Ok pickup whores…

[Geo]

who?

You know, the guy that had an enormous baby named Wolfgang.

 

[70 Mach 1]

You know, the guy that had an enormous baby named Wolfgang.

ya mean the guy who took Valerie away from me

 

[Geo]

ya mean the guy who took Valerie away from me

I saw her a few years ago at Costco selling her book, she looked pretty good IMHO.

 

[heath]

Suhr Woodbucker would be my suggestion. 12k or so, A2 magnet, and it is well balanced. Cleans up nicely too.

 

[PDC]

On paper, the Pariah Pasadena White 'should' be a lot like the Duncan '78. I have both and both work well. But the Pariah somehow sounds bigger and 'hotter' than the '78 to my ears in the exact same guitar.

 

[Fiesta Red]

Luxxbucker Old School

 

[SonVolt]

I waited entirely too long to try a Duncan '78 in my American Standard. It pairs great with the single coils, and plays like a hot vintage PAF, but feels like a high-output pickup under the fingers (but doesn't sound squashed and compressed like one).

It replaced an AT-1, which was way too dark and muffled.

 

[Shreddy Mercury]

I waited entirely too long to try a Duncan '78 in my American Standard. It pairs great with the single coils, and plays like a hot vintage PAF, but feels like a high-output pickup under the fingers.

It replaced an AT-1, which was way too dark and muffled.

I took a Duncan 78 out of a new PRS I got the other day and put a Fred in it.

 

[SonVolt]

How would you say they compare to each other?

 

[FourT6and2]

Aldrich isn't bad. BKP has a few solid offerings as well. The Holy Diver, Black Dog, and Emerald. The Black Dog is fantastic.

 

[Shreddy Mercury]

How would you say they compare to each other?

They're both good, but the harmonic richness coming out of that Fred totally sold me. The 78 is great, but the Fred is much more my speed.

 

[PDC]

I waited entirely too long to try a Duncan '78 in my American Standard. It pairs great with the single coils, and plays like a hot vintage PAF, but feels like a high-output pickup under the fingers (but doesn't sound squashed and compressed like one).

It replaced an AT-1, which was way too dark and muffled.

^^^ This ^^^ is my exact reaction to the '78. It somehow manages to play and feel much 'hotter' and livelier than the DCR would suggest. And I get the same deal with the Pariah Pasadena White. To my ears, the '78 is a bit more bright and the Pasadena White has a bit more fullness. But those observations are very subtle. Both are really fantastic pickups when you have a guitar that already has a great core sound that you want to shine through.

 

[harddriver]

I waited entirely too long to try a Duncan '78 in my American Standard. It pairs great with the single coils, and plays like a hot vintage PAF, but feels like a high-output pickup under the fingers (but doesn't sound squashed and compressed like one).

It replaced an AT-1, which was way too dark and muffled.

^^^ This ^^^ is my exact reaction to the '78. It somehow manages to play and feel much 'hotter' and livelier than the DCR would suggest. And I get the same deal with the Pariah Pasadena White. To my ears, the '78 is a bit more bright and the Pasadena White has a bit more fullness. But those observations are very subtle. Both are really fantastic pickups when you have a guitar that already has a great core sound that you want to shine through.

The SD 78 Model gets overlooked because of the stigma of it being an "Ed pickup". I've tried quite a few other hot PAF'S/PAF's since 2009 and I haven't found a Hot PAF that made me want to remove it from my super strat guitar.

The only pickup that comes close is the Whole Lotta Humbucker which is a tad stiffer with some nice PAF clank due to the A-5 rough cast magnet.

The 78 just has this aggressive attack, just a tad of grease with that PAF clanky sweetness with harmonic content galore. I do find the 78 to feel play hotter than the Whole Lotta Humbucker but not by much.

If I find a used SD Saturday Night Special for a good price I'll probably pick one up because I like to try stuff out out of curiosity, I would be surprised if it made me want to remove the 78 model but ya never know.

 

[motorboy1]

Aldrich isn't bad. BKP has a few solid offerings as well. The Holy Diver, Black Dog, and Emerald. The Black Dog is fantastic.

Yup have a BDog in my les paul. Mule in the neck.

 

[Braciola]

Bonified pickup whore here.
Some of my very favorites -

- Lollar Imperial
- Rewind Electric - they're all great!
- Righteous Sound RAF-2
- Tom Holms
- Bare Knuckle Riff Raff & Mule

.

 

[harddriver]

Suhr Woodbucker would be my suggestion. 12k or so, A2 magnet, and it is well balanced. Cleans up nicely too.

Interesting specs.

 

[Fiesta Red]

^^^ This ^^^ is my exact reaction to the '78. It somehow manages to play and feel much 'hotter' and livelier than the DCR would suggest. And I get the same deal with the Pariah Pasadena White. To my ears, the '78 is a bit more bright and the Pasadena White has a bit more fullness. But those observations are very subtle. Both are really fantastic pickups when you have a guitar that already has a great core sound that you want to shine through.

I found the same results with the two. The 78 was too bright for me, and the Pasadena White calmed that down.

Another variation in the EVH Frankenstein Classic -- Alnico II and about 8.5K, but is hotter like the 78 and the Pasadena. Also is warmer than the 78.