SD '59s versus Seth Lover, in older H150

[nuke]

Anyone have direct experience swapping out a pair of Seymour Duncan 59's for a pair of Seth Lovers SH-55 pickups? 

I have a '98 H150 that was a special run with SD59's and standard tune-o-matic bridge/tail from the factory.  It's also a lighter one, about 8-3/4 lbs. I've owned it for over 20 years now. Use it as a work-horse. 

The 59's are ok-ish, but I find them a bit aggressive and in general, I find they have in this, and many other guitars, a treble peak that's a bit harsh. It isn't overly bright, but it just has a peak in the wrong place to my ears.

The original pots from Heritage were like the Norlin era-Gibson, 100k tone and 300k volumes, which darkened it up quite a bit. When a couple of the pots showed wear, I changed them to the more typical 500k and "50's wiring" since I like to roll the volumes up and down a lot while playing. 

I like the low-output PAF sound a lot, clear, articulate, bright but not harsh. A friend put throBaks in his Gibson R9 and that's the direction I'd like to go, but not $900 in that direction.

 

 

[rwinking]

I have the Seth Lovers in my H-535 and I think you are right as far as them being smoother (If that is what you are saying?) especially on the top end. I have  Dimarzio Anniversary PAFs in a couple of other guitars and they seem to have the same great tone and an identical high end. I am not sure that I could tell the difference btw the Seth Lovers and the Dimarzios. I love them both.

[tsp17]

To my ear, Seths are much better, but that’s just me.  I haven’t done a direct swap, but when I’ve played similar guitars with Seths, i notice the musical and textural difference.  Seths are more articulate, organic, smoother and just sound better for what i am looking for.  You may have a different experience.  I’ve had 59s in multiple guitars and only found them to sound great in one.  Even in that one i swapped for a Benedetto B-6 and it was better for my use.  That said, 59s sounded VERY good in that specific guitar (H575).  

 

[eljay]

fwiw, I have a 535 with 59s and one with Seths. The Seths are sweeter and smoother. I plan to sell the 59-equipped guitar but will keep the 535 with the Seth Lovers.

[nuke]

Thanks guys, it is really hard to describe "tone", but I want that nice, bright, but not harsh top end. The 59's are good, especially with more gain/distortion. But I tend to play on the edge of break up most of the time and even sometimes quite clean and bluesy.  The 59's seem to have a peak in the 1khz-2khz frequencyrange that grates a bit on my ears. 

I wish I had money for the ThroBaks, they sounded so incredibly sweet in my friend's R9. 

Now to find a deal on a set...

[bolero]

check out Wolfetone Legends too. I have set in my '97 H150 & they are the bomb

I like Seth Lovers as well

Edited February 7 by bolero
well

[eljay]

On the subject of Wolfetones, I have a brand new set of Wolfetone Dr. Vintage, box never opened, that I'll sell for $190, shipped, lower 48. Dr. Vintage are similar to Legends.

Edited February 8 by eljay

[DetroitBlues]

Can't say I've swapped for them... 

But my 2023 H150 has SD '59 in the neck and bridge and my 1985 H140 has a SD '55 (Seth Lover) in the bridge.  I gig with both of them.

Tone wise, they both sound great, but I get a lot more feedback with a Seth Lover when I've got the gain up a little high.

Either one works well for just about anything, just be mindful of the unpotted Seth Lover's.

Pic for reference:

Edited Friday at 02:54 PM by DetroitBlues

[rockabilly69]

This might be a little off course, but if you are looking for low output style PAFs, check out the Duncan Jazz pickup in both neck and bridge, I was taken a back at how good these pickups sounded. A realsleeper set! I liked them better than the Seths and 59's! Great clarity in the neck, and the bridge was perfect for on the edge of distortion sounds with a great mid honk. Here's a set plugged right into my Marshall...

 

 

 

[MartyGrass]

One thing is a clear difference.  Tap the cover of a Seth and you will hear a click.  No wax.  Not a big deal.

[nuke]

Well, I scored a used set of 2016 Seth Lovers on FleaBay, reasonable price and already patina'd and "pre-aged" from natural wear and tear, so they look right in this workhorse guitar with its own natural wear and tear.

The harshness I heard with the stock 59's is reduced, the Seth Lovers are more bell-like, clear, and I think a step in the right direction for me anyway.  I took measurements of inductance and capacitance at 120hz, DCR, and magnetic field strength while they were out. 

SD-59 Bridge:  5.016 H, 350nF Cs, 59.47 nF Cp, DCR 8.27k, field 40mt at the top screws. 

SD-59 Neck:  4.191 H, 419.6 nF Cs, 65.84 nF Cp, DCR 7.236k, field 40mt at the top screws. 

Seth Lover Bridge:  4.76 H, 369.6 nF Cs, 58 nF Cp, DCR 8.202k, field 37mt at the top screws.

Seth Lover Neck:  4.00 H, 438.7 nF Cs, 58.84 nF Cs, DCR7.59kk, field 37mt at the top screws. 

I compared the Seth Lovers now installed in my 1998 H150, with Faber hardware and lightweight locking Gotoh tuners, against my Gibson Custom Shop R0, 60th anniversary edition, with its stock Custom Bucker III pickups in it, unpotted like the Seth Lovers. Both have 50's wiring, paper-in-oil caps. The biggest difference is weight, the H150 being 8lbs and 13oz, the Gibson Les Paul is a svelte 8lbs, 1oz. (not chambered). 

The Gibson is more lush, with a bit more overtones, the neck being on the dark side and the bridge having a good bit more brightness and snap. It does that, "beefy telecaster" thing. Though both pickups are the same in the set. 

The H150 with Seths is more forward sounding, brighter, punchy, but doesn't have the same rich overtones as the Gibson. 

They're quite distinctly different sounding guitars, in spite of their close similarities.  Both have the pickups set to the exact same height, both wearing pure nickel strings. With nearly a pound of weight difference between them (about 13oz) I wonder how much is wood and how much is pickups. 

Edited 1 hour ago by nuke