Need Your knowledge on Humbuckers

[DrKev]

It's Sunday morning. The sun is shining, I have a strong cup of Irish tea, the urge to write, and a puzzle.

My entire career as a pro musician has been either SSS or HSS. I just love a bridge humbucker and neck single coil. That's "me". It's been 30 years since I last had a guitar with a neck humbucker (and that was single coil-sized) and that was just for two years. Right now I spend half of my time with my Cutlass and half with my Silhouette Special, both HSS. And I was really happy with them until recently I realized that my two guitars are similar enough that I cannot tell in a recording which one I played. I'd like that be different. It may be time I had that neck humbucker woody thickness in my life.

I keep thinking of the Peach Guitars demo of a Velveteen St Vincent Goldie. (Video linked at the end of this post). Those gold foil clean tones are SO beautiful. They're not "true" gold foils, they're low output mini humbuckers but wow. With many hours of interweb deep diving it seems that some sort of lower output, brighter humbucker tones could be just what this doctor might order.

At first I was thinking I could modify the Cutlass for a set of the St. Vincent Goldie pickups or other mini humbuckers. I'd avoid the too-thick muddiness that so many neck humbuckers do when played clean while still having a tone that's obviously a humbucker. I have little fear of making a permanent modification and Music Man might sell me a set of the Goldies, and Chandlers might make a custom pickguard. It would be unique and look cool as hell.

But there are other pickup options. There are of course standard mini humbuckers (as featured on the Original St V), and Firebird mini humbuckers, which may be closer to the goldies if I can't get them? Maybe a brighter single-coil sized humbucker could get me tonally where I want, or Filtertrons, but I hate the way both of those options look so I'm probably not going there. P90s don't do really do that humbucker thickness I'm after. Maybe a full size PAF humbucker would make me happy?

However, getting the pickups, routing the body, and having a custom pickguard made would be expensive when I haven't worked in 4 years due to Long Covid. So then I'm thinking how about trading the Cutlass for a different Music Man guitar? If keeping the cost down is the goal, I'd be looking for a trade of similar value so I may have to expand my choices to full sized hums. But what?

Silhouette? Albert Lee HH? Maybe I could find a 20th Anniversary Silo? A Gold Roller would be cool but they were only hard tail, right? I need my whammy bar. Maybe an Axis? I'm not a fan of Stingray or Stingray II guitars body shapes but am I being silly? I am also really wedded to the idea of both 1 5/8" nut width and 10" radius, but could I be happy with a HH LIII (12" radius)? Or Sabre (1 11/16" nut)?

So what the hell am I doing here? I am looking for bright humbucker sounds that sound great for clean to medium overdrive tones. But I think I'm maybe overwhelmed with possible options but underwhelmed with actual ones.

What I would like from you, dear reader and friends, is your experience and knowledge, or even just gut feelings.

What would you do? Modify or trade?

What are your favorite humbucker options for clean medium overdrive tones?

What is your experience of mini humbucker-sized pickups vs full sized?

Will coach Brady get the Bills to a Super Bowl? Can the Sabres win the Stanley Cup?

Here's the Peach guitars vid.

)

Kev.

 

[NickNihil]

Having owned both the standard and Goldie Stv's, I'll agree that the Goldie pickups are some of the best I've ever played. Neck pickup cleans are also something I'm really particular about, and the Goldie delivers. That said, I would not go the route of the original STV, it's basically a DP168 which is basically a ceramic med output humbucker in minihumbucker build. It's clear enough, but not a lot of sparkle. I also have an ALHH, the neck won't do what you want stock, as it's a bit of a modified Air Norton (I think it's de-aired or or partially de-aired and wound symmetrically and runs about 15k instead of the 12ish of the Air Norton, and Dimarzio has described the Air Nortons as the pickups that can give you that smooth, dark archtop tone in a solidbody). It can be very lovely clean but is really dark and doesn't cut too well in denser mixes.

That said, I've since installed a Bare Knuckle Nailbomb neck pickup and it's become my favorite neck humbucker of all time. It has a bell-like attack and depth that I haven't heard from any other hb, it's clear in the low mids and has great sparkle and clarity while not feeling like it's a humbucker trying to be a single coil. It still has that humbucker warmth, and is wound a little hotter than a PAF. I don't know how they did it, it's wizardry I haven't heard anywhere else. They're a little pricey, though.

Righteous Sound also makes a Jazzmaster pickup in humbucker format. Haven't tried it but I love Jazzmasters, particularly late 50's voiced neck pickups which are a little smokier and more mid-forward than the 60's voiced, which I think works wonderfully for single coils.

I ALSO have a Gretsch Duo Jet with Dynasonics, a little hotter and more mid forward that the Jazzmaster. Also incredibly beautiful. Legendary cleans. Works well with low-mid gain and probably less microphonic in solid bodies. Gajobo makes Dynasonics in humbucker casings that are highly reputed among dynasonic fans, who as picky as vintage PAF nuts.

That said, I still might go with the Nailbomb if you can get one relatively easily.

Also, as far as sticking in the EBMM family if you're interested, the Stingray neck pickup is a close second. More clarity than even many PAF styles I've tried while being a little fatter and more mid forward than the Nailbomb, while also being a little lower output. Dynamics and touch sensitivity are stunning-in that regard I think they beat the Nailbomb. Both handle any gain really well. But they don't have that bell-like attack and clarity.

Nothing else quite sounds like the Goldie-that mid point they've found between a PAF and Filtertron (according to EBMM) actually kind of gives a Strat-like quality (to me) in some regards, a bit thicker (In fact, Annie Clark said she wanted a 'Strat that wasn't a Strat,'). So you'd think a Filtertron would be a close replacement, but not in my experience. Granted, that's only with the TV Jones filters but, while they do good cleans, they don't do drive well and in fact the more time I spent with them the more I noticed strange undesirable EQ gaps and string balance issues that I could't fix.

 

[Sweat]

Wish I could help but not good at this but will say just went to Tulsa to see the Horton Records Concert and Chili Cookoff and Paul Benjamin had a very cool St Vincent and those pups were awesome, only guitar he used that night