Most unique sounding pickups
- Thread starter Shadowy_Man
- Start date
Yes Sir !
These two were being made by Gibson.
But btw, ALL DEARMONDS require guitarists' attention ! 200x models (dynasonics) for sure, but all type of foils pickups (gold, silver, moustache) are really great expressive and powerful pickups.
I'm in for the lipstick too, and I will add the speedbump they came with some Kays (like the red speedemon for instance)...
Ricochet
Senior Gretsch-Talker
It cracks me up Gold foils use rubberised Ferrite magnets. The same stuff they use on fridge magnets.
GDP Refugee AndyJ
Electromatic
Lots of unique mentions. One that strikes my fancy are Jaguar pickups . . .very spanky and bitey w/o being thin. Much of their sound could be attributed to the quirks of the guitar, but they do seem to occupy a very specific tonal space.
BohemianLikeMe
Synchromatic
Big regret here in not keeping my old Kay Jack White archtop with the speedbump. That thing sounded great.
I'm pretty sure Kay did their pickups in house which makes them pretty unique. The Kleenex-box Barney Kessels are pretty cool too.
I don't know how typical their construction is, but vintage Hagstrom single coils are great too-- they don't sound anything like your Fender tele/strat coils-- much hotter and punchier.
Speaking of hot and punchy, I've always wanted to try a real Mosrite style pickup.
BohemianLikeMe
Synchromatic
Were Vistatones the really hot single coil pickups that look like humbuckers Supro put on the J.B. Hutto and Lexington models?
Incidentally, I'd love to get my hands on a Supro Lexington someday.
Yep, thems Vista tones.Were Vistatones the really hot single coil pickups that look like humbuckers Supro put on the J.B. Hutto and Lexington models?
Incidentally, I'd love to get my hands on a Supro Lexington someday.
I hate that sound. However, a piezo blended with an internal mic’ can sound good.
ForTheLoveOfIvy
Gretschie
Yeah I really like how Bloodshot Bill's guitar sounds with that neck Kleenex box pickup.
jvin248
Gretschie
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Rummage through the old 60s-Teisco and early 70s-Lawsuit-era guitars!
Many of the Lawsuit models had what looked like humbuckers but if you opened them up they were a large single coil more like a P90 stuffed under a humbucker shell so buyers thought they got something extra during the humbucker patent coverage.
This is my 1963 Teisco with Jazzmaster-like pickups. I expected a toy sound because the guitar only weighs five and a half pounds, but after fixing it up so it played due to severe backbow in the neck only fixed with removing and regluing the fretboard plus refretting it has a monster tone. Slightly later they switched the Tulip model to Strat-like single coils and put their spring trem on them.
Of course, there is the Cooder Caster that caused the demise of many a Teisco guitar ... Recently boutique winders started making clones of the cheap gold foils copying the secrets from those old trashy kids guitars from the 60s.
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Rummage through the old 60s-Teisco and early 70s-Lawsuit-era guitars!
Many of the Lawsuit models had what looked like humbuckers but if you opened them up they were a large single coil more like a P90 stuffed under a humbucker shell so buyers thought they got something extra during the humbucker patent coverage.
This is my 1963 Teisco with Jazzmaster-like pickups. I expected a toy sound because the guitar only weighs five and a half pounds, but after fixing it up so it played due to severe backbow in the neck only fixed with removing and regluing the fretboard plus refretting it has a monster tone. Slightly later they switched the Tulip model to Strat-like single coils and put their spring trem on them.
Of course, there is the Cooder Caster that caused the demise of many a Teisco guitar ... Recently boutique winders started making clones of the cheap gold foils copying the secrets from those old trashy kids guitars from the 60s.
.
Shadowy_Man
Synchromatic
Jaguar pickups are superficially similar to Strat pickups, but I think the metal claws add to their inductance and help give them that prominent resonant peak sound.
BohemianLikeMe
Synchromatic
Franzes are supposed to be great, but I'll confess I've never heard them in person and I don't know if anyone does repros.
mister rain
Synchromatic
neil young sure seems to like his…
mister rain
Synchromatic
jealous. bet that was a show.
Shadowy_Man
Synchromatic
Guild sells them:
Guild Franz P90 Dog Ear Bridge Pickup - Ivory | Guild Guitars
Dimensions (including bezel): length – 106mm; width – 41mm Bridge: Alnico 5 magnet, 6.90K resistance. Ivory cover with Nickel Plated pole pieces. Hardware Included. As found on the Newark St. Collection X-175 Manhattan. If you’re looking for a part to fit a guitar that was made prior to 2014...
shop.guildguitars.com
Yep, that's what I have in my acoustic. I usually set the balance to max the mic without feedback.
I know little about these pickups, but I’d love to learn more. Finding one to play is a bit of a challenge.
Answering both quoted posts.
Jaguars, IMHO, are quite misunderstood. As I see it, the Jaguar is sort of a Telecaster in a tuxedo. It’s a very bright guitar, with a unique voice, and a unique feel. It doesn’t make a great deal of sense, in one way, because the scale is so short. It shouldn’t be as spanky as it is, but it is capable of chicken pickin’ like a Tele. When I had my CIJ ‘66 Jaguar RI, I was in a band with another guitarist, who played a Tele. I took one solo and he visibly reacted at how much it sounded like his Telecaster.
As I understand it, the pickups are pretty much the same as a Strat, but as Shadowy Man mentions, the claw changes things. I recently listened to an unboxing video of a Squier CV Jaguar, and that sound was unmistakable. The one thing they don’t sound like is a Strat. It’s not exactly like a Tele, but it’s not completely unlike a Tele, either.
Both a Jaguar and a Tele have a powerful sound, but the heft is different. I would credit this to the bridge design. Telecaster bridges are anchored to granite, Jaguar bridges are set on pylons. The behavior of the string vibration is different because of this, so the pickups are sensing something different.
