guitars pick up

[agocont]

hi all,

i need informations about edge's pick up guitars during years, in particular black strat and les paul

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

Some Edge's guitars have had the pickups rewound. Other may have had them replaced.

I remember reading that his main Stratocaster had a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickup in the bridge. I've also heard a few others say that he had a Dimarzio FS-1 in the bridge at some point.

Whether the pickups in the guitars listed below are still in the guitars or if they've been replaced or alterred, I am not sure but here is what came in the following guitars as manufactured:

• 1965 Les Paul SG (Peham Blue) - Gibson PAF humbuck pickups.
• 1966 Les Paul SG (Heritage Cherry) - Gibson PAF humbuck pickups.
• 1973 Les Paul Custom (white) - T-Tops
• 1975 Les Paul Custom (white) - T-Tops - I saw Edge's auctioned 1975 white LP Custom up close. That one had T-Tops in the neck and bridge.
• 1982/83 30th Anniversary Les Paul Custom - "PAF Reissue" humbucking pick-ups
• 1976 Gibson Limited Edition Explorer - Bill Lawrence Model humbucker pickups
• 2006 Epiphone Les Paul Music Rising - Epiphone Alnico Classic humbucking pick-ups.
• 2005 Gibson Les Paul Music Rising - One person at Gibson told me Burstbucker Pro and another told me Gibson 490R (neck) and 498T (bridge). They came with Burshbucker Pro's. Maybe the Gibson 490R and 498T were put in Edge's?
  

Differences in the 490T/490R set and Burstbucker Pro? From what I've read:

• 490T/490R - similar to 1957 reissue pickups
• Burstbucker Pro - similar to 1959 Les Paul Standard (Think Jimmy Page) type tone.

There area a ton of guitars. And who knows how many times that he and Dallas have experimented with pickups and winding of pickups.

hi all,

i need informations about edge's pick up guitars during years, in particular black strat and les paul

 

[Rockhound252]

i don't understand that:

1975 Les Paul Custom (white) - T-Tops - I saw Edge's auctioned 1975 white LP Custom up close. That one had T-Tops in the neck and bridge.

If he has the same pickup in neck and bridge the sound is the same no?

 

[agocont]

Thanks edge orchestra, do you know what pick up stratocasters have too? Even i need an information about what gold mechanical black strat during joshua tree tour had?and what is thedifference between stock and custom mechanicals in term of sound?

 

[agocont]

Nobody knows me advise?

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

Thanks edge orchestra, do you know what pick up stratocasters have too? Even i need an information about what gold mechanical black strat during joshua tree tour had?and what is thedifference between stock and custom mechanicals in term of sound?

Around the time of The Unforgettable Fire, The Edge talked about how his guitars were stright off the shelf. In that, this doesn't mean that they were new but merely he bought them and used them as is - At least in the beginning.

Excerpt from the above mentioned interview:

How do you go about choosing guitars?

I've never really been into the jargon. As a band, we've never really been into gear or guitars and stuff. A lot of my guitars are off the shelf. They're not vintage or anything. That's something that may change -- maybe it's due to my inexperience -- but at the moment, I've never found any vintage guitars that I really felt were worth the money. So, I've been happy to stick with the production ones. Obviously, it's down to personal taste. My stuff is not worthless by any means, but certainly not irreplaceable. But there is one thing I'm thinking about doing. It isn't actually my idea, so I don't know if I should explain it fully. But it's a guitar that plays itself [laughs]. You just depress the string, pluck it once and get infinite sustain. I haven't actually perfected it or finalized the physics involved, but the principle should work. I can't wait to try that.

GUITAR PLAYER > Jun 1985 > The Edge of U2


The Boss FA-1 was said to first have been used as he felt that the Strats bridge pickups were weak.

This may be why he was said to have used a modified Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickup in his Stratocaster, around the mid-1980's

This might also be why he had Danvel Nelson made the all black custom Strat copy that he used for "...Streets..." amongst other tunes, in Rattle And Hum. It's the Strat looking guitar that is all black, black pickguard, ebony fingerboard and matching black headstock.

He used the Danvel Nelson during the summer and fall 1987 shows but not since. I am not 100% sure of what pickups were in that guitar but it appears to be some sort of active EMG or Duncan pickup. Does look like the are EMG or SA or SAX or similar (active) single coil pickups. (It's on my "ask Dallas the next time I run into him" list).

From the Danvel Nelson, the Strat de Jour was the Clapton Stratocasters. Those have golden lace sensor pickups. They are active. They are supposed to sound similar to a 1950's Stratocaster - Hence Clapton having them installed in the first Clapton signature Strats. The other bonus with the Clapton's is that they have the 25db boost. This can overdrive things a bit more and make it a bit more humbucker-y.

Keep in mind that The Edge felt comfortable enough to use the Claptons for Strat songs and even some Explorer songs on the Love Town tour. (Check youtube for the New Years eve 1989/1990 Point Depot footage. Edge uses the yellow Clapton for for "...Streets..." and the following song, "I Will Follow".

 

[agocont]

hi to all, thanks for the answers, i want to buy a gibson les paul goldtop, but i'd like to know what type of pick ups i have to choose to have a nearest edge tone, what do you advise to me a couple of burstbucker pro or 57 classics?

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

Try looking for T-Tops on ebay. That was the Gibson standard humbucker in Edge's `70's era Les Pauls.

They went to the Bill Lawrence designed humbuckers in 1976 (that is what is in the Explorer).

