Seth Lover - best pickup for Blues??

[progrmr]

J/K about the title! I know there is no "best" when it comes to sound - relative to the player.

I've just gotten another Epi DOT after foolishly selling off the DOT Deluxe I had last year. Love the guitar and want to put some GREAT pickups in it. I expect that blues (clean and dirtied up a bit) and classic rock with be the sounds I'm after.

I've never considered SD Seth Lover's before but a few youtube videos I found seem like they fit the bill even better than the Gibson 57 classics.

Anybody use Seth Lover's for this type of application?? I'm also looking at the SD Antiquities so anything there would be help too.

[Spudman***]

I've not used them but have done quite a bit or research on them and they will definitely be a cleaner less aggressive sound. So they could be a good choice for blues and certainly a great choice for that guitar. Another consideration would be a 59 or paf which would be a bit more aggressive sounding.

[kidsmoke*]

Seth Lovers are the p'up of choice on my 535, which is the same design as a dot. I too have been looking at lots of videos of Seth's in this style, and it seems to work real well. Lollar makes the statement that a lower output p'up was standard on the early 60's 335's, and I had the privilege of watching Warren Haynes play solo electric with his '61 with original PAF's and that is forever my standard now. I contacted the largest seller of 535's in the country with this question and here was his response, copied from his email.....


We did a very in depth comparsion with the pickups and the Lollar Imperials
and Seth Lovers tied for 1st place. However we'd usually recommend the Seth
Lover, because they cost less, but they're every bit as great.

Thanks,

Here's a video from that dudes shop, a semi with Lovers through a Blackstar Combo....

Check out the whole video, he runs through a variety of tones.

I'm seriously considering them for mine.



Another video, same shop, comparing two 535's, one with Seth Lovers, one with 59's, same amp. Hard to tell though....

[progrmr]

A guy locally has a set of seymour duncan SH-2N and an SH-6B - the 6 is the Mayhem Distortion (yikes!) but I found a few videos of clean tones with it and it sounds good. I think it might go well paired with the 2N in the neck. Guy $100 for both so they're much cheaper than buying new. I think I'm gonna get them and give them a try in the DOT - if they don't workout I'll just sell them off.

[wingsdad]

The SH55N was the designer's choice for the stock neck postion pickup in the G&L ASAT Classic Bluesboy and has been ever since. I have one. The best sounds from this guitar come in the 'both' pups position, blending the hot single coil bridge pup with the Lover.

This excerpt from the Duncan site;s description of the Lover makes it obvious why it was the choice for this Tele-type guitar, why it makes sense with the H535, and also, ain't too much true blues bein' played thru rectumfryer-loaded amps:

"For brighter toned instruments. Works especially well with maple and ebony fingerboards. Not recommended for use with ultra high gain tube amplifiers over 50 watts. ""

Also note: with the lower magnetism of Alnico 2 magnets, it's naturally lower in output gain. This excerpt from the same source also helps explain why it's a primo choice for Blues...which personally, I think in terms of Chicago or Delta:

"Just like the original 1955 P.A.F.s, the SH-55 utilizes a nickel silver cover and long-legged nickel silver bottom plate, butyrate plastic bobbins, plain enamel wire, Alnico 2 bar, wooden spacer, and black paper tape. To be completely true to the original design and tone, the pickup is not wax potted. The tone is vintage P.A.F. The unpotted cover gives a slightly "honky" microphonic quality. Vintage style single conductor cable standard."

Again: not a good match for high gain styles. But if you favor your tones to be of the "silky", "creamy", or "buttery" smooth variety....

[progrmr]

I got the SH-2N and SH-6B installed this evening - they sound GREAT. The tone isn't too thick in the neck and neck/bridge, but warm and clear. The bridge pickup just completely rules when it comes to even just a little distortion to a lot of distortion. The clean tone on the bridge - a bit too bright if you don't roll off the tone a bit. It's a very clear pickup though - the definition of the notes is outstanding.

I haven't had a lot of time to play with it yet as the neighbors complain if I get too loud. But tomorrow I'm going to turn the amp up a bit and let 'er rip. I think it'll do just fine with the variety of tones on the Vibrochamp XD.