Another Agile on Order....

[duhvoodooman]

Did you order the A-4 neck/A-2 bridge combo you were talking about getting, or the straight A-4/A-4 set, DVM?

Kevin came back and asked me for more info on my amps & musical styles I prefer to play and changed his recommendation to the straight LotB A4 set, rather than the A2/A4 mix. So that's what I went with. Actually, I was happy he changed his recommendation, because I had listened to that audio clip on his site with the Vintage 57 and LotB back-to-back, and preferred the latter.

 

[Bloozcat]

Kevin came back and asked me for more info on my amps & musical styles I prefer to play and changed his recommendation to the straight LotB A4 set, rather than the A2/A4 mix. So that's what I went with. Actually, I was happy he changed his recommendation, because I had listened to that audio clip on his site with the Vintage 57 and LotB back-to-back, and preferred the latter.

Using the Vitamin Q caps your tone controls should be really responsive with these pickups - most notably on the bridge pickup. The change in tone can be subtle or more pronounced with just slight tweaks of the tone pot.

Both sets of pickups sound great on the Guitarforce site, but there is that extra tone, a kind of hollow "caw, caw" tone that sounds like it's coming right off the pick as the strings are plucked. It's there with the A-4's but not there with the 57's. Not a better tone, just a different tone. But, it's that je ne sais quoi, that indescribable quality that you just know when you hear it. I first heard it in the Wagner "Fillmore" pickups, then in the Sheptone 'Blue Sky's". The LOTB have that same tone, but at a much lower price.

Edit to add: Sound clips for these pickups are hard to find, but here's one from You Tube. The first half of the video is a Reverend Roundhouse Humbucker with LOTB pickups:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l7MgNRRh6Y

 

[duhvoodooman]

Both sets of pickups sound great on the Guitarforce site, but there is that extra tone, a kind of hollow "caw, caw" tone that sounds like it's coming right off the pick as the strings are plucked. It's there with the A-4's but not there with the 57's. Not a better tone, just a different tone. But, it's that je ne sais quoi, that indescribable quality that you just know when you hear it.

Good description! You've expressed it better than I could have. It's exactly that "extra tone" that jumped out at me and reminded me of the sound of my British blues heroes of the late '60s and early '70s. Not to mention a few other LP-meisters (Allman, Gibbons, etc.).

Hey, there's a marketing slogan for Kevin!

"Guitarforce 'Lord of the Blues' humbuckers....nowwith JNSQ!"

 

[Ch0jin]

"Guitarforce 'Lord of the Blues' humbuckers....nowwith JNSQ!"

You did make me laugh, but isn't that really about the same as saying "now with extra mojo!"

Just curious DVM and Blooze, any chance you have compared these lord of the blues 'buckers with say, SD SH1 and SH4's in a LP?

 

[duhvoodooman]

You did make me laugh, but isn't that really about the same as saying "now with extra mojo!"

Pretty much! I swear to God, if I read one more description of an effect, amp, pickup, etc. with "mojo", I'm gonna puke.

Just curious DVM and Blooze, any chance you have compared these lord of the blues 'buckers with say, SD SH1 and SH4's in a LP?

I haven't. But BC is the "da man" on these pickups....

 

[Bloozcat]

You did make me laugh, but isn't that really about the same as saying "now with extra mojo!"

Just curious DVM and Blooze, any chance you have compared these lord of the blues 'buckers with say, SD SH1 and SH4's in a LP?

Well, if they're "boutique" pickups shouldn't the tag line be in French as well?

I have not tried the SH-1/59 model in the bridge position of any guitar, but that's the model I just replaced in the neck position of my new AL-3100M Agile. IMHO, the Duncan was too dark and somewhat "boomy" in that position. It's nowhere near as articulate as the LOTB neck pickup.

The technology for producing good quality production pickups is so wide spread today that a stock Agile Alnico-5 neck humbucker from an AL-3000/3100 can equal or even surpass that of a Duncan production pickup in certain applications. The Agile pickup just sounded clearer and better balanced than the Duncan SH-1 neck pickup in my limited test. I never expected that this would be true, but having had the opportunity to try both out in the same Agile guitar (my older LP-2800 DLX Agile), I could draw no other conclusion. This certainly does not mean that in all applications the Agile humbucker would be the superior choice. It just is the case in this application (and the AL-3100M as well, but that was between the Duncan and the LOTB pickups).

I'm certainly not trying to disparage Duncan pickups. I've heard many an LP that sounded great with a set of the '59's in them. It's all about what works in your particular guitar that matters.

Heck, if I could get the tone I was looking for out of a set of Genuine Organic Manure Brand pickups, I'd probably be singing their praises as well. And I'll bet that DVM could come up with the appropriate marketing slogan for them as well...

 

[duhvoodooman]

Heck, if I could get the tone I was looking for out of a set of Genuine Organic Manure Brand pickups, I'd probably be singing their praises as well. And I'll bet that DVM could come up with the appropriate marketing slogan for them as well...

"Genuine Organic Manure Brand pickups. Great tone! No sh*t!"

I hear their production line is 30 feet long and winds back & forth on itself. And the shipping dock has a canvas cover with a large elastic orifice where the product comes out....

 

[Bloozcat]

See? I knew DVM would come through...!

Now all we have to do is make the pickups! They don't have to be good. If anyone complains, we'll just say, "It's manure, what did you expect?"

 

[Swampy]

Lord of the Blues update?

I ended up ordering a set of the Guitarforce "Lord of the Blues" humbuckers, based upon further e-mail exchange with Kevin Taylor re: the kinds of music I play and the amps I use. Bloozcat sure loves his LotB set, so I expect I will, too. Kevin said about 3 weeks lead time, so should receive them by mid-month. The discount for MyLesPaul.com forum members was (and still is, AFAIK) in effect, so instead of $110 piece, I paid $125 for the pair. Also got a set of brushed nickel covers, so with those + shipping cost, the whole thing came to $162.50. Assuming they're as good as everyone says, that's a real bargain for handwound pickups....

Hey DVM, do you have an update on those LotB pups with JNSQ? :french New clips? R Like 'em, Love 'em, can't live w/out 'em?

 

[duhvoodooman]

Funny you should ask--I just got them installed in the Agile this past weekend.

How do they sound? Quite incredible! I've never owned/played through this class of humbucker. Beautiful rich tone, with that distinctive PAF midrange when overdriven. And the clarity is just amazing--especially on the neck pickup, since so many 'buckers tend to sound muddy there. I've owned several of the "big name" mass-produced pickups (Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio, etc.) and they are very good, but these are a step beyond. I can definitely see why people pay premium prices for high quality, handwound pickups, and feel very fortunate to have gotten such a bargain on these ($155 for the pair, including brushed nickel covers at $15 each).

No audio clips--been too busy with various projects & commitments to fool around with that. Hey, sue me...