Fralin 9K on the way

[fl_799]

I bucked up and ordered a nickle covered Fralin 9K bridge PAF from Torres engineering a few days ago and it should be here later this week. It will go in the bridge of my '01 1958 Historic. Stock '57 neck pickup is quite warm and round but the bridge '57 sounds a bit dark and harmonically flat in the upper mids and highs. The guitar itself is very resonant and loud acoustically.

I've owned orginal PAF's, mid '60's patent number's, Seth Lovers, Antiquities, and Duncan 59's so it will be interesting how the Fralin compares to these pickups. I am VERY impressed with the Vintage hot Strat pickup he makes, I can only wonder if this magic rubbed off on his PAF type pickup. Otherwise, I am looking for what his single coils do; add a bit more output with a complex harmonic content and shimmery overtones. I'll report my findings later in the week. I'll cross my fingers in the meantime!

James

 

[Plankspanker]

I've changed pickups on my guitars in search of that early Clapton, Peter Green tone. I've learned mostly thru reading comments on this here forum that the volume, tone and caps
play a fundamental role along with the pickups. I've bought
Duncans, Lovers, Holmes, Ted Lawrence. etc. I liked the sound of the Seymour Duncan "Pearly Gates" for a long time and had a few
sets custom wound in double cream measuring 8.1K each. They sound great thru the Marshall JTM45 or even the stock 1962 BB
Reissue, but seem to lose it thru my '65 Vibrolux or Vibroverb RI.
I did find a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquities that measured 8.4K
and I took the covers off to age them to find that they are Zebra
bobbins on each. I replace the Volume and Tone pots with CTS
and measured them to make sure they were over 500, and added
Gudeman caps. It made a tremendous difference, and I plan on
setting up another with this combo. Good luck with your 9Ks!

 

[fl_799]

Plankspanker,

You've touched on something I've been looking into:

Pots: CTS. I am assuming the historics use the "short" shaft? Where can I get 'em? All I can find is the "long" shaft 500K's although I know these will work just fine with some adjustment to the shaft height nut.

Caps: Guideman caps: Where can I get 'em? From what I've read, these are the way to go for the finishing touch.

The funny thing about the Pearly Gates pickup is I only played 'em in Fender Strats and wondered why they didn't sound too good....that is until I played them in a 'Paul. Ahhhh, there was the tone that was missing from the Strat. Something about that thick slab of Mahagony I guess.

As far as the Fralin is concerned, I am done chasing the "PAF" clone tone for now....been there done that. I'm looking for something along those lines but a slightly "different take" of that tone at the same time. I play an old Marshall Plexi 100 and I think the Fralin will match the guitar and amp pretty well. Like I said in the last post, his single coils are amazing sounding!

James

 

[fl_799]

Pickup arrived

The 9K arrived today as expected from Torres. After a solder in, and re-string I put the guitar through it's paces.

I noticed that a fog was lifted from the sound of the bridge pickup...much more of a pure sound. The upper mid range that I felt was lacking suddendly appered! The fralin has a good deal of Harmonic complexity and swirl; very 3-d like with lots of harmonic overtones. Best description is a tight solid bottom, a moderate dose of midrangy without getting boxy, and a crisp complex top. The tone is very balanced and fat without a trace of mud. The pickup handles gain very well; it pushes amp an amps input pretty well for a "9K". Overall, it reminds me of the bridge Seth Lover's crisp attack with a bit more midrange and a tad bit more output and somewhat less of that "hollow tone". The pickup does transfer every playing nuance to the amp mistakes and all so it is not forgiving in the least....a good or bad thing depending on your viewpoint.

While this may not be a PAF clone, it is damn close to the sound I've been hearing in my head for a long time....I'm very happy with this pickup.

 

[toni]

fl_799,

it seems that Fralins and SD Seths are very close ?
...a tad less hollow with the Fralins ?
Which pickup do you prefer, Fralins or Seths ?
...and which one is "warmer" or less Harsh ?

 

[fl_799]

Toni,

I like the Seth Lovers alot. I like the higher output and crispness of them but the sets I've owned were a bit microphonic at the bridge position at high volumes...although the tone was pretty "pure" and sweet. Even though I checked the resistance of many seth lovers for the highest resestance, I still wanted a tad more output in the bridge position....just my personal preference.

The Fralin is beefier than the Seth Lover (atleast in the bridge position) and the Seth Lover had more bite to the top end. Both pickups have solid lows without any mud and come through nicely unlike the '57 classic I replaced. Both pickups are very touch sensitive and harmonically rich. I suppose it boils down to the tone you are looking for...more output vs. traditional paf tone. Right now, I'm really digging the tone of the Fralin pickup and it is a right fit for the sonic qualities of my Les Paul and amps I use.

James

 

[toni]

thanks James !