Honestly, I think it would be a bit short to reach down to the bridge volume control on a Lester. On a Jackson, the control is very close to the pickup cavity. You’d probably need to solder in some short spices to reach.
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Honestly, I think it would be a bit short to reach down to the bridge volume control on a Lester. On a Jackson, the control is very close to the pickup cavity. You’d probably need to solder in some short spices to reach.
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
It looks like it's going to be too short. I'm assuming the guitar's wiring tunnel opens up between the volume pots.
Yeah, you’re probably right. I think splicing would be necessary. Though, if done properly, spicing in a short section of wire is no more electrically impactful than soldering to the terminal of some component.
It’s definitely @Robert Herndon ’s call as to whether he wants it.
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
Agree! And Robert certainly knows how to expertly solder.
DirtySteve
Ambassador of Hold My Beer
OP
Response from Planet Tone:
Hi!
We made a custom set for Steve Freund a longtime blues artist who wanted something similar...
We made a neck about 7.8k with A2 real clean and a bridge around 12.5K / A5 with 43 awg wire that yields enough drive to get nasty but cleans up like a perfect gentleman.
Generally, we do recommend the neck a touch lower but setting things up how you prefer to your ear is always best. Every setup is different.
Let me know your thoughts!
Jose @ Planet Tone
Hi!
We made a custom set for Steve Freund a longtime blues artist who wanted something similar...
We made a neck about 7.8k with A2 real clean and a bridge around 12.5K / A5 with 43 awg wire that yields enough drive to get nasty but cleans up like a perfect gentleman.
Generally, we do recommend the neck a touch lower but setting things up how you prefer to your ear is always best.
Every setup is different.Let me know your thoughts!
Jose @ Planet Tone
Response from Planet Tone:
Hi!
We made a custom set for Steve Freund a longtime blues artist who wanted something similar...
We made a neck about 7.8k with A2 real clean and a bridge around 12.5K / A5 with 43 awg wire that yields enough drive to get nasty but cleans up like a perfect gentleman.
Generally, we do recommend the neck a touch lower but setting things up how you prefer to your ear is always best.
Let me know your thoughts!
Jose @ Planet Tone
You just tell Jose (if that is his real name), that you have a bead on a pre-gigged Seymour Duncan JB!
I betcha I can beat his price!
OP
But how do I know you haven't drained it of all its mojo?
Last edited:
DirtySteve
Ambassador of Hold My Beer
Response from Planet Tone:
Hi!
We made a custom set for Steve Freund a longtime blues artist who wanted something similar...
We made a neck about 7.8k with A2 real clean and a bridge around 12.5K / A5 with 43 awg wire that yields enough drive to get nasty but cleans up like a perfect gentleman.
Generally, we do recommend the neck a touch lower but setting things up how you prefer to your ear is always best.
Let me know your thoughts!
Jose @ Planet Tone
I can't tell, is this a good thing or a bad thing?
OP
Sounds like a good thing to me. The Kat is very helpful.
DirtySteve
Ambassador of Hold My Beer
Cool!
OP
Jose at Planet Tone and I have been discussing some specs and somehow, the tone of Def Leppard's 'High N Dry and 'Pyromania' popped up.
He wondered what some of the pickup specs could have been on those albums, so I sent him the following.
Good Morning!!!
First of all, I am aware that I will never sound like anyone but me, so going forward, I am just looking for trends that will allow me to capture some of those early tones.
Since I work in the music industry here in Socal, I was blessed to have a few conversations with the late Pyromania engineer Mike Shipley, before he passed away in 2013.
According to Mike, all the rhythm tracks on 'Pyromania' had already been laid down by Def Leppard co-founder Pete Willis before he was fired for drunkenness on July 11, 1982. Willis played a Hamer Standard on both 'High -N-Dry" and "Pyromania." Shipley told me (and this can also be found in some old interviews) that Willis had a hybrid pickup in his Hamer made from a Seymour Duncan 59 with a hotter coil from a Duncan Custom. This would later become known as the Duncan Hybrid SH-16, which is 11.2k with Alnico 5 magnet.
