What do with a spare humbucker?

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carloscarlos Frets: 3426
Ordered a Bill and Becky L500XL  from the States for a project I had in mind but that fell through. Am now left with a supposedly amazing pickup and a few options on what to do with it.
1 - Replace the Tone Zone in my Vigier with it. Not a fan of the high mids and lows in the Tone Zone. On the other hand, don't want to mess around too much with a very expensive instrument... and of course that pickup might turn out to be a dud with that specific guitar and combining w/ the Chopper in the neck.
2 - Just sell the thing and forget about it.
3 - Get a cheap superstrat or something pointy and replace whatever's on the bridge with this pickup. Ideally make it a 1 humbucker guitar as I always fancied one of these. For the record I favour flat fretboards, 24 big frets and so on, even if what I'm playing isn't metal. I had this idea of having a single humbucker with a 3-way switch to get series, parallel and split options as detailed here. Suggestions?

Thanks for reading through this, any ideas let me know. 
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Comments

  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    if your like me you end up building a new guitar around it, then decide the original humbucker needs to be changed

    cheapest option is number 2
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  • jonnyburgojonnyburgo Frets: 12258
    Do this - 



    "OUR TOSSPOT"
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  • 3. For me - 1 hums are very exciting if you are of a certain age :) 

    I had a BK VH2 and Floyd Rose Original kicking around. I tried to start a build, got starry eyed and ordered the wrong neck - I had to get @wezv in to help me out. 
    "A city star won’t shine too far"


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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    Suggestions?
    Put it in the Vigier.

    You'll never know if it could potentially be the best pickup for that guitar unless you try it. It's entirely reversible so nothing lost if it doesn't work out, then you can decide whether to sell it or build some other project around it.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    Attach it to a harmonica neck-harness, wire it up to a jack, plug it into your pedalboard and scream through it continually at gigs.
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  • I love the XL500. Whether you'll notice any difference between it and the BLUSA version is a moot point. Its a fantastic pickup.

    It has a sound all of its own and works well with all wood combos. I've used them in Alder/Maple/Ebony, Mahog/Maple/Ebony, Padauk/Ebony and Korina/Maple/Ebony and its killer in them all.

    ......if you like that sort of thing ;-)
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  • ForgeForge Frets: 431
    You got to make a diddley bo!
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  • imaloneimalone Frets: 748
    Save them up and make a poor-man's MEG. (No it wont work very well.)
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  • carloscarlos Frets: 3426
    @imalone what's a MEG?
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    I love the XL500. Whether you'll notice any difference between it and the BLUSA version is a moot point. Its a fantastic pickup.

    It has a sound all of its own and works well with all wood combos. I've used them in Alder/Maple/Ebony, Mahog/Maple/Ebony, Padauk/Ebony and Korina/Maple/Ebony and its killer in them all.

    ......if you like that sort of thing ;-)
    where as I have universally hated them in everything I have put them in. and nope, its not down to using the wrong company because I have used both of them, and had some old NOS ones too
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  • Absolutely wasn't suggesting that there's a difference between BLUSA and B&B. I can't tell the difference anyway
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  • dchwhitedchwhite Frets: 182
    Is it a 'hard enough to get hold of' pickup over here that you could just flip it for near enough what you paid?
    Stonevibe: 'The best things in life aren't things'.

    Trading feedback: Previous (+18) and Current

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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    nah, but its normally what people assume when i point out I don't like the XL500.  

    I don't generally like blade pickups, which makes it very odd that i recently asked Ash to make me a pickup and my only real stipulation was that it needed to have blades.  
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  • carloscarlos Frets: 3426
    dchwhite said:
    Is it a 'hard enough to get hold of' pickup over here that you could just flip it for near enough what you paid?
    Don't think I'd lose much money if I flipped it tbh. But it's a shame to sell it since they are only built to order and I've always wanted to try one. Still an option, though.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    Don't think I'd lose much money if I flipped it tbh. But it's a shame to sell it since they are only built to order and I've always wanted to try one.
    Given that you have the pickup and a guitar, I'm still puzzled as to what's stopping you :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • carloscarlos Frets: 3426
    Yeah, was pondering getting a pointy guitar for it, but only esquires are one-pickup and have a switch to go along. Unfortunately can't get along with round radii (radiuses?).
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  • Yeah, was pondering getting a pointy guitar for it, but only esquires are one-pickup and have a switch to go along. Unfortunately can't get along with round radii (radiuses?).
    Why not try it in the Vigier?
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  • carloscarlos Frets: 3426
    I'll do that yeah
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  • imaloneimalone Frets: 748
    georgenadaintl;401610" said:
    @imalone what's a MEG?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoencephalography
    Maybe I wasn't entirely serious. :)
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  • breakstuffbreakstuff Frets: 10229
    edited November 2014
    Give it to me :D
    Laugh, love, live, learn. 
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