Vintage output bridge humbucker for a superstrat

Kyrpajyra

Kyrpajyra

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As the title says, recommend me some vintage output bridge humbuckers for my superstrat to replace the JB that's currently in it.
 
Love these. Have them in a few of my guitars.

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Damn - where to begin. I played several rounds of ‘bridge pickup lotto’ not long ago in search of something with nice articulation and string separation without sounding too weak or wimpy. A lot will depend on your guitar / body wood and bridge. But I really dig the Duncan ‘Whole Lotta Humbucker’ for vintage vibe with nice punch. I also have a Duncan 59/Custom hybrid with a bit more output, but still lots of clarity and sparkle. Jalen now offers a similar Origin/Pinnacle hybrid with one coil from the lower output Origin and one coil from the slightly hotter Pinnacle. I haven’t tried one, but the clips I’ve heard sound incredible. And if it’s anywhere in the neighborhood of the Duncan 59/Custom, its a winner.
 
PDC said:
I also have a Duncan 59/Custom hybrid with a bit more output, but still lots of clarity and sparkle. Jalen now offers a similar Origin/Pinnacle hybrid with one coil from the lower output Origin and one coil from the slightly hotter Pinnacle. I haven’t tried one, but the clips I’ve heard sound incredible. And if it’s anywhere in the neighborhood of the Duncan 59/Custom, its a winner
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I have tried/still have the Origin and the Jalen Hybrid pickups in several guitars. The Hybrid is not vintage output. It does sound good tho. I just put a Duncan 59/Custom hybrid in my new Star build and it sounds good but I have a Jalen Fair Warning pickup in the mail to try there. I really like those in Strats. Neither of those are vintage output either.

Even the Origin is pushing the limits of vintage output.
 
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harddriver said:
Seymour Duncan 78 model...it definitely fits the slightly overwound PAF asymmetrical coils category.
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I’d love to corroborate this statement. If I ever get my damn build back from the luthier :mad::mad::mad: and finally get to hear that pickup maybe I will.
 
Dave L said:
I really dig the Dimarzio Virtual Hot PAF, but I think the 36th is supposed to be pretty similar.
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I actually snapped up a legit F-spaced DiMarzio Vintage Hot about a month ago and it is just killer. I’ve got it in an alder super strat with a non locking 2-post Hipshot trem. Sounds incredible. Great clarity and articulation but also sounds ‘bigger’ than the rated output would suggest. So wish DiMarzio had not discontinued this pickup. Even if it was trademark friction with the ‘VH’ designation, just rename it for God’s sake!
 
SpiderWars said:
I have tried/still have the Origin and the Jalen Hybrid pickups in several guitars. The Hybrid is not vintage output. It does sound good tho. I just put a Duncan 59/Custom hybrid in my new Star build and it sounds good but I have a Jalen Fair Warning pickup in the mail to try there. I really like those in Strats. Neither of those are vintage output either.

Even the Origin is pushing the limits of vintage output.
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I get that - but if you are talking true ‘vintage output’ there just isn’t too much out there to choose from. There’s only so much you can do with true ‘vintage output’ pickup - and at that level, the differences are subtle at best. By the time you add a few winds, maybe change the gauge of the wire, and swap the magnet you are no longer strict ‘vintage output’ but you are still a far ways from modern, hot, ‘distortion’ class pickups. I think the Duncan ‘78, the Jalen Origin etc still deliver what players recognize as lower output, vintage ‘vibe’ pickups compared to the plethora of over the top flamethrower winds out there. If you really need to stay ‘vintage output’ but want something a touch different than a Duncan ‘59 or a P.A.F., the Whole Lotta Humbucker doesn’t have too much competition. Very gently overwound with a rough cast A5.
 
Not a superstrat, but I recently dropped a pair of Dimarzio PAF 59’s in my Flying V and I love them. Much better than the 36th PAF’s…..as well as a host of boutique PAF options that have been in there over the years. The Dimarzio 59’s are my favorites alongside the Duncan Custom Shop Pearly Gates.
 
PDC said:
I get that - but if you are talking true ‘vintage output’ there just isn’t too much out there to choose from. There’s only so much you can do with true ‘vintage output’ pickup - and at that level, the differences are subtle at best. By the time you add a few winds, maybe change the gauge of the wire, and swap the magnet you are no longer strict ‘vintage output’ but you are still a far ways from modern, hot, ‘distortion’ class pickups. I think the Duncan ‘78, the Jalen Origin etc still deliver what players recognize as lower output, vintage ‘vibe’ pickups compared to the plethora of over the top flamethrower winds out there. If you really need to stay ‘vintage output’ but want something a touch different than a Duncan ‘59 or a P.A.F., the Whole Lotta Humbucker doesn’t have too much competition. Very gently overwound with a rough cast A5.
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Oh I totally agree about the '78/Origin, it is the Duncan and Jalen Hybrids that I think are not really vintage output. Not quite JB hot either tho. I haven't tried the WLH but it gets a whole lotta love.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
Seymour Duncan 78. Amazing pickup.
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YEP! What he said! The 78 sounds and feels like it is much hotter than it is, mine reads 9.0 Kohms, It been in one of my guitars for over ten years and I haven't found anything to unseat it in those ten plus years.

If you want some PAF flavor but with ceramic magnet tightness then you might consider the Mighty Mite 1400 which is around 9-9.5K ohms, the new ones are build exactly like the vintage ones and sound almost identical.

Another Seymour Duncan offering that interest's me is the Eric Steckel Candy pickups which is also a clone of a 60's PAF but it is under 8K I believe. I guess these have tons of articulation I think they have AlNiCo3 or 4 magnets but don't hold me to my statement.

The only other PAF that I would like to try is the Arcan Triple clone PAF and maybe a Tom Holmes 455 PAF.
 
DanTravis62 said:
I have a buddy who uses one of those for heavy heavy stuff
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It’s a straight up low output vintage PAF replica....I have two of the original sets with the handpicked magnets...interesting story how they actually came about, the guy that was “Dr. Vintage”. These pickups are killer for heavy high gain stuff, clarity is fantastic.
 
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