Steve Clark seemed to prefer the Seymour Duncan 59 model, but there isn't a lot of information (that can be verified) on specs, or whether they were modified.
Phil Collen used a custom 1980 Ibanez Destroyer that was fitted with Ibanez V2 pickups made by DiMarzio. We know, from concert and studio photos, that Phil was playing the Ibanez V2 because of it's unique 3 screw mounting, which can be seen in the images I attached.
The V2 was listed as 15.5k with Alnico 5 magnets.
So, here's what I am thinking...
I like your suggestion of 43awg wire. Seems like a good 'middle ground' and I have read that 43awg promotes clarity. I want a good midrange edge, but with a tight bottom end. I also want clarity and definition, so some output can be sacrificed if necessary to achieve this goal. I'm thinking that if we use the (known and verified) Pete Willis spec of 11.2k A5 and the Phil Collen spec of 15.5k A5 and perhaps come in somewhere in the middle????
And here is his reply:
Yeah! How cool is that.
Our afterburner sits right in the middle at 13k Its like the 12k (my initial suggestion) just a pinch hotter to bring up the mids a pinch.
So...maybe a 1959 Special at Neck ...it has an A2 magnet
and Afterburner at bridge with A5 magnet and 43 awg wire
Thank you!
Jose @ Planet Tone
He wondered what some of the pickup specs could have been on those albums, so I sent him the following.
Good Morning!!!
First of all, I am aware that I will never sound like anyone but me, so going forward, I am just looking for trends that will allow me to capture some of those early tones.
Since I work in the music industry here in Socal, I was blessed to have a few conversations with the late Pyromania engineer Mike Shipley, before he passed away in 2013.
According to Mike, all the rhythm tracks on 'Pyromania' had already been laid down by Def Leppard co-founder Pete Willis before he was fired for drunkenness on July 11, 1982. Willis played a Hamer Standard on both 'High -N-Dry" and "Pyromania." Shipley told me (and this can also be found in some old interviews) that Willis had a hybrid pickup in his Hamer made from a Seymour Duncan 59 with a hotter coil from a Duncan Custom. This would later become known as the Duncan Hybrid SH-16, which is 11.2k with Alnico 5 magnet.
Steve Clark seemed to prefer the Seymour Duncan 59 model, but there isn't a lot of information (that can be verified) on specs, or whether they were modified.
Phil Collen used a custom 1980 Ibanez Destroyer that was fitted with Ibanez V2 pickups made by DiMarzio. We know, from concert and studio photos, that Phil was playing the Ibanez V2 because of it's unique 3 screw mounting, which can be seen in the images I attached.
The V2 was listed as 15.5k with Alnico 5 magnets.
So, here's what I am thinking...
I like your suggestion of 43awg wire. Seems like a good 'middle ground' and I have read that 43awg promotes clarity. I want a good midrange edge, but with a tight bottom end. I also want clarity and definition, so some output can be sacrificed if necessary to achieve this goal. I'm thinking that if we use the (known and verified) Pete Willis spec of 11.2k A5 and the Phil Collen spec of 15.5k A5 and perhaps come in somewhere in the middle????
And here is his reply:
Yeah! How cool is that.
Our afterburner sits right in the middle at 13k
Its like the 12k (my initial suggestion) just a pinch hotter to bring up the mids a pinch.So...maybe a 1959 Special at Neck ...it has an A2 magnet
and Afterburner at bridge with A5 magnet and 43 awg wire
Thank you!
