58/15 Low Turn Pickup Alternatives

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Guitarcal

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I currently own a 2008 McCarty 10 top w/ 57/08s and a 2002 Les Paul Custom Shop.

I've considered purchasing another set of 57/08s and installing in my Les Paul... and then I heard demo videos of the 58/15 low turn pickups in the PRS McCarty SC594...

I've reached out to PRS, and unfortunately, they will not sell me a set. I'd actually like 2, one for the McCarty and LP.

Do you have any other pickup recommendations with a similar sound? I really like the idea of a lower output pickup for these guitars.

Thanks!
 
Fralin will wind to your exact specifications, including fewer windings.

Most of the others (Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Bareknuckle) have pickups with a wide range of windings.
 
The LT pickup measures around 7.6-7.7k and it's a safe bet they use 42 gauge wire. The covers are unplated nickel silver. Bridge and neck are the same exact pickup. My guess is they use Alnico 5 or maybe Alnico 4 magnets and unbalanced coils (total speculation based on my thoughts about how they sound).

Lindy Fralin would be my first stop.
 
garrett said:
Oh yeah, something else to consider is the LT also has little to no wax potting.
Click to expand...
Hey Les (or anyone else playing these), have you had any squeal from microphonics from these pups at volume? Not musical feedback, we all want that, but the ear-shattering assault I get from my old minihumbuckers? That drives me bat-sh*t crazy.
 
Boogie said:
Hey Les (or anyone else playing these), have you had any squeal from microphonics from these pups at volume? Not musical feedback, we all want that, but the ear-shattering assault I get from my old minihumbuckers? That drives me bat-sh*t crazy.
Click to expand...

I've only done one gig on the 594 so far, but it was fine, even when I stacked OD pedals to purposely drive it to feedback. If it matters, I also haven't had any issues after spoiling the wax potting on the neck Archtop pickup in my HBII. I also don't play high gain.

They do make a significant "clack" when the pick hits the covers, though.
 
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Lindy Fralin

Lollar Low Wind Imperials

I believe Jim Wagner, of WCR Pickups, has a low wind set, too. I have his Darkburst set in my McCarty, and they're terrific.
 
I have a McCarty 594 with 58-15 LT's and an HB II with 57/08's. If I were contemplating a substitute for the 58-15LT's , I think I would go with the 57-08's, if you want to go with PRS pick ups. Based on the inputs above, you have lots of choices.
 
Wait until you find the normal 58/15's being sold second hand, its pretty much the most perfect pickup ive ever played with. Im contemplating snatching em up anytime i see them to stock pile them so i never have to worry about not having enough of that sweet sweet tone.
 
A few thoughts re the Lollar Low Winds......
I got a chance to play today a set in a Collings I35-LC. Sort of an ES-339 clone, if you will.

My first impression---Disappointment. (But wait!)

I plugged it into a Swart Mod 84, a low watt amp with el84s and Celestion (alnico) Gold. To me, it seemed a bit "shrill". I compared it to an actual 335 (Duncan Antiquities) as well as a longer scale pair----Hamer Monaco SuperPro (custom order with Harmonic Design pups in korina) and Nik Huber Reitbergen. All three of those others have ebony boards rather than BRW, so there is that). I thought the sound of the Collings thin and unpleasant. That said, it improved when I used a higher capacitance (coil) cable and dialed back the tone on the amp. But I was not quite able to feel as good about the tone. And for some reason, despite the smaller body, it seemed to be more prone to feedback of the unwelcome type.

Okay, so I took a break. I came back and tried the same guitars through a Fuchs ODS 30 (4 6v6s). Big difference! The other 3 guitars ARE bigger and more powerful, amp settings being equal. But when I dialed back the presence ("accent") a bit, I was feeling a lot better about the Low Winds. And when I bumped the gain a wee bit, I could get into the same zone (My benchmark for gain this day being a "Santana" sort of gain/sustain). So I am feeling a whole lot better. Note that all of these guitars are semi-hollows. But I would assume the good "base tone" would apply equally to solid body guitars.....A wiser person than me said that it is easier to get the tone you want by adding gain to a cleaner signal than starting dirty. I think that is the case here.

So, I have pretty much convinced myself I WILL pickup up a 594-type. I am thinking that an ebony board might be in order. And if it is chambered (no f-holes) even better. In an ideal world, MAYBE a korina body and neck would be the best.

Just my two cents......
 
The Low Winds are great pickups for semi and hollow bodies. I had a set in my HBII for about a year and a half. A buddy had them in his 335 at the same time. The neck pickup was still a little too wooly in the HBII for my taste. I think that's partly due to the hollow construction and my pickiness around neck pickups. I think the neck and bridge are a bit unbalanced, tonally. The Low Wind neck with regular Imperial bridge is a great match in a solid body, though. If you wanted to go more towards the 58/15 LT theme, two regular wind neck pickups could be cool. Or two Low Wind bridge pickups.
 
I'm reviving this thread to see if there are any more suggestions out there.
My current favorite guitar is my PRS McCarty 594. I am particularly fond of the vintage sound of the 58/15 LT pickups, which sound warm, sweet, and clear to me. To my ears, they are equally good for clean tones and distortion. I recently got a great deal on a used 2013 PRS SC245, which I am also enjoying. The SC245 has 57/08 pickups; I like these pick ups quite a bit but would prefer to have something more like the 58/15 LT pickups in this guitar. Of course PRS does not sell 58/15 LT's except on their guitars, and I can understand why. Can any of you recommend pick up alternatives that are similar to the 58/15 LT? Lollar Low Wind Imperials have been recommended to me, and so have Manlius 59LT (low turn) pups, and I like how both sounded on YouTube but it's hard to tell from watching videos. Thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!
 
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