Reviews of Upgrades and Modifications

[wazkelly]

I have tried to persist with standard kit tuners for guitars and their overall design is ok as they look like cheap schaller knock-offs. As Simon mentioned, sometimes you will get one or two in a set that gradually stop operating smoothly which quite often brings on tuning instability.
Cannot ignore the fact that they are built to a price and therefore unlikely to the same QC standards as mainstream upgrade units.

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[dave.king1]

Pedant alert.

15:1 is lower than 12:1, higher the ratio number the lower the gearing

15 or 18:1 are much less likely to slip than 12:1 because of the mechanical advantage, compare pushing your car on flat ground in 1st or 5th, it will be easier in 5th.

[/pedant]

[DarkMark]

Ok, now I understand. Thanks folks.
Has anyone used the (expensive) Benson humbucker pickups? I’ll be in the market for a single neck humbucker pickup soon. I’m looking for something warm and mellow to complement Jazz. Any recommendations?

[Sonic Mountain]

I have the Benson Custom '54 Vintage neck and middle singles in my Washburn. They are really nice, warm and creamy with a decent amount of 'poink' when you get plucking, especially on the middle one. I know they aren't the ones you are looking at, but they seem like really quality items with a lot of care put into them.

I'm not really a big Jazz guy so I'm not sure what you are looking for. I have 2 guitars with the PBG neck humbuckers in them and I really like them.

I was just looking to see if Waz had started a 'Pick up' Up thread......

[Dedman]

I use the Grovers and mini Grovers or Wilkinsons on most builds but if you can afford them Duesenburg tuners are frikken awesome.

[wazkelly]

Not yet Sonic but will get to that soon.
I have Bensons in the EX5. Not cheap but sound awesome and very few alternatives to pick from to fit that particular Bass.
Plenty of decent cheap Humbuckers to choose from. Personally have only used Entwistle Dark Stars & Tone Rider Alnico 4 which would be a bit to hot for a Jazzy.

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[Andyxlh]

I have Tonerider AC2 in my SG, they are wonderful, don't know what is needed for jazz but they might be worth looking at.

[Simon Barden]

A lot of the classic jazz boxes have actually had pretty clear sounding pickups in them. All those classic Gibsons with P90s or PAFs. So you'd really want something low powered with clarity, but not as thin sounding as a Strat pickup. The mellowness comes from the use of the guitar's and amp's tone controls and having the pickup as near to the neck as you can. The more powerful the pickup, generally the higher the level of mids and the less treble you get, which means that the sound gets more muddy than mellow when you start turning down the treble. So for a humbucker, something that's close to an original PAF, with Alnico 2 magnets (for lower power rather than the more powerful Alnico 4 or 5 magnets also used in PAFs - they varied a lot) and nothing overwound. So yes, the Tonerider AC2 or Iron Gear Blues Engine. Seymour Duncan Jazz (a very clear sounding PAF style neck humbucker). The standard Bensons on the PBG site look a bit hot to me, though you can get one made to your own specs.

And flatwound strings are a must.

[DarkMark]

Thanks Simon (once again). Helps when you know what you are looking for.
Flatwounds are a must! I found out about them years ago and stuck with them ever since. A little bit more expensive but I only change them once every couple of years. Got a set on the ES-5V with the stock pickup and it sounds pretty agreeable.

[Fretworn]

I have used Wilkinson tuners on two guitars so far and are very happy with them.