11

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Chopper/Chopper T

« Last post by darkbluemurder on November 21, 2025, 05:14:27 AM »

Now on to the regular Chopper. I had this in two different strats in the bridge together with an Area 58 in the middle and an Area 67 in the neck. The main difference is that in one the volume pot was 250k whereas it was 500k in the other. I prefer to run it with 500k.

Keep in mind that I am not a vintage strat pickup fan usually, and definitely not a fan of a traditional single coil in the bridge position - too icepicky for my taste. I was always looking for something beefier in the bridge but without the usual compromise to the bridge + middle position.

The set up I have now is as follows: 500k audio volume pot, 500k audio tone for positions 2-5, 500k audio tone only for position 1 (bridge only). No coil split in position 2 (bridge + middle in parallel). No series option - not really necessary with the Chopper in the bridge. 5-way 4 level switch. I use a 560k resistor to bring down the load to approx. 270k for positions 3-5. Note: position 2 keeps the 500k load.

Result: a fat but present bridge tone without any trace of icepick, very hot PAF like. Volume balance to the single coils is great. The bridge + middle position sounds excellent and does not feel like a compromise at all. The guitar also offers a setting that gives bridge + neck which sounds excellent as well.

In summary the Chopper is a great option for anyone wanting a fatter sound in the bridge position of a strat that is routed for SSS which still sounds great together with the middle single coil.

Cheers Stephan

12

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Chopper/Chopper T

« Last post by darkbluemurder on November 20, 2025, 05:35:47 AM »

Surprised that there is no thread on these yet so I will start.

Chopper T

This is probably the most versatile telecaster bridge pickup I ever encountered. With the coils in series it resembles a hot PAF type pickup - healthy output but not over the top, enough bite to cut through, solid, tight bass and vocal but not overbearing midrange. This is with a 500k volume pot. With the coils in parallel and a load of approx. 250k it resembles a powerful single coil, even though the bass is not quite as tight. It also sound quite good with just one coil in operation but of course it is no longer humcancelling then.

Comment on the strat variant to follow.

Cheers Stephan

13

The Pickup Place / Re: Which Pickup Features Which Technique

« Last post by RayBarbeeMusic on November 19, 2025, 10:38:49 PM »

Quote from a forum member on the mylespaul forum on the Al di Meola set:

Al DiMeola Neck (DP201): output=230mV, treble=6, mids=4, bass=6, DC=10.87K.
Al DiMeola Bridge (DP202): output=275, treble=5, mids=8, bass=8, DC=10.84.

The magnets are AL5, they are not airbuckers, and the neck pickup has dual-resonance coils.

From these specs it looks like the neck pickup is wound with a wire thinner than 42 AWG - otherwise the rated outputs do not make sense given both models use the same magnet.

Neither are PE42.  Try to fit 10.84k of PE42 on a pair of humbucker bobbins, I dare you!

14

The Pickup Place / Re: NGD - Ibanez JS1000

« Last post by HeyNorton! on November 15, 2025, 04:22:46 PM »

Not sure where you are getting that the js bridge puckup is somehow closer than normal.  Ive measured all 4 of my Ibanez (3 rgs and a js) and they're all the same distance from both the nut and the bridge saddles (these within intonation tolerances).

My ltd eclipses are the same.

15

The Pickup Place / Quacky Neck PU for Super 3 Bridge PU?

« Last post by Mr. Lime on November 15, 2025, 02:53:28 PM »

Dear community,

I currently think of replacing the pickups of my Gibson SG Supreme again.
Since I bought it, I tried several sets and I'm still not a 100% happy.

