Are the Lee Ranaldo WRHB different?

[ChrisFFTA]

Are the ones dropped into Lees AIG any different to others?

[mekhem]

Theoretically - yes. They were "updated to Lee's Specs" although details get a little hazy.

Around the time this model was around Fender also made a couple of other changes to the WRHB - maybe in 2011? - and I think the theory was that Fender started to use the Updated WRHB in all MIA and MIM models.


IMHO - going through and setting up the pickups 'Gibson style', ie radiusing the pole pieces and adjusting the pickup hieght to taste really improves the sound of the stock pups.

[sunburster]

Yes, they are unique to his signature model. They are quite low output, my LR from 2014 had pickups that measured 5.84 k. Normal WRHBs are about double that value.

I thought they sounded very nice, not muddy like other reissue WRHBs, but they lacked the thicker, grittier sound of vintage WRHBs. Actually had a nice sparkly single-coil type sound to them.

[Embenny]

Yes, they are unique to his signature model. They are quite low output, my LR from 2014 had pickups that measured 5.84 k. Normal WRHBs are about double that value.

I thought they sounded very nice, not muddy like other reissue WRHBs, but they lacked the thicker, grittier sound of vintage WRHBs. Actually had a nice sparkly single-coil type sound to them.

I think they underwound them to increase the clarity of their tone (which worked), but they're still based on a bar magnet like a PAF instead of the proper rod magnets of a vintage or authentic repro WRHB.

[sunburster]

Yes, they are unique to his signature model. They are quite low output, my LR from 2014 had pickups that measured 5.84 k. Normal WRHBs are about double that value.

I thought they sounded very nice, not muddy like other reissue WRHBs, but they lacked the thicker, grittier sound of vintage WRHBs. Actually had a nice sparkly single-coil type sound to them.

I think they underwound them to increase the clarity of their tone (which worked), but they're still based on a bar magnet like a PAF instead of the proper rod magnets of a vintage or authentic repro WRHB.

They have alnico 5 rod magnets. Wax potted.

[NICQ]

Wow I didn't know that.. but it would explain why I never really understood the description of the Reissue WRHBs beeing wooly and muffled
I thought the LR WRHBs sounded ok and not that bad...

[jesterpunk68]

Curtis Novak has 2 posts about Lee's WRHB pickups in his signature guitar.

http://curtisnovak.com/pickups/repairs/ ... 0-Proto1/


http://curtisnovak.com/pickups/repairs/ ... dSounding/

[Embenny]

Yes, they are unique to his signature model. They are quite low output, my LR from 2014 had pickups that measured 5.84 k. Normal WRHBs are about double that value.

I thought they sounded very nice, not muddy like other reissue WRHBs, but they lacked the thicker, grittier sound of vintage WRHBs. Actually had a nice sparkly single-coil type sound to them.

I think they underwound them to increase the clarity of their tone (which worked), but they're still based on a bar magnet like a PAF instead of the proper rod magnets of a vintage or authentic repro WRHB.

They have alnico 5 rod magnets. Wax potted.

You sure about that? I had seen Curtis Novak's posts (linked above by jesterpunk68) and they had bar magnets.

[redchapterjubilee]

Instead of the bar magnets being beneath the pickup like on the usual reissue WRHB's the Ranaldo's are on the side of the pickup. I've seen photos on OSG in previous years of someone who took them apart. Fender liked the results so much that starting in 2012 the AVRI lines that used those pickups (the 72 thinline, maybe the Deluxe and Custom too) started using them too. Still not close to the way Seth Lover designed them but a LOT better than the previous Fender versions.

[Telenator]

We had experimented with a mod for Lee a while back on those pickups. Didn't get very good results.

We sent him a set of our MOD2's which he ended up using on tour. Real nice guy. And a serious enthusiast.