99 H-150 Pickup Suggestions?

[Gitterman]

Time to swap the Schaller's. Im asking her because I believe you guys & Gals know what your talking about. I realize that this is completely subjective and I may get 10 different answers, which is fine. I need the idea's. I have a 99 H-150. My second, btw. I dont mind the neck pup so much, but he volume drop and lack of character out of the bridge pup is just too much for me anymore. Ive resisted swapping them out in an effort to keep my guitar all original, but frankly im a player and I wont be selling it, so I might as well be completely happy with it. I play anything from John Mayer to Slayer, not usually all on that guitar. This 150 is more for blues to slash type in gain. Think Warren Haynes, JB, Gary Clark Jr or Billy Gibbons. Im debating between ALNICO 2 or 4, maybe slightly overwound. I have more gain on tap then I would ever need through my Fender Prosonic running an HXFX in the loop and a Zvex rockbox and a MXR bad ass modified OD. Ive heard some of you talk about Toneriders, which I have interest in. Im also, looking at Tone Emporium out of Canada. also< as much as I would love Throbak pups, Im not spending that kind of money. Not for what I do anyway. Any ideas or thoughts?

[Yooper]

If I didn't already have ThroBak SLE101s in my 150, I'd be happy with Seths or Antiquities. 

[LK155]

Duncan Slash Alnico II's are in my H150.  Great clarity.  They'll do just about anything.

[bobmeyrick]

A good source of information is The Doug and Pat Show pickup shootout videos. In one of my H150s (yes, it's inevitable you'll end up with more than one) I have a pair of Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays (see Pickup Shootout #2) while in another I've kept the Duncan 59s. In a third H150 (a Special) I've had a pair of Duncan P-Rails with the Triple Shot rings, which give the options of humbucker (coils in series), P90, single (rail) coil and humbucker (coils in parallel).

Have fun with your search!

[mars_hall]

The reality is every guitar will have its own resonant point, which you should try to balance for delivery of the full tonal range.  

Look at the wood grain and make a judgement call as to whether the grain pattern is tight/dense or spread out.  A tight pattern will tend to accent higher frequencies and retain the string energy.  A spread pattern will damp the highs and lose energy.  Also consider the density of the wood cap, same effect.

 

Plug in the guitar and, using the pick you will tend to favor over the long run, judge whether the tone is too high or too dark.  The schallers will tend to sound more towards the lower mid response end, so keep this in mind as you are judging.

You will probably be better served with the Alnico II.

 

If the wood is tight, choose/tend towards a darker pup of medium gain.  If the wood is spread, tend in the opposite direction.  Remember the idea is to land in the middle of full range with no unintended peaks.   Likewise, if the schaller sounds too dark to you (not distortion, but low end), tend towards the opposite direction in candidate pup selection known response curve.

 

Always have had good luck with the Duncan Alnico IIs, but have also ended too high in a few cases.  Change pick to compensate

 

4 cents

[bolero]

+1 on the Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro, which I believe is the what the Slash signature model is based on

otherwise SD 59's would work well too, as they're potted. you may get feedback problems with unpotted vintage style pups

and that SD pearly gates bridge model is good too

[Gitterman]

2 hours ago, mars_hall said:

The reality is every guitar will have its own resonant point, which you should try to balance for delivery of the full tonal range.  

Look at the wood grain and make a judgement call as to whether the grain pattern is tight/dense or spread out.  A tight pattern will tend to accent higher frequencies and retain the string energy.  A spread pattern will damp the highs and lose energy.  Also consider the density of the wood cap, same effect.

 

Plug in the guitar and, using the pick you will tend to favor over the long run, judge whether the tone is too high or too dark.  The schallers will tend to sound more towards the lower mid response end, so keep this in mind as you are judging.

You will probably be better served with the Alnico II.

 

If the wood is tight, choose/tend towards a darker pup of medium gain.  If the wood is spread, tend in the opposite direction.  Remember the idea is to land in the middle of full range with no unintended peaks.   Likewise, if the schaller sounds too dark to you (not distortion, but low end), tend towards the opposite direction in candidate pup selection known response curve.

 

Always have had good luck with the Duncan Alnico IIs, but have also ended too high in a few cases.  Change pick to compensate

 

4 cents

That is detailed and excellent synopsis. Ive never thought about it those terms. It has one of those tops thats kinda holographic. Look at it one way and the flame is ok, turn it a bit and it pops out. Turn it back and forth and its like watching water move. Ill have to post a closeup. Im not sure im qualified to able to tell how the grain is or isnt, but id be curious to know. Ill get a pic when I get home from work.

