EVH Tone - Pickup Roundup

[azazael]

I was wondering about that because the axis and wolfgang pups are totally different.
The axis has the best bridge pickup ever made imo.

I have 3 of his pickups i havent used yet.
Have an original of his, one of the first batch he ever put out in my frankie.
I like it a lot.

[jimi22812]

According to MJ at the Duncan Custom Shop the IM1 has a degaussed Alnico 2

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/show ... ?p=2001789" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Search a little further on that forum and you will discover that that initial info put out by MJ was wrong and she later corrected it after Evan weighed in.
The "IM1" has a degaussed A5, the EVH Frankenstein has a degaussed A2.

[rgalpin]

degaussing makes a magnet weaker?

[dirtycooter]

Love the 59-my fave so far

Liked the Wolf stock bridges but could never get the sound to clean up very good and would feedback too easy wide open-but I like gain too so take it as it is

Tried the EBMM VH model-thought it was more closer to the wolf soundwise-yet muddier to my ears lacking even more detail on the top end though-and it appeared to be the stock ones in the guitar looking at the screws holding the pick-ups in and all the time accumulated fuzz and dust on them -the frets were gone on that thing though as it was for sale used-at $1000 and needin new frets. Those guitars are nice but man it needed a fret job. Someone played that thing to death literally Killer top on it too.

Loved the PRS ash bodied maple necked Johnny Highland model I think its called-talk about a sweet top end It was a very buttery version of what I would say is much more closer to a SD59 in my book of recollection of things I tried. Maybe a tad fuller in the bottom and mids.
If it was available aftermarket-I'd be on it like a fat chick on a ice cream cone.

JB's gettin me curious now though.

Played alot of of off the rack -historic version Les Pauls with several different types of PAF takes-some are OK and some aren't.

CPA was using a Gibson Bucker I thought for most of his earlier stuff then switching to the actual new EVH brand P/U lately.

I find I like hairy gained amps with mild output PAF copies though more and more.

[Tone Slinger]

I also like the lower output type pu's in Les Pauls or Gibsons in general for that Matter.

I think that a pu cant change a bad/dud guitar though and that, for the most part, the guitar itself is responsible for the majority of tone, in reference to it sounding like 'Old' EVH.
Bright sounding Wood (Franky'Hard Ash, Destroyer- Jap Sen, which is also bright) along with low to moderate type output hb'ers.

I think that either of Ed's main istruments (Franky and Destroyer) had that attack in thier tone that he was looking for.

The Les Paul junior and that white Les Paul Custom were way to warm and lacked that upper mid/high end sizzle that Ed craved. Changing pu's in those two instruments wouldnt have changed that much.


Ed, if you sorta 'guesstimate' from photo's, had the paf in the B&W era Franky a hair further away from the bridge, than what is typical from production hb'er equiped strats (like Fender's). Add to that, the angle gave the bass side a bit MORE distance.

Ed had a VERY bright toned guitar there (heavy hard ash, maple neck, brass nut) so the actual angle of that pu (probably early 60's a5 paf) allowed Ed to retain that bright crispness and detail that a pu like that has (to me a Duncan '59 sounds VERY close) BUT, it's actual position gave just a bit more heft and substance.

[azazael]

Here is a couple photos I took tonight of my Sound of Sin EVH PAF.
Relic'd.

[paulscape]

Ive had some success with the SD distortion pup. This is straight into a Bray mod1 plexi with a MXR 10band EQ in front (and too much reverb from the studio!)

MP3
you really got me: http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=27396" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
running with the devil: http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=27397" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o86z3dBwvoQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLSG1oWiJ0k" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[StuntDouble]

Does the spacing look right to you guys here? I had to be a bit careful as the wilkinson has the fulcrum points in front of the E strings, instead of further to the outside like the floyd. If I go any closer back towards the bridge, I'm afraid I 'm going to start removing to much wood too close to the posts. I've got my amp setup where I want it; I'm just dialing in my guitars and get a better recorded sound now. I took the MM 1300 out of the Destroyer and put my Ultrar 7T in there. It was a little too throaty with the MM for my taste. I'm going to give the MM a shot in this swampash body. I tried it in my mahogany body and it was really mean sounding, but not VH. There's something really Vh1 about this pup though, and I think if I had the right body, it'd be there. Unfortunately this was the closest I could get with a straight trade for my Mahogany body...clips soon I promise.

[Strat78]

Does the spacing look right to you guys here? I had to be a bit careful as the wilkinson has the fulcrum points in front of the E strings, instead of further to the outside like the floyd. If I go any closer back towards the bridge, I'm afraid I 'm going to start removing to much wood too close to the posts. I've got my amp setup where I want it; I'm just dialing in my guitars and get a better recorded sound now. I took the MM 1300 out of the Destroyer and put my Ultrar 7T in there. It was a little too throaty with the MM for my taste. I'm going to give the MM a shot in this swampash body. I tried it in my mahogany body and it was really mean sounding, but not VH. There's something really Vh1 about this pup though, and I think if I had the right body, it'd be there. Unfortunately this was the closest I could get with a straight trade for my Mahogany body...clips soon I promise.

