EVH Tone - Pickup Roundup

[rdodson]

What is the typical scenario with this hybrid ? I thought that the 'hottest' coil should be closest to the bridge ?

Do you find the A2 magnet to be slightly 'dull' when palm muting on the low e string ?

Its strange, because on one hand I 100 % like the warmth and 'feel' of an alnico 2 magnet, its just that the articulation at times just seems to dissapear.

I'm still messing around. Gonna put a ceramic mag in my awg42 wire 9k.

An A2 PU in the 8-8.5 range can sound a little dull if it has equal windings. The PAFs did not, and this adds a little snap and "air" to the sound. A very overlooked PU here is the Gibson Burstbucker 3.

Ron

[EJSLPlexi]

A very overlooked PU here is the Gibson Burstbucker 3.

Ron

Or better yet the GIbson 57 classic plus(8.9K, A2).
it reminds me of a slightly less hot vintage duncan custom.
I have one in a les paul and love it.

[Tone Slinger]

A very overlooked PU here is the Gibson Burstbucker 3.

Ron

Or better yet the GIbson 57 classic plus(8.9K, A2).
it reminds me of a slightly less hot vintage duncan custom.
I have one in a les paul and love it.

This is a pu that I've heard much good stuff about ('57 Classic +). Wjamflan has one and he says it is similar to his '78, but isnt as biting in the high end. Alls I know is that I couldnt be more pleased than I am with this '78

[dirtycooter]

This thread is old but still good. Update on my thoughts
Likes for myself
PV Wolf stock-I get this one more now but not neccassarily into a plexi/marshall-so close to a ebmm its not funny if you a/b it.
EVH Wolf-liked it in the store twice or thrice.
Alot of PAF's A5-one in particular the Johnny Hiland PRS swamp ash bridge bucker-creamy
Some unknown Ibanez POS ceramic hot pickup I played-kinda neat.
VAI Jem. Ballzee and dig it.
DSD of course having it and clips here-can get lower gain circuits horny quick. Tends to make any input wake up and smell the meth cookin. Coffee has nothin on this thing. If you lack smack this is the hammer of the Hebrews here. Has the most punchy pick attack that just hits like a mofo then just smolders and burns on. Feedback is still a problem though. Could be more refined. But sometimes rude is what I want. Think Rhoads Tribute live here. Overtone city. If your amp has no ballz this will grab it by the short hairs.

My stock studio les paul from 93. Ceramic but has the bite/sizzle cleans up good, right e.q. balance-its a suprising p/u

Want next due to clips? Custom custom. This seems to be my next conquest for insertion.

My criteria I loom for when I review
EQ and its balance
Top end bite
Pick attack
Controllable feedback
Sustain
Bass tightness
Volume knob cleanup
Overtones
Basic tone-gotta be a little organic and woody/musical

The one pickup I still have to hands down dislike is the 78. Still no clips that really really arouse me on this p/u. Not one that sounds better than other options or can be bested by any of the above so far. The attack always sounds wrong. Still don't get this one. But hey.... you never know. Tomorrow someone will post some shit in a clip that will confuse me more and have my head swimmin.

[rgorke]

Cooter...I was just looking at this thread too. I originally put the Duncan Custom Custom but it is the Duncan Custom that is better. Same pickup just the Custom Custom has an A2 and the Custom has a ceramic.

[rdodson]

A very overlooked PU here is the Gibson Burstbucker 3.

Ron

Or better yet the GIbson 57 classic plus(8.9K, A2).
it reminds me of a slightly less hot vintage duncan custom.
I have one in a les paul and love it.

Yep. The BB3 is brighter, the 57C+ is smoother. BB3 is WAY better if you need a coil-splitting capability. 57C+ is better for pure tone.

BB3 has unbalanced coils, the 57C+'s coils are matched.

[Blix]

1979 ad from Seymour Duncan, this is it!

[EJSLPlexi]

1979 ad from Seymour Duncan, this is it!

To be honest the old custom's come the closest for the VH I for me, the 1400 is a awesome pu and has the same basic tone as the custom but overall i think the custom is what was used on that record, the MM1300 and dsd are too smeary and not PAF enough. if you add some more output to a mm1400 you get the custom.
I think the reason seymour did not advertise them sooner than 79 is that EVH was still using it, as soon as EVH was no longer using it (had a second rewind from duncan as in the 78) the ad appears in GP mag.
I think duncan may have been surprised to hear eddie get upset about selling a pu he was no longer using.
all of this is mere speculation of course but does explain a few things.
its my theory and i am stickin to it
duncan custom= VH I tone for strat tracks all day long
duncan 78= VH II-WACF tones all day long

[EJSLPlexi]

The one pickup I still have to hands down dislike is the 78. Still no clips that really really arouse me on this p/u. Not one that sounds better than other options or can be bested by any of the above so far. The attack always sounds wrong. Still don't get this one. But hey.... you never know. Tomorrow someone will post some shit in a clip that will confuse me more and have my head swimmin.

