jamison162 Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 Take them away from me...please, aghh! I had to borrow a bandmates Heritage H-150 with 59's in it last night becasue I have finished cutting the new nut for mine yet. After playing my WCR Darkbursts for soo long, I just cannot stand the 59's. And I used to LOVE them. They sound ok when you first plug in, but after about 2 songs I am tired of them, that's about all I can take. Throught the RV50 they are just too tight and aggressive sounding, lack bloom and harmonics and are nowhere near as touch sensative....all relative to the WCR's that is. Anyone feel the same?
Thundersteel Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 I've never liked them. They sound too muffled and muddy to me. I like the Seths MUCH better.
VJonathan Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 i find the Seth Lovers to be very musical. I have also tried the new ThroBak PAF made the on old Gibson Slug 101 PU winder found in the attic at Heritage. They're great and give the Seth's a run for the money. Also we must not count out the Lollar Imperials. They rule too! My next 150 will have the Throbak PAF.
Kuz Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 Lollars, be they Imperials or P-90s only for me. Seths are a distant second, but nice.
OldCrow Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 i find the Seth Lovers to be very musical. I have also tried the new ThroBak PAF made the on old Gibson Slug 101 PU winder found in the attic at Heritage. They're great and give the Seth's a run for the money. Also we must not count out the Lollar Imperials. They rule too! My next 150 will have the Throbak PAF. Wow a Throbak that's $$$ right there. I pulled the '59 out of the bridge and dropped a Bare Knuckle Black dog into my 150, I don't mind it so much in the neck spot but I will be pulling it out of there at some point.
squawken Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 I used to love them as well. Lack the harmonics. SOME songs and tones they do well. But overall, compared to a few other guitars I have, they can be aggravating.
VJonathan Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 The Throbak has nice vintage tone with some noticeable mid-range characteristics. Not as muddy as the 59 and HRW.
mars_hall Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 I have 59's in my 150 and, while I would really like to drop in APH-1's, they sound fine to me. People describe them as dark, but to me, they sound middle of the range
VJonathan Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 The 59s are for the guy who doesn't have the 18 watt Marshall!
mars_hall Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 The 59s are for the guy who doesn't have the 18 watt Marshall! I liked that +1
JeffB Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 Just depends on the guitar, music style and rig you're running through. I have a 59 in the neck pos of my prs. It works very well for what I require of that guitar. I run it through a mesa nomad. This combination works well in the covers band I play in. Playing more modern hard rock covers plus older RHCP and GnR's. Mainly high gain stuff. My h150 has seths and sounds great through my JTM45 head and Fender concert while the PRS with 59's through the same amps isnt as good. Or maybe just different. I tried a 59 in the neck pos of a strat copy(pick guard mounted) and found it had quite a cool vintage kind of vibe about it. Bluesy with a bit more mids and a little less bottom end. Almost seth like but a bit more drive. I guess over all I like the 59 compared to some others Ive tried.
mars_hall Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 How new the strings are, gauges, brand, distance of the '59 from the strings also are factors often ignored. Point is, as others have pointed out here, there are many factors in making the judgment that other will not experience because they are not there making the side by side comparison.
MacDoggie Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 I agree with Brent, the 59's works well for some classic rock. They can work for other tunes if set up right also. I kind of give them a 6-7 out of 10 for a rating. They try for the PAF sound and come pretty close in my opinion. Even real PAFs won't satisfy everyone for every sound...
