408 pickups

[bsharpgrooves]

Hi
Is it me of the 408 pickups' output is pretty hot?! Compared to DGT pickups I find the 408s to have more gain with a bit more top end and mid richness.
I pretty much have to adjust the gain on the amp when I go back and forth between the 2 guitars.
What's everyone's experience?

 

[László]

They have a lot of output, definitely. Another thing to try is rolling off the volume on the guitar a little.

 

[Twinfan]

To my ears 408s are punchier in the singing mids than all other pickups I've had, and push an amp that bit more. Similar to adding "frown" curve on a EQ pedal to a regular humbucker.

 

[bsharpgrooves]

Ok good - it wasn't just me hearing things - LOL! I have mine set up pretty low. I find that if they are too close to the string it's too much. Funny I measured the resistance on my ohmmeter and I'm getting 500K! WOW!
Yes I like that I can roll off the volume knob a bit and when I need to be soloing I just up it to max. Beautiful dynamics!
I play a lot of clean sounds in the my band (reggae/funk/latin) and I prefer these a bit more to the DGTs for cleans. I find the 408s to have that smooth sparkle in the top end and all strings sound well balanced. I do like the DGTs when on a drive channel as they have this open more breathing type tone vs full think present in the 408s. - the pickup gain might play a big role here.

 

[jfb]

The 408's are clear and hot to my ears. They clean up extremely well and have single coil tones that would satisfy anyone I know.

 

[László]

They clean up extremely well and have single coil tones that would satisfy anyone I know.

I did a seance and Hendrix told me he wants to come back and try a 408.

Told him he could borrow mine provided he shows me a few licks and doesn't try to play the guitar with his zombie teeth.

 

[Twinfan]

Funny I measured the resistance on my ohmmeter and I'm getting 500K! WOW!

That's not the output of the pickups themselves, but something to do with the wiring schematic. I haven't worked out what yet though!

Depending on your amp, you may want to try a buffer in the chain if you want a bit more sparkle from 408s. The 500k output isn't what most pedlas/amps expect, so a buffer will bring that down to normal levels without sacrificing the great tone

 

[mcbprs]

That's not the output of the pickups themselves, but something to do with the wiring schematic. I haven't worked out what yet though!

Depending on your amp, you may want to try a buffer in the chain if you want a bit more sparkle from 408s. The 500k output isn't what most pedlas/amps expect, so a buffer will bring that down to normal levels without sacrificing the great tone

looking at the Sig Ltd circuit, if the impedance is being measured at the output socket the extra cap will block you from reading the pickups resistance, so your meter will "see" the volume pot, need to measure at the switch to get pickup measurements I think. Great pickups though