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Explorer pickup swap


thejay

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I was thinking about putting one Tony Iommi Signature on my Explorer, leaving one original for when i didn't want as heavy a sound. I am a huge Black Sabbath fan and have heard nothing but good things about this particular pickup but I'm not sure what to do now because apparently the new pickups have 4 wires and the stock explorer pickups have 2. How does this work?

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When a humbucker has 4 wires it means you can split it into a single coil using a switch, usually a tap switch.

 

Gibson pickups that come installed usually have 2 wires to use with Gibsons standard wiring but Gibson pickups sold separately have 4 wires sometimes so you can wire them however you like.

 

I have a non-Gibson guitar with a humbucker that split via switch and it is really cool to get a single coil sound at the pull of a switch.

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In my '80 e/2 I have a X2N in the bridge and a Super Distortion in the neck (both are very early '80s production). With the maple/walnut sandwiched body and neck w/ a brass nut, the guitar sustains forever with none of the muddiness of say an SD Invader or BL500XL.

 

The pups were changed because of the microphonics of the original Dirty Fingers pups. I do plan to wax pot them to eliminate that and reinstall them at a later date

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I was wondering if anyone could help me on a similar issue.

I'm most definately thinking of upgrading the pick-ups in my '80 E/2, only that the decision of what to upgrade it with plagues me. I don't want a dramatic change in sound, I was thinking about swapping the 28 year old 496R and the 500T with Sey-Dunc, 59' (neck) and a JB for the bridge. Does anyone else have a similar combo, and does it make sense to upgrade to these?

 

A logical choice for someone who doesn't really want to break the bank, Or should I just re-magnetize and wax to eliminate the undesirable squeals and keep it original?

Any help would be most appreciated, as I'm still green , regarding upgrading.

Regards,

Joe.

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ive got the emg zakk wylde set in my explorer' date=' theyre great all around pups[/quote']

 

I guess they'd be nice, yeah.

On my next explorer (Hehe...I'm dreaming#-o ) I wouldn't mind a set of EMG's. But I'd dare not dream of routing the battery compartment or anything into my precccioussssss!

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I was wondering if anyone could help me on a similar issue.

I'm most definately thinking of upgrading the pick-ups in my '80 E/2' date=' only that the decision of what to upgrade it with plagues me. I don't want a dramatic change in sound, I was thinking about swapping the 28 year old 496R and the 500T with Sey-Dunc, 59' (neck) and a JB for the bridge. Does anyone else have a similar combo, and does it make sense to upgrade to these?

 

A logical choice for someone who doesn't really want to break the bank, Or should I just re-magnetize and wax to eliminate the undesirable squeals and keep it original?

Any help would be most appreciated, as I'm still green , regarding upgrading.

Regards,

Joe.[/quote']

 

Joe, if you have an '80 e/2 then somebody changed the pups because they never came with the 496R/500T combo. ALL e/2's came w/ gold pole screw Dirty Fingers and matching gold hardware w/ a gold TP-6 fine tuner stoptail

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Joe' date=' if you have an '80 e/2 then somebody changed the pups because they never came with the 496R/500T combo. ALL e/2's came w/ gold pole screw Dirty Fingers and matching gold hardware w/ a gold TP-6 fine tuner stoptail[/quote']

 

Well **** man, I guess I truly am green afterall! I was wondering why those screws were gold...:-({|=

I'll most certainly abide by your judgement, and thanks for telling me up straight; Lest I spurt my ignorance somewhere else...Heh.

Have you any suggestions for replacement of the Dirty Fingers, if at all?

Or would you just go about repairing the older ones?

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I put EMG's in mine, 81 in the bridge, 85 ( I think ) in the neck.

Ran straight into my JCM800, guys were always asking about how I got my sound...great for heavy stuff.

Also, I think there's room for the battery without routing.

Hope you're happy with whatever you decide.

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I don't know if I'd call my change "interesting" but it sure sounds a hell of a lot better.

 

I threw a 57 Classic and 57 Classic+ in one of mine and it really made a huge difference.

 

DSC00037.jpg

 

57 and 57 plus? Why such a combo?

Sometimes I think my Explorer just sounds thin but I would contribute that to the guitar itself or the pups??

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  • 2 weeks later...

I went with that set because that's what came in my wk 43 guitar and they sound incredible. Try fiddling around with your amp settings if you think your guitar sounds thin. Lower your pickups just a little bit to cut back the gain, it'll fatten up a little (but play aroudn with the amp first).

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I use multiple guitars for what I do so what I have my amp set at works well for all of them... I will try lowering the pickups... didn't think about that ironically. I like the way the guitar sounds but a bit too thin... I will try that, thanks for the advice!

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  • 1 month later...

I put a Bill Lawrence XL500 (The Bill and Becky version, not Bill Lawrence USA) in the bridge, and left the stock one in the neck.

That thing will tear your face off! GREAT metal tone! It is a bit thinner sounding than my ESPs, but gets killer gain, while maintaining definition.

(In fact, my one ESP with a Dimebucker now sounds too bassy by comparison.)

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Yeah just keep tweaking them till you find your sound, its time consuming but I have found you can really make a guitar sound good sometimes with the stock pups. In the event that doesn't work out... I like the Gibson '57 Classics, Fralins or SD '59 and JB.

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To me if you have an all original nearly 30 year old explorer,, tweak your amp first, I have a set of EMG H1A passives as well as the 81 and 85,both in Les Pauls,, you can do more than just metal w/the H1A's and no battery to boot, also I agree w/ the '57 and 57plus,, I think they are the best pick ups I ever owned/heard, hell ,, forget all this and just buy another guitar and keep yours as is,,thats what tax return money is for ....isn't it?

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