Jose @ Planet Tone
OP
Afterburner Humbucker
Handmade in the USA to order!!Expert wound for killer 80s shred tone!Handcrafted humbuckers begin at $74.95 eachChoose Neck, Bridge or add both for a Custom Calibrated SetCurrent Lead Times The Planet Tone Afterburner Humbucker! Designed for the guitarist who takes their guitar to the next level...
planettone.com
1959 Special Humbucker
Handmade in the USA to order!!Wound for that incredible 1959 tone!!Handcrafted humbuckers begin at $74.95 eachChoose Neck or Bridge or add both for a Custom Calibrated SetCurrent Lead Times There are certain years that have captivated guitar players because of their cherished tone and the year...
planettone.com
DirtySteve
Ambassador of Hold My Beer
You're making me want to buy more pickups and I already have more pickups than I have guitars for. 
Jose at Planet Tone and I have been discussing some specs and somehow, the tone of Def Leppard's 'High N Dry and 'Pyromania' popped up.
He wondered what some of the pickup specs could have been on those albums, so I sent him the following.
Good Morning!!!
First of all, I am aware that I will never sound like anyone but me, so going forward, I am just looking for trends that will allow me to capture some of those early tones.
Since I work in the music industry here in Socal, I was blessed to have a few conversations with the late Pyromania engineer Mike Shipley, before he passed away in 2013.
According to Mike, all the rhythm tracks on 'Pyromania' had already been laid down by Def Leppard co-founder Pete Willis before he was fired for drunkenness on July 11, 1982. Willis played a Hamer Standard on both 'High -N-Dry" and "Pyromania." Shipley told me (and this can also be found in some old interviews) that Willis had a hybrid pickup in his Hamer made from a Seymour Duncan 59 with a hotter coil from a Duncan Custom. This would later become known as the Duncan Hybrid SH-16, which is 11.2k with Alnico 5 magnet.
Steve Clark seemed to prefer the Seymour Duncan 59 model, but there isn't a lot of information (that can be verified) on specs, or whether they were modified.
Phil Collen used a custom 1980 Ibanez Destroyer that was fitted with Ibanez V2 pickups made by DiMarzio. We know, from concert and studio photos, that Phil was playing the Ibanez V2 because of it's unique 3 screw mounting, which can be seen in the images I attached.
View attachment 71162
View attachment 71161
The V2 was listed as 15.5k with Alnico 5 magnets.
So, here's what I am thinking...
I like your suggestion of 43awg wire. Seems like a good 'middle ground' and I have read that 43awg promotes clarity. I want a good midrange edge, but with a tight bottom end. I also want clarity and definition, so some output can be sacrificed if necessary to achieve this goal. I'm thinking that if we use the (known and verified) Pete Willis spec of 11.2k A5 and the Phil Collen spec of 15.5k A5 and perhaps come in somewhere in the middle????
And here is his reply:
Yeah! How cool is that.
Our afterburner sits right in the middle at 13k
So...maybe a 1959 Special at Neck ...it has an A2 magnet
and Afterburner at bridge with A5 magnet and 43 awg wire
Thank you!
Jose @ Planet Tone
Did ya also also tell him, “Oh yeah, before I forget, there’s a slightly crazy, red-headed dude on a guitar forum who’s willing to give me a Seymour Duncan JB pickup. Can you do better than that?”
Seriously, use this for leverage. Ask “Jose” (so called) what the value added is for his pickup that is so much better than a JB pickup that would justify the price.
@eSGEe, come help our boy with his Ferengi skilz!
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
USA handmade pickups for $60 is insane! How do they do it?Afterburner Humbucker
Handmade in the USA to order!!Expert wound for killer 80s shred tone!Handcrafted humbuckers begin at $74.95 eachChoose Neck, Bridge or add both for a Custom Calibrated SetCurrent Lead Times The Planet Tone Afterburner Humbucker! Designed for the guitarist who takes their guitar to the next level...
1959 Special Humbucker
Handmade in the USA to order!!Wound for that incredible 1959 tone!!Handcrafted humbuckers begin at $74.95 eachChoose Neck or Bridge or add both for a Custom Calibrated SetCurrent Lead Times There are certain years that have captivated guitar players because of their cherished tone and the year...