Stuart Pickups Installed...Review

[chriskarson]

I just replaced a Duncan Antiquity bridge and a Fralin neck pickup in my Warmoth parts Tele. I'll get right to the point: Holy S**t!!! I play thru a Vox AC-30 and a Matchless DC-30 so I thought my set up was as good as it gets. I was wrong. With the Stuarts installed there is just so much more happening sonically that I hardly know where to begin. On the bridge pickup there is more chime, more twang and the notes seem huge and dimensional. There is a nice "clickiness" to the picked notes and harmonics galore- but never shrill or "ice picky". Notes seem to jump out and envelope you- I dont know how else to describe it. The neck pickup is also big and fat without the dead sound associated with many Tele neck pickups. It matches up perfectly with the bridge pickup for the nicest, most harmonically rich middle position sounds that I have ever heard. Also both pickups respond amazingly to cranking the amp up- those big twangy clean harmonics bloom into the sweetest distortion that I've ever coaxed out of my Matchless. These are possibly the best upgrade that I have ever made. I am a happy camper. Gotta go play some more. Thanks to Fred Stuart for making such great pickups and to this forum, where as a frequent lurker, I learned about Mr. Stuart and his pickups. I cant wait to play my next gig with them...

[slack]

There is a dedicated thread here for Stuart BG reviews:
http://tdpri.com/viewtopic.php?t=43181

Glad you like it. I didn't care for the Stuart bridge pup I tried in my 53 Esquire. I posted in that thread.

[Ramblin Ray]

What value tone cap are you using? Treble bleed cap? Just curious.

[Mark Davis]

Originally Posted by slack

There is a dedicated thread here for Stuart BG reviews:
http://tdpri.com/viewtopic.php?t=43181

Glad you like it. I didn't care for the Stuart bridge pup I tried in my 53 Esquire. I posted in that thread.

I have a JM Rolph with staggerd poles waiting to go in my Esquire its 7.45k not reliced.

[chriskarson]

Cap is a .05 Sprague. No treble bleed mod.

[chriskarson]

Oops. Forgot to thank Jason Allen @ Virtual Vintage guitar for guiding me through an easy, stress free ordering process. I had the pickups 2 1/2 weeks after I ordered them.

[fezz parka]

Originally Posted by chriskarson

Cap is a .05 Sprague. No treble bleed mod.

If you want to retain the highs as you roll back the volume, try this:



It really does the trick, and doesn't sound artificial like the treble bleed resistor/cap thang...

[stephent2]

cool!, thanks for the review.

[tjalla]

Originally Posted by fezz parka

If you want to retain the highs as you roll back the volume, try this:



It really does the trick, and doesn't sound artificial like the treble bleed resistor/cap thang...

I use this mod where ever I can now... treble bleed resistors, caps really don't do it for me... makes the tone plasticky.

[sidneystreet]

Congrats on the Stuarts, and nice review.

That Stuart bridge pup is foolproof for me. I like it high, I like it low. It just has such an organic, pleasing sound. And the middle position is great also, as the bridge and neck really blend well to my ears.

I think the best compliment I can give the Stuarts is that they make me appreciate plugging straight into an amp, more than ever before. I don't feel that I HAVE to add delay, compression, reverb, etc. to get a great sound. I use effects much more sparingly, and let more of the guitar's tone shine through.

[slack]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

I have a JM Rolph with staggerd poles waiting to go in my Esquire its 7.45k not reliced.

You probably know this since you posted that... I pulled the Stuart and replaced it with a relic'd Rolph ~8K (I think it's called a custom Broadcaster, but not sure).

[TY]

How would you compare the overal tonal balance of the Stuart to the Antiquity (flatpole, I assume?)??

Is the stuart brighter/darker, hotter/quieter, softer/harder, more/less midrange, etc.?

Thanks!!

[chriskarson]

Originally Posted by TY

How would you compare the overal tonal balance of the Stuart to the Antiquity (flatpole, I assume?)??

Is the stuart brighter/darker, hotter/quieter, softer/harder, more/less midrange, etc.?

Thanks!!

Well, the Stuart is measurement wise hotter ( 7.2 K for the Stuart vs 6.4K for the Antiquity flatpole). The main difference to me so far, is that the Stuarts seem to have so much more pleasant harmonic content ( ie chime, twang and are much more responsive to how hard or soft your pick attack is). If I had to sum it all up ( and I'm really trying to :) ) is that the Stuarts have more of everything one would want in a Tele pickup without any of the traditional pitfalls ( not thin or shrill). The Antiquity bridge is great- I've gigged with it for 10 years- but the Stuart makes it seem lifeless by comparison. Hope this answers your question. I think Sidneystreet's description is very accurate too.
Chris

[fractal]

Originally Posted by fezz parka

If you want to retain the highs as you roll back the volume, try this:



It really does the trick, and doesn't sound artificial like the treble bleed resistor/cap thang...

Thanks for posting this. I think I'll try it with my upcoming rewire job.

