LEADGUY and whoever is interested

[Marshall SL12301]

I was at the Seymour Duncan shop and got a tour of the whole facility...This lady took me into the Custom Shop which is basically just a little room off of the main open assembly line area where pups are wound to different specs...I asked her about the EVH pickup and she reached into a cupboard and pulled out an old dusty box with this old beat-up pickup...She said there it is, that's the original the was copied...At the time, I didn't really know about the history like I do now, but whatever this pickup was, it appeared to be put together pretty shotty and was cleary well-used...

That lady was maricela juarez , So was it the hex poled Mighty mite DSD style pup? these do look shotty made

[Marshall SL12301]

All this talk about the duncan custom got me thinking and very curious so i tried a ceramic from a custom in my EVH frankenstein pup that had a weakened A2 stock and WOW! all i can say is try it!

[jnewlyn]

I was at the Seymour Duncan shop and got a tour of the whole facility...This lady took me into the Custom Shop which is basically just a little room off of the main open assembly line area where pups are wound to different specs...I asked her about the EVH pickup and she reached into a cupboard and pulled out an old dusty box with this old beat-up pickup...She said there it is, that's the original the was copied...At the time, I didn't really know about the history like I do now, but whatever this pickup was, it appeared to be put together pretty shotty and was cleary well-used...

I'm not following this. If you're saying it's the original as in the one in Ed's guitar, it wouldn't make sense. Why would Ed leave it there when he clearly had beef about this to begin with. Now, if you're saying it's the original, first copy that Seymour cloned of Ed's actual, then that would make more sense to me.

[Sparky4444]

I can't remember much about the pickup other than it sure looked old, and it sure looked like a piece of crap!

[fivecoyote]

Is everyone seeing that ad okay? Dying to see it, but all I get is like a 2" version that I can't even read by blowing the screen up. Can someone pm it to me pls?

[Marshall SL12301]

Is everyone seeing that ad okay? Dying to see it, but all I get is like a 2" version that I can't even read by blowing the screen up. Can someone pm it to me pls?

UNFORTUNATELY the host(frank falbo) or someone??? over at duncans forum had that ad shrunk since i first posted it here!
Did anyone download it before it was shrunk? leadguy save the day here bro!

[Ted B]

[mapat]

Is everyone seeing that ad okay? Dying to see it, but all I get is like a 2" version that I can't even read by blowing the screen up. Can someone pm it to me pls?

If you look closely at the NOW HUMBUCKERS! paragraph you'll see that Van Halen is redacted from the December 1979 ad.

...the same fantastic sound. VAN HALEN, Elliot Easton (CARS)...

becomes

...the same fantastic sound. <blank space> Elliot Easton (CARS)...

Also in the HUMBUCKERS section the fifth bullet,

-The Duncan Custom (Van Halen)

becomes

-The Duncan Custom

[Marshall SL12301]

HUGE thanks to ted for saving the day with the original size print!

[Marshall SL12301]

I am pretty convinced that prior to the 1st record ed had used the MM's and DSD's in the clubs and on the demos but right before he went into the studio to make their debut for a major label eddie went to seymour and said i use these but want it more like this(the look and tone) which is the duncan custom! thats what i would do if i were getting ready to do my first major release!
I think the black PAF looking pup is the ES335 paf rewound to the 13.6K custom and was used for all the strat parts on the 1st record. The rest is amp,hands,effects,etc
Now mind you the customs being today may not be that same exact pup??? My newer ones are all darker sounding
But IF you own a old 1979 handwound one like i do chances are it is the same as the VH custom
these are very easy to ID, there is NO engraving on the baseplate like the newer ones have"seymour duncan pickups made in the USA" and the tag just says "THE CUSTOM" like mine here, The eddie vanhalen custom


here is the top of my custom


I have NEVER seen or heard about one but i wonder if the earliest customs had a VAN HALEN CUSTOM sticker?

[Marshall SL12301]

Ted, whas the reason all these PAF variations sound diff from each other? I have 9 variations(duncan ant, 59,seth,handwounds,dimarzio 36th,etc)

[Ted B]

For starters, there are tonal variations among vintage PAFs, but few modern reproductions sound convincingly like any of them.

Magnets - Real PAFs used A2,3,4 and 5 interchangeably. These were sand cast American magnets, not the cheap Chinese magnets that virtually every modern pickup maker (Duncan, DiMarzio, etc.) uses today. There is definitely a difference.

Wire - Real PAFs used plain enamel 42awg wire. Modern poly wire has a different overall diameter and capacitance.

Winding - The tension and winding patterns associated with real PAFs is a key to replicating that sound. None of the originals were hand wound, and that is apparently important.

Bobbins - The shape of those original butyrate Gibson bobbins is important

Poles - Matching Gibson's metallurgy is apparently important

Coils - Real PAFs had asymmetrical coils - no two had the exact same resistance, simply because the winding was not automated.

My advice is, if you want a PAF in your pickup stash, sell those nine you have presently, and get one of these:

A2 - familiar '59-'60, early ZZ Top
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRXSTI4z ... re=related

A5 - typical post '60, the Franky pickup Ed would have pulled out of his ES-335
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRmDKDR9 ... re=related

A5 (hot) - Gibson employee took a coffee break while the winder was running, Jimmy Page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu9FpWiiQrw

[frankfalbo]

But IF you own a old 1979 handwound one like i do...

Seymour Duncan humbuckers were never hand wound, neither were Gibson's, as Ted states.

I have NEVER seen or heard about one but i wonder if the earliest customs had a VAN HALEN CUSTOM sticker?

No. Just like no early JB said "JB (Harmonics)" and no The Mag said "Mag (Strat* sound). They just had the names of the pickups.

[Marshall SL12301]

Ted thanks for the info and i see that you dont really feel the duncan seth or antiquity is a real good PAF copy? duncan does use all those right materials on them?

[Ted B]

Don't know about the Seth, but I don't care for the Antiquities. For starters, the degaussed magnets are too weak and functionally lacking. Quite a few of those who have them have discovered that changing the magnets to the correct type and strength makes for a substantial improvement.