HO1- pickup question

[joe1962]

I have a Cobra S with the H01-/H02 pickup combo. I really like the H02 in the bridge but the H01- in the neck position is a little too clear for me, especially when tapped. I'm looking to replace it with another Anderson pickup that will be warmer and maybe a little hotter than the H01-. Which pickup would give me what I'm looking for and still balance with the H02 in the Bridge?

[sylvanshine]

I'd go HO1+. To me, Anderson pickups sound better when you lower them away from the strings. You might try that before you go to the trouble of swapping out pups.

Good luck.

[joe1962]

Thanks. I'll have to try that. I just got the guitar (used) and the first thing I did was set it up to factory specs, including the pickups, which are pretty close (1/16th"). When I go to the neck pickup I like a warm, sort of "Larry Carlton 335" type tone, and the H01- seems a little too clear and "open" for that, even with the tone rolled back some.

[Stan Malinowski]

Hi Joe, welcome to the forum!

The HO1 Series of pickups were designed to be close to late 50's Gibson PAF Pickups from an output standpoint. I was after the vinatge sounds so I ordered my Hollow Cobra S with an HO1- in the neck and an HO1+ in the bridge. You might want to consider a lower power HO2 model like an HO2 or HO2-. I'm not sure if the slight increased power of the HO1+ over the HO1- would be enough to get you to where you want to be.

You may want to call Roy at Anderson and ask him, or maybe Tom will offer an opinion when he checks in.

[joe1962]

I decided to measure the ohms of the pickups. I know that isn't the only part of the equasion in a pickup's tone, but it is a good place to start. Anyway, I read 12.2K on the H02, which is hotter than what I usually like in a bridge humbucker (but sounds good to me in this guitar). The H01- only reads 6.5K, which seems very low for a humbucker, even a vintage style. The H01- tapped is only 3.2K. Is this about right for a H01-?

Just for reference I generally prefer vintage type humbuckers, and my other HB guitars are all in the 8-9K bridge/7.5-8K neck area.

[sylvanshine]

Tom may chime in here, but I understood ohm ratings to be irrelevant in his pups.

Look here for yourself, I could have misunderstood...

Thread (http://andersonforum.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=288&highlight=output)

[tom]

they are fairly meaningless in the H series, the magnet structure is totally different. the HO's use a traditional structure, so they are a bit more"normal". you still have to be sure you are comparing apples to apples. the HO's have way more steel in them than a real paf, and the bobbin size is a bit different, so dc resistance is not a direct crossover.
all that said, the H series just splits better, the coils are taller and the magnet structuer really saturates the coil without pulling on the strings. you have to ask yourself which of the sounds carries the most weight for you. i can personally deal with a humbucker that's a bit fatter than i would ideally desire, to get a great single coil tone.

[joe1962]

Originally posted by tom
they are fairly meaningless in the H series, the magnet structure is totally different. the HO's use a traditional structure, so they are a bit more"normal". you still have to be sure you are comparing apples to apples. the HO's have way more steel in them than a real paf, and the bobbin size is a bit different, so dc resistance is not a direct crossover.
all that said, the H series just splits better, the coils are taller and the magnet structuer really saturates the coil without pulling on the strings. you have to ask yourself which of the sounds carries the most weight for you. i can personally deal with a humbucker that's a bit fatter than i would ideally desire, to get a great single coil tone.

That makes sense. I like the HO2 in the bridge, but the HO1- in the neck is too bright to suit me, especially in the split mode. So to get a warmer, darker tone should I got to the HO1+ in the neck? I like the idea of staying with the alnico II magnet.

[tom]

that would make the most sense. you may need to keep it pretty low so it doesn't over power the bridg pickup.

[joe1962]

OK, I tried lowering the pickups. That seemed to do the trick for me. The pickups seem to respond to my playing more like I'm used to now. I changed the amp settings slightly as well. I'm taking the guitar out to my gig tonight to see how it works in a live setting, but so far I'm pretty satisfied.

[joe1962]

Followup: After gigging the guitar I found that I actually like the HO1- neck pickup a lot, but the HO2 was a little too thick for me. Since I was changing out the HO1+ bridge pickup in my Drop Top to a H2+ (another thread) I decided to try the HO1+ in the bridge of my Cobra S. That turned out to be perfect! Now the Cobra S is my current favorite guitar and really nails the bridge pickup tone I like for the tunes I write, sort of a singing, dynamic lightly overdriven tone, similar (but surely not as good <g>) as the tone Robben Ford gets. Now I need to send it back for the stainless steel frets.....