Pickup Recommendations?

Patrick Rusert · Post by **Patrick Rusert** » 6 Mar 2017 9:22 am

Hi Guys-
I'm having some pretty persistent trouble dialing in my treble settings and I'm hoping that maybe a pickup change might help.

Here's my signal chain:

La Garritt/Rittenberry E9, SD-10
George L E-66
Hilton VP
Strymon Big Sky
Strymon El Capistan
Fender Twin (SF '74)
- Approx Settings: T 3.25, M 7.5, B 4.0, Brite Off
- RCA short plate, GE Long Plate 12ax7s, among others.
- TAD WGC-STR 6L6's
- Altec 418B 15" speaker
- Rick Johnson Custom Pine Cab

Fwiw, I'm usually really happy with my tone picking a little further away from the bridge, but things tend to get peaky/harsh when I run out of room fretting anywhere above 10. I use nickel wound strings and my guitar has no problem with a .12g 3rd. I pick relatively hard, and also really like the sound and feel of this guitar unamplified, so I'm hoping to find a solution that doesn't involve a big investment in a new guitar

I've also noticed - all else equal - the George L is very hot. Significantly louder than other guitars plugged into my rig. Even lowered down as far as it can go. Between that and the Hilton I can overdrive the heck out of v1 if I'm not careful.

I've also tried using longer cables and tweaking the tone setting on the Hilton, but could not find a sweet spot that didn't sap too much of the nice, friendly overtones.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Patrick

Dave Campbell · Post by **Dave Campbell** » 6 Mar 2017 11:00 am

i think two things right away:

i use a '74 twin with an altec 418b as well. the mid control on the twin is more of a shift, and if i set mine past 5 the highs do get a bit shrill. if your altec is an 8 ohm and you haven't switched out your output transformer, the mids are affected and the tone is harder to dial in (for me, anyhow).

you might try an 12at7 in the 2nd tube position. with the hilton and the george l things might be a bit hot.

i'm pretty happy with my telonics pickup (206), and i'm keen on the fully adjustable teleonics 409.

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 6 Mar 2017 12:05 pm

Another Twin Reverb/Altec 418b owner here. I don't think there is a better amp and speaker combo out there. Besides what Dave suggested, another quick cheap thing to try is plugging into the padded #2 input.

Dick Wood · Post by **Dick Wood** » 6 Mar 2017 12:21 pm

I would dump the E66 and go with a 710,705 or XR16 which will warm up the low end but still retain high end clarity without being harsh or brittle.

The E66 never sounded good in any guitar I have ever owned.It is a very brittle and harsh pup in my opinion.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 6 Mar 2017 12:24 pm

A couple ideas:
Run the pickup distance to about 5mm (3 quarters in a stack). Output will drop a little, but tone will be smoother
Use input #2
I run the bass up until it gets "woofy", then back it off a titch, mids a bit lower than the bass, treble a bit lower than the mids.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 6 Mar 2017 12:29 pm

Or turn the mids all the way up and treble around 4 , bass around 3.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 6 Mar 2017 1:19 pm

And I overlooked the E66. Either one of Bob Hoffnar's Tonealigner pickups, 705 or a Truetone.
I don't mind the tone of the E-66, but its attack suppresses the soul. Even if the tone is pleasing, the experience is not.

Greg Thompson · Post by **Greg Thompson** » 6 Mar 2017 2:02 pm

I have a Lawrence 705 re-Issue that would do the job. Check my post - GregT

Dave Meis · Post by **Dave Meis** » 6 Mar 2017 5:03 pm

Bob Hoffnar wrote:Or turn the mids all the way up and treble around 4 , bass around 3.

+1
I'm a fan of running the mids up, and balancing the
'center freq.' with the bass and treble... as the mids go up on my Twin, the overall sound gets 'brighter'.. so turning down the treble is in order on some (but not all) guitars. Maybe mids up, treble 3 and bass 4?

Brett Lanier · Post by **Brett Lanier** » 6 Mar 2017 7:39 pm

Hard to beat the tone of a passive volume pedal and single coil pickup. It's true that things can get a little buzzy but I've only had that be a problem in venues that aren't real venues anyway, where the light and sound systems are on one circuit, so I don't worry too much about those times. Been really happy with the Stratospheric clones that Todd Clinesmith made for me. It's a really fat single coil sound.

Patrick Rusert · Post by **Patrick Rusert** » 7 Mar 2017 6:58 am

Thanks for all the replies. You guys never disappoint.

Per Lane's suggestion, I took another look at the pickup height. I've got it lowered as far as it can go, but that's still only 3.5mm (two quarters).

It's kinda hard to see in the pic, but there are two little bolted on pieces on both sides that won't allow the outside edges of the pickup to lower past that point.

Marco Schouten · Post by **Marco Schouten** » 8 Mar 2017 6:16 am

The E66 can be closer to the strings than eg a BL 710. Probably because of the plastic casing. So 3.5 mm should be enough. I would't change it to a BL710, that pu was designed for a pot pedal and you use a Hilton. The Telonics pickups are designed for active pedals, so that might be a good choice.

Patrick Rusert · Post by **Patrick Rusert** » 8 Mar 2017 6:47 am

Marco Schouten wrote:The E66 can be closer to the strings than eg a BL 710. Probably because of the plastic casing. So 3.5 mm should be enough. I would't change it to a BL710, that pu was designed for a pot pedal and you use a Hilton. The Telonics pickups are designed for active pedals, so that might be a good choice.

Thanks Marco. I was thinking about a BL 705 or the Telonics 409. I'd also be happy to buy a tonealigner if **cough** Bob H starts building them again.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 10 Mar 2017 6:15 pm

You might try lowering the volume (trim-pot adjustment) on the bottom of your Hilton pedal. Mine was set much too high when I bought it. Another tip would be to use a longer cord, like a 8-foot or an 10-foot cord from the guitar to the volume pedal. (This will reduce some of your highs.)

Tucker Jackson · Post by **Tucker Jackson** » 11 Mar 2017 8:05 pm

The E-66 is the brightest of all George L pickups. It's meant to emulate a 1966 Emmons... you could hardly find more high-end presence. It works well in certain guitars but can be ice-picky in other rigs that are naturally brighter.

If you want a darker tone, I would suggest you replace the E-66 with some of the suggestions others have made here. Really, almost any of the popular PSG pickups would be fatter than what you're running now.

The other big, easy change would be the amp EQ knobs. Don't be afraid to grab that treble knob and take it WAY down. Close your eyes and adjust it. If it ends up on, say, 1, so be it. And obviously, you want the bright switch off if you've got too much high end...

Tommy Shown · Post by **Tommy Shown** » 11 Mar 2017 8:54 pm

I have a couple of Wallace Truetones in my guitar. I love them. I had an E66 on Pro-III, and it worked out pretty good to me.