Jazzblaster Build/ WRHB questions

[Somnospeed]

When I said "hobbyist", I meant people like me who don't play live, don't play in a band, don't do any serious recording, and don't do much more than play at home when time permits. I myself haven't played live in decades, outside a couple open jams at local watering hole. None of the guys I know play live, most never have, but that doesn't mean we don't have the same taste as a guitar snob who's been a rockstar for 40 years. Music is not my life, it's my hobby. I am a hobbyist musician who likes WRPU. My musician friends are the same, but minus the WRHB fascination. They like my WRHB when they play them and always complement the tone, but they seem to have no desire to own any. They like them, they just don't like them enough to pay for them.
WRHB are not a versatile pickup in my opinion. Versatile tone-wise, yes, but not musical genre versatile. Personally, I've never known, or known of, anyone whose only guitar has WRHB.

[øøøøøøø]

When I said "hobbyist", I meant people like me who don't play live, don't play in a band, don't do any serious recording, and don't do much more than play at home when time permits. I myself haven't played live in decades, outside a couple open jams at local watering hole. None of the guys I know play live, most never have, but that doesn't mean we don't have the same taste as a guitar snob who's been a rockstar for 40 years. Music is not my life, it's my hobby. I am a hobbyist musician who likes WRPU. My musician friends are the same, but minus the WRHB fascination. They like my WRHB when they play them and always complement the tone, but they seem to have no desire to own any. They like them, they just don't like them enough to pay for them.
WRHB are not a versatile pickup in my opinion. Versatile tone-wise, yes, but not musical genre versatile. Personally, I've never known, or known of, anyone whose only guitar has WRHB.

I don't really see it that way at all

[Somnospeed]

I don't disagree with your version of versatile at all. The WRHB sounded outstanding in all three clips. Unfortunately, I don't play any of those styles. Not that I wouldn't, I just couldn't. I listen to a lot of different types of music, but it is pretty much all rock music that I play. Classic rock, Grunge rock, thrash metal, noise rock, indie rock, shoegaze. The WRHB is great for the last three, but the last three aren't really that different sounding, tone-wise. The stuff I play and listen to doesn't anyway. I do enjoy playing all genres on my WRHB guitars though. But if I'm looking to match the tone of whichever classic rock or grunge songs I'm into in the moment, it's just not usually a WRHB guitar.

That is some mighty fine guitar pickin' in the videos, though. Players like that can make a washtub bass sound beautiful. lol

[Lost In Autumn]

I'll also gently point out that there's a whole, rich spectrum between players "mentioned in great guitar players conversations" and "hobbyist guitarists."

Many of the most fantastic players out there are people you've never heard of, but who make the artists you have heard of sound great on tours and recordings. And it has always been this way.

Damn straight.

There’s a huge spectrum of great players out there. If you limit yourself to some guitar magazine pantheon you’re missing out.

I don’t believe in ranking guitar sounds by some kind of “professionalism” standard. It’s about getting musical ideas across. Marc Ribot and Ry Cooder (just to name a few off the top of my head) are highly skilled players who are masters at using “bad” guitar sounds.

that's such a weird take. It's worth noting that mainstream music trends and tastes changed dramatically during the course of the WRHB pickups original run. When it was introduced in '71, rock sounds varied from country crossover like the rolling stones & the eagles, jazz and country inflected tones of Steely Dan, as well as popular bands like America, Creedence Clearwater Revival, ZZ Top, Loggins & Messina et al, as well as popular country. Regardless of whether the artists I'd mentioned played guitars with them, there was a prevalent tone that suited the pickups. By the time the WRHB's ended their run in '79, tastes had changed considerably. as for musicians who play them now, I certainly wouldn't call Sonic Youth, Blur, Franz Ferdinan, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, U2, Black Crowes or Coldplay "hobby guitarists."

[Somnospeed]

You are correct that music styles changed in the 71-81 era, but you could say that literally about every single decade since the 1950's. Changing music trends contributed to the literal disappearance of WRHB, but... Despite every single change in every single decade, the humbucker, the single coil, ane even the Filtertrons remain largely the same and their popularity has remained no matter what music is played. That's 70+ years and counting of those three styles of pickups. Millions upon millions of guitars sold with those pickups. It's without question that WRHB aren't even in the same universe when it comes to popularity of the last three. I mean, that's backed with math, not opinions.

