Really can't go wrong with Wolfetone. Their warranty info includes this: "We also cover Zombie Apocalypse.". Not making this up.
I believe wolfetone is good, but a pair of vinehams is $150usd. Not one; the pair, with covers.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to try the Wolfetone set I already have. I don't have time this weekend to install them, but I'll install the Wolfetone pickups some time this coming week.
I'll have to check them out. Thanks for the info.
The cad-usd conversion is real haha. I have had a few of his pickups over the last few years (broadcaster, brown noser, royal, granite) and enjoy them. Next I may try his sweet59 (maybe do a customized set) as A2 PAFs and me get along great.
Yeah, I'm thinking of buying a set of the Sweet 59s - for $150, that's pretty low risk. But I wonder how they sound compared to other options. $150 is cheap, but it's still a lot of money to throw away if the pickups turn out to be sub-par. My guess is that they have really poor resale value, if only due to having limited to no reputation.
Never tried Vinehams, no, but this thread makes me want to
It feels like some sort of sacrilege to replace the pickups in my EJ, but tbh, while I like the guitar, I don't really get how to make great bridge tones with it and still have the other positions sound good. Maybe should talk to Vinehams about that.
Yeah, I've heard good things about Throbak pickups for a long time. But $750 a set is crazy money for something that I might not even like. Maybe if I win the lottery.Never tried Vinehams, no, but this thread makes me want to
I hear you on Throbak pricing! My Collings was like 4x what I've paid for a guitar in my life, ever (70th birthday present to myself), and I really dug and dig it, and it came with them, or I doubt I'd ever have had anything to do with them. Great rep though.
A used City Limits, this one:
Wow - that's a beauty! Amazing build. Congratulations!A used City Limits, this one:
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/ngd-collings-city-limits.187181/
Me likey
Never tried Vinehams, no, but this thread makes me want to
Can you point me to a wiring diagram? I have a 5-way super switch, but I don't have a push pull pot. Would need to pick one of those up. I didn't like the N+B inside coil so much on these pickups. There is a metallic "clang" on pick attack. I don't like that sound much, at least with these pickups.Actually kinda dig the sounds you're getting with these, but then again, I spent the last half of the '90s with a JB and two Texas Specials in a Shoreline Gold Lone Star Strat with a replacement pickguard that located the middle pickup correctly (stock Lone Star was a bit too far from the bridge).
If it were mine, I'd use a 4p5t super Strat switch and a 4p2t special on-on-on to switch position 3 from N+B full HB to N+B split (outside coils) to N+B split (inside coils.
I don't currently have an HSH guitar to try that in....
I bought a set of Vineman's. Sweet 59s in the neck and bridge and a Texas Red middle for the middle position. I called and spoke to Craig at Vineham yesterday. He answered my call with "Hello". I had to ask if he was with Vineham pickups.I keep hearing good things about Vineham, definitely look interesting and the clips I've heard sound great.
Absolutely relate to this... there are several, like Throbak, Ron Ellis, Stephens Design, ReWind all look great, clips sound great, but just trying those four would be well over $3K with no guarantee that I'd even like them... $3K+ would go a long way toward a really nice fiddle.
The flip side of that are companies like Vineham, Arcane, Manilus, Sigil, Wolfetone, none of which are terribly expensive, then Monty's, OX4, Wizz that are around the price of BKP or custom shop Duncans. Certainly more affordable but trying multiple sets still adds up pretty quickly.
(And this part is where I was thinking of starting another thread; not trying to hijack this one, but hopefully relevant to the OT.)
And... to what end? I mean, if an accurate PAF replica is the goal, there are so many things that can affect the magnetic circuit, and the originals were a moving target at best. Another option is just a "vintage/lower" output humbucker, but that seems even more nebulous when most seem to be described as either "too modern" or "not vintage enough," even if/when the pickup in question is a completely original concept that deserves more than a cursory comparison to an ill-defined ideal. Without personal experience, it almost seems impossible to make anything other than just a wild guess at what will work.
(Of any of the companies I've mentioned in this post, the only ones I've tried are BKP and Duncan. I have tried other brands, just not the ones I've mentioned directly above.)
