Warmest, fattest, thickest sounding Humbuckers out there......

[jim777]

I'd add that you also have to factor in the guitar -- a pickup might seem "warmer" in one guitar than in another because of differences in how guitars and pickups complement each other. To a degree I think you can sort of shop on the basis of spec (e.g., knowing that you want one combination of magnet type and wire/resistance vs another, frequency response plots, etc), but ultimately it's trial and error, and words like "warm" are not all that helpful.

Years ago when I bought my 555 from Wolfe Guitars in Florida, they told me the Seth Lovers in a maple necked guitar like the 555 would sound the same as the Antiquities do in a mahogany necked guitar, like the 535, and that they almost always ordered those models with those pickups because of that. I think my well reasoned response to that was, "Wow, that's cool". LOL

And Mick, I dig those bird like cutouts in that semi, those look great

[Sigmund451]

The guys at Armstrong are great.

The first time I bought a pickup was also the first time I ever intalled one and it was with a switch as well. I spoke to Ken's son in the UK. I asked him a couple of questions and he said, "Dont worry, I will put in a drawing".

When I got my pickup there was a quick and dirty handmade drawing of where the wires went. It was simple. Im sure it took him about 45 seconds to do it but he didnt have to. Old school private vendor service cant be beat!

Ive heard great things about his 12 pole floater. The fact that it has 12 poles is pretty cool. Ive no idea if its redundant but Id rather have more options than not enough. The pole pieces on his floating single coil design are responsive and make a big difference in balancing out strings. Ive been talking to Franz Eferink about a build and it is one of his "Go-to" pickups.

[Mick-7]

And Mick, I dig those bird like cutouts in that semi, those look great

Yes, it's a very nice guitar, I bought it directly from the Michael Kelly company the first year they were in business, over 20 years ago, they were establishing their brand and so had their high end instruments made by a top-notch Korean luthier (not sure who), but the pickups are mediocre. I asked the current Michael Kelly company owner if they could give me any background info on it and they said they know nothing about it.

[Navdeep_Singh]

Terminology is an intriguing. What does WARMTH actually mean? Especially since sound is an objective matter (wavelength, spectrum, etc) We crave WARMTH Especially when we don’t want HOT pickups (ie, really loud sounds). I guess phat means we don’t want a THIN tone. We want a balance between the bass and treble sides of the instrument, where it’s not an “either/or” situation. We want clean and pristine sounds that have “sparkle” and depth.

Which is interesting. Because my favorite sounds have been old school Charlie Christians. Then again, I thought Sadowsky hit it out of the park with the Jim Hall pickups. Forgot what brand they were. But they are FANTASTIC.

[Stringswinger]

This, i recently bought a Westville Solar single pickup with a Kent Armstrong USA Alnico III in it...Yes Warm, Fat, woody

Now the KA Alnico 5 in my Victor Baker is a different animal.

Based on your post, I am going to bet the KA pups in my L-5CES have A 3 magnets.

[jim777]

I have this premonition that someone is eventually going to say, "Warmth comes from toobs"

[DawgBone]

I have this premonition that someone is eventually going to say, "Warmth comes from toobs"

You are perceptive. Way back when I lived up north a 100 watt Marshall head functioned as an auxiliary heater during winter rehearsal and practice sessions.

[rpjazzguitar]

Would there be broad agreement about which well-known player has the warmest tone?

I'd say Wes, although not every record is equally warm. I don't know who I'd place second. Maybe Kenny Burrell based on Guitar Forms? I love Jim Hall's tone, but I don't know if I'd call it especially warm. I don't know how I'd describe it.

Is there a clear enough goal to be able to make specific pu recommendations?

[Strat-itis]

Is there a clear enough goal to be able to make specific pu recommendations?

There are a lot of good pickups out there so there's no 1 right answer. There will be a set of suitable answers.

Generally higher wound will give you more output, more low mids, more bass, and more thickness. But you can't overdo it in the neck slot. For PAF sets you can use the bridge model. For example a Duncan 59 set is 7.6k and 8.2k. Use the bridge model to bump up the thickness.

You can also use a double thick magnet which thickens and deepens it. But it must be uncovered.

Some winders generally have more thickness to them with lower DCR such as Fralin.

You want to stay away from Chirpy pickups like the Seth Lover.