I'd say few guitarists, by comparison to the masses, would call Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore "great greats". Neither would either of those guys. In fact, I just saw an interview with Thurston Moore talking about he can play Smoke on the Water and a few other beginner riffs but no whole songs, outside of the obscure covers they've done. Yes Sonic Youth is an outstanding noise rock band and true innovators, and one of my favorite bands of all time. I've seen them 4 times in concert, but I bet even they would agree they are FAR from great guitarists. Why does Lee play WRHB almost exclusively? Because they are unpopular. Because they don't sound like anything else anyone is playing, because the tone is unique, because WRHB are obscure. Just like his music; the opposite of popular. I've seen him say just that multiple times in interviews. Sonic Youth are anti-guitar heroes and proud to say it.

Thom York? Great songwriter, good rhythm guitarist, but I'd bet not even in the top 100 guitar greats in any ranking. And Thom York isn't even the best guitarists in his own band. And Radiohead has three guitarists and the WRHB adds a third dimension. If there were no other guitarists, I'm hesitant to believe he would still choose WRHB as the pickup of choice to carry a band. But maybe.

The rest of the bands, all great. (With exception of Franz F, whom I feel is one of the most overrated bands from their era.) The guitarists in them? Great songwriters. I really doubt Chris S. from Foo Fighters is considered a guitar great. He's also possibly not even the best guitarist in his own band. Another band that USES a WRHB, but what carries the Foo Fighters' sound? Dave Grohl's guitar, which does not have WRHB.

I could go on, just like everyone claiming WRHB are even in the same universe in popularity as humbuckers, single coils, Filtertrons. But again, do the math. It does not lie. Check Reverb or any guitar shop you've ever been in. Count the guitars with WRHB. What numbers did you come up with? Now compare that to the other three types. It's not a coincidence, it's not a supply and demand issue, these pickups are sitting on Reverb right now for anyone who wants to pay for them. It's purely preference and WRHB simply aren't as preferred as other pickups. I'd love to see a show of hands of those who own one guitar, and that one guitar has WRHB. Out of the bands listed above, which ones use WRHB as their main guitars? I'm not talking about a song or two. I can dig up a pic of Clapton playing a humbucker, maybe even a WRHB, but he, like most of those bands, he plays single coil and humbucker guitars primarily. Clapton is synonymous with single coil sound. Page is synonymous with Les Paul sound. The list for those two is 10 miles long. The list of WRHB players is short. In fact, so short that you had to include the band names instead of the guitarist names. Why? Because many guitarists would not know who you are talking about if you just said their name. The common greats, like I'm talking about, have names just as well known as their band's name. Or more.
The odd size certainly hurts the popularity of the WRHB for typical guitarists, but "guitar greats" hand their guitar to a tech and say "Put these pickups in it." So obviously size is a non-issue for guitar greats, but yet few of them choose WRHB. They don't choose WRHB because they prefer the sound of other pickup types. It's as simple as that.

Not sure why the topic turned off topic, from WRHB tone to philosophical differences of what makes a "guitar great", as if we all don't know an unknown guitarist as just as good as Clapton, SRV, Page, etc. It makes no sense to talk about guitarists that no one knows but whomever is posting the comment. I'm talking about the common guitar greats that we all know of. I have a hard time believing anyone reading this doesn't understand what I mean when I say "guitar greats". No need for any anti-numerical ranking talk, I'm speaking figuratively, not literally, but I assumed that was obvious. A person can be a great guitarist at home in their basement or at an open mic jam, but they can't be considered one of the "guitar greats" if no one outside of their home town has heard them play. So obviously I'm not talking about ALL guitarists, I'm talking exclusively about major label artists widely considered one of the "greats". Go to the Rock & Roll HOF, Seattle's music museum, any house of blues, any Hard Rock Cafe for that matter. They are full of memorabilia from guitarists that nearly everyone here knows of, ALMOST none of them play WRHB as their main tone. That is my point.

[Brock the Mod]

I remain steadfast in wanting a pickup close to wrhb, and guess Im a hobbyist guitarist

[Lost In Autumn]

way to move the goal posts, bruh. You went from calling them "hobbyists" to saying they're "not great," as if Keith Richards gives a rats ass. Fwiw, Filtertrons were never particularly popular. Hell, P90's, which have seen a huge resurgence concurrent with the WRHB's own renaissance, were Gibson's red-headed stepchild, relegated to entry level models and historically, apart from Leslie West and Tony Iommi on early Sabbath records, not many people were associated with them on their primary guitars; by your logic, they must be inferior pickups for hobby guitarists and not great players, too, right?

[øøøøøøø]

I remain steadfast in wanting a pickup close to wrhb, and guess Im a hobbyist guitarist

I kind of think it's a badge of honor!