[Wild Rice Chris]

Originally Posted by tjalla

I use this mod where ever I can now... treble bleed resistors, caps really don't do it for me... makes the tone plasticky.

I've been doing it for years.

[fezz parka]

Me too. I also do it to Strats as well. That resistor/cap thang is too artificial sounding.

[TY]

Thanks for the comparision. I have a couple more questions.

How microphonic is the bridge pickup? That is my only concern at this point keeping me from getting the stuart; I sometimes play an AC30 cranked up pretty good, sometimes with a fuzz pedal, and I am worried about the squealies.

Have you tested out the pickup with a fair amount of overdrive/compression?

Also, can someone explain that wiring diagram? I had my tech do the "kinman" setup for my volume pot on my 52RI and though it changes the taper a bit, I really like it; sounds real natural to me. What's the difference with alternate method?

Thanks, all!

[fezz parka]

It's pretty simple: move the wire that goes from the outside lug of the volume pot to the tone pot to the center lug of the volume pot. ( and take out the cap & resistor that the tech put in.)

The resistor/cap hypes the highs and really thins out the sound as you turn down the volume. The more you turn it down, the more hyped it becomes.

This way the taper isn't affected, and sounds like a natural reduction in volume with no major tonal changes.

[chriskarson]

Originally Posted by TY

Thanks for the comparision. I have a couple more questions.

How microphonic is the bridge pickup? That is my only concern at this point keeping me from getting the stuart; I sometimes play an AC30 cranked up pretty good, sometimes with a fuzz pedal, and I am worried about the squealies.

Have you tested out the pickup with a fair amount of overdrive/compression?

Also, can someone explain that wiring diagram? I had my tech do the "kinman" setup for my volume pot on my 52RI and though it changes the taper a bit, I really like it; sounds real natural to me. What's the difference with alternate method?

Thanks, all!

I played thru my Matchless at gig volumes in my living room- didnt use the pedal board as I was really listening to the pickups. I'll report back after my next gig, as my setup is similar to yours( Tele-pedal board with overdrive and fuzz- Matchless DC-30 or Vox AC-30).

[TY]

Originally Posted by fezz parka

The resistor/cap hypes the highs and really thins out the sound as you turn down the volume. The more you turn it down, the more hyped it becomes.

This way the taper isn't affected, and sounds like a natural reduction in volume with no major tonal changes.

I don't find that the sound thins out at all with the kinman setup on my 52RI. Its really very natural; doesn't sound anything like the artificial highs from a bypass setup like a bright switch on a fender amp. It really keeps the tone the same as you reduce it, at least to my ears. Have you tried the kinman setup?

How exactly does the above setup work to preserve the highs? I need to do a mod on my esquire as it has standard wiring.

[TY]

Originally Posted by chriskarson

I'll report back after my next gig, as my setup is similar to yours( Tele-pedal board with overdrive and fuzz- Matchless DC-30 or Vox AC-30).

Fantastic, I can't wait for a report. I use some menatone overdrives and a GE london fuzz into my AC30TBX in my current band which uses higher gain tones than I'm used to. We are a kind of Pettyish band with a little extra twang, but the lead tones get pretty gainy on the rockin tunes.

[fezz parka]

Originally Posted by TY

I don't find that the sound thins out at all with the kinman setup on my 52RI. Its really very natural; doesn't sound anything like the artificial highs from a bypass setup like a bright switch on a fender amp. It really keeps the tone the same as you reduce it, at least to my ears. Have you tried the kinman setup?

How exactly does the above setup work to preserve the highs? I need to do a mod on my esquire as it has standard wiring.

It changes the way the pots load down the pickups. I have used the cap/resistor method before, and I prefer this way. That and it's much easier to move one wire than add the cap & resistor.:D

[BB]

Originally Posted by fezz parka

If you want to retain the highs as you roll back the volume, try this:



It really does the trick, and doesn't sound artificial like the treble bleed resistor/cap thang...

Probably a stoopid questions, but what does the red line indcate?

[fezz parka]

Originally Posted by BB

Probably a stoopid questions, but what does the red line indcate?

That's the new connection. You just move the wire from the outside lug to the center lug on the vol. pot.:D

[BB]

Thank you Fezz! Now I understand. I've been doing this stuff for years, but sometimes ( my wife would say "ALL THE TIME!" ) my head gets a bit thick. For some reason I had the pots reversed....DOH!! Can't wait to try it out.

Thanks again!

[Peterules]

I know this is an old post, but how does this wiring retain the highs when you have your volume low??

[tjalla]

Originally Posted by Peterules

I know this is an old post, but how does this wiring retain the highs when you have your volume low??

The best way I can describe it is that it makes the tone control less effective at low volume knob settings. Ie with the tone all the way off, your guitar sound will be brightest at the lowest settings and get increasingly dark as you bring up the volume. So depending where you set your tone knob, the signal coming out of your guitar can get darker, stay neutral or get brighter as you roll off the vol knob.

I hope that made sense! :?

Trevor