The following (in italics, was the response that I got from Gibson, when I asked about some of Edge's LP's a few years back):

Hello Jeffrey,

• 2006 Epiphone Les Paul Music Rising has Epiphone Alnico Classic humbucking pick-ups.
• 2005 Gibson Les Paul Music Rising has Gibson 490R at the neck and 498T at the bridge
• 1982 30th Anniversary Les Paul Custom had a Bill Lawrence designed "PAF Reissue" humbucking pick-ups.

And this link below has some more Gibson humbucker info:
Gibson PAF Humbuckers Pickups Patent Applied For Pickups M69 M-69 pickup rings - Vintage Guitars Info

hi to all, thanks for the answers, i want to buy a gibson les paul goldtop, but i'd like to know what type of pick ups i have to choose to have a nearest edge tone, what do you advise to me a couple of burstbucker pro or 57 classics?

Burstbucker Pro or 57's would be good choices but if you can find the Bill Lawrence 'tar-back' PAF reissues or T-Tops, you would be closer to Edge's tone.

 

[FredC]

hi to all, thanks for the answers, i want to buy a gibson les paul goldtop, but i'd like to know what type of pick ups i have to choose to have a nearest edge tone, what do you advise to me a couple of burstbucker pro or 57 classics?

Burstbucker Pro and 57 Classic are the two styles I immediately pull out of any Les Paul. The "57 Classic" is NOT the same as real 57 PAF Humbucker. They are not scatterwound. The Burstbucker Pro is a Gibson Costcutting Device - NOT the same as the Burstbucker 1 or 2, which is the closest Gibson gets to an original PAF. Both models are just Nashville Cheese with flashy names.

Go with Seymour Duncan SH-1n and SH-1b (aka "59") and you'll nail the Edge tone. We put these in Les Pauls, SG's and Explorers.

If you need something hotter in the bridge do a Custom 5 or a SH-4JB

The 75 Explorer came with "Special HumbuckING" pickups designed by Bill Lawrence. Hard to find. Tar Back. Expensive. Not worth it. You'll get the same (actually smoother) tone out of a SD.

In the classic 70's "Black Strat" he has Neck & Middle Stock and a DiMarzio FS1 at the bridge. Keep in mind Edge uses the Boss FA1 preamp to equalize guitar volumes and bring the Strat up to Humbucker output. If you don't want to deal with that, run 3 Quarter Pounds with a low rated tone cap (.01 or .022)

 

[FredC]

*76 Explorer (Derp)

 

[The_Pac_Mule]

I recently aquired a Gretsch 5120, and want to know what pickups I should upgrade it with to put them in line with that of Edge's Country Gentleman. Thanks!

 

[FredC]

I recently aquired a Gretsch 5120, and want to know what pickups I should upgrade it with to put them in line with that of Edge's Country Gentleman. Thanks!

Gretsch Filtertron H. S. (High Sensitive)

Unlike the G5420 which already has the "Blacktop Filtertron" which is pretty darn close enough, the 5120 has "Gretcsh Dual Coil Humbuckers" - whatever they mean by that. Check with your Luthier to make sure Filtertrons will fit the 5120 without having to modify the cavities. You may have to change out the pickup rings as well.

You'll want to use a modern "Fender-Era" Gretsch Filtertron. They are designed by TV Jones (even though they may not actually say TV Jones on the back) to be most like the vintage Gretschs of the 60's The "Gretsch Enterprises-Era" Filtertrons are kinda crappy. I would avoid those at all costs if you're thinking about getting a used set. The Fender-Era will be the closest to Edge's 1968 G6122 without dropping the cash for real vintage and are a direct fit for all 60's Gretschs that use Filtertrons.

Angela Instruments always has them in stock for a decent price:

Angela Instruments Online Catalog - Search

 

[The_Pac_Mule]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

TV Jones Classics are the way to go.

Fender-era Filtertrons may be a bit better than some of the late-90's Filtertrons but they are not as spot-on / vintage Gretch sounding as the TV Jones Classics.

But all in all, let your ears and your budget be the judge.

 

[FredC]

Here's Tom himself showing you how to replace the 5120's Humbuckers with Filtertrons:

TV Jones replaces stock Gretsch 5120 pickups with TV Classics PART ONE - YouTube

TV Jones replaces stock Gretsch 5120 pickups with TV Classics PART TWO - YouTube

 

[The_Pac_Mule]

Thanks for finding that video tutorial! although I'm looking less forward to the process now.... as well as the $300 for TV Jones Classics..

 

[agocont]

Hello to all, about 57' classic and burstbucker, which one has sound nearest edge's goldtop les paul? What about you?

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

The Gibson 30th Anniversary Goldtop is modeled on the 1957 Goldtop.

Seems Classic `57's would get you close.

The present reissue of the 1957 Les Paul has what Gibson refers to as CustomBucker Humbuckers. (Perhaps they can be bought separately to install?).

Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Goldtop (Antique Gold, Gloss) | Sweetwater.com

Hello to all, about 57' classic and burstbucker, which one has sound nearest edge's goldtop les paul? What about you?

 

[agocont]

hi edge orchestra, thanks for informations, what do you think? 57' classic pickup on les paul are better than burstbucker?

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

hi edge orchestra, thanks for informations, what do you think? 57' classic pickup on les paul are better than burstbucker?

Burstbuckers sound more like a 1959, per Gibson. One of the fellows at Gibson told me that the Music Rising's had Burstbucker Pro's. So that should give the idea of how they sound.

The `57's sound like `57's.

Both sound great. Both would be good options for a Gold top. Neither of them are high-gain / shrilly / Metal sounding.