HOW TO: Make a 59/Custom Hybrid

[KramerAmsterdam]

Which one is the Ceramic and which the A5 magnet (taken form pictures at topicstarter)?

I assume the left 'glassy' one is Ceramic.



Reason for asking I can't recall which one is which and I do not want to take the pickups apart just to 'listen'.

Cheers,
Remy

[BachToRock]

Those are both Alnico Magnets... a Ceramic is generally Dark Gray/Black in color

[KramerAmsterdam]

Thanks Bach. Seemed confusing because it turned out that my Custom and 59B Hybrids (all thanks to you ) had an A2 and an A5 magnet? Since the colors were identical/except the surface finish , I was confused. I think my Custom was already altered to a C5 before I got it?

I think I will recognize it now when I see the Ceramic (and out it will go A's the way)

Many thanks,
Remy

[BachToRock]

Cool... always glad to help out...
Which one did you like better... the A2 or A5?

[KramerAmsterdam]

Thanks Bach, I appreciate it-the whole Hybrid thing you created is very interesting to me.

I have the A2 in now. Sounds great. The guitar it is in however sounds great almost with any pickup. It's a Tone Monster. The A5 pumped out massive too-hence my thought it had an ceramic magnet in it.

I can live with both

The best this guitar sounded with was the EVH/78 btw. A2 also.

Remy

ps. it's a Baretta/Focus mutt with rosewood pointy neck.

[BachToRock]

Hope this helps clear up any questions!

Coil lead wires from from left to right and their corresponding wire of a 4-conductor lead...

1- White Stud = White
2- Black Stud = Black
3- White Screw(Left Black on a 59/Seth/PG) = Red
4- Black Screw(Bottom of coil on a 59/Seth/PG) = Green

On a 2 condutor lead:
1 & 3 are soldered together
2 is HOT
4 is soldered to baseplate

[fullfistrock21]

was wondering which magnet would sound best for angus young, van halen, billy gibbons type sound in 59/custom hybrid?

[C-Martin]

isnt the 59 supose to have maple spacers?

[Majestic]

was wondering which magnet would sound best for angus young, van halen, billy gibbons type sound in 59/custom hybrid?

For VH and Bill Gibbons, I would assume Alnico 2. Not sure about Angus Young.

Although in reality, either magnet would probably work with with right guitar, the right picking technique, and the right amp settings.

[fullfistrock21]

im pretty sure in 1960's sg's they used a alnico 5 quite frequently in their PAF's which is what angus has, so i guess ill try both!

[fullfistrock21]

also just wondering which coil do people prefer closer to the bridge the custom or 59? it would seem with the custom bridge toward the neck it would accentuate alot of the normal harmonics and with it closer to the bridge it would get a lot of the vibrations that die out...so which do u guys prefer?

[BachToRock]

After 20 years of experimenting with the Hybrids I can offer you these observations and considerations:

I have found that the difference is negligable in full humbucking mode EXCEPT for in a slanted humbucker guitar like a Kramer Baretta where the HIGH strings line up more under the STUD coil and the LOW strings line up more under the SCREW coil... in this scenario there is something about the Custom Slug/59 Screw that just sounds mo' better.

If you choose to coil-tap the pickup via Duncans standard wiring the SLUG coil stays active and the single 59 or Custom coil definitely sound different... which is "better" is completely a matter of taste... the Custom SLUG approaches a nice Tele-like tone and the 59 is clearer and brighter with a little less output. I personally prefer the Custom Slug in a non-Strat guitar when I will be coil-tapping a lot.

I have found that in a strat with single coils in the neck & middle you get the most authentic "quack" in the #2 position if you wire Black to Ground and Green to Hot and coil tap the humbucker which makes the SCREW coil active. REASON... the High 'E" polepiece of a Strat Bridge pickup and the High "E" Screw of a Humbucker rest in the same position... the Low "E" polepiece of a Strat Bridge pickup resides about perfectly in-between the screws and studs on the Low "E" of a humbucker... therefore the SCREW coil is closer to capturing the same area of the string as a traditional Strat Bridge pickup than the Stud coil. Also, in this case it would make sense that the Custom Coil would be preferred since it matches up better tonally and output wise with a traditional Strat Middle pickup. When doing this mod you will usually need to flip the magnet in the humbucker to keep things in-phase depending on the particular single coils...

[WGTP]

Thanks for sharing the observations. I hadn't thought about the slanted pickup changing the "balance" of the coils, but that makes sense.

I "messed up" one time and had a CC in a Les Paul with the screw coil on when it was tapped. It had a rickenbackerish tone to it.

[MattRees]

Wow, just read this whole topic for the first time and this sounds just for me!

Would it be a stupid idea to do this with a 59 and a JB?
Its all I've got hanging around at the moment and i've secretly always wanted abit of my old JB in the 59 im using at the moment. Its not that much higher output than the Custom is it? What would be disadvantages of doing this?
Sorry for any ignorance, Im new here.
Thanks, Matt

[Gary Ladd]

Wow, just read this whole topic for the first time and this sounds just for me!

Would it be a stupid idea to do this with a 59 and a JB?
Its all I've got hanging around at the moment and i've secretly always wanted abit of my old JB in the 59 im using at the moment. Its not that much higher output than the Custom is it? What would be disadvantages of doing this?
Sorry for any ignorance, Im new here.
Thanks, Matt

Based upon Lindy Fralin's unmatched coil scheme I wouldn't suggest exceeding a difference in the DC Resistance of the coils of say X 1.5/1.6, whereas the difference between the 59 and JB's coils DC Resistance is like X 2...

Then again the difference between the 59 and Custom's coils is like X 1.75 and no one seems to be noticing any hum...I haven't tried that config, so I don't know.

[BachToRock]

Gary... Lindy's scheme is based around coils using the SAME wire gauge... traditional 42 gauge vintage... I don't overly care for that type of coil mis-match if it is anything broader than what a vintage P.A.F. might be....

[Butch Snyder]

This thread need to be in the Vault....

Awesome stuff...

[caprae]

Is it any harder making a hybrid from a covered pickup? What extra steps does it take?

[Gary Ladd]

Is it any harder making a hybrid from a covered pickup? What extra steps does it take?

You'd have to take the cover off to start - There's a lot of info on the forums concerning that to be found using the search function

[Gary Ladd]

Gary... Lindy's scheme is based around coils using the SAME wire gauge... traditional 42 gauge vintage... I don't overly care for that type of coil mis-match if it is anything broader than what a vintage P.A.F. might be....

Doesn't the 59 use 42 GA wire & the Custom 43 GA? does that give the 59 coil more hum-canceling due to more winds?

Also, I think that SD winds their coils opposite of Dimarzio/Gibson et al.

Do you know if this is correct for Duncan HB coils?

North coil is wound CW

South coil is wound CCW