[Gitfiddler]

Check out Seymour Duncan's website for a ton of useful info as well as his own take on pickups.  Only you can determine which pickup works for your guitar, so keep an open mind as you travel down the sonic rabbit hole.  Enjoy the hunt!

http://customshop.seymourduncan.com/humbucker/?sort=bestselling

[MichYank]

Of the Duncan's, I have a set of Alnico Pro II which are a great more modern PAF.  My 59 set in my LP has an unpolished A2 magnet in the neck and an Unpolished UnOriented A5 in the bridge.  This is a really sweet set up!  If I feel a need to change from these, I'd look first at a set of Duncan Antiquities.  I've heard they sound amazing.  Check out the SD pick up forum for testimonials on all their pick ups.  I think you'll enjoy it.

[Gianluca]

I never tried a A2 neck and A5 bridge but looks like that's an interesting setup.
Another interesting video is 

 

The Mules are not bad, the Sigil's sound a bit more "open"

[myoldfriend]

Very fond of HRW pickups.  Also OX4s with A4 mags.  So many boutique winders these days.  At least many hold their value on the used market, so if one set doesn’t suit, you won’t be out more than a few bucks and your time..

I’ve had good results with a new pair of Jensen caps for adding a little punch to an anemic sounding instrument (Aluminum Foil Paper In Oil Capacitor, .022uF/400VDC) from Angela Instruments. No affiliation, btw.

On the other hand, have you already tried lowering/raising pickups/poles?

[Gitterman]

Ive raised pup hight's, ive lowered them, Ive tried the pole pieces. I get a good tone out of the neck, even distorted. I just cant find a spot for the bridge pup. Although, I get quite a bit of crackle from the pots and output jack. Inside the cavity is pretty sloppy work, frankly. Im probably going to wire up a new harness, when I find a new bridge pup and see if that adds to the overall tone, as well. Thanks for the Jensen cap idea. I had those in something once (cant remember what), but I remember liking them. and I forgot all about them.

[rwinking]

I have a few guitars with different pups....Seth Lovers, Duncan’s, even a set of Fillmore’s from Jim Wagner. I am not sure if the name Dimarzio is a bad word around here, but I never here them mentioned. I have a set of his PAF 36th Anniversary's in an h-150, some PAF Pro’s in an H-170 and a PAF Master in my H-140. I find them to be stellar and every bit as great sounding as the Seth’s or Duncans. Interesting thing with the Fillmore’s isI found them to be pretty much the same as the Super Distortion humbuckers. It was almost like they re-branded them as Fillmore’s and tripled the price.

Basically, there are a lot of great pickups out there for every taste. However, I never did like the stock Schaller’s in most of the older Heritage guitars.

[DetroitBlues]

I prefer a lower output pickup and then use a preamp to boost the gain.  

Everything from Dimarzio PAF, to 59's, Gibson 57 Classics, Burstbucker Pro's, and Seth Lovers.  One of my favorite combinations was a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the Bridge and a Seth Lover in the Neck.  Covered all my blues and rock tunes.

[bolero]

12 hours ago, rwinking said:

I have a few guitars with different pups....Seth Lovers, Duncan’s, even a set of Fillmore’s from Jim Wagner. I am not sure if the name Dimarzio is a bad word around here, but I never here them mentioned. I have a set of his PAF 36th Anniversary's in an h-150, some PAF Pro’s in an H-170 and a PAF Master in my H-140. I find them to be stellar and every bit as great sounding as the Seth’s or Duncans. Interesting thing with the Fillmore’s isI found them to be pretty much the same as the Super Distortion humbuckers. It was almost like they re-branded them as Fillmore’s and tripled the price.

Basically, there are a lot of great pickups out there for every taste. However, I never did like the stock Schaller’s in most of the older Heritage guitars.

agree, I had some Fillmore's & didn't care for them much either. To his credit, he is unabashedly using his own methods to wind pups, which I found refreshing

also agree, Dimarzio 36th PAFs are great

[Gitterman]

Ended up buying a set of Planet Tone Pasadena 78'. There ALNICo2, 6.5k in the neck, 7.0k bridge. lower output for higher gain, I suppose. I do know my Prosonic has a massive amount of gain on the drive channel, so this should help. My 150 muds up quick with this amp, my tele stays nice and bright, as does my Les Paul with Carvin pups in it. So, ultimately Im hoping to get more range out of my tone knob. When they get here and I get them in, Ill report back and let you guys know. This set typically come with alnico V, but these guys will wind up custom sets for you. They are out of Texas and stock pups run $59 ea. I felt like supporting an american winder and I hope they sound as good as they're clips do. We shall see once I get them into my 150 and see how they react to my guitar.

[Gitterman]

Next problem. Where can I find some curved pup rings? The Planet Tone pups only have a single hole on the mount.

[PunkKitty]

Allparts

[Gitterman]

15 hours ago, PunkKitty said:

Allparts

Thank You, Kitty