The EVH quest, and why it is fun, but pointless.

andy_k

Just a ramble, inspired by the recent EVH 78 announcement, and my own experiences.
I recently had to swap out a non functioning Seymour Duncan 78 pickup from one of my Frankensteins, and today I decided to see why it became non functioning.
Actually, I knew why it had stopped working, it is an 'aged-relic'ed' version, which does look amazing, in a piece of shite way, and seeing as they are now selling it outside the custom shop, I wanted to try and fix it.
I suspect that it wasn't relic'd from the custom shop, but the guy who I got it from had done some homebrew work on it, by applying some form of acid to rust the screws, and then I think he forgot to neutralise it, so it ate through the braided screen, and the screw poles seemed to keep on growing rust.
I dug out the box, and it does not claim to be 'aged', but it is a custom shop pickup wound by MJ, so I wanted to fix it.
This version has the correct long leg baseplate, and I had bent it, and added holes to get it to fit, so trying to get the replacement, a non aged standard production EVH Frankenstein in there was fun, but I was very pleased with how it turned out, had it at my last band rehearsal and it confirmed there is something 'special' about this pickup.
This pic shows the guitar in question, on the left, next to something else I threw together in 2020 whilst grieving for Ed, still am really.



Today, as I was having a look at the 78 that I removed, I came to the realisation that pickups are only a very small part of what we are continually chasing, and the idea that we can put something in to get 'that sound' is a bit ridiculous.
To the uninitiiated, ( non geek ) these 2 guitars have a very similar spec, and you might say they only differ in their paint.
A closer look, reveals that they are actually completely different things, with only the rough shape and the bridge pickup in common, both standard versions of the EVH Frankenstein pickup, wound by Seymour Duncan.
They both sound great, and actually, the one on the left is now my current favourite, as it's specs closely match what I have come to realise is the thing I am looking for.
The sunburst, which is the one that until recently had the 78 relic pickup - now a Duncan / EVH Frankenstein, made to fit, is an alder body with a fairly thick nitro finish (very crazed, and very easy to chip ) and an Allparts SMO fat neck, and cheap chinese fake split post tuners, which feel very stiff, I think they help to keep the tuning stable, until I change them.
The bridge is something off an old Fender Squire, with a big block, and some brass saddles that I have had since the 80's. I like these because they look like the Mighty Mite that are on VH1 album cover.
The neck pickup was inspired by another guitar, and is something Duncan, but is a good match for the bridge, selection via a push pull.
As a contrast, the stripe has a swamp ash body, and a slim no name neck, with Sperzel locking tuners and a graphite nut.
The bridge is a novelty I picked up here from @DrBob , and is something cast aluminium, with Graphtech saddles.
This also has the same non custom shop EVH Franky pickup, and is paired with a Duncan stacked single coil in the neck, wit a push pull to select.
Acoustically, they both sound great, but I prefer the Alder body for it's tone, and they both sound pretty amazing amplified, I have tried almost every other Duncan humbucker in the bridge position, and they all sound good, but there is definately something a little special about the Frankenstein, maybe it's something to do with a higher output coil and a weaker magnet, but other combinations do not seem to have such a dramatic effect on the tone.
I have other examples with a variety of 'hot pafs', including, JB, Custom, Pearly Gates, Distortion, Wolfgang, custom/59 hybrid and Gibson BB, and to be honest, the only other pickup that seems to stand out is the Dimarzio Tonezone, of which I have a tele version.
It's so hard to say which is best, and I think it all depends on the individual instrument we are using, my experiments prove nothing.
Pete Thorn did a good video comparing more than I could imagine, and I think he had the same revelation at the end, they all do it, whatever 'it' is, and I think part of the fun is finding it out for yourself.
As it stands, I have managed to 'fix' the Duncan 78 pickup, by splicing another length of braided wire, and I am getting the same reading as stated on the box, which was weirdly 9.11, and is quite a bit less hot than the Frankenstein, so I am now wondering where to put it?
First world problems I guess, but it's all good fun, as long as nobody gets hurt. 

monquixote

There are few examples of people playing EVH actual rig (Nuno and Jerry Cantrell to mind) and saying it still sounded nothing like when he played it. 

MentalSharps

Sounds like a really interesting comparison of the sum total of the other elements that go into a guitar beyond the pickups and scale length. What is the finish on the right hand guitar?

Have you noticed if any of the differences in the guitars influences you to play slightly differently on either?

andy_k

MentalSharps said:

Sounds like a really interesting comparison of the sum total of the other elements that go into a guitar beyond the pickups and scale length. What is the finish on the right hand guitar?

Have you noticed if any of the differences in the guitars influences you to play slightly differently on either?

It has been a journey, I think I have made some reasonable conclusions.
So many variables at play, so I have made many versions of the 'same' thing, to see what had the most impact.
I think I prefer Alder as a body wood, it seems to have less of the hollow woodyness that swamp ash has, and I prefer the heavier northern ash, or baseball bat ash for a body with a trem, but the weight is an issue, alder is a compromise.
I have done a lot of experiments with teles, in the same vein, and I really like a walnut tele, but have only compared with ash.
Also, I think the neck mass has a big factor, so I have compared maple and rosewood fat necks, and definitely prefer a fat neck, and find rosewood fretboards also have an effect, which might be good on a lightweight ash body, most dramatically felt with a full rosewood neck.
A large part of the fun, is finding a combination that works un amplified, which is great for encouraging play time, so having something that feels good quiet, and sounds good at volume is a good thing.
A few of my decisions have been based on the idea, what would Ed do?, and that amounts to  doing whatever is needed to get a result, so it isn't about perfection.
I like to test out my stuff in a loud studio setting, but I'm not using great amps - which is a huge part of the equation, but it's good to use the same stuff to be able to compare the different stuff, if you get my meaning.
As a side note, I do have stuff with good FR trems, which are the only things that work, but choose to not make it a part of my quest here, tuning is a nightmare.

andy_k

RE, finish, I have also come to the conclusion that a good finish, ie- nitro, has almost the same affect as having no finish.
There is a benefit to having very little finish, which allows the tone of the wood to be exaggerated, and I feel a good hard sealing coat does just that, poly, or other modern finish does have the sealing effect but does not have the same romance as nitro, think of a biscuit coated in thick milk chocolate compared to a brittle dark chocolate. Snap, or no snap.
I need a biscuit now.

andy_k

I couldn't help myself, so I had a go at 'fixing' the 78 pickup, managed to screw out the rotten polepiece screws from the back, and found some replacements in my spares, then spliced on a new length of braid, and got a good reading, so decided to swap a few parts round and 'build' another Franky, I think I have a problem.



This one is a curious mix of the specs of the other 2, really light ash body, with some sort of rattle can finish, don't think it is nitro, and another huge Allparts SMO Fat neck, so it is basically same as the sunburst, but with different body wood.
Can't do a direct comparison really, as the pickups are quite different spec, but both have the 'brown' sound in different ways.
I put an EVH low friction pot in this, and went with a black barrel knob as I didn't have a spare 'tone', vol would be wrong.
Neck pickup is a dummy, and I don't have the correct switch to make the mess in the middle, but I'm quite pleased with it.
It's the same, but a different flavour.