Bloozcat
February 3rd, 2009, 11:41 AM
As most of you know, I am very pleased with the Agile AD 3000M I recently purchased, and it's just such a pleasure to play. The Alnico V pickups that came in it do an admirable job of getting a nice rock vibe...better than I had expected. The combination of a mahogany body and neck along with the 3/4" maple cap really produced that wonderfully woody LP tone.
BUT (and you just knew there was a "but" coming), I want this particular guitar to capture that classic LP tone. Not just some mythical and amorphous PAF tone that's only in my head, but that PAF tone that I hear coming from Claptons LP on the Bluesbreaker album, and Duane's tone on Live at the Filmore East. Yeah, that PAF tone...
The wood is there, and with it the right acoustic tone, so it's down to the electronics...and more specifically, the pickups. So, after drooling over the sound clips for the WCR Filmore humbuckers for a few years, and more recently the clips of the Sheptone Blue Sky humbuckers, I think I have found some pickups that may deliver that tone without breaking the bank. $260.00 a set just seemed a little too steep for me to justify for a $400.00 guitar - and that price included a HS case).
So after some lengthy research on the components and particular windings that produce the type of tone I was looking for, I went on a search for someone who could wind this magical pickup at a price that wouldn't break the bank. As I had done when I first found Highorder Pickups ($80.00 for a set of PAF's, now $140.00), and Vintagevibe Guitars ($70.00 for the Alnico P-90's, now $151.00), I found a winder who's just starting to gain a reputation and following. I found him on E-bay and his business is called GUITARFORCE Custom Pickups. Here's the set I ordered today:
Lord of the Blues -- The Lord of the Blues set produces pure to the core PAF tone. Using a different winding recipe and a reliced Alnico 4 magnet, we have given this pickup a dynamically rich PAF voicing. The bridge pickup generates plenty of vintage chime and midrange punch as well as clarity on the high end that comes through without ever being harsh. The ultra-sensitive string response of the neck pickup provides an abundant amount of note definition making picked notes and chords sparkle. This set enhances any guitar but works particularly well for Les Paul-type guitars with the mahogany body/maple top combination. This is an outstanding set for the blues, country, or rock player. If you have been searching for the holy grail of PAF tone, you may have just found it with this vintage-style pickup. Specifications: Bridge DCR: 8.5K Ohm, Neck DCR: 7.3K Ohm, Magnet: Alnico 4.
As a special introductory E-bay special price they cost $125.00...
It'll be a couple of weeks 'til I get them and then I'll know if I found a lucky score again...:AOK:
http://guitarforcepickups.com/home
BUT (and you just knew there was a "but" coming), I want this particular guitar to capture that classic LP tone. Not just some mythical and amorphous PAF tone that's only in my head, but that PAF tone that I hear coming from Claptons LP on the Bluesbreaker album, and Duane's tone on Live at the Filmore East. Yeah, that PAF tone...
The wood is there, and with it the right acoustic tone, so it's down to the electronics...and more specifically, the pickups. So, after drooling over the sound clips for the WCR Filmore humbuckers for a few years, and more recently the clips of the Sheptone Blue Sky humbuckers, I think I have found some pickups that may deliver that tone without breaking the bank. $260.00 a set just seemed a little too steep for me to justify for a $400.00 guitar - and that price included a HS case).
So after some lengthy research on the components and particular windings that produce the type of tone I was looking for, I went on a search for someone who could wind this magical pickup at a price that wouldn't break the bank. As I had done when I first found Highorder Pickups ($80.00 for a set of PAF's, now $140.00), and Vintagevibe Guitars ($70.00 for the Alnico P-90's, now $151.00), I found a winder who's just starting to gain a reputation and following. I found him on E-bay and his business is called GUITARFORCE Custom Pickups. Here's the set I ordered today:
Lord of the Blues -- The Lord of the Blues set produces pure to the core PAF tone. Using a different winding recipe and a reliced Alnico 4 magnet, we have given this pickup a dynamically rich PAF voicing. The bridge pickup generates plenty of vintage chime and midrange punch as well as clarity on the high end that comes through without ever being harsh. The ultra-sensitive string response of the neck pickup provides an abundant amount of note definition making picked notes and chords sparkle. This set enhances any guitar but works particularly well for Les Paul-type guitars with the mahogany body/maple top combination. This is an outstanding set for the blues, country, or rock player. If you have been searching for the holy grail of PAF tone, you may have just found it with this vintage-style pickup. Specifications: Bridge DCR: 8.5K Ohm, Neck DCR: 7.3K Ohm, Magnet: Alnico 4.
As a special introductory E-bay special price they cost $125.00...
It'll be a couple of weeks 'til I get them and then I'll know if I found a lucky score again...:AOK:
http://guitarforcepickups.com/home