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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 6:21 pm
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The only humbucking pickup I own is a Fender Atomic in my Sienna Sunburst HSS Strat. While it's not my number one guitar, I always reach for that Strat for heavier overdriven sounds. I also find the Atomic is brighter than the usual middly PAF clones so it works well through an amp set up for single coil guitars. It's also not a ludicrously high output pickup so it works very well in a HSS configuration.

My only complaint would be Fender's three-screw configuration. If I want to change it for another pickup then I have to change the pickguard or drill a hole in it. Very few manufacturers make replacement pickups in the three-screw format.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 10:03 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Very few manufacturers make replacement pickups in the three-screw format.

That's very true and I think they should. I think Fender is really onto something there. That scheme makes more sense to me. More solid and stable. More control over adjustment. I hear what your saying and I agree it can be a frustration. Hopefully other makers will clue in to what a good idea it is and put both sets of holes on their products.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 7:26 am
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Well I don't see Gibson changing to a Fender design in the near future!

But it would be nice if more pickup manufacturers would offer it as an alternative.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 8:30 am
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What I'm saying is all they need to do is put 3 holes on one end. Make sure the bolting tab is wide enough and tap four holes in total. 3 + 1 Then they could be put in any guitar. It doesn't seem like that big a deal to me and I'm kinda surprised nobody has thought of it yet, particularly on F-spaced buckers.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 2:06 pm
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Well there is more to a guitar than pickups, just to let you know. I can't really single out one from another based on your too general of a question. Sorry. :wink:


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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:46 pm
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JimRussellMills30! wrote:
Well there is more to a guitar than pickups, just to let you know. I can't really single out one from another based on your too general of a question. Sorry. :wink:

You, sir, are a moron and you need to be slapped for your stupidity. Repeatedly.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 7:25 am
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JimRussellMills30! wrote:
Well there is more to a guitar than pickups, just to let you know. I can't really single out one from another based on your too general of a question. Sorry. :wink:


Pick one and roll with it.

An update since this thread: I've since picked up an Atomic and a set of Fender Select Wide Range based on the popularity of them from the comments in this topic. I'm excited to hear the Wide Range Select Pickups.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 12:16 pm
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Jah Soldier wrote:
An update since this thread: I've since picked up an Atomic and a set of Fender Select Wide Range based on the popularity of them from the comments in this topic. I'm excited to hear the Wide Range Select Pickups.


I love the WRH Select. Combine them with slightly heavier string gauges, and it's like a time machine for 70s rock.


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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers (Update)
Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2014 11:31 pm
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I wired up the Fender Select Wide Range pickups tonight.

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My first reaction was WOW!! THAT'S A LOT OF TREBLE!!

I typed it like that for a reason. The amount of treble was UP THERE... Then I remembered I have a no load tone pot in that guitar. Once I backed it off a little, it became a little more manageable. Still on the treble side though.

The pickups are clean and clear, very quiet, great for clean bluesy solos. The bridge in overdrive is pretty high-strung. I preferred the middle position for that.

My overall conclusion is that these are great noiseless telecaster pickups. There are mismatches in volume that caused me to have to adjust the poles. I don't really consider these pickups to be very balanced. The high strings were blazing out of the bridge pickup, and they were fading out in the neck pickup. Maybe it's an intentional design of the pickups, but I found myself having to raise and lower poles on the same pickup quite a bit along with angling them.

There's also a mismatch in output much like a Telecaster single coil guitar. The bridge is hot and bright, the neck is smooth and jazzy.

After hearing them in this guitar, it makes me re-think what guitar they should actually go into. I think they're better off in a mahogany body with 250k pots. I think that would be more manageable for my taste and warm them up.

Great pickups! Noiseless Telecaster sound, very responsive to volume and tone control. Clear as a bell in the clean, overdrive like you wish a Tele single coil would. They're keepers.

I think I'll put them in one of my Schecter Tempest. I like the thought of a Teletempest.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 5:27 pm
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Try them with an octaver or old style fuzz. You'll be surprised at how well they track, being humbuckers and all, and how easily you can set the volume to "just under distortion", and get distortion whenever you want by just picking a tad harder.

Yeah, they're treble (and bass, mind) heavy, which is kind of in tone with the early 70s sound.
And the non-Select WRHs sound more shrill. Different windings for sure.

I'm intrigued with putting them in a Strat. You'll lose the quack, that's for sure, but try a drop tuning and listen to what it does to the bass side. Add some drive and you should be pretty close to the Cream sound, while having more solo treble to add than the old SG pups did.

Treble wise, I love playing Scorpion's "Still Loving You" on a bridge pup WRH. I even get to use the 22nd fret high D. (These days Uli Jon Roth uses some weird 30-fret guitar without a neck pickup in his quest for even higher tones) :)


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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 11:30 pm
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Oh you put them in a Strat and there's no loss of quack. This one is an alder body. It also has a 500k volume and 500k no load tone. I was getting Kieth Richards Sympathy For The Devil solo tone out of the bridge loud and clear.

