software

I have a guitar in the works with Michael Charvel that we're going to put three humbuckings in. After discussion he suggested a switching system whereby each pickup has a 3 pos switch so I can choose the status of any of them at any time. Full-off-tapped. PLus a quot;blowerquot; switch that will get me to the bridge full or back to whatever setup the guitar is currently in via the three switches. I am looking for a set of pickups that will (as close as possible) mimmic the classic guitar tones, plus hopefully some I have yet to discover. Alder body maple neck rosewood board. I was thinking, 59 stag 59. But frankly I'm not sure. Don't wan to end up with a bucket of expensive pickups trying to figure it out. I have a 69 100 watt plexi super lead done over buy Todd Langner, so I have plenty of gain. I'm looking for pickups with character and clarity. Need this thing as a main guitar, once I get used to one, it's hard for my to get used to another. My current Wayne has a JB and a Duckbucker, and I gotta say the pos 2 strat tone is outstanding. I would like to duplicate it, but not sure the stag mag wil do the trick. Just don't know, looking for a little info. I thank you very much for the time. Curt Mitchell.

um is this the Curt Mitchell from the MVP vids? I like your idea, but I would personally go with a Jazz in the neck. The 59 is a bit Bassy and less articulate for my tastes and for me anyway, tends to get muddy under high gain from the bass.


Originally Posted by 9fingerum is this the Curt Mitchell from the MVP vids? I like your idea, but I would personally go with a Jazz in the neck. The 59 is a bit Bassy and less articulate for my tastes and for me anyway, tends to get muddy under high gain from the bass.

Yea its' me. Need a guitar that does almost anything for work.

Do they have to be Duncans? I am quite fond of Bill Lawrence pickups for versatility.

I'm with theodie on that also a triple set of 450s sounds like it would be right up your alley!

By the way! I like your vids!

I'd just like to make you aware of this great policy that SD has, which might make your pickup search a bit less stressful. If you buy a SD pickup, and don't like the way it sounds within 21 days, you can return it and get another SD pickup of equal or lesser price, or pay the difference for a more expensive one. So you can pretty much try out whatever combo seems good to you, and just exchange them if you realize in the first 3 weeks that you don't like them.

As for specific pickup reccomendations, I don't think that the '59 in the neck is that great an option either. When I had one, I just felt that the bass end was too undefined and way too loud, the mids were almost nonexistent (and as a result, the pickup wasn't very tight or well defined), and the highs were very piercing and harsh. Of course, it'st he most popular neck humbucker in the world, so lots of people think it's great, but I wasn't at all impressed with it.

Since it seems like you're not looking for any specific tons in general, just a good variety of vintage tones, I'd suggest the APH-2 for a bridge humbucker. I have it in a strat with the same woods as your guitar will have, and I think it's great. Lots of people credit the pickup for being warm, smoothe, bassy etc., but that hasn't been my experience with it through a Blues Jr. It certainly isn't overly agressive or bright, but it's far from super bassy and warm to a fault. As far as EQ goes, it's the most balanced pickup I've played, the tone is very tight and no EQ range is noticably more prominant than any other all the time. Because of the balance, it responds well to adjustments in tone and volume, making it very versatile, as opposed to some other pickups, which just sound like muddier or brighter versions of themselves as you change the tone setting. It sounds very well defined and very clear whether distorted or clean, and can do some pretty agressive crunchy distorted stuff with the right setup (They're Slash's pickups afterall).

Hope I've been of some help, but as I said before, my opinion is one that the majority of people don't share, so your best bet is probabally trying out a bunch of pickups yourself and returning ones you don't want, or finding a few guitars that have SD's in them already to get a general feel for the pickups.

The quot;blowerquot; switch is an awesome option. It's great, as the bridge pickup actually sounds better with the blower engaged (it bypasses all the electronics).


Originally Posted by 9fingerI'm with theodie on that also a triple set of 450s sounds like it would be right up your alley!

By the way! I like your vids!

That would be great or I was thinking, L-500, L-500R, L-500C

BTW, I have a XL-500 and a L-500C and I installed a 5 way super switch. The 1st, 3rd and 5th position are the same as a three way switch but, The 2nd is the outer coils in parallel and the 4th is the neck in single coil and they sound outstanding!!! I can go from balls to the wall metal to the sweatest cleans.

