I can't decide what pickups to put in this guitar...

[ken]

Hello all,

I just finished building this guitar yesterday.

It has a solid pine body that I made from wood I'm told was a beam in an old barn once. The painted body weighs just under four pounds. The paint is black nitro.

The problem is that the guitar is actually very bright sounding, even unamplified. This body is so resonant even with paint on it that
if you knock on the body it almost sounds hollow.

If you were making Strat style pickups for a very light, resonant guitar owned by a classic rock musician, what would you make?
BTW - before you ask... no I'm not putting humbuckers in it.

ken

[big_teee]

I made a set for a bright strat a while back.
Made a 4/2 set E,A A5, and the rest A2s, with a mild stagger.
Slightly overwound Bridge. Sounded great.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
T

[LtKojak]

I'd go for an A2 set, 6.0K n, RWRP 6.0 K m, 6.8K b with a 1018 steel baseplate.

HTH,

[big_teee]

I like the 4/2 set better than just all A2s, because you get the stronger bass strings.
Just Personal preferences.

[copperheadroads]

Also if there is a wire preference ,I would wind with heavy build wire to thicken up the tone .

[rhgwynn]

I have this problem too. I have no problem making them for other people, and very happy customers; but when it comes to making them for myself, I am forever trying new things. I make them, play them for about a month, then recycle the mags and try something new. It's like chasing a dragon. Nevertheless, regardless of a Strat's unamplified sound - you never really know how it's going to sound with a pickup until you jack it in.

Two important things come to mind. How microphonic do you want them to be? If not at all, as in - a deep solid vacuum potting - just go with what you like the best. If you DO like microphonic pickups - THEN maybe I would start to consider mixing in some A2 as I have found that resonant characteristics tend to get picked up more in pickups that have been lightly potted or not at all. Also, what gauge strings do you play? Unamplified or not, 9s are going to sound brighter than 11s, which have a deeper and richer tone.

Based alone on what you said though, and not knowing more specifics on what you particularly like and dislike, or the gear you use - I'd be more inclined to go against the grain here and suggest you go with a set of classic 60's Strat style pickups, non-rwrp. They will nail the classic rock sound and probably give you the (insert buzzword here) you are looking for.

Again, not really enough info for me to make a real suggestion. I'd love for you to delve deeper into your thoughts, feelings, and opinions on music, pickups, where you are headed, artists you emulate, describing the tone you feel inside you but don't yet hear, etc. Let it all out. I do this with every single one of my customers and it's the secret to my success.

[David Schwab]

This body is so resonant even with paint on it that if you knock on the body it almost sounds hollow.

Were you expecting a thin layer of paint to change that? Glue seems don't change that either.

Put single coil size humbuckers on it. They warm the tone up nicely.

[ken]

Were you expecting a thin layer of paint to change that? Glue seems don't change that either.

It's a two piece body so only one seam.

I wanted to experiment with repurposing very old wood because it's readily available around here. There is a lot of demolition going on around my city's waterfront, and the local demo companies are being very good about salvaging and selling whatever useful wood the buildings still have. One set of factory buildings slated for demolition dates from the 1880's, so I'm wondering what that wood would be like.

I love making pickups for 'problem guitars', because it really teaches you what works well. I just made it a set of Alnico 2 pickups with an overwound lead coil, and so far I'm enjoying it. It's still a mite bright but I can live with it.

The real problem is that I'm kinda OCD about my own guitars, and I can see myself making new sets of pickups for this guitar every day for the next two weeks if I'm not careful. I'm just never ever satisfied with 'good enough'.

ken

[big_teee]

It's a two piece body so only one seam.

I wanted to experiment with repurposing very old wood because it's readily available around here. There is a lot of demolition going on around my city's waterfront, and the local demo companies are being very good about salvaging and selling whatever useful wood the buildings still have. One set of factory buildings slated for demolition dates from the 1880's, so I'm wondering what that wood would be like.

I love making pickups for 'problem guitars', because it really teaches you what works well. I just made it a set of Alnico 2 pickups with an overwound lead coil, and so far I'm enjoying it. It's still a mite bright but I can live with it.

The real problem is that I'm kinda OCD about my own guitars, and I can see myself making new sets of pickups for this guitar every day for the next two weeks if I'm not careful. I'm just never ever satisfied with 'good enough'.

ken

I thought we were All OCD with our own guitars.
If your looking for that early 60s tone, are you using 250k Pots and a .1uf Cap?

[David Schwab]

The real problem is that I'm kinda OCD about my own guitars, and I can see myself making new sets of pickups for this guitar every day for the next two weeks if I'm not careful. I'm just never ever satisfied with 'good enough'.

I change the pickups in some of my instruments all the time. it's more about something different than better. If I don't like a pickup it doesn't stay in the guitar very long.

I have a few that are exactly what I wanted, and a few more I want to tweak a bit. Using them in my own instruments gives me a chance to try them out on stage in the real world and see how they do.

[ken]

Yes, I'm using CTS 250K pots and a Mallory 150 series .1uf tone cap.

I made myself a set of pickups with Alnico 2 mags and the G and high E slightly lower than normal to try to reduce some of the highs. The new pickups work well, the lead is a tiny bit bright still but I can deal with it. The lead pickup is almost a dead ringer for Buddy Holly's tone on 'Bo Diddley'.

Wife read this thread over my shoulder and she's ROFLHAO. She says I'm the poster child for OCD because only I would put in my new pickups and amp test them at 3 this AM. I think she loves me... cos I'm not dead.

Ken

[David Schwab]

0.1µF tone cap? On guitar? I don't even use those for bass. Too muddy.

I like .047µF for bass most of the time, and .022µF for guitar (and sometimes for bass). Then I can turn the tone control all the way down and it's actually a usable tone. Gets that cool cocked wah tone.

Guitars are supposed to be bright. It's a treble instrument.

[rhgwynn]

I love the .1uf cap. You can really warm things up when you want to. I wouldnt really describe them as being muddy; when used right you can get a really good bassy growl. Certainly expands the range of the tone knob quite a bit.

[ScottA]

I know what I'd do. ;-)

Give me a shout if you want to try some.

[ken]

Actually, this guitar is growing on me more and more.

Right now I'm using an early Deluxe clone with octal (6 volt) preamp tubes and a Jensen 12" speaker because this amp is very warm sounding. Add a little tape delay, roll off just a hair of treble on the rhythm pickup, and you're in 1955. It's a roots rocker's dream.

ken