Etc

If you want it ultra thick you can put 2 pickups in series , but this requires a custom pickguard or ring.

[GuyBoden]

Would there be broad agreement about which well-known player has the warmest tone?

I'd say Wes, although not every record is equally warm. I don't know who I'd place second. Maybe Kenny Burrell based on Guitar Forms? I love Jim Hall's tone, but I don't know if I'd call it especially warm. I don't know how I'd describe it.

Is there a clear enough goal to be able to make specific pu recommendations?

But, is Wes' tone warm mainly due to his thumb technique?

[Strat-itis]

^ He probably had good pickups in there. Likely just in-house Gibson humbuckers and P90s.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Would there be broad agreement about which well-known player has the warmest tone?

I think not. A lot of tone is in your chops, and some great sounds come from some largely ignored sources. One of my favorite sounds is Martin Taylor playing anything on any guitar he chooses. Here's a great example of a warm but woody tone from the KA humbucker on his Joya made by Fibonacci:

I'm not sure what guitar this is, but it really sounds warm and inviting to me:

And here's an example of the big sound he got from a Yamaha 1500 for many years:

[rpjazzguitar]

But, is Wes' tone warm mainly due to his thumb technique?

The only time I've heard somebody sound just like Wes, it was an L5 and a thumb. I'd guess that the thumb is the most essential thing to his sound. Maybe you could substitute a different 25.5 archtop?

For a player looking for warmth, but with a pick, is Wes' pickup choice (stock Gibson, maybe with the pu turned around) instructive in any way?

And, that's assuming that there is wide agreement that Wes is very warm sounding.

[Strat-itis]

There's more to Wes's sound than only the thumb or 'chops'.

Thumb, yes
Guitar
Fat flatwouds
Fender amp
Pickups were probably solid too

[Christian Miller]

There's more to Wes's sound than only the thumb or 'chops'.

Thumb, yes
Guitar
Fat flatwouds
Fender amp
Pickups were probably solid too

I think about 80% of it is in the way he played. Incredible Jazz Guitar is an ES175 IIRC.

But I think he would have sounded like Wes on Tele.

[Christian Miller]

To the OP - warm can often sound woolly and muddy in a different context.

I tend to like something that sounds a little nasal - an 800Hz push or so. Sounds warm in the live mix.

[Christian Miller]

I've noticed luthiers tend to be much less snobby about pickups than guitar players, though. It's interesting how little they seem to buy into the hype around different manufacturers. As long as they have the right specs and work, they usually seem to feel that swapping them out will actually not make much difference, and from my own experience I think they are right.

[Strat-itis]

I think about 80% of it is in the way he played. Incredible Jazz Guitar is an ES175 IIRC.

But I think he would have sounded like Wes on Tele.

If he turned the bass to 0 on his amp, it would not have sounded like that regardless of how he played. Tone is in the gear primarily and is shaped by the player.

[joe2758]

Strat, what does chirpy mean? I have Seth Lover (gross name), I wonder if it's a term that applies to my tone

[Christian Miller]

If he turned the bass to 0 on his amp, it would not have sounded like that regardless of how he played. Tone is in the gear primarily and is shaped by the player.

I mean TBF you do need a lot more treble when doing the thumb thing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Strat-itis]

Strat, what does chirpy mean? I have Seth Lover (gross name), I wonder if it's a term that applies to my tone

For jazz, I mean a roundwound suited tone where the body of the tone lives in the mids more than the bass like a fat pickup.

[joe2758]

Hhrrmmm I don't think I'll ever catch on to this stuff. Like, thinner? like as if someone uses skinny vs fat strings?

[Rickco]

Another component of "that" sound is the wiring. 250K pots and a big BBee cap sounds big and fat with many P.U.s

[Strat-itis]

Hhrrmmm I don't think I'll ever catch on to this stuff. Like, thinner? like as if someone uses skinny vs fat strings?

Like how some guys like to play jazz on SSS strats. That's gonna be max chirpy. I wouldn't want to use a Seth Lover with flatwounds as it emphasizes the mids for the body of the tone rather than the bass. It sounds better with roundwounds. Although it's still a full sounding pickup for chirpy.

[joe2758]

. I wouldn't want to use a Seth Lover with flatwounds as it emphasizes the mids for the body of the tone

wwhooops lol