Anderson humbuckers

[wolf]

HI Folks
I have an incredible Drop Top and I'm really impressed with the H2+ in the bridge.
It sounds fantastic in both the Full and Split modes.
My question.....
I'm told that Tom uses rod magnets like regular single coils, rather than bar magnets like every other humbucker manufacturer.
Is this true ?
What type of magnets are they ?...ie: A2 , A5, Ceramic ??

My motivation for the question is that I'm looking for a neck pickup for my PRS CU22 and I'm looking at a H1- , as per the Anderson site's descriptions.
I've already bought a H2+ to go in the bridge.

I need something low-ish in output, nice and clear, but most importantly, splits well to give me an accurate pseudo single coil.

Please share your knowledge.
Many thanks

[tom]

we do not use rod magnets in any of our humbuckers. the h series is a bit out of the ordinaly in that the coils are tall like single coils and the magnet is vertically mounted between the coils making for a very strong field in the coil and a very weak feild at the strings. the h series is ceramic(other materials would not work in that dimension). the ho's are alnico 2, the hn's are neodynium.
the h1- is a great match if you're after clear sweet hb tones.

[wolf]

HI Tom
Thank you very much for quick reply.
I was obviously mis-informed.

I'll order a H1- with Magdon immediately.

Awesome service my friend. :D

[tom]

glad to help. unfortunately there's always plenty of bad info out there. we try to keep it simple and true here, with a little fun thrown in of course.

[wolf]

I've ordered my H1-

Can anyone describe the tone for me ?

I'm especially interested in how they work in a Cobra as it's the closest to the guitar I'm installing it in.

Thanks guys :D

[wolf]

Doesn't anyone use a H1- in the neck and have an opinion ????

[tom]

i normally use a m1 in the neck, but this weekend i played a guitar with a humbucker in the neck and enjoyed it a lot. the h1- is a clear wide range pickup. the HO1- has a narrower range. it really depends what you're going to do with it. i would never want anything hotter than the 1-, but others have ordered all the way up to an h2 in the neck position.

[wolf]

Thanks Tom
What guitar did you use ?

When you say " narrower range " what do you mean ?

I've received my H1- , not had a chance to fit it, but now not sure whether it'll be better in my PRS or my 2 Hum Strat.

Your opinion might help me decide.
I don't like a muddy neck pickup as I'm used to strat singles.

Thanks for your time, my Drop Top is still my Number 1 but turns too many heads in the wrong places sometimes !!

[tom]

i played the bigger beefier ct this weekend.
i would not say the h1- was muddy at all. it has a wide response band, low lows and high highs. by narrow band i mean less low lows and less top end.

[wolf]

The guitar you played was mahogany ?
Did it have the H1- ?

This is going in my PRS, so it's the same tonal ball park.

I'm thinking I might get a H2+ to go in the bridge too, as I'm so impressed with it in my Drop Top.

Thanks Tom.

[tom]

yes, a mahogany guitar with a maple top. it was a new version of the HO1- in the neck and HO1+ in the bridge. i would listen to your two guitars acoustically and see how they compare. if the one you're considering putting the pickups in is noticeably darker than the drop top you may want to consider a little weaker bridge pickup.

[wolf]

A new version ??
New in what way ?

My PRS is actually quite lively , acoustically.
I have the old style one piece trem and it rings like a bell.

I was considering the H01+ instead of the H2+, as I'm told it's fantastic.

I get all my gain from my amp, so it's the tone of the pickup that's important, not how powerful it is.

You're a busy guy, thanks for taking time out for me.

[wolf]

I've decided to give the H01+ a try and have placed the order with Magdon.

I hope it'll be a good match with the H1-.

I'll post the results when they're fitted.

Thanks for the advice. :D

[tom]

still working on the "new". it's a carve top only version.

[ConnemaraGuitar]

This question is for Tom, or anyone else willing to throw in their two cents.

I'm getting ready to build a smallish strat, solid body guitar out of lightweight swamp ash. The neck will be mahogany with an ebony fretboard. Scale is 24 3/4 inch. The finish will be a dye stain with nitro lacquer.

