Best humbucker guitar

flying · Post by **flying** » Sat 06/19/04 12:58 am

Hi all,
Since building Graydons kit I have been in tone heaven here

I have always been a Strat & Tele guy but the other day I took the head into a music store to show a friend who works there. He played his Les Paul through it & it was super nasty/nice

I was curious what you folks thought was the best sounding humbucker equipped guitar you have heard through this great 18watt?

Thanks
Mike

Jef · Post by **Jef** » Sat 06/19/04 8:07 am

Bump...
I'd really would like to know too...
My 18watt project is not finished yet. I mostly play my tele through fender amps (silverfaces and a 5e3 clone) at the moment.
I have an old, cheap and very ugly Westbury SG style guitar which actually has great tone. Very 70s with DiMarzio humbuckers...
I'd love to have a MIM Deluxe tele with the wide spaced buckers as well...
Jef

Wayne_Alexander · Post by **Wayne_Alexander** » Sat 06/19/04 10:44 am

For me it's a tossup - my Hamer Studio (PRS looking) with Burstbucker 1 & 2 pickups, and my Gibson 57 Goldtop Historic, with Fralin 8K/9K pickups. The Hamer is "tighter" sounding and has a little more bass, the Gibson lets through a little more wood into the tone and sounds a bit more bluesy. My personal experiments have led me to believe that the lower-output PAF-type humbuckers suit this amp better than modern higher output type pickups, but that will depend on what sounds you want to make. I don't play dirtier than, say, Rolling Stones or Cream level of dirt.

flying · Post by **flying** » Sat 06/19/04 12:33 pm

I am thinking the same thing as what you said Wayne. But that has always been my outlook on single coil pups. I tend to favor low output high detail sound from pups. I run some Fralins I bought in 93 from Lindy that are his original low output stuff. Very beautiful & articulate sounding.
I am watching a few auctions for a Les Paul now but like how Graydon's clips of a PRS sound too.
Now you mention Hamer & I remember when I had one years ago

That was nice through my old Deluxe reverb.
Boy I tell you what since building this 18w my other amps are gathering dust.
Thanks,
Mike

danelectro · Post by **danelectro** » Sat 06/19/04 2:12 pm

the standard Gibson 498T rocks my socks off. i like it because it has enough output for some nice distortion, yet still sounds woody and musical.

EBE · Post by **EBE** » Sat 06/19/04 7:30 pm

I replaced the pickups in my Les Paul classic with 57s. The stock pickups were too hot for the 18watt in my opinion. I currently have a seymour duncan 59 in the bridge. Not a lot different from the 57 classic. For classic rock a Les Paul and the 18 watt can't be beat. My strat prefers my deluxe reverb.

Norm

danelectro · Post by **danelectro** » Sat 06/19/04 10:11 pm

LP classics come w/ the ceramic 496R/500T right? i hear those are hot

EBE · Post by **EBE** » Sat 06/19/04 10:28 pm

danelectro wrote:LP classics come w/ the ceramic 496R/500T right? i hear those are hot

too hot for my tastes.

bouric · Post by **bouric** » Sun 06/20/04 1:03 am

I may be out of topic, but I think a set of p90 are really great on LP. Better than a lot of Humbuckers. I have htem on my studio. Now there are a lot of different P90, I have the Gibson ones, I've been told that Seymour Duncan Antiquity are better, but... Anyway, I suggest a try, if possible.

ZemaitisGuy · Post by **ZemaitisGuy** » Sun 06/20/04 1:56 am

In my humble opinion there is just one humbucker laiden tone machine for use and that's my 1995 Zemaitis Custom Deluxe Metal Disc Front - you can see picks of this one (and many others!) on my site - www.markscoolguitars.com

Regards to all - Mark

flying · Post by **flying** » Sun 06/20/04 3:07 am

bouric wrote:I may be out of topic, but I think a set of p90 are really great on LP. Better than a lot of Humbuckers. I have htem on my studio. Now there are a lot of different P90, I have the Gibson ones, I've been told that Seymour Duncan Antiquity are better, but... Anyway, I suggest a try, if possible.

I always wondered about those. I mean Freddy King sounded great with that gold top LP with P90's

Post by **zaphod_phil** » Sun 06/20/04 7:58 am

I find I just can't get comfortbale with an LP. The wight, balance and proportions don't quite feel right. To me the neck is too short, the body too thick, it's too heavy overall, the distance between the top and the strings feels wrong, etc. I love the tone, but I just can't get used to them. I've played SGs a few times and quite like them, although I have to get used to the 12th fret being so far away from body. A terrific guitar all the same. Then regular Strats sound to thin for my liking, so I have one with dual H/Bs and a 3-way switch. I'm sure thinline Tele with H/Bs would suit me too. I also have an Epiphone Casino, which is a rare H/B model, rather than the more usual P90 kind and that has a great tone too, with a great feel and balance. And there's a lot to be said for it's near relative, the ES335, as a great H/B guitar. I like the sound of those too. One day, when I get rich, I'd like one of those PRSs, with the birds on the fretboard.

