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dsutton24
September 4th, 2011, 05:07 PM
Is the Effbucker right for you?
In the last few months I've been experimenting with Humbuckers, and some of you might remember the Telecaster project I posted here. The result was more than I ever hoped for, but, they're still Humbuckers, and they just don't look right in all circumstances, for example my Blonde / Black Tele with the least inspiring pickups I've ever owned. Though not a true Blackguard, it still wouldn't look right with pickups the size of a small picnic table... so, enter:
The Effbucker
From the Fezzter web site:
http://fezzterpickups.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/2296915
The Effbucker is a *hum-cancelling pickup with all of the wonderful T-Style twang. A3 mags, 42 ag wire, steel baseplate for the bridge pickup, nickel silver cover for the neck. Twang!
*There's a balance to be had between cancelling hum and cancelling tone . the design kills most of the hum while keeping most of the tone. Think about it: When you "buck" 60hZ, you're also "bucking" 120, 240, 480, 960, 1920, and 3840hZ. At least that's my theory!
Uncle Fezzter's pickups have intrigued me for a while, so I contacted him about the Effbucker. After a few stupid questions (and patient answers) I sent some cash his way, and he sent these back:
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/dsutton24/EffbuckerTop.jpg
Pretty much just pickups. But, not really. The first thing I noticed about them is there weren't huge globs of wax oozing out of everything. The neck pickup shows some signs of wax potting, but it's so light that you can easily see all the windings. I didn't pull the cover off because I know from past experience that that way madness lies.
The bridge pickup has a cotton twine over-wrap. The magnets are flush with the top of the flatwork, and everything fits together well. The leads of both pickups have thermoplastic insulation, and the bridge pickup has a braided shield over the leads. Included with the pickups are enough screws and silicone tubing pieces to mount the pickups, and a Cornell .015 µF Black Cat capacitor.
Installation was straight forward, no surprises, everything dropped right in and lined up perfectly. I wired them according to the instructions sent by email when the pickups shipped, nothing fancy, just the usual three-way scheme.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/dsutton24/BlackguardClose-1.jpg
So, how do they sound?
They sound great. The thing you worry about when replacing the pickups in a Telecaster is losing that signature twang. Well, if this thing has lost any twang, I can't tell it. In fact, the stock pickups were about as bland as any I've ever heard in a decent guitar, and the Effbuckers have improved the sound of this thing a great deal. They have a nice midrangy quality, and don't get shrill.
Output wise, they seem to be a little hotter than the usual stock pickup. I did some experimenting with a tuning fork, comparing the Effbucker Tele with a stock MIA Tele. At the same distance from the pickup, the tuning fork produces a little more sound from the Effbucker.
And these things are QUIET. I've got a fluorescent light over the bench where I do this work, and inducing hum is an easy matter. I laid the MIA on the bench, and turned the gain up on the amp until I could just hear hum. When I swapped in the Effbucker guitar, it was totally silent. Turning up the volume would produce hum, but when the MIA was swapped in, it growled loudly. Not scientific, but somewhat illustrative of how well these things work.
The only thing out of the ordinary I noticed was that if the neck pickup is at the usual height, the guitar didn't want to intonate very well. Dropping the pickup slightly made a big difference, and given the output from the Effbucker, it was no problem.
Conclusions? Easy... buy them. In my opinion they're a nice solution if that single coil hum is getting you down, but you still want a more traditional looking pickup. Dealing with Uncle Fezzter himself was pleasant and painless, and he certainly did everything he promised to do. Fezzter has a noticeable presence around here, but he doesn't do a lot to drum up sales for himself. Go looking for him if you want a nice pair of Effbuckers.
In the last few months I've been experimenting with Humbuckers, and some of you might remember the Telecaster project I posted here. The result was more than I ever hoped for, but, they're still Humbuckers, and they just don't look right in all circumstances, for example my Blonde / Black Tele with the least inspiring pickups I've ever owned. Though not a true Blackguard, it still wouldn't look right with pickups the size of a small picnic table... so, enter:
The Effbucker
From the Fezzter web site:
http://fezzterpickups.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/2296915
The Effbucker is a *hum-cancelling pickup with all of the wonderful T-Style twang. A3 mags, 42 ag wire, steel baseplate for the bridge pickup, nickel silver cover for the neck. Twang!
*There's a balance to be had between cancelling hum and cancelling tone . the design kills most of the hum while keeping most of the tone. Think about it: When you "buck" 60hZ, you're also "bucking" 120, 240, 480, 960, 1920, and 3840hZ. At least that's my theory!
Uncle Fezzter's pickups have intrigued me for a while, so I contacted him about the Effbucker. After a few stupid questions (and patient answers) I sent some cash his way, and he sent these back:
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/dsutton24/EffbuckerTop.jpg
Pretty much just pickups. But, not really. The first thing I noticed about them is there weren't huge globs of wax oozing out of everything. The neck pickup shows some signs of wax potting, but it's so light that you can easily see all the windings. I didn't pull the cover off because I know from past experience that that way madness lies.
The bridge pickup has a cotton twine over-wrap. The magnets are flush with the top of the flatwork, and everything fits together well. The leads of both pickups have thermoplastic insulation, and the bridge pickup has a braided shield over the leads. Included with the pickups are enough screws and silicone tubing pieces to mount the pickups, and a Cornell .015 µF Black Cat capacitor.
Installation was straight forward, no surprises, everything dropped right in and lined up perfectly. I wired them according to the instructions sent by email when the pickups shipped, nothing fancy, just the usual three-way scheme.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/dsutton24/BlackguardClose-1.jpg
So, how do they sound?
They sound great. The thing you worry about when replacing the pickups in a Telecaster is losing that signature twang. Well, if this thing has lost any twang, I can't tell it. In fact, the stock pickups were about as bland as any I've ever heard in a decent guitar, and the Effbuckers have improved the sound of this thing a great deal. They have a nice midrangy quality, and don't get shrill.
Output wise, they seem to be a little hotter than the usual stock pickup. I did some experimenting with a tuning fork, comparing the Effbucker Tele with a stock MIA Tele. At the same distance from the pickup, the tuning fork produces a little more sound from the Effbucker.
And these things are QUIET. I've got a fluorescent light over the bench where I do this work, and inducing hum is an easy matter. I laid the MIA on the bench, and turned the gain up on the amp until I could just hear hum. When I swapped in the Effbucker guitar, it was totally silent. Turning up the volume would produce hum, but when the MIA was swapped in, it growled loudly. Not scientific, but somewhat illustrative of how well these things work.
The only thing out of the ordinary I noticed was that if the neck pickup is at the usual height, the guitar didn't want to intonate very well. Dropping the pickup slightly made a big difference, and given the output from the Effbucker, it was no problem.
Conclusions? Easy... buy them. In my opinion they're a nice solution if that single coil hum is getting you down, but you still want a more traditional looking pickup. Dealing with Uncle Fezzter himself was pleasant and painless, and he certainly did everything he promised to do. Fezzter has a noticeable presence around here, but he doesn't do a lot to drum up sales for himself. Go looking for him if you want a nice pair of Effbuckers.