408 pup compared to 59/09?

[ozboy]

Is there much difference in the hum bucking sound? I understand the 408 see no volume loss and what I consider to be only minor tone change in split mode, wheras the 59s sound much thinner in split mode, at least on my cu24.

I keep telling myself that that I will be just as bad a guitar player with a 408 or pauls guitar as i am with the cu24 but part of my brain keeps telling me that a new guitar will somehow make me sound"better"

 

[László]

With the 408, the tone change in split mode is a true single coil version of the sound of the pickup, as opposed to using phase changes, etc., to create a different sound (i.e., coils/slugs in series/parallel, etc.).

I think the 408's bridge pickup is somewhere in that 57/08 to 59/09 region, though they are a bit different, too. The 408 neck pickup is different from either of the 5x/yy pickups.

Who knows, maybe the new guitar will inspire you. After all, guitar playing isn't a contest of good/better/best. All it needs to be is a way to express yourself musically. However that works for you, works!

 

[Chester]

I keep telling myself ALL the time that the only way I'll ever improve is by adding another guitar to my stable ... thankfully, I haven't yet worked out why I can't improve my playing

 

[Egads]

After all, guitar playing isn't a contest of good/better/best.

WHAT? You are talking crazy, Les. EVERYTHING is a competition. "If you ain't first, you're last!"

 

[tolm]

I love the 408 pickups in my Paul's Guitar. In humbucking mode I guess they have a hint of P90 to them due to the smaller string sensing area vs a full humbucker but the frequency response sounds very 'humbucker-y' to me - albeit with slightly more mids than a true PAF-a-like to my ears. The split-coil tones blew me way. No (or very little) volume loss and a very authentic single-coil tone.

My favourite setting is Bridge Single Coil with Neck Humbucker: fat, sweet and detailed.

After a couple of weeks not playing my PG (was selling a bunch of guitars so been "saying goodbye" as it were) I plugged her straight into my Newcastle 30 for a quick 20 min jam yesterday. Instant playing heaven: fabulous tone, great feel - flick a few switches, loads more cools tones ... I finished up playing Funk with a big cheesy grin on my face. Awesome guitar.

 

[Leathan]

a new guitar will somehow make me sound"better"

There really is such as thing as a guitar that feels so good to your fingers and/or sounds so good to your ears that it just makes you want to play.

 

[ozboy]

There really is such as thing as a guitar that feels so good to your fingers and/or sounds so good to your ears that it just makes you want to play.

That is for sure. I think I would like a 408 or pauls giuitars heaps. I have not been able to find a split coil tone from the 59/09s that really does it for me

 

[Brad737]

I find the 408s a little brighter than 59/09s.

 

[jrw32]

I find the 408s a little brighter than 59/09s.

Agreed. The 59/09s I had sounded very muffled/mid-heavy. The 408s are chimier and cut through better IME.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

Agreed. The 59/09s I had sounded very muffled/mid-heavy. The 408s are chimier and cut through better IME.

+1 (which is really sorta +2) I have uncovered 59/09s in my Throwback CU24; they sound great but the 408s are a bit more open sounding. The guitars are so very different as well though.

 

[Herr Squid]

I have a Paul's Guitar so don't have the wide bridge pickup that the 408 model does. But I agree that the pickups in that guitar have a little different midrange character and a clearer top end than a traditional humbucker, including the 59/09. To my ears, that makes them sound fantastic in humbucking mode, and the single coil mode sounds way, way more Fender-like than a 59/09 or a Narrowfield.

Both kinds of pickups sound really good, but I give the edge to the 408s these days. And I loved 59/09s enough to put them in my Modern Eagle.

 

[cmcgrath72]

Funny, I was just wondering this comparison myself. I have 2 CU24's one with 59's the other with 57's. I LOVE the 57's. The 59's are great too, no doubt. But I was thinking of selling one and getting a 408 just to have something different. Problem is there aren't any stores around me that have a 408 to try out. I saw this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MpY5M8j9ps
They do seem to sound a bit more like a 57/08

 

[László]

WHAT? You are talking crazy, Les. EVERYTHING is a competition. "If you ain't first, you're last!"

Hahaha! I sometimes feel that way about my own playing! And I ain't first, so...

 

[ozboy]

Well since I was in London for biz I found a guitar shop that actually had a pauls guitar in stock. sounded and felt just great. That's the trouble with a little taste it can get you into serious gas. :flute: