The AT-1

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Offline LPBII

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Re: The AT-1
« Reply #15 on: November 27, 2024, 08:30:15 PM »
I tried it in a parts caster.  At first I was kind of disappointed. I thought it a bit too polite, perhaps a bit compressed/too smooth, and lacking in tonal depth.

It replaced a 36thB, though, so that was a tough act to follow. I was hoping for a similar tone just with more power. It definitely has more output, but lacked the chimey top, and the 3d depth. Also the bottom end was a bit flabby.

But, I decided to leave it in the guitar for awhile, at least until the strings had some miles on them. It was acceptable, and the ample power was nice to have. It started growing on me.

Then I ran it through a Marshall 1/2 stack loaded with Vintage 30s at rock band volume levels. Suddenly, the pickup sounded perfectly balanced across the spectrum, and sat nicely in the mix. It was now responding to picking dynamics, and to the guitar's volume knob nicely. Plus the little extra power. If you haven't run it through a turned up amp through a 4x12 you really should.

I still might go back to the 36th in that guitar, but the AT-1 won't be going very far away.

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Offline darkbluemurder

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Re: The AT-1
« Reply #16 on: Today at 05:31:07 AM »
I have moved my AT-1 from guitar to guitar, always finding something lacking in the end - mostly too much bloated midrange.

That is until I put it in a bolt-on Junior type guitar with a Paulownia body and maple/rosewood neck. It replaced a Mo' Joe which was fine but lacked the substance on the higher notes. I had thought long and hard about what to put in there and initially thought "not the AT-1" as I did not think it would be a good fit. But I did - and I am glad I did. The guitar loves the AT-1. It filled the missing frequencies nicely to make the high notes fat. The bottom end is not overly tight but not flubby either. And, finally, it does not sound nasal in this guitar. Like the JB, the AT-1 appears to be more sensitive than the average humbucker to the guitar it is in.

It is the only pickup in that guitar, which has a volume and a tone control (both 500k audio) and a 3-way toggle wired for series/parallel/single coil.

Cheers Stephan
Area 67, Area 58, Area 61, VV Pro 54, Injectors, VV HB2, Virtual Solo, SDS-1, Area T, Area T 615, Virtual Hot T, Chopper T, Bluesbucker, Breed set, Air Norton, Super Distortion, DLX+ set, DLX-90, DP240, DP198, DP168, VPAF b, AT-1, Mo' Joe, FRED, GS b