Welcome, Curt.

Have you looked into the new sets that Duncan offers? I think esp. the quot;Everything axequot; set for strats may be something up your alley, or rather a good place to get ideas and orientation if you want fullsize buckers.

I tend to wander on the more aggressive side, so I don´t think I can help you too much with recommendations, though. Good luck

I'd probably got with;

JB (Bridge) - Phat Cat (Middle) - Jazz (Neck)


Originally Posted by MatttI'd probably got with;

JB (Bridge) - Phat Cat (Middle) - Jazz (Neck)

That would be a hella-versatile combo.

Curt, great work man, I really enjoy it! Now maybe I can help you out.

For versatility with three humbuckers there are ALOT of ways to go.

Neck---Jazz, A2P, 59

Jazz---The jazz is an articulate vintage-esque pickup with great capabilities. If remains clear tuned to standard, or detuned. It is fairly warm but with a chimey top end to make leads on the neck jump out.

A2P---A warmer PAF type pup that has very good string to string definition and sounds even. The A2 magnet makes a weaker magnetic field so as not to affect the string vibration.

59---The quintessential PAF A5 pickup. It has large bass and treble and a scooped mid. It can sound boomy depending on wood type, I had fairly good luck with it in my strat.

Middle-Stagmag,

Stagmag---The stagmag will give you the most authentic stratty bucker tones. It has a warm sound but not muddy and chimey on top. You'll have the best luck replicating your Wayne with this pup.

Bridge-Pearly Gates, Custom Custom, Custom 5, JB

Pearly Gates---A PAF style pup with mismatched coils, it is slightly more quot;rudequot; than the A2P it has a bit more oomph in the frequency band that the cut or presence knob controls

Custom Custom---A pup with a very large mid spike. It also has an A2 magnet and will give you smooth highs and lows while driving your amp. The Custom Custom will have higher output than the Pearly Gates and sound better split. The Custom Custom sounds great in alder body guitars

Custom 5--This pup has the coil config. as the Custom Custom, however it has the same tonal characteristics as the 59 but is just overwound.

JB---You are already familiar with this pup so I won't waste your time explaining it, but it does have a fairly good split tone and has the high mid spike that cuts through the mix. If you go with the JB you might want to stick with the 250k ohm pot instead of the 500k.

The Custom Series, although high output, will have a more vintage or classic sound than the JB as well as less output.

I would also remind you that A5 magnets will have more string pull so you might have to lower pups with A5 magnets slightly more than pups with A2 magnets to minimize string pull, since you are having 3 buckers. Gearjoneser will probably be along shortly, he has a LP Custom with a 59,59,C5 combo and can tell you more about string pull with A5 magnets.

Hope that helps man, keep up the good work!

Luke

Thank you very much you guys. Drop by my site, there's a monthly video on there crankin the crap out of the plexi. curt-mitchell.com. I will consider all those things and I really do appreciate the help.

You look like you'd be fun to party with.


Originally Posted by JOLLYYou look like you'd be fun to party with.Hold the phone. Nobody special-orders an HHH guitar. A middle HB sounds nothing like it would in the neck or bridge. It's just weak amp; thin, big disappointment. You'd never know it was the same PU. Bad position node-wise for a HB, and there may be some magnetic field overlap issues too. Have you noticed no one followed Gibson/Epiphone with their HHH guitars, but almost every manufacturer has HSS and HSH? Not a coincidence. A few years ago I had some guitars routed for a middle HB, thinking I'd get all kinds of great tones. Ha! I get more usable tones from a HH with a couple push-pulls. Plus you have very little room to pick. I'll never route a guitar for HHH again.

There have been threads here about HHH's, and almost no one uses their middle HB, because of the poor tones. In an interview Pete Townsend was asked why he has an HHH guitar, and he said he never uses the middle PU on it. If the concept worked, every guitar maker would offer them; they copy what works. They avoid what doesn't.

If you want a fully-usable triple PU guitar, the middle should be a single coil, Fender style or P-90. Triple P-90's sound much better, or a bridge HB and two P-90's.

uh..... check the date?