Clips dont do this pu justice at all. it does VH II and WACF all day long though.
as for clips these are the best i have heard but they still dont really showcase how great the 78 is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIZtrOb_xJ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzvdQX7ECX8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiD08-ZslSc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_nJPLz ... svcaZWFetQ

[dirtycooter]

Even Bray isn't getting as good a brown sound on his own amp as Leotis did with his bray using NOT a 78.
78?
FAIL!
Its eats the dick. And a big one at that.
Its the saggy sustain that reels people into the 78 tone. And yeah thats kinda neat. But its the immediacy of the pick attack that it just don't have that as soon as you pluck it its already lost for me. The first millisecond when the pick leaves the string its game over. I don't know how to explain it but it is easy to hear plain as day.
I had this discussion with Rockstah. Talkin mags A2,5, ceramics, Rhodes tribute live tone similarity to evh, and Mark went right out and put my ceramic theory to the test. All those mod 5 clips he did. Even Pete Thorns SL68 vid usin the a5 paf and dsd-its there in spades. You will never attain it with the 78 ever. I hear the same thing each time I have heard clips of it. No punch. But it has the maaaaaw thing and thats about it. But even the sl68 vid gets the maaaaw with the dsd. With the attack.
I had that motor city blisterbucker thing with a2. Talk about hot! But... it sucked the donkey dink because of the A2. Very lacking in presence and attack.
Dirtycooter says "Say no to A2-its not your friend. Friends don't let friends play A2"
If you could A/B playin atbl between that 78 and a meager 59 at Jesus on a Harley volume-you would FEEL what I mean.
You hit a softball and it goes boomp. You hit a baseball which is hard as hell and Kraaaaack! Of it goes. Ceramic and A5 get it-A2 is the ugly redhead little sister that sits in the back seat on this date.

[Tone Slinger]

I think that Sean McFly's clips (Bray modded 1959 re-issue) are real good. He has a '78. Both he and Bray have 6 screw tremolo's. I like mine and would put it up against anything for early Ed-tone. I guess its like the 'Sleep number bed' thing. Some people like a harder (ceramic) feel as compared to others (A2). Most of the difference ,in all honesty, is 'FELT' more than 'HEARD' though, concerning pickups.

Also. Some people just really prefer a floyd rose. It DOES have a different sound as compared to a 6 screw when chording/riffing, etc. Leotis obviously likes his Floyd Rose.

[dirtycooter]

McFly's tone is good yes. Still diggin those clips. But I still think he easily could get some better articulation with a brighter crisper mag. Some parts of his clips while evoking vintage vh also blurred out and became fairly murky in places like the strummed chords. Eds tone does not do that. Its very articulate and prominent at all times. Even strummed full chords Ed has awesome string to string definition.
And it has nothing to do with the bridges-I can hear past that all day long. Its the magnet.
WhenI hear VH I hear a very tight quick distinct punchy pick attack. Hell even his hammer ons have some slam to them.
And when he plays chords its almost as if you listen past the distortion you hear almost an acoustic like type of guitars pick hitting each string as it drags across them. Even though its overdriven.
Step back and listen. Think of a piezo acoustic type attack or brand new strings vs really scuzzy scuffy worn out old acoustic strings. Thats about the best analogy I can give you. A5 and ceramic stay away from this so much better.

[EJSLPlexi]

EVH used A2 from VH II till he got the the EBMM guitar(F.U.C.K)
the frankenstein pu was/is A2
the new wolfgang pu's are A2
The only VH that A2 is not good for is the club days and VH I

[EJSLPlexi]

Even Bray isn't getting as good a brown sound on his own amp as Leotis did with his bray using NOT a 78.
78?
FAIL!
Its eats the dick. And a big one at that.

Thats your opinion and you are basing on clips and never playing a 78
Plus Bray does not have the ability to play VH as great as leotis
I am sure if leotis had a 78 in his guitar the tables would turn real quick

[dirtycooter]

Speculation on the 78 my friend-there is NO proof ed ever used it. Anywhere. Again...hype and speculation.
The ONLY pickup Edwardo ever put his name on that MIGHT be A2 is the frankenstein bucker. And until I see it in spec print on his website.... I doubt that is either. I have not had the chance to play it. But it was brighter than than the wolfs were LIVE and I know without a doubt the wolfs are A5.
All the rest were A5. Ebmm, pv, Evh wolf, charvel art, striped series, all A5. I know because I have played them. A2 and A5 are distinctly different.
Funny how all the specs aren't even on the sight about the frank.
You will find none anyplace. But I bet if I was blindfolded and someone handed me known seymour or dimarzio a2 and a5 pickups I could tell you wtf was up without lookin. Interesting how many gibson les pauls they have these days. Even their pickups with low output paf a2's and a5's I picked right up on immediatly. All day long. Its a little tougher with ceramics and A5 but I still suprised a few people.
Maybe because I done it a time or two
Anytime you wanna lose some money..... I will take your cash.
It even changes the texture of the crunch/distortion texture of an amps overdrive. You hear the texture get sharper and more crisp transients with A5. A2 mellows this out. Playin the same amp you know well how it sounds you would be able to do this as well.