Alnico Neck Pickup in the 54 Custom

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jfhudak
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Alnico Neck Pickup in the 54 Custom

Post by jfhudak » Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:45 am

Hey Fellers,

Does anyone have a 54 Custom, either an original or an early 70s reissue? I ask because I have a reissue, and it is nice, but I had to have Lindy Fralin wind a bridge pickup for me because the stock Gibson was just too muddy. He did a 5% underwound for the bridge.

I also replaced the electronics last night with an upgrade kit from RS Guitar Works and it helps alot with the clarity.

My questions are:

- How do the original 54s sound?
- How do the early 70s version sound?
- Is this just the way those Alnico neck pickups are?

The bridge pickup has plenty of snap, honk, and cluck but the neck is just dead sounding. Wondering what I should do here. I am getting ready to put an aluminum tailpiece on the guitar, which should help some.

The other thing I should mention is that the pickup Lindy wound for me is unpotted. I feel that helps a great deal, and is part of the reason that I love the three Burstbuckers in my 57 Custom so much.

Thoughts, suggestions, and personal experiences welcome.

Thanks! ;)
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yngwie308
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Post by yngwie308 » Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:15 am

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Post by jfhudak » Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:46 pm

yngwie308 wrote:I have played the original ALniCo's in the LP Customs and they are different than the P90's in the fact that the pole pieces are rectangular and they are positioned to the sides of the strings,thus transmitting a different vibration envelope/pattern to the amp.
They are not as 'hot sounding' as a P90,but have the underwound sound and much more mid clarity and the high end is more definitive,imo.
I like the P90,both dog eared and not over the AlniCo though.
yngwie308
Hmmm, well I definitely need to go and see Lindy then. The mids are lacking in this pickup to be sure. I"ll try adjusting the pole pieces a little bit and see if that helps.

It got better when I upgraded the pots and caps.
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Post by yngwie308 » Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:35 pm

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Post by jfhudak » Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:15 pm

yngwie308 wrote:Yes,sorry I don't have the specs for the output, ect.
Lindy rewound one of the pickups on my Les Paul '52/'56 Conversion and he matched it to the other pickup,what an amazing guy,ask him about the comparision as he is a master of pickups,the AlniCo pickup was a transition thing and never really caught on,so amybe he can more wind it as a P90 for you..Good Luck!

yngwie308
Amen to that! Thanks for the info, bro! ;)
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Post by yngwie308 » Sat Aug 04, 2007 2:14 pm

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Post by jfhudak » Sat Aug 04, 2007 6:08 pm

yngwie308 wrote: Hope this helps!!
yngwie308
Indeed it does! Thanks for your time and for sharing that information, brother! ;)

I'm gonna play with the adjustment a tad and see if I can get it to do what I want. I had no idea that each of those pole pieces were individual magnets.

Thanks again!! ;)
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Post by jfhudak » Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:57 pm

UPDATE: Been playing with the neck pickup. It's much better, but still not really what I am looking for. Still kind of weak and flat sounding.

I'm doing some stuff to my TS-9 right now, so when that's done I'll see about maybe going to Lindy.
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Post by Brad737 » Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:00 pm

Howdy!

I *almost* bought a 1954 reissue Les Paul Custom a while back. It had a P90 in the bridge, and one of those Alnicos in the nec. I thought it sounded amazing. The only problem was that the guitar had a Bigsby, which I absolutely cannot tolerate. If it had a stop tailpiece, I would have bought it for sure. Like I said, I didn't buy it, so I can't give you any tips on setting it up. But through a Fender Deluxe Reverb (blackface) it sounded heavenly.

Good Luck,
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Post by jfhudak » Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:14 am

UPDATE: Got my neck pickup rewound by Lindy Fralin. Ahhhhh....THERE it is!!

I now have Lindy rewinds in both positions and that guitar never sounded so good!

No more mud! This guitar now has clarity, snap, and balls! Love it.
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Post by yngwie308 » Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:57 am

Great news, enjoy! :D

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Post by jfhudak » Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:22 pm

yngwie308 wrote:Great news, enjoy! :D

yngwie308
Thanks bro! ;)
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Post by Bluesbreaker » Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:22 am

jfhudak...

I had an original 1956 Custom a couple of years ago. It had been stripped to the mahogany and clear coated in the late 50's. It looked very cool but some parts had been replaced, most notably both pickups. I located a recent Alnico V pickup from a guy in California who had Gibson do a one off pickup. This pickup was created in the very early 90's.

I had the guitar finished to the original black but kept the pickups that came with the guitar. I was not that impressed with the recent Gibson Alnico V pickup and the P90 sounded okay. Soon after I scored all the period correct pots, caps, an original 1954 Alnico V, and a mid 50's P90. The original '54 Alnico sounded completely different, as did the P90.

It is my opinion that an original 1954-56 Alnico V pickup is one of the sweetest neck pickups any Gibson Les Paul ever had. I should have kept that guitar but I traded it for $12,000 of vintage Les Paul parts.

You know what they say...hindsight is always 20/20.
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Post by jfhudak » Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:31 pm

Bluesbreaker wrote:jfhudak...

I had an original 1956 Custom a couple of years ago. It had been stripped to the mahogany and clear coated in the late 50's. It looked very cool but some parts had been replaced, most notably both pickups. I located a recent Alnico V pickup from a guy in California who had Gibson do a one off pickup. This pickup was created in the very early 90's.

I had the guitar finished to the original black but kept the pickups that came with the guitar. I was not that impressed with the recent Gibson Alnico V pickup and the P90 sounded okay. Soon after I scored all the period correct pots, caps, an original 1954 Alnico V, and a mid 50's P90. The original '54 Alnico sounded completely different, as did the P90.

It is my opinion that an original 1954-56 Alnico V pickup is one of the sweetest neck pickups any Gibson Les Paul ever had. I should have kept that guitar but I traded it for $12,000 of vintage Les Paul parts.

You know what they say...hindsight is always 20/20.
What a cool story!!!! Yeah, this guitar is now one of my favorite Les Pauls of all time since Lindy worked the mojo on the pickups. The Alnico neck pickup is now a VERY good sounding pickup. It snaps, pops, snarls, and sings like you want your Les Paul to. Above all, I value clarity. I don't mind if they are a little underwound as long as they are clear and articulate.

Brother, I know what you mean about hindsight!!!! I wish I hadn't sold my 69 Custom when I was in college! ;)
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