Millennium Maestro Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 I guess I must elaborate, being the only one that likes 59'ers. My honest to god opinion is that the 59's are a benchmark pickup...a pickup that all others get referenced by...I have had the in several guitars and they are a top neck pickup period. They also sound the same whether built in '85 or 2009.... You can find a better Blues pickup, or a Better hard rock pickup or any other kind of specialty sound... the 59er is still the general all around best choice. In a Bridge position for my style... Duncan Custom Custom ... Diamrzio Evolution
JohnCovach Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 How new the strings are, gauges, brand, distance of the '59 from the strings also are factors often ignored. Distance from the strings--absolutely! You really have to back the 59s off a bit more than other pickups. It's surprising how few people actually spend much time adjusting the height of the pickups for tone.
bolero Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 I like the '59's better than stock gibson or heritage pups thye aren't nearly as good as any of the wolfetones I have tried what is the story on ThroBak PAF's? who makes them?
tulk1 Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 what is the story on ThroBak PAF's? who makes them? Here you go. It's a whole thread just on Jon's pups.
jacques Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 The only result of discussions like this will be that people who left their '59s in their guitars will say: 'I like 'em' and all the guys who spent money and effort on replacing them will say: 'no, the replacement I chose sounds much better!' ;D Let us hear your clips of before and after the replacement with the same tunes, guitar and amp and amaze us with all those magnificent improvements! Psychology taught us that in order to avoid cognitive dissonance we will never accept that our choice for say an expensive replacement pickup could EVER be wrong. Sorry, guys, it is very hard to escape this principle.... Jacques (inexorable '59 user)
JeffB Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 The only result of discussions like this will be that people who left their '59s in their guitars will say: 'I like 'em' and all the guys who spent money and effort on replacing them will say: 'no, the replacement I chose sounds much better!' ;D Let us hear your clips of before and after the replacement with the same tunes, guitar and amp and amaze us with all those magnificent improvements! Psychology taught us that in order to avoid cognitive dissonance we will never accept that our choice for say an expensive replacement pickup could EVER be wrong. Sorry, guys, it is very hard to escape this principle.... Jacques (inexorable '59 user) I just cant really fault 59's for what they are. They get any job done that I require a neck p/up to do. They cover a lot of genres. I keep going back to them. Maybe they just suit my playing style. Ive tried a quite few different p/ups. I dont like the way they split/coil tap. P/ups are like strings, plectrums, valves, leads etc. There is no wrong and no right and everyone has there own personal idea of the holy grail of tone. Could be the worst pickup is one that doesnt work for any of the jobs you need doing. But then maybe it works for a job someone else is doing. So who knows
tulk1 Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 Psychology taught us that in order to avoid cognitive dissonance Jacques (inexorable '59 user) Okay, now you're just showing off!!! ... ;D
bolero Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 Here you go. It's a whole thread just on Jon's pups. wow, that's got to be one of the dumbest business moves I've seen in a long time...Heritage sold the original PAF winding machines??? esp when the pickups are the weak part of their guitars.... this guy deserves props & congratulations, brilliant idea...I'll be buying a set jacques keeping your head in the sand is your choice...if '59's float yer boat good for you...but I have wolfetones, lollars, and another custom set & they are miles ahead in terms of getting that old PAF sound. I actually don't like the Dr V's, to me they are like a cartoon of PAF: they are too exaggerated. there is a huge difference & all the subtle design parameters have a big impact on the sound. regardless of sale price
tulk1 Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 wow, that's got to be one of the dumbest business moves I've seen in a long time...Heritage sold the original PAF winding machines??? Hmmm. Not sure how dumb a move it was. It was just sitting in an attic, not being used. I'm sure the boys got some $$'s for it. And Jon gets to wind pups on a big piece of history. Plus! Heritage gets to use the pups, too ... if they want to. And having gotten to meet Jon, speak at length with him AND get to play his pups on a prototype H150, I think it was a great move.
jamison162 Posted October 5, 2008 Author Posted October 5, 2008 Jacques..nice post, but honestly didn't do anything for me. I think you are way overshooting in trying to philosophise the issue. I started this thread just to hear other's opinions on why they DO or DO NOT like the 59's. The focus was not on any other brand or type of pickup. I have and love WCR's and Sheptones and had no choice but to play the 59's at rehearsal the other night and I honestly do not like them. I'm just glad we have all of these other custom wound pickups avaialble to us these days.
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