Recommend Me Pickups

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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tune_link
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Recommend Me Pickups

Post by tune_link » Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:29 am

Got a few Jazzmasters now and two of them - my AO and 60th Anniversary both have either identical or nearly identical pickups. I know the AO has the AV65 pickups in it and the 60th sounds like it but I don't think Fender ever released the actual pickups specs for the matching headstock/blocks n binding ones that came in Fiesta Red/Daphne Blue/Black/Blonde other than it says "vintage 60s voiced" or something like that. A look under the hood and they basically look identical to the AV65 PUPs unless I'm blind.

TLDR - I wanna put something different in the 60th Anniversary just to mix things up. Ideally something that doesn't involve having to buy a different pickguard. Recommend me your fave pickup maker and model. Ideally not something exactly or near like the AV65s, can be close but I'd love something of a different flavor essentially. Been looking at those new Lollar black bobbin ones, the Novak JM-V and JM-Fat which seem to get a lot of love on the forum...but it doesn't have to be either of those...could be something like a WRHB in a JM pickup format.

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Gordon
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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by Gordon » Fri Mar 26, 2021 5:01 pm

If it was me, I'd look into this (Jaime is great at both making and chatting):

https://www.creamery-pickups.co.uk/swee ... ickup.html (any other Creamery option would be great too)

Alternatively, 3D custom pickup cover, and mini-HBs, or Tele setup:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/8FBU3 ... 2&li=shops
Graphic designer (comics stuff, Doctor Who, Star Wars...): https://www.instagram.com/monsieurgordon/ \o/

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by Maggieo » Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:25 pm

Nels Cline and I both heartily endorse Seymour Duncan Antiquities I JM pickups.
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I am not an attorney and this post is for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a licensed attorney in your state for legal advice.

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:41 pm

Some 50’s style JM pickups would be a nice contrast I think.

My friend has the Black Bobbin Lollars and loves them. Maybe post vaxx I will be able to try em’.

I have Sunday Woodchime + in one guitar and love them.

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by tune_link » Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:22 pm

Maggieo wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:25 pm
Nels Cline and I both heartily endorse Seymour Duncan Antiquities I JM pickups.
Hey Maggie! Thanks for the input! Since you have some, how would you characterize them vis-a-vis the AV65 which I understand are more like the Antiquity II? Is it just that they’re darker and warmer or do they have a different frequency spectrum focus?

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by tune_link » Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:23 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:41 pm
Some 50’s style JM pickups would be a nice contrast I think.

My friend has the Black Bobbin Lollars and loves them. Maybe post vaxx I will be able to try em’.

I have Sunday Woodchime + in one guitar and love them.
Good to hear on the Lollars! Tell me about those Sunday Woodchimes. Is that one of those where the name sort of clues you in to the sound in that they’re both woody and chimney sounding?

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:53 pm

tune_link wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:23 pm
marqueemoon wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:41 pm
Some 50’s style JM pickups would be a nice contrast I think.

My friend has the Black Bobbin Lollars and loves them. Maybe post vaxx I will be able to try em’.

I have Sunday Woodchime + in one guitar and love them.
Good to hear on the Lollars! Tell me about those Sunday Woodchimes. Is that one of those where the name sort of clues you in to the sound in that they’re both woody and chimney sounding?
Yes indeed on the Woodchime +. They are slightly overwound, but not hot by any means.

Plenty of chime in the middle position. The bridge alone is slightly nasal, which I happen to like (sounds great with some dirt), and the neck is warm but not woolly.

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by ohm-men » Sat Mar 27, 2021 12:47 am

+ 1 on Jaime from The Creamery. I got a set of his Alnico II Jazzmaster pu's and they sound amazing.
Also I quiet like Peter Leonard's (Pick Up Wizzard) Jm sets. They are very close to original old Fender spec and sound quiet nice imho

SD Ant I are an aquired taste imho. They are quiet dark, midrange sounding to my ears (as if you want to keep upping the tone knob, although they sound nice on some older amps)
SD Ant II's are more trebly and balanced, but some sets are a wound a bit too hot for my taste...

I don't really like the newer Fender '65 jazzmaster pu's, not balanced enough for me. Although the neck pu on it's own is nice.
The Fender AVRI '62 set is ok-ish but not as nice as Novak's, Lollar or the afore mentioned if you are into classic sounding Jm's pu's.

But, please do not forget to take your main amp/speakers/FX chain into the equasion... Some really nice sounding pickups sound bland on some of the amps/speakers I use.
For instance I changed some older Celestion type of speaker with a pair of Jensen C12K's in my speaker cab and I was amazed with the difference this made. Made me fall in love with the 60's Vintera Jazzmaster pick ups... (these sounded quiet bland on the Celestions...to a point where I really wanted to replace these pick ups...) And I also learned that a good compressor in your fx line can also make quiet a difference.

