Filtertrons in an epiphone?

Henrytwang · December 2018

ICBM said:

Henrytwang said:

I too have given up trying to post images on this site. I belong to quite a few guitar forums and this is the only one I have problems with. I’ve noticed that some people who do manage to post images manage to post all the images from their hosting site.

You can use the 'file' symbol in the toolbar at the top of the post and paste the image address into the box, or you can switch to HTML mode (the </> button) and copy a simple bit of code in.

Like this (which is what you need to put mini-humbuckers in a modern Sheraton) - find image on Amazon, copy web address, click 'file' and paste web address:

Can’t do that on my iPad. Might find a host site for my pictures, fire up the old laptop and have a go one day. It sure sounds a lot more techie than the simple copy and paste needed by most forums.

p90fool · December 2018

Calum13 said:

JayGee said:

No love for @TheGuitarWeasel’s Cowtrons?

Has anyone tried them?

Yes, I was the customer who first asked him to make me some, years ago.

They sound very nice, lovely string definition and a good bite, but with no harshness.

Admittedly I hadn't played a vintage Gretsch for a good few years before getting them but they sounded exactly as I'd hoped.

I have one in a full hollowbody and a mate "stole" my other one to put in his ash-bodied Telecaster in conjunction with an SD Broadcaster, where it sounds glorious.

Having just bought another Epiphone I'd say you can't go wrong, Epi humbuckers are the work of the devil, I don't understand how they can take more or less the same components as everyone else and make them sound like absolute arse.

ICBM · December 2018

Henrytwang said:

Can’t do that on my iPad. Might find a host site for my pictures, fire up the old laptop and have a go one day. It sure sounds a lot more techie than the simple copy and paste needed by most forums.

I can do it on my iPad.

Image: https://www.vintageandrare.com/uploads/products/67532/3129370/original.jpg?154261614

Like that... copied and pasted on my iPad using the 'Attach image/file' button.

Calum13 · December 2018

p90fool said:

Calum13 said:

JayGee said:

No love for @TheGuitarWeasel’s Cowtrons?

Has anyone tried them?

Yes, I was the customer who first asked him to make me some, years ago.

They sound very nice, lovely string definition and a good bite, but with no harshness.

Admittedly I hadn't played a vintage Gretsch for a good few years before getting them but they sounded exactly as I'd hoped.

I have one in a full hollowbody and a mate "stole" my other one to put in his ash-bodied Telecaster in conjunction with an SD Broadcaster, where it sounds glorious.

Having just bought another Epiphone I'd say you can't go wrong, Epi humbuckers are the work of the devil, I don't understand how they can take more or less the same components as everyone else and make them sound like absolute arse.

Yeah I got my wine red Sheraton (2016 model) about 2 months back and it has the pro bucker pickups. They sound decent played through my old Marshall but I’m not satisfied with the clean tone. It seems quite muddy but maybe that’s just my EQ settings on the amp. I’m looking for a more jangly gretsch sound. I want to replace the pickups to something affordable and easy to fit.

Calum13 · December 2018

ICBM sai.

What year is that Sheraton from? The flame is nice, the epiphone logo is different and there are no triangles in the inlays. A 60s model?

Funkfingers · December 2018

Calum13 said:
some people say one of the things that make the iconic filtertron sound is the close together coils

There is some truth in this.

The Seymour Duncan custom shop offers a few of their most popular humbucker models in a P90-sized format. The bobbins are shaved down prior to winding. The plastic cover has the pole piece holes offset to accommodate the screw coil. The overall width across the two bobbins is reduced by about one quarter of an inch.

Consequently, the sound of, for example, the “JB90” is not quite as fat as a regular SH-4 JB. The mounting method may contribute to this.

Calum13 said:

Would the latter option get me closer to the gretsch sound?

I doubt It. Constructional and hardware differences between Gretsch and Gibson/Epiphone will conspire against you.

In the final analysis, the Fender La Cabroni(s)ta Telecaster is still a Tele - albeit one with some interesting overtones that the traditional pickups do not possess.

If you want a Gretsch sound, buy a Gretsch guitar.

Corvus · December 2018

Not entirely holding with that, I have Filtertrons in non-Gretsch guitars and they sound like Filters should (trad ones not bucker sized). There is differences coming from the construction & hardware i.e. attack, bloom etc but they're pure Filtertron. Gretsch put them in solid, chambered solid, big hollow body and big-body with different bracing and 335-ish shape full centre-block. You still get that essential Filtertron character in each, variations yes but there's no mistaking the Filtertron thing going on.

OilCityPickups · January 2019

p90fool said:

Calum13 said:

JayGee said:

No love for @TheGuitarWeasel’s Cowtrons?

Has anyone tried them?

Yes, I was the customer who first asked him to make me some, years ago.

They sound very nice, lovely string definition and a good bite, but with no harshness.

Admittedly I hadn't played a vintage Gretsch for a good few years before getting them but they sounded exactly as I'd hoped.

I have one in a full hollowbody and a mate "stole" my other one to put in his ash-bodied Telecaster in conjunction with an SD Broadcaster, where it sounds glorious.

Having just bought another Epiphone I'd say you can't go wrong, Epi humbuckers are the work of the devil, I don't understand how they can take more or less the same components as everyone else and make them sound like absolute arse.

As my pickups were mentioned I'll pop in a comment.
The 'Sound' of a Filtertron comes from two main idiosyncrasies of the design, firstly the very low wind: the whole wire load of a classic Filtertron is about the same as a 50s Strat pickup, or just over half that of an average PAF. This naturally leads to far less compression than other humbucker designs, and so a far more open and woody tone,
The second feature that determines the Filtertron sound is the magnet: Normal humbuckers use a magnet that is around 3.5mm thick and 62mm long, whereas the classic design of Filtertron uses a magnet that is double that thickness, and thus double the magnet mass. This added magnet power helps to compensate output wise for the very low wind coils, and gives the pickup a unique sound in two ways: firstly the higher field strength shifts the resonant peak compared to to a PAF for example, while the extra mass pushes up the inductance.
These two design quirks are far more important than the small difference in spacing between the coils.

I actually make both humbucker sized Cow-T-Rons, and Gretsch sized Cow-T-Rons (in Gretch and English mount for the latter). Both employ low winds and double sized Alnico 5 magnets, and the difference in sound between the two is pretty much indistinguishable. The Humbucker sized one may have a tiny bit more bass 'tightness' but in my book that's not a bad thing.

For the record, several HB Filtertron copies I have seen use standard HB magnets (even ceramic ones) and fall short in producing that clear, punchy and surprisingly thick Gretsch sound.

Note I am only posting in sections other than Made in the UK if my products are specifically mentioned these days.

Added note: The difference in bobbin/pole width on my HB Filtertrons v my Gretsch sized Filtertrons is of the order of 1.8 to 2mm. To put this in perspective, the difference between a PAF spacing and a single coil sized humbucker is a whopping 7.8mm!

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Filtertrons in an epiphone?

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