Thoughts on pickups to go with Mark IIC+?

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deaconschwaz

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So I know this is the guitar forum, I don't have a brand of guitar to discuss as I'm going to build my own. I've decided to make a double-cut, Les Paul style with a mahogany body and maple carved top, set neck. I'm looking at a Schaller Tune-o-matic type bridge with piezo electric built in, but I'm unsure about the main pups. I was perusing the Seymour Duncan site and ran into the P-Rails, which are intriguing. Here's a link if you haven't seen them: http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/progressive/prails_shpr1/
Basically they give you single coil, P-90's and Humbuckers all in one PUP.

in addition to these I was thinking about getting the triple shot mounting ring which allows you to switch between the three different modes at the pups themselves rather than using a push pull pot. Link here: http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/triple-shot/triple_shot_swi/

So bearing in mind that my amp is a mark IIC+, which is very loud I'm thinking I don't necessarily need high output pickups, in fact I think some that are toned down might just be the thing. I'm looking to get a wide array of tones, and would like to get some single coil sounds so coil tap/split has always been on the table.

What I want to know is if anyone has had any experience with these pickups, or whether there are any other mark series owners that would recommend setups for someone who plays mostly blues, heavy rock, classic tones. Floyd, Zeppelin, QOTSA, White Stripes. Not looking for metal tones out of this guitar.

Does anyone have any opinions about Seymour Duncan PUPS? Guitar body woods? Just looking for input, I'm pretty sure about my direction but why not hear what other people think?

Thanks, John
 
The duncan pick ups that i have are a very old Duncan Distortion, and new AHB-1 Blackouts. Both are great but if i were to choose between them the blackouts win. For an active pickup it is surprisingly versitile. It can handle pretty much anything, even cleans are impresive. Sorry i didn't really answer your question, but this is all i got in duncans. I have a guitar with Bill Lawrence pickups in it too. You might want to check out some of those too.
 
Hi John. The P Rails are amazing pups. I have used them in the past and loved them dearly. The triple shot is also a great match to the P Rails. And no you don't need a high output pup. The idea that a pickup should mercilessly beat an amp into submission with gain is really not the best. I , like you seem to be, prefer my guitar to sound like a guitar and prefer to let my amp do what amps do best, coast smoothly into the distortion.

As far as woods, mahogany is always a good choice with lower output pickups. I think you'd be pleased with a mahogany body with P Rails. In fact i might need to build me a P Rail mahogany guitar soon. :D

Peace, Joshua
 
Thanks for the feedback guys, I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the P rails after watching the video on Seymour Duncan. Also thinking of putting a varitone on this guitar and a rotary pickup selector with phase switching, going into a Les Paul double cut with a maple topped mahogany body. Needless to say the wiring on this thing is going to be a ratsnest. I've been checking out the Bareknuckles humbuckers and Adeson Brian May spec Burns Tri-sonics, (special order) which I may be looking to put into a very different guitar soon. Will post some pics when I get underway if anybody's interested.
 
tim at bareknuckles is the real deal-tell him exactly what you want..be specific(tone,wood,pots,amp,etc...)he always hits it square on the head-bottom line,if he isn't out of town on business, he will get back to you asap-a cool chap :wink:
good luck on your quest
 
I just want to put in a good word for BareKnucle pickups. I myself don't own a set (yet, though I'm looking at some Painkillers) but over at the JVM forum a lot of folks have bought them and everyone was VERY satisfied.
 
just thought I'd post a couple pics showing what I've done so far. Still haven't decided on PUP's but I have some time yet.

went with a laminated neck, alternating layers of quarter sawn maple on the outside with flame maple sandwiched between walnut. At the scarf joint I added another piece of walnut that when pared down on the back side of the headstock will create an arrow point volute in line with the chevron pattern of the flame maple.
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Ziricote fretboard, and west African ebony top plate for the headstock. I was very careful selecting the woods as to not pick up any species of questionable origin. The body is a piece of Sapele mahogany sandwiched between a carved top and back of flame NW maple. I'm going to go with a shallow neck angle of around 1.5 degrees for the neck more like a PRS than a Les Paul.