I'd planned to install two humbuckers, as in the Cobra S. Should I go with the H1- and H2+ combination, the HO1- HO2+ combination or the H01- H2 combination? Or something else?

I realize that the differences between each may be small, but I'd like to get advice from the pros.

I recently completed a mahogany hollow-body S with EIRW neck and fretboard. It has the new SF1, SF1R and H2+ pickups. The wiring harness was built by the very wonderful people at TAG.

This guitar has made the "rounds" with lots of players, and everyone (especially the jazz devotees) comments on the awesome sound from the electronics. Thank you, Tom!

Any and all advice will be appreciated! Thank you,
Lofton

[tom]

that's a fairly unconventional wood combination. you've got the scooped mid body, the full middle neck, and the really hard bright fingerboard. that doesn't mean it couldn't sound good, just unusual. have you heard this combo before and liked it? what are you after sound wise?

[ConnemaraGuitar]

Yes, Tom, it is a little strange. That's because I am totally new to building electrics and have the habit of retreating to known turf (i.e., acoustics) when lost. Hence the mahogany neck and ebony fretboard.

I cannot admit to seeing such a combination anywhere...it's a seat of the pants thing.

I was hoping to achieve a more acoustic sound using a lightweight body, and someone suggested lightweight swamp ash. So there it is. My entire rationale. Am I doomed, or what? Any thoughts on a humbucker combination that would salvage my strategy?
Thanks!
Lofton

[tom]

doomed? no, it will be interesting to hear.
i would err to the darker side on the pickups because of the ash and ebony. H1- and H2 would be safe and i think sound nice in there.

[ConnemaraGuitar]

Thank you, Tom. You've now exposed me as an imposter. But that's OK...it's a role I've been perfecting for more than 5 decades.

And by the way, since I cannot afford a TAG, I copy. So I now have two guitars (one a hollow body strat and another an 80s vintage Japanese Strat) set up with Anderson pickups (thanks to Jack Gretz) and wiring harnesses from your own shop (thank you Roy, Eric, Laurie and Rach). They are all great folks to work with and I hope for more contact down the road.

Which reminds me...

Eric made up the latest harness a little different from the first. Both are for SF1R-SF1-H2+ pickups, although the second harness does not use the green/white wires for the SFs. Should these wires be paired (soldered together) for each SF and taped off, or taped off separately, or does it matter? In the first harness the G/W wires attached to the mini-switch.
Cheers,
Lofton

[tom]

not impostor, just learning.
we like the sf's so much in the humcancelling mode that we now mostly remove the split choice. i've mentioned this before, but the split sound is always louder, and when you compare two sounds, the loud one always wins even if it really isn't the better tone. so, if you want to go this way, connect each pickups green and white together separately and tape them off.

[pipedwho]

not impostor, just learning.
we like the sf's so much in the humcancelling mode that we now mostly remove the split choice. i've mentioned this before, but the split sound is always louder, and when you compare two sounds, the loud one always wins even if it really isn't the better tone. so, if you want to go this way, connect each pickups green and white together separately and tape them off.
This is true, but when A/Bing the split and humcancelling modes, I found the tone improvement was obvious even with the change in the volume. The louder split mode sounded much harsher - this also applies when combining the neck and middle pickups in split mode vs combining them in humcancelling mode. (I didn't find this was true for the SDs and SAs, where I had a slight preference for the split tones.)

There is a place and time where the extra edginess of SFs in split mode is useful, and with a switcheroo, I love playing with both. But, if I had to choose between which mode I'd keep over the other, it would be the humcancelling mode - purely for tonal reasons.

I've said this in a few other threads, and I'll say it again: I REALLY love the SF1/SF1/H3 pickup combo in my maple/basswood Drop Top! :D

Tom has stepped up another notch with the SF pickups. Don't get me wrong, I liked the SDs that originally came with the guitar, but after changing them out for SFs, I knew I'd found EXACTLY what I was looking for.

[wolf]

Tom, I started a thread on the Seymour Duncan forum about your humbuckers... You're getting some great free press over there, LOTS of fans, pop over and add your own comments, generate a few extra sales...LOL :D