Basically it's a slim Les Paul with a thick carved maple top.
I changed the bridge to a stainless steel unit with graph tech saddles since I didn't like the zinc bridges Gibson uses stock.
First I tried a Bill Lawrence L-100 Set which looked cool but was to bright for my taste.
I wanted something bass heavier and for a short period I put in a Satchur8 / Humbucker from Hell set.
The Satchur8 wasn't bad but I had the feeling I would prefer it in my Jackson Soloist  1985 San Dimas since I hate the Full Shred Duncan I have in it.
The HFH sounded good in some of my other guitars but was disapointing weak and lifeless in this SG. I have another SG Supreme with brass bridge and a Tone Zone / HFH set which sounds decent but it just didn't work in that guitar.
So I tried an PAF Pro / Dominion set next which till now is the best combination but I hated that set in a Jackson Stars RR. Output wise it feels medium and a little generic to me. It depends on which amp I play the SG. With a VHT Deliverance preamp the set responses better than with my Engl 580 preamp.
Usually I love Bill Lawrence L-500 XL and Duncan Distortion bridge pickups but I'm interested in how the Super 3 would fatten up the SG? I have a Yamaha SG2000 with a regular SD in the bridge which feels a little too vintage to me for the SG Supreme, althought I kind of like the punch in the mids it got. Unfortunatly I don't like the PAF style Dimarzio I have in the neck which is too weak and lifeless.

My question is, which Dimarzio neck PU would you guys recommend for the Super 3?
I would love to have something more quacky than the current PAF Pro, althought I like the quick and bright attack.
Outputwise the Super 2 might be a consideration but I have no clue what to expect from that pickup.
I might try a Bluesbucker I have laying around and usually like in Superstrats but I expect it also to be a little too weak for pairing it with the Super 3.
 
Thanks in advance!

16

The Pickup Place / Re: VHPaf now available from custom shop

« Last post by nienturi on November 11, 2025, 12:14:06 AM »

been away for a number of years now but I check in every once in a while.  So if this is old news, forgive me.

Walt (wxs3)

Nope. It is fresh and very welcomed news from Dimarzio. Next step? Make it back to regular production with full of options like 7 string version

17

The Pickup Place / VHPaf now available from custom shop

« Last post by wxs3 on November 10, 2025, 03:46:26 PM »

been away for a number of years now but I check in every once in a while.  So if this is old news, forgive me.

Walt (wxs3)

18

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Mo'Joe

« Last post by darkbluemurder on October 21, 2025, 11:00:54 AM »

For those interested I posted a direct comparison between this and the FRED in the FRED thread.

19

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: FRED

« Last post by darkbluemurder on October 21, 2025, 11:00:10 AM »

I thought some of you might be interested in a direct comparison to the Mo' Joe, which I had back to back in the bridge position of the same guitar (a partscaster tele, poplar body, roasted maple neck w/ rosewood board, two humbuckers, two 500k audio controls for volume and tone, 3-way toggle, very simple set up).

The Mo' Joe sounded fat and good in there but a bit too dark compared to the Fralin Twangmaster in the neck so I tried the FRED as I wanted to brighten things up and to have a better balance with the neck pickup.

With the original wiring intact, the FRED sounded way different from the Mo' Joe. This was a surprise for me as the Mo' Joe was supposedly developed on the basis of the FRED but the FRED was much brighter and thinner and did not sound anything like the Mo' Joe. It was only when I added a 680k resistor from hot to ground to drop the load to about 290k, then the sound got closer to the Mo' Joe with a load of 500k. The missing midrange came back, and I reached the goal of getting a tone that is a bit brighter and leaner compared to the Mo' Joe. So from my experimentations I like the FRED with a load of 250k to 300k max. I also like the middle position so far, which got more quack than it had before.

These are only my first impressions after having installed the FRED in that guitar.

Cheers Stephan

20

The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Virtual Hot PAF (DP214) Review

« Last post by nienturi on October 15, 2025, 04:00:10 AM »

Yes, here's mine I bought.
Nice black matte cover, brass back, black plastic wire tubing and F-Spaced.

I removed the cover and it had double black bobbins, which I prefer. I also removed the wax on top of the bobbins (as DiMarzio double-wax pots after installing the cover).
If I had a black Les Paul Custom, I would have used it with the the black matte cover and would have installed gold screws - I just love that look in a black LP Custom (I had one like this 10 years ago).

The DCR of mine measures at 9.33K

Awesome