That being said, I still wouldn't call it shrill. I think "Shrill" implies a distortion along with the treble. It was a very clean sound. And for that, I do consider them to be some of the best I've heard.

You do hear from time to time people who say "I wish I could get a humbucker that has a good single coil sound". Well, I don't know how muck better it can actually get than a set of these.

The neck pickup is very intriguing. If you take a small screwdriver and tap on the upper screws, you'll get a louder output than you do with the lower set of screws on the high string side. I suspect that the lower bobbin is wound very low output. Just enough to cancel hum. Kind of like a Duncan P-Rail.

They remind me of the DeArmond Gold Tone pickups but more organic and open.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:18 am
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Jah Soldier wrote:
That being said, I still wouldn't call it shrill. I think "Shrill" implies a distortion along with the treble. It was a very clean sound. And for that, I do consider them to be some of the best I've heard.

Oh, definitely. It's the non-Select ones that can I find a bit shrill unless I turn the tone down. The Select ones are a very different animal. The standard ones work well for pinch harmonics, though. Neither is what I'd recommend for rhythm guitar.

I used to think that humbuckers were humbuckers, and there wasn't much to do with them. I sure have changed my mind over time. The Select WRHs are my goto for solos, while the Gibby 490T/490R work great for blues. While PRS and EMG ones give more clarity with rapid chords.

I do want a guitar with some good P90s, though, when I want to cut through with midrange.


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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 1:08 pm
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So far, nothing has been able to unseat my Duncan '59 set. If you ever get the itch to try something that will amaze you, take a set of Duncan '59s, put an A2 magnet in the neck pickup, and an A8 in the bridge. That set can do everything. Rhythm and solo, clean and dirty. It's even my favorite for High Gain.

Unbelievable set.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2014 1:52 pm
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Alright, so I have to give an update on the Fender Wide Range after wiring them up correctly. I had previously wired them up tapped by mistake.

So.. Full humbucker mode is in fact phenomenal. True to Fender form, they push air. They are brighter pickups than I'm used to. But backing off of the tone pot still gives you a clean sound. Generally, I tend to not rely on tone pots because a certain amount of flavor gets lost along with backing them off. I don't find it to be much of a problem with these.

The individual notation is where these shine the most. Even in high gain, the strings don't smear together. So complicated chords retain their character. The string attack response is very quick.

Since it's uncommon to do what I do to my Duncan '59s, I can't really give a true comparison of Duncan '59s to these. The modification I do to a '59 set is meant to tame the highs and clear them up a bit. Since the Wide Range has such a clean high frequency headroom, I don't feel the need to do that. That being said, I'd say that these are every bit as good as my favorite humbucker set, just a different frequency.

I mentioned to term "Air" before. The reason that's important to me is due to the way I mute strings at the fretboard with my fretting hand. If a pickup doesn't have enough air to it, it sounds like a cold thud in between fretted chords. A Duncan JB for example doesn't push that kind of air.

When a pickup has what I consider air to be present, you'll get a midrange or high mid "cah" or crisp "chica" sound to it. That's very important in Reggae and other Rock styles. Muting, overtones, and harmonics are very present with the Wide Ranges. And that's also what I like from the Atomic. That much presence, attack and air keeps your playing honest. Deficiencies in your playing will be front and center.

If you're someone who can handle the high frequencies and are proficient in volume and tone adjustments, I would highly recommend a set of these. As far as a quality sound, they're as good as any high dollar pickup you'll run across. They'll be a mainstay in my arsenal from here on. I'm most likely going to pick up another set in the near future.

Thanks for the heads up on these pickups. I couldn't be happier with them.

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Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:25 pm
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Jah Soldier wrote:
Alright, so I have to give an update on the Fender Wide Range after wiring them up correctly. I had previously wired them up tapped by mistake.


That's used with the S1 switch on the Tele and Jazzmaster Select HH.
In my opinion, it's the only S1 switch that Fender got right. It switches between serial (A+B) and parallel ((A+B - A) || A). When I want a single coil sound without picking up the fish tank and local radio station, it is nice to have.

Jah Soldier wrote:
I'd say that these are every bit as good as my favorite humbucker set, just a different frequency.

[...]

Thanks for the heads up on these pickups. I couldn't be happier with them.


I love them. They're different in a good way. Combined with an amp that does good clean (like Telefunken tubes) without much ringing, I think they are awesome. They're not like the original CuNiFe wide range humbuckers, but I think that's good. They're more precise, for one thing.
As there are only two guitars that come with them and Fender doesn't seem to sell them directly, where did you obtain yours?


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