Sorry, for the disjointed rambling.....

flying · Post by **flying** » Mon 06/21/04 10:53 am

Actually the PRS's even with the birds are taking a beating on Ebay.
Prices have really come down.
Some say there are various reasons.saturation of market etc.
Also the closing of the PRS forum.
beats me but they do look good.
Here is one.........
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

Post by **jaysg** » Mon 06/21/04 2:24 pm

I have an old Yamaha SG-2100 Santana style guitar that I put '59 neck and JB bridge Duncans into. Both 4 wire versions. It's heavy, but a remarkable player and now a great sounding and inexpensive guitar. I bought it on a dump at GC for less than $400 including tax. The pickup conversion was a pain. None of the screw holes lined up.

Sweetwood · Post by **Sweetwood** » Mon 06/21/04 2:53 pm

There are a few guys out there (other than myself) building really nice instruments. My site is http://www.sweetwoodguitars.com. Other people who I can recommend, Heatley up in BC, McNaught, McInturff...the usual suspects. PRS stuff has really gone down in quality the last few years. At the last NAMM I was so disappointed at their booth. Wide joins and poor woodwork along with an ultra heavy spray to hide many of the faults. The early PRS stuff is starting to become reasonable due to this. They have great attention to detail and so forth. I forget when they changed locations but you want to get one from the old original factory.

As for pickups, I am in complete agreement that low output HB's are superior in tone. They are more dynamic and articulate. The lone exception are EMG's. EMG's however take over the tone of the guitar for better or worse. The principal behind EMG's is that they are passively a very weak HB (low magnetic field and low windings, etc.) then they pass the signal through a battery and boost it way up.

My favorite PU's I've tried to date: SD pearly's, Fralin's (the best singles), Gibson's, PAF Pro's (for some reason), SD Full Shred, SD cool rails, SD '59, SD Screamin' Demon.

Hope that helps.

Professor · Post by **Professor** » Tue 06/22/04 6:10 pm

A 335 with either seth lovers or antiquities.

gahboo · Post by **gahboo** » Fri 06/25/04 11:24 am

I guess I march to a different drummer, but here is my choice for a HB guitar...

I have a 94 Robin Avalon. It is a lot like a Les Paul in design, weight, feel, neck shape etc. But it is hand crafted and the build quality is astounding. It has Rio Grande BBQ in the bridge and a Genuine Texas in the neck. The pups have lots of "chunk" and "punch". The Rio pups are relatively low output. ZERO mud in the bass. Strum a chord and hear every note, even at very high gain settings. They clean up superbly with the volume pot. The neck is not soft and dark, like most neck pups I hear. I have compared these pups to SD 59 and Custom Custom, and to my ear, the SD's (at least in my guitar) are not even in the same league. There is that much difference.

Now about the guitar. Mahogany neck and Swamp Ash body. Nice fat neck (I like fatties!) Gorgeously carved top with blonde finish. The guitar has almost infinite sustain. I have never played anything like it. It resonates so much that unplugged, this darn thing is almost as loud as a 335!

The best part is that I only paid $530 for it on ebay. Relatively few of these pass through eBay as they are made in very small numbers in Houston, TX. But when they do, you can get PRS quality for absolutely stupid prices. I am such a believer in Robin axes now, that I only play Robin. I have three of them, and I wouldn't trade them for anything, especially given the low prices they can be had for. I guess they do not hold high resale value because they do not have a name like PRS does, but I assure you the build quality is just as good.

Another thing, is you can call up Dave Wintz, the owner of Robin and talk till you are done asking questions. I call him all the time seeking advice regarding my instruments and amps. Try that with most other companies. Look at the instruments on www.robinguitars.com.

BTW, my avatar picture is of my 93 Robin Ranger. Stunning axe. Sorry if I went off topic here a bit, but I am so stuck on Robin that I try to make as many converts as possible. Thanks for humoring me!

power-freak · Post by **power-freak** » Sat 06/26/04 6:31 am

I love the tone I get from my Ibanez w/ a Steve Morse Humbucker in the bridge and an Air Norton in the neck! Its really bright though but I love it for most things.

I also tried the Carvin Holdsworth which is a hollow body with no soundholes. IT is some of the nicest tones I have ever heard!

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