Great seeing the shot of your vintage Mighty Mite! Maybe the angle is a bit too much?. Put the strings on and tune it up and do some real time placement with the amp on. I would move the bottom away from the bridge about 1/8" (see how it sounds in both spots). You want the low E string to be picked up by the back top pole piece and the high E to be picked up by the lower front pole piece, this makes the low strings less muddy and the high strings fuller (of course you knew this, but just let me bloviate). In a way it simulates a single coil that is angled the opposite way which makes allot of sense.

I know what you mean about the throatiness of the old Mighty Mite pickups, but if you lower the pole pieces it seems to reduce that compression. I've left the ceramic magnet in my latest set up because after hearing the iso ITO tracks, Ed's tone kind of has a ceramic vibe. I've got to try it through my Marshall before coming to any conclusions. Still, I'm hooked on these mid 70's Mighty Mites (been getting them for nothing on eBay lately), they have a snarl that you can sink your teeth into. I picked up a zebra mighty mite #1400 (like the one in Ed's Whiskey Franky?), for $16, and the thing totally sizzles! I thought they were suppose to be wound like a PAF, but it is more like 14k. I think this was the pickup on the first album, maybe.

[StuntDouble]

Does the spacing look right to you guys here? I had to be a bit careful as the wilkinson has the fulcrum points in front of the E strings, instead of further to the outside like the floyd. If I go any closer back towards the bridge, I'm afraid I 'm going to start removing to much wood too close to the posts. I've got my amp setup where I want it; I'm just dialing in my guitars and get a better recorded sound now. I took the MM 1300 out of the Destroyer and put my Ultrar 7T in there. It was a little too throaty with the MM for my taste. I'm going to give the MM a shot in this swampash body. I tried it in my mahogany body and it was really mean sounding, but not VH. There's something really Vh1 about this pup though, and I think if I had the right body, it'd be there. Unfortunately this was the closest I could get with a straight trade for my Mahogany body...clips soon I promise.

Great seeing the shot of your vintage Mighty Mite! Maybe the angle is a bit too much?. Put the strings on and tune it up and do some real time placement with the amp on. I would move the bottom away from the bridge about 1/8" (see how it sounds in both spots). You want the low E string to be picked up by the back top pole piece and the high E to be picked up by the lower front pole piece, this makes the low strings less muddy and the high strings fuller (of course you knew this, but just let me bloviate). In a way it simulates a single coil that is angled the opposite way which makes allot of sense.

I know what you mean about the throatiness of the old Mighty Mite pickups, but if you lower the pole pieces it seems to reduce that compression. I've left the ceramic magnet in my latest set up because after hearing the iso ITO tracks, Ed's tone kind of has a ceramic vibe. I've got to try it through my Marshall before coming to any conclusions. Still, I'm hooked on these mid 70's Mighty Mites (been getting them for nothing on eBay lately), they have a snarl that you can sink your teeth into. I picked up a zebra mighty mite #1400 (like the one in Ed's Whiskey Franky?), for $16, and the thing totally sizzles! I thought they were suppose to be wound like a PAF, but it is more like 14k. I think this was the pickup on the first album, maybe.

Ok is this angle a little better? I think I'm going to have to put some little washers under the baseplate to get the pup a little closer to the strings. How does the MM 1400 differ from the 1300. I remember seeing an old MightyMite advertisememt, and I remembered thinking that it was supposed to be more like a PAF; is it hotter than the 1300?

[Strat78]

Looks great! I like that angle aesthetically and also because you get a little more bass on the high strings and treble on the low E. It seems like the #1300 and the #1400 are the same, at least the one I have. The #1400 is a little hotter but thats it. I've got to try an A5 magnet in it eventually.t. Now my Whisky strat is complete with the pickup and now a bone nut (the bone sounds pretty much the same as the brass nut, but slightly warmer).

[leadguy]

That's interesting about the #1300 and the #1400.
Maybe the main difference were the colours, zebra vs white.

[StuntDouble]

Could be; either way I'd like to find a few more and compare the two pups. I'm going to see how this 1300 sound with the A8 in this body, and I'll try an A5 next. I've got two SuperD's in reserve. I'm going to load up and A5 in the older of the two and give it a shot as well.

BTW, that clip is fantastic Paul!!!

[Tone Slinger]

I think that the pu in Ed's late '77-'78 era b&w Franky wasnt as close to the bridge as whats in that Honey colored guitar. I think that the angle doesnt neccisarilly accentuates the low strings to have more bite and the hi ones less bite. Both poles still pick up vibration. I think it simply gets more 'focus' when done like this, though to some extent the closer pole piece would have more 'say', so , yeah lower strings might have a little more sizzle.

I think Ed's pick up looked a bit further from the bridge in '77-'78. The R.B and W era floyd version I'm not sure about. Ed probably changed the pu position.

Ed seemed to be able to clean his sound up VERY well by rolling back his guitars volume. Ceramic magnets seem to get muddy when doing this. Does the mm's clean up well ?

[Tone Slinger]

Wasn't the zebra coiled hb'er on the solid black era Franky (1st album era ) straight and not angled ? Now that you mention it, I DO hear a very ceramic type vibe to alot of the Warner Bros. demoes and the first album. Ed's tone didnt clen up quite as well on some of that stuff.

Strat78, how do Duncan Custom's or Distortion models sound in comparison to the old Mighty Mite's ?