Early in my career I lost a bit of that trying to "be professional," and had to rewire some stuff to get it back ("amateur" is from latin "amare")

By the way, Thurston Moore is a fantastic guitar player, unless your definition of "good guitar player" is extremely narrow.

You don't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree.

[Brock the Mod]

And ngl there might be a looks factor too

[marqueemoon]

I remain steadfast in wanting a pickup close to wrhb, and guess Im a hobbyist guitarist

If my band’s upcoming EP doesn’t become wildly popular this will be our excuse. Our singer’s reissue Starcaster he played on most of the tracks and that’s his main guitar doesn’t even have real ones. Incredibly the guitar still manages to produce a usable sound despite the inauthentic pickups.

[Somnospeed]

Oh I love me some Fender guitars with the twin humbucker look! And I am one of the few amateur guitarists (hobbyists) who actually does play WRHB as their main guitar. Again, I'd love to see a show of hands of who else does from the people commenting. In fact, my top 2 guitars have WRHB.

Apparently, a number of people took exception to the term "hobbyist". If someone doesn't consider their self that, oh well. The term fits. I trust Webster's when it comes to the definition of the word and maintain it was an appropriate choice of words. Notice 90% of the comments are focus on word choices or act like this is the first time they've hear the term "guitar greats".

hobbyist
noun a person who pursues an activity in their spare time for pleasure.

I fail to see how that word choice is inaccurate or illogical. A I guess that's a just tough pill to swallow for some lol. My point has been and still is that WRHB are an unpopular choice for the average hobbyist musicians and certainly the same for guitar greats. Because of the tone is very often like a great meal at an expensive restaurant; the good was great but not worth the price tag. I could maybe name a few guitar greats and amateurs that play lipstick pickups too. That changes nothing about them being preferred less by hobbyists and the greats. It changes nothing about the fact that the tone is one that is less preferred than hb or single coil. And guess what... lipstick pickups are probably more common than WRHB, or close. It's just arguing for the sake of arguing. Why bother??

[Lost In Autumn]

I remain steadfast in wanting a pickup close to wrhb, and guess Im a hobbyist guitarist

If my band’s upcoming EP doesn’t become wildly popular this will be our excuse. Our singer’s reissue Starcaster he played on most of the tracks and that’s his main guitar doesn’t even have real ones. Incredibly the guitar still manages to produce a usable sound despite the inauthentic pickups.

obviously, he's not a great player.

[Somnospeed]

I definitely like the twin humbucker look and sound in Fenders.

Note: The new Tele Deluxes does not use the WRHB, even though it's the "same model". Because... DUM DUM DUMMMMM... They aren't as versatile, they aren't as preferred. Duhhh...

[Somnospeed]

I remain steadfast in wanting a pickup close to wrhb, and guess Im a hobbyist guitarist

If my band’s upcoming EP doesn’t become wildly popular this will be our excuse. Our singer’s reissue Starcaster he played on most of the tracks and that’s his main guitar doesn’t even have real ones. Incredibly the guitar still manages to produce a usable sound despite the inauthentic pickups.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like your band has two guitars, one of them being WRHB. You don't even know it, but you are proving my point: Most bands, guitar greats, and hobbyists where there is only one guitar tone, that tone is rarely WRHB. Sounds like that applies to your band too.

I'd love nothing more than to see your band blow up and you are mentioned as one of the greats. It would really give some well deserved attention to the WRHB. But... Even if that happens, you will still be in the extreme minority of known well known guitarists who plays WRHB mainly.

The OP asked about the tone. I opined and mentioned food for thought that there is a reason they are obscure and uncommon amongst guitar greats and honestly, probably 99% of the bands I could name. It's because they are great at what they are known for, but not the first, second, or third choice for most. They are versatile to a degree, but not as much as others. Most bands and guitarists don't prefer hearing crystal bells ring when they are playing heavy rock, but with WRHB, that's what you will get whether you want it or not. Most don't want those crystal bells ringing when they are playing the blues either, hence the reason few people use them for blues.

Of course none of this applies to the non-cunife Fender WRHB. They are not real cunife WRHB so yeah, they are quite versatile by comparison. Not better by any means, but the tone is more mainstream than actual WRHB.

[marqueemoon]

I remain steadfast in wanting a pickup close to wrhb, and guess Im a hobbyist guitarist

If my band’s upcoming EP doesn’t become wildly popular this will be our excuse. Our singer’s reissue Starcaster he played on most of the tracks and that’s his main guitar doesn’t even have real ones. Incredibly the guitar still manages to produce a usable sound despite the inauthentic pickups.

obviously, he's not a great player.

I just picked up a guitar with WRHB in the neck position. I’d better not quit my day job.