18k bridge ~12k neck (I think)
Peavey Wolfgang: Trying to go after the EB/MM vibe, not the Franky vibe, Peavey patented the technique of starting the coil with one gauge of wire, then switching to another gauge wire to finish the coil.
Fender/EVH: Again trying to live in the EB/MM space, we worked with them a lot right up until the end when they decided to build it in house. (We even have brass baseplates in the warehouse)

I would say we are experts in the first two categories I listed, and there's a good chance we built the pickup that became the last thing I mentioned. The Fender literature says there were a few final tweaks there at the end with what Fender is making today, I couldn't say how significant they are.

As for Seymour inspecting the "real" Frankenstein, yes we did, and we also had Eddie here for 3 days dialing it in for final approval. But that pickup is not like the 78 from our Custom Shop. I think that's where some confusion lies in the public forum. The pickup in the Frankenstein when it got here was the "Van Hagar" pickup, and I am sure I can NOT say publicly, but it sure is plausible that it was something Seymour made. (they came to us to replicate it, right?)

A pickup. *ahem* "a lot like" the 78 we make in our Custom Shop was in that Franky guitar for a long time prior to that.

Today, anyone who wants to duplicate these pickups can buy what they're duplicating out on the open market, either in a guitar or as a replacement part. The question is, why? If you can buy an EVH Franky from Eddie, why try to re-make it? It's a replica pickup, so the best you're going to do is get an exact copy. Technically if you make it "better" in any way, you've made it worse.

Thank you, that's kinda where I was going but had no "official" info to cite.

...Peavey patented the technique of starting the coil with one gauge of wire, then switching to another gauge wire to finish the coil...

I thought NY Larry was the man with the multi-gauge patent.