VH 10 June 1977 boot and Ed's gear

[EJSLPlexi]

the email would be for my benefit.

[Strat78]

Just measured my 78 from the 90's, it was 8.67k with lots of room left on the lug bobbin.

[EJSLPlexi]

Just measured my 78 from the 90's, it was 8.67k with lots of room left on the lug bobbin.

your 78 is very close to the spec of 8.75K i posted from the duncan site and so is mine but i would love to hear one of those hotter 9.85K versions.

[rgorke]

Frankly, Seymour isn't consistent...or at least their site...
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/c ... del_great/

Maybe Ed's "78 was 13k and a "custom" for him...

And if you watch the video it says that the pickup shouldn't be associated with any one artist. Yet they only play one artists songs....

[EJSLPlexi]

Frankly, Seymour isn't consistent...or at least their site...
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/c ... del_great/

Maybe Ed's "78 was 13k and a "custom" for him...

And if you watch the video it says that the pickup shouldn't be associated with any one artist. Yet they only play one artists songs....

could be? it probably will never come out what exactly was used so i guess it is best to just use what works for ya
even if it is a single coil.

[Stratabuse]

Yeah, I got a '78 in 2006 and it reads 9.1k, so yeah it's kinda weird that they're not that consistant in what the spec should be.

[fivecoyote]

Lots of great info in here, tx much. Love Ed's mention in the posted article of having 6 cabs: 3 + 2 + 2! What is his right hand doing? Where is Waldo anyhow?

[Tone Slinger]

Yeah, I got a '78 in 2006 and it reads 9.1k, so yeah it's kinda weird that they're not that consistant in what the spec should be.

Yep, my July 24th 2014 made '78 reads 9.1k as well. Damn great pickup

[echoplexi1974]

Mine from 5-31-02 wound by MJ reads 9.48k. I can't believe I've been using it this long....

[mapat]

Yeah, I got a '78 in 2006 and it reads 9.1k, so yeah it's kinda weird that they're not that consistant in what the spec should be.

Yep, my July 24th 2014 made '78 reads 9.1k as well. Damn great pickup

Is your 78 f-spaced, TS?

I think i remember you saying that you get your pickups F-spaced, but you still like to slant them?..

[Tone Slinger]

Yep, its the F spaced. I do like to slant the pickup, but I am gonna try it straight in this latest KnE of mine.

[plexified]

Without any factual basis , just connecting the dots , I would suggest a few things ... First Ed was buying vintage Les Pauls and Ohhh that holy grail 58 Flying V , woow . Anywhoo , that would show the affinity for the PAF . He was able to wind probably one pick up . And realize its pretty freakin hard without tools . Here he would have probably destroyed a nice vintage pick up and found out about scatterwinding . He in no way got all the wire on it . Shure he broke it along the way and wound it up short . It probably sounded pretty damn good actually . He probably had two mismatched coils and this adds frequency response to the pick up . Sounds so good , it became a whole new pickup winding technique for Duncan and Dimarzio . The Dimarzio wound for signature series like Al Demeola and Steve Morse used it . He also found out that newly wound pickup screeched like a mo fo . So he potted it in sex wax . So we end up with a SEXY BEAST . That's my new nickname for Frankies Heart .
So we take Sexy over to Seymour Duncan and he says I did this , but I need this..... Seymour interprets what Ed wants and gives him a prototype . Boom , you know have whats known as the Duncan Custom . This pick up is a screamer . And would work very well in a real 12 series . Harsh , however in newer gear to generalize . From their , I am sure Seymour wound up more stuff for Ed . Using what he realized he did . Ed taught Seymour and maybe the industry , except maybe Bill Lawrence , about it . He most likely crawled up Dimarzio's ass with a request for a wind or two .
The custom custom is probably more like a Custom with an A2 mag . From here Seymour and Ed know what went down ( or the young Ed ) and maybe MJ . I just cannot emphasize enough that the original 12000 series plexi has that softer bottom end that is more refined . Like RGalpin says ' Buttery like a filet migon ' . So it can handle a ceramic and you would not be beyond missing it . I also have to remind myself that when Ed was recording VH1 the plexi was only ten years old . But it had a lot of miles on it that's for damn sure . I am pretty surprised actually that no designer to me has nailed the VH tone in a new amp . The few things that are overlooked are right out in the open in plain sight . Its pretty funny actually .
In typical Plexified fashion , I wanted to stir the pot again with the same type of philosophy from those 78 shows . Back in the days Ed was in Ken Fishchers shop from Trainwreck . I have seen his guitar in Kens shop . At the time he was pretty close lipped about Ed . An that's in confiict with his personality . Ken was a talker . So a few things happened . Ken stopped his service business and began building his own amps . He did some special work for close friends . One job was for our good friend Kenny Dubman . Setting up a rig for him . Ken was instructed to nail evh tone . So he took a 50 watt plexi , loaded it down and sent it to a 100 watt Marshall . He used a 76 with 6550's . The tone was nailed . He also made another rig documented by Ken himself with a vintage plexi he modded using a beefed up or hotter front end and used 6V6 output tubes ( a quad ) . Hmmmmm , then we have the introduction of the Trainwreck Express . Hot , hybrid and does Marshall , Vox and Fender with EL 34 or 6V6 being interchangeable , no bias change . Although the amp would run most octal tubes with a bias change . He sent a message to the industry . Designing the best amp ever heard at the time . The worst thing for me was Ken Dubman eventually sold his slave set up , bought an Express and I had a chance to buy the 50 Watter plexi . God what a mistake I made on that one . Its gotta be worth a good 20K with its pedigree . Cheers Mates .

[jnew]

Just a reminder about pickup outputs. The DC resistance is not the THE determining factor on the output of a pickup. I have a DSD that measures 13.9K and a DiMarzio Super 2 that measures 8.23K and I'm hear to tell you, the Super 2 smashes on the front end of a plexi nearly every bit as much as the DSD. The Super 2 has a lot more highs and little lows so it sounds very different but as far as drive, it hits it hard. I only bring this up because the MM 1400 is nearly identical to the Super 2. So IMO, a MM 1400 is not out of the question for VH I.

[EJSLPlexi]

Just a reminder about pickup outputs. The DC resistance is not the THE determining factor on the output of a pickup. I have a DSD that measures 13.9K and a DiMarzio Super 2 that measures 8.23K and I'm hear to tell you, the Super 2 smashes on the front end of a plexi nearly every bit as much as the DSD. The Super 2 has a lot more highs and little lows so it sounds very different but as far as drive, it hits it hard. I only bring this up because the MM 1400 is nearly identical to the Super 2. So IMO, a MM 1400 is not out of the question for VH I.

I agree the mighty mite 1400 is much more like VH I than the DSD or the 1300.
I have both and prefer the MM1400 i got from Rgorke, it to me is a LOT like a PAF type tone only crisper,tighter and more output.I also have a 1800 which to me is very close to a 1300 with different poles.
the MM1400 is the only hotter pu that is near the output of a DSD that still has a PAF twang to its tone.
Loved the 1400 since i heard ralle use it on a clip he did,i just heard something in it that the others did not have.
I really like the `MM1400 and the 78, both of those are my favorites for the old pre fair warning tone.
since using these i no longer seek out any other pu's for the old VH tone's.

[jnew]

I bought the Super 2 because I had read that it was almost exact to the 1400. But it has lots of highs, mids are good but lows are not much. It sounds great and has the perfect drive but the EQ slope doesn't sing to me. I've never tried the MM 1400 so I can't comment or accurately compare but I'm keeping my eye out. So far, the Duncan Custom still gets my vote. It's a muscle PAF to my ears.