WCR vs Sheptone vs Zhangbucker

[FennRx]

i ordered a set of Tribute PAFs the first week of July and they arrived 1 month later. With my son being born on August 6, I didn't have time to have them installed until this week. after replacing the BBs in my R8 with WCRs, i got the itch to replace the BBs in my 2007 R9. While I am absolutely in love with the WCRs, I love to try new stuff so I ordered some Sheptones. I also bought a set of Zhangbuckers (Woodbucker neck/Pagey 2 bridge) off TGP as an impulse buy. The ZB stayed in my R9 while I waited for the Sheps to arrive.

 

The neck pickup is very warm. It has a nice bluesy tone to it, even when played clean. The WCR Crossroad seems fuller, but not as warm- definitely more clear. Both the Shep and the WCR clean up very nicely. The ZB seemed to have more output, with a lot of top end. I had to lower the PU and the polepieces a lot to make it usable (wax was oozing out).

 

The Shep bridge has a nice bottom end that with just a slight tweak sounds as good as the WCR Darkburst. Like the neck, the WCR sounds fuller/fatter to my ears. I lowered the Shep's treble side in order to tame the highs. The Pagebucker was really too much. It reminded me of a BB Pro. I had to raise the bass side pretty high in order to get any usable low end. the treble side was lowered quite a bit.

 

Overall I am pretty happy with my Sheptones. I think that the WCRs sound a little bit closer to the sound i have in my head, but i am digging the bluesy Shep neck. The Zhangbuckers were just a bit too hot for my liking. Now I will admit that the ZBs sounded pretty good when I played with a band. It seems the ZBs are volume dependent- at home volume they were ok, but through a cranked marshall and 4x12 they sounded much better. The WCRs and Sheps were consistent at all volumes.

 

To the those on the fence, I think that the WCR CR/DB combo wins out. They are more expensive, but they are worth it imo. I also like how WCR does not have a wait time-they ship immediately. All 3 winders have excellent customer service- I appreciated the fast replies to my emails and their willingness to listen to my needs and make an honest recommendation rather than trying to close a quick sale.