cobo Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Just recently bought a 2010 H-140 from DetroitBlues and am really enjoying it! I haven't figured out exactly why yet, but it's significantly easier to play compared to my American Standard Strat. I realize the shorter scale helps with bending notes, but the bigger surprise for me is that my RIGHT hand is able to find the correct string much more often than when I play my Strat. I never noticed this when I owned an H-535 a few years ago. Whatever the reason, I'm happy because I'm finally nailing notes that I have usually struggled with for years. One issue, and it's of course highly subjective: The factory-installed Seymour Duncan '59 in the neck is too dark and muddy for my taste. The bridge pickup is pretty good and sounds great through my Boss Blues Driver 2 + early 70's Fender Princeton Reverb. Among lots of guitarists I like, I'm particularly a fan of Mark Knopfler and the tones he gets from his Strat and '58 and '59 Les Paul's. You can listen to a sample of what I'm referring to here: www.number6photo.com/pickup/knopfler_les_paul_tone_mix.mp3 I know a lot of any artist's tone comes from the fingers and technique, but there's a certain clarity and honky/woody character to Knopfler's neck pickup that is just not present in the SD '59 neck pickup on my H-140. So, I'm in the market for an upgrade. After a great conversation with Jon at ThroBak, I'm considering his recommendation for a set of SLE-101 Plus. Any comments or other advice would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slider313 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Lindy Fralin Pure PAF's with a 5% underwound neck will get you there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkKitty Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I like the Dimarzio 36th Anniversary PAF set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billgelder Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 You can't go wrong with ThroBaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillnetter Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 You might consider a Seymour Duncan Phatcat 90. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Virtually all my guitars have Throbak SLE101s. Clear, articulate, yet creamy. Becareful though, you will want them in ever Humbucker guitar you own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 My guess is you would be more than happy with any of the above choices! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobo Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Thanks for all the quick feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobo Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Oops. Hit the post button too soon. I decided to give the ThroBaks a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Oops. Hit the post button too soon. I decided to give the ThroBaks a try. I'm a convert. You will not be disappointed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I never cared for the '59 in the neck on the 140/150 series, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fxdx99 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Another fan of Throbaks here. That you've already connected w/Jon and described your tone quest, all the better. Hope you like them as much as I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billgelder Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 When you talk to Jon again make sure you tell him your a HOC member. He will cut you a break on the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectrum13 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Big fan of Throbaks, my last two Heritage builds came with them. Ask Josh AKA Detroit Blues what the tone and volume pot values are on your 140. There was a time 225 Parsons used 250K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I never touched any of the pots on the 140, everything is original to the guitar. Except perhaps the strap lock buttons I forgot to swap. Oh well. I recently had that guitar set up and it had the nicest action out of any guitar I've played. I'm glad you enjoy it. I only liked the neck pickup without a pedal on clean settings or else its a bit muddy. I'd suggest either a higher pot or a pickup that uses an Alnico II magent.... Seth Lovers are my favorite pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smaj Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Fan of the Seth Lovers here too, but all the pickup's mentioned are good. I might add the Bare Knuckle Mule's also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokedtires Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Duncan JB in the bridge with a Jazz in the neck worked nice in my H140. Might have to try the Throbaks one day with all the love they get here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog52 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Recently put Mules in one and I love them. Can't go wrong with ThroBaks either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichYank Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I had the same problem so I replaced the A5 magnet with an A2 and it sounds sweet! A SD'59 with an A2 magnet is the same as their Seth Lover only potted. For $4 why not try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendofjaco Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 You probably already tried this, but just in case. Adjust pup height. Try lowering away from strings. There's a sweet spot for every decent pickup and volume. But maybe just the wrong pickup for that particular guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobo Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Big fan of Throbaks, my last two Heritage builds came with them. Ask Josh AKA Detroit Blues what the tone and volume pot values are on your 140. There was a time 225 Parsons used 250K Had the cover off this morning. The tone pots are 500k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 The Peter Green Seymour Duncan Custom Shop pickups I put in my H150 sound great (i asked them not to flip the magnet though). This is what they sound like in my guitar, and you can hear me flip though the pickup selector... https://soundcloud.com/daniel-weldon-1/peter-green-pickups-in-h150 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HANGAR18 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 The Peter Green Seymour Duncan Custom Shop pickups I put in my H150 sound great (i asked them not to flip the magnet though). This is what they sound like in my guitar, and you can hear me flip though the pickup selector... https://soundcloud.com/daniel-weldon-1/peter-green-pickups-in-h150 That's some might fine pickin' and a grinnin'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 The magnet swap could be your best first step. What do you have to lose? I've got Seth Lovers in an H150 that initially arrived with SD59s. The guitar had been advertised as having Seths, but playing the 59s I was seriously wondering if I should swap them out. I'm glad I did. The Seths are excellent. If you swap the magnets, I'm sure they'll have added clarity, but you may not get the slightly micro-phonic character the unpotted seths have but it may be just what you're looking for. BTW, I've heard WCR pickups are very good and offer vintage tones and clarity. Every post I can find seems to rave over them. I'd be interested if anyone here has experience with them. http://jimwagnerpickups.com/darkburst.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Here's a video using WCR Crossroads pups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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