We tend to get very focused on the pick ups we use that sometimes the rest is forgotten... And on Jazzmasters, your tone and vol knobs are your best friends in order to get the sounds your after. for the last few months I've been starting to use these a lot more. I'm always amazed what a variety of sounds the Jm produces with just a touch of more/less tone and volume...

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by rank » Sat Mar 27, 2021 5:45 am

tune_link wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:22 pm
Maggieo wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:25 pm
Nels Cline and I both heartily endorse Seymour Duncan Antiquities I JM pickups.
Hey Maggie! Thanks for the input! Since you have some, how would you characterize them vis-a-vis the AV65 which I understand are more like the Antiquity II? Is it just that they’re darker and warmer or do they have a different frequency spectrum focus?
I put Antiquity I's in my Charcoal Frost Jazzmaster. They are darker to my ears & sound "woodier".
We are merely moving shadows.

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by Gavanti » Sat Mar 27, 2021 6:19 am

My favorite combo has been Novak JM-V neck with either the JM-FAT or, more often, JM-T (non-angled) in the bridge. If you’re going for the black bobbin sound though, I remember a set of SD Ant 1’s sounding very close to a ‘59 JM.

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by Maggieo » Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:00 pm

tune_link wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:22 pm
Maggieo wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:25 pm
Nels Cline and I both heartily endorse Seymour Duncan Antiquities I JM pickups.
Hey Maggie! Thanks for the input! Since you have some, how would you characterize them vis-a-vis the AV65 which I understand are more like the Antiquity II? Is it just that they’re darker and warmer or do they have a different frequency spectrum focus?
I wish I could tell you, but I haven't had an AV65 in hand. And I don't trust YT demos. I'd say my pickups are more airy than the AV62s they replaced and have a tighter frequency response. They're definitely one of the lower output JM pups out there, so they pick up harmonics and overtones well. IIRC, that's one reason Nels Cline had Woody put them in his '59.
“Now I am quietly waiting for/ the catastrophe of my personality/ to seem beautiful again.”- Frank O'Hara
I am not an attorney and this post is for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a licensed attorney in your state for legal advice.

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by ohm-men » Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:55 am

rank wrote:
Sat Mar 27, 2021 5:45 am
tune_link wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:22 pm
Maggieo wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:25 pm
Nels Cline and I both heartily endorse Seymour Duncan Antiquities I JM pickups.
Hey Maggie! Thanks for the input! Since you have some, how would you characterize them vis-a-vis the AV65 which I understand are more like the Antiquity II? Is it just that they’re darker and warmer or do they have a different frequency spectrum focus?
I put Antiquity I's in my Charcoal Frost Jazzmaster. They are darker to my ears & sound "woodier".
That's how I would describe the Ant I. Darker and woodier. And Maggie described them really spot on. They have very nice overtones. They certainly have a 50's kind of sound to them. The Ant I has aged AlNiCo 2 magnets and are wound with Formvar wire if I recall correctly. SD calls these 50's style pick ups.
The Ant II are grey bobbins, wound with regular AWG 42? 43? wire, use aged AlNiCo 5 magnets and sound trebly when compared to the Ant. I.
The Ant II's were kind of the Surf Jazzmaster pick ups. They certainly sound nice.

The Ant I's are not like the Fender AVRI 62', but perhaps the Ant II's are closer to the Fender '65's.
Back in the day SD were the only ones who made replacement pick ups for us offsetters. The Antiquity range is kind of their "top of the line"
Although, I haven't come across an aftermarker pu that is like the Ant. I . The Creamery's Alnico II is much brighter then then the Ant I.

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by Lost In Autumn » Sun Mar 28, 2021 2:36 am

I have Lindy Fralin Hum-Cancelling PUs in two guitars, I like them quite a lot.

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by CorporateDisguise » Sun Mar 28, 2021 4:39 am

I had Sunday Handwound wind me a set of pickups for my latest build and they sound freaking amazing. We went with a standard JM alnico 5 in the neck, and a sort of mashup between a JM and Tele bridge pickup with alinico 5 under the wound strings and alnico 2 under the plain. It’s a bit taller than a standard JM pickups and has tele style metal plate on the back. It is by far my favorite set I’ve had.

I also have a set of Novaks that is a JMV neck and WRHB in the bridge that I like as well. To me the WRHB doesn’t sound great clean, but excels with dirt and fuzz. ( like most humbuckers) The WRHB does have more pick attack than a gibson style pickup, but less than a fender single coil. Come to think of it, it is kinda similar to Firebird pickups, but with more mids. i had a WRHB in the neck for a while too, but it was very Blah sounding to me.

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Re: Recommend Me Pickups

Post by mackerelmint » Sun Mar 28, 2021 5:07 am

I've got a few sets of sunday handwounds. Tim's a class act who makes great pickups.
This is an excellent rectangle

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