The Steel Guitar Forum

How do the stock pickups compare to the 705s

Bryan, after hearing others say they liked the 705 better
I put 1 on both of my Mullen's about a year ago an liked
the sound, so I left them on. Last week I thought the one
I was playing sounded crappy and didn't have much sustain
so I put the Mullen PU back. I guess I wore the strings out.
See my post further on down.

My vote is for Mullen single coils.

I have 2 G2's set up exactly the same. Ser# 67 has had Alumitones and now has 705's. The other one, ser# 161 I believe, (I got from Bobby Boggs) has stock single coils. The single coils have the edge. I have a single coil to try on #167, when I make time to do it, to see how much is the pickup and how much is the wood.



Both are fine instruments. I can't believe the black one with 705's doesn't sound better.

I like my stock Mullen pickups.

Very happy with Mullen pickups, plus the guitar as well.

Another vote for the single coil. I tried a 705, and it was OK, but the single coil just has a certain something (technical term, right?) that I like better.

To tame the highs on a 705. I end up muddying up the med range. Your mileage may vary.

b.

Mullen single coil on my HWP. I tried the 710 and 705.

I like everything about Mullen guitars, they play and sound great, just the way they come out of the factory... I would never remove original Mullen pickup , I think they sound great..JMHO

Mullen are ready to go, straight out of the tin.I would Definately NOT replace the pickup.They are correct for the guitar ...and impart the correct upper mids / lower highs to sound sweet.Why fix something that ain't broke !! As Frank Zappa said " shut up and play yer guitar" lol !
Best wishes Dave

The only pickup I preferred on my Mullen over the stock was the Tonealigner from Bob Hoffnar
its glorious

I've got two G2 guitars. One has 705's and the other stock single coil. I've been playing the guitar with 705's a lot the last couple of weeks and I like it too. I do think the stock PUP's have a bit more sparkle...

I think it depends on what kind of sound your going after. I myself are a huge fan of the 705's and highly recommend them for any guitar. I however think Mullen single coils are great pickups. I like not having the hum with the 705's and think 705's have plenty of sparkle. I don't think 705's sound too thin but that's just what I hear. I think the 705's produce a very balanced tone for a humbucking pickup. Just my opinion, but I don't think we're talking about a night and day difference except for the hum factor.

Dean Holman... LOL, what a coincidence. I bought the G2 you had played at a steel guitar show as an after show guitar from Mullen. Mike slapped one additional knee for C6 on it. It has 705's and is the guitar I am playing quite a bit right now. The picture of me playing my HWP G2 with stock PUPS is at "Antones" in Austin.

Hey,
That's awesome! That's the guitar I played at the Baldknobbers show for three years. It's a great guitar and I thought sounded real good with the 705 pickups. That's just my personal preference. You can't go wrong with any Mullen product.

For YEARS I've been a big fan of Jerry Wallace"s Truetone pickups ...Is anyone out there using Truetone's in their Mullen ? .....THanks ...JIm

Well I had to go back to the 705 yesterday. The Mullen pickup had a loud hum
and the new strings I put on sounded so piercing my wife said change it back.
It was also so micro-phonic when I touched it, and picked up all pedal noise.
I put the 705 back on it. Now it sounds great again with no noise at all.
I don't know what's wrong with the Mullen P/U maybe it's just a bad one.

The original Mullen single coil pickups in my PRP Mullen D-10 are the best sounding pickups I have every heard on a pedal steel. Way better than any aftermarket ones I've tried.
Disclaimer: I have not tried every aftermarket pickup made but I've tried a bunch.

That is not normal for a Mullen pickup, there has to be a problem. I much prefer the tone of the stock pickup over a 705. The sock pickup has much smoother highs and rich clear lows that you can't get on a humbucker. If you record often, the 705 may be the right choice, but it is a trade off. Just my opinion.