(Hopefully) obviously, it's important to know what tone one is looking for (I think the OP defined this very well) and what the guitar itself is capable of (also well-defined here). And... we all play different music, with different hands and different ears. And... recordings are representations of a moment in time, influenced by the recording environment, playback system, and the artifacts of the medium (e.g. YouTube compression, lossy formats, et al).
So, my question is... how does anyone judge what was worthy of spending the time and money to try? I think this is the part that is relevant to the OT and definitely of interest to me.
One way I've done that is to stick with the brands I know (Duncan in my case) and then take a lucky guess and find another that I really liked (BKP in my case). IMHO, Duncan and DiMarzio (EMG only slightly later) were the "original" aftermarket pickups and that was basically all there was before the Internet made marketing much easier for smaller companies. I think it is a GREAT thing that there are so many options these days, but it can also make the decision process much more complex, at least without spending "crazy money for something that I might not even like."
I'm legitimately wondering what works for others (and I know that I'm overthinking this to a large degree).
I think some of the lower cost pickups are using "off-the-shelf" components which indeed don't cost that much to manufacture. I can understand that some companies are recouping costs of having custom components made (magnets, low-carbon steel, etc.) for what could be considered almost museum-quality replicas (how much this actually matters or is actually worth is another debate, but I think maybe even more dependent on what one's ultimate goal is). Thankfully, most companies seem to be somewhere in the middle (but it can still add up without well-educated guesses and a bit of luck).
Anyway... back to the OT... I'm still curious to know what you think of those Wolfetones. I think word of mouth is at least as good as the best online clips. And I know exactly what you mean about not having a lot of time and being a crazy week. Been that way on my end, too.
He was extremely nice. Very low key. So I bought a set... He told me that he's on a long weekend and won't get started on winding these pickups until Tuesday. He's going to send me a PayPal request when it's time to pay. I'm not sure when they will arrive. I'll post some clips once I get them installed. A set of H-S-H pickups will cost about $200 USD. I know, it's a disease. G.A.S.
Semi OT. I used to do music professionally, and sound, and custom musical electronics, but when our daughter was born I didn't want to be on the road any more. I ended up in IT, like a lot of folks here. Worked various places, spent way too long at one that was super stressful and awful. Was plotting my escape, but before I actually did it, one day I couldn't take the boss one more second, just up and quit. After a while I ended up where I am now, a great non-profit. Still stressful, but I'm good at what I do (I think?), and I build stuff that's genuinely useful to people who are doing good work. This is what I wanted, to make a living doing something that helps the world, instead of just making someone else money.I bought a set of Vineman's. Sweet 59s in the neck and bridge and a Texas Red middle for the middle position. I called and spoke to Craig at Vineham yesterday. He answered my call with "Hello". I had to ask if he was with Vineham pickups.
@Joe Bfstplk - I know, there are some good tones in there. It isn't what I hope to get out of that guitar, though.
I have to say that I initially didn't like the Severn much. But it's really growing on me. It has it's own voice. It's a mahogany body with a maple cap, like a double cutaway Les Paul. But it has a 25.5" scale, so it is longer scale length than a Les Paul. The action is a little high to my taste after the 7th fret. I'm going to try adjusting the truss rod this week. I was going to use it for band practice today, but I decided I wasn't ready for it. I just joined this band about a month ago, and I'm still getting to know everybody. It's a bunch of old duffers like myself. with the exception of the singer, who must be in her mid-30s. She has a great voice. But I'm still figuring out how I fit in. I didn't want to try a new guitar yet, especially with the action being a bit high. My fingers "stumble" when I'm trying to play lead leans in the higher registers.
I've though about getting this guitar plek'd. The only place nearby is Mike Lull's Guitar Works, which is about an hour North of me (on a good traffic day). They want over $400 for the Plek job. I may splurge at some point. But I'm going to try and improve the action myself before I fork over that kind of dough for a "setup".
I love playing guitar. It's one of the few things in my life that has brought me joy and personal satisfaction. My stressful IT job certainly didn't. So I make peace with spending so much money on a "hobby" that I love and that brings joy to my soul. But sometimes I still give myself shit about how much I spend. So @Dave Merrill I get where you're coming from about your Collings. I have to tell you that the photos you shared are some of the most beautiful Les Paul pics I've seen. What a wonderful guitar. I'm glad that you got it for yourself. It's a work of art. I don't know what you paid for it, but whatever it was, at least from the pics, it was worth it.