Here's a pic of the glue up for the top
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Additionally I chambered the lower bout opposite the electronics. I laid out the routs based on the golden ratio and selected the most tonally muted portion of the body blank for this area before it was roughed out. I have no idea if it will have any effect on the sound, but it feels very well balanced. I did not want this to feel like a freshly felled log.

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And finally, a closeup of the grain for the top of the guitar

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Nice build. Among the PRS I've played, I like the Santana's (double cutaway) version the best (or McCarthy Hollow Bodies).
 
some updated pics
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Think I'm gonna go with Tom Anderson pickups on this one. They seem to have the best blend of classic and modern tone, and I've heard good things about how they sound when split. I'm using the five way, rotary tone selector a la PRS guitars on this so I really want something that splits nicely.
 
some updates:

First photo shows me holding the guitar after I fit the neck joint. At this point there were no fasteners or glue, it's simply a pressure fit.

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Here's another showing the ziricote fretboard pre-frets

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Here's the volute detail and rough shape of the headstock

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my first ever fret job!

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and here it is strung up just to make sure I'd done everything right. Good news, I cut the fret slots right and it intonated right from the start. I still need to fix a couple buzzy frets and finish shaping the nut, (and other stuff like finish shaping the neck, steam bend and wrap the body with curly maple, finish contouring the body sand and finish and install the electronics, but other than that it's mostly done)

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I can't describe the happiness that comes with making your own guitar and then playing it for the first time to find that it works. So glad it wasn't the opposite...
 
lesterpaul said:
impressive, my friend-great job, that is a major accomplishment,no doubt-and I like the wine bottles in the background-adds to the "artist" environment!
Thanks for the encouragement, it's become a bit of an obsession but I think it will all be worth it in the end. Unfortunately, I recently tore a ligament in my left thumb and my woodworking is on hold right now. Hopefully I can finish wrapping the side in the next couple weeks so I can finally cap the back and get on to finishing. I'll post more pics as they come!
 
gonzo said:
the bill lawrence Wilde L-90's are brilliant for this application
I've been checking those out since you mentioned it, I might have to pick some up. Really like the tone and you can't beat the price. The only thing I'm not sure I like is the blade look, but maybe I could cover them. Thanks for the heads up!
 
no, you don't want to cover them.
that's where the magic is.

zero losses, across the blade.

can't get that from pole pieces.

plus, the window of 'capture' is continuous.

they really work.


here's a set of Wilde 500L's, in my custom USACG strat:

strat1lv4.jpg



now, Lawrence does have some other pickup models, that look more typical:

"The Custom Series"
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you have to do your homework when selecting the 'strength' of the pickups.
he measures his in HENRIES, and has a wide range of strengths available.


go here, for homework:
http://guitarsbyfender.yuku.com/forums/11#.TygWCVy0y88


that's a beautiful guitar, by the way....
dig it.
 
been awhile since I posted any updates so I figured I'd catch up. It's almost done now, just have to finish the inlay on the headstock and finish the nut, then assemble.

Here's a pic of what I'm doing for the head stock, I'm in the process of cutting the separate pieces and don't have pics or the reals

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Got some Grover sta-tites with butterbean knobs, took them out of the box and relic'd them to match the relic'd bridge and tailstock

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The process of making this body was very convoluted and complicated and I'll spare you the details, I will however recommend to anyone thinking about building a guitar don't try and build one like this for your first. Build a tele or a strat or some other flat guitar, save yourself the tears. If I wasn't so psychotic about getting this done I'd probably have given up long ago, but I am so here's how it looks today.

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what I was going for was what I've been calling a "root beer burst". In pic's it looks kind of like a tobacco burst or antique but it's more towards the brownish red in real life. My goal was to make it look like a flashlight shining through a glass of root beer, and I think I nailed it. Super stoked as this was my first time using an airbrush and it was kind of nerve racking taking an unfamiliar tool to something you've spent a year working on (not continuously). I'm hoping to have it all set up and ready to play by Thanksgiving and I'll be sure to post a sound clip.
 

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