....I went through a fairly large undertaking. I decided to try a half dozen humbuckers in the three humbucking guitars I had. I wanted to understand the role “wood” plays and the role electronics play. I also wanted to sort out which pickups I preferred in each guitar. The P-Zeros were part of this. I limited the testing to neck only (clean and overdriven) just to keep my sanity!
I discovered that I preferred P-Zeros in my PRS SC245, which was no surprise. I thought that combination might work well. All that fiddling you did to get the short legs working was indeed worth it! Although they are a low-wind, the P-Zero’s have a pervasive warmth that is very pleasant and charming. It’s almost like a blanket that wraps around the notes. I have another low-wind set and yours are clearly better. .....
So, long story longer. . . . I decided to sell my PRS and one other HB guitar, and pick up a PRS 513 instead. The 513 has 5 single coils that can be run as Strat-type singles or combined for HB or hot HB tones. It has a 25.25” scale and does the fat Strat thing which works well for me. Moving to HB tones with the flick of a switch means it works very well for a Sunday worship setting where I can’t easily switch guitars......
Here’s the cool part. A fellow that I know wanted a PRS with humbuckers, but the tone he described was P-Zero tone. I lent him the 245 / P-Zero and a week later he told me that I was not getting the guitar back! We completed the sale about three weeks ago and he loves it. He plays at the same church I do and I get to hear the pickups regularly, which makes me smile.
Just wanted to let you know how pleased I am with the pickups (VP-R1). I can't believe how they have transformed the sound of my guitar. I was concerned that I might not be able to tell a big difference when I got them in, but it was night and day. I don't know what magic dust you're sprinkling on these things, but it works!
Thanks again for taking the time to "talk tone" with me, and for helping me choose the right pickups to get the sound I was searching for. We nailed it.
Best of luck in the future!
Wes
...perfect in the sense that they just push the amp perfectly and NEVER loose string definition. The blossoming of notes is beautiful and the overtones sound like a small orchestra... The P-Zero's have an amazing dimentionality to them. It's like nothing I've ever heard and have been looking for this sound for 30 yrs. I've had real PAF's (1958) in my ES-175 and I like these much better
On all tens on the the distortion was a creamy with clarity sound rather than that playing in a box sound I seem to get when set on ten .. Would I buy a set? YES without a second thought ,unless Rd pickups give me an endorsement Would I recomend them to friends and other guitarists? yes and will be!!!!!
...the neck gain is very smooth, very like the dry-Z, but the bridge gain is very rare in that not only will it hold the pure note without any fizz, but also it wanders off into higher order harmonics at will..
They are really something special... They are very clear and somehow there's a lot of space and brilliance in the sound... for me, even some kind of twang if you'd like it. I didn't know, that humbuckers can sound like this! I think they have the thing that players prefering some kind of single coil sound mostly miss in humbuckers. Still, they have the compactness and slight growl of humbuckers. I think they are especially an option for any player that is torn between single coil sound (for me it's Strat) and humbuckers
Simply beautiful. ...... creamy and smooth !! Never thought I'd say it, but I think I like these more than the APH-II's I used to own and look back so fondly on. They are definitely leaps and bounds beyond the SD'59 that they replaced. These pickups are balanced really well. I can hear a little of the neck, and a little of the bridge when I'm playing in the mid position. Usually one pickup has tended to overpower the other, no matter what I did with pickup/slug heights. They work TOGETHER, rather than against each other, to create a unique tone. Chuck them out-of-phase and they are in a league of their own. In summary, I would not think twice about dealing with Declan and RD pickups again, it's a given! If I ever get another guitar or you guys start winding bass pickups, then I can assure you, you'll have me as a customer again.
Just thought I'd drop you a line as I've just got back from my first full rehearsal with the P1's, the cleans were so sweet I didn't even bother to pick my Strat up all night! and they rock with the best of them as well!!
Up until recently my favourite humbuckers were Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays, closely followed by Peter Florence Voodoo '59's, but having fitted my LS80 with some RD P1's I'm a total convert!! They sound amazing! very sweet cleans, and still very musical at higher gain settings. Definitely recommended!
i finally installed the P1s on my guitar and....OK, that's what iI was looking for ! I can't define them but wonderful ! At first, they did not impressed me that much but it depended on the fact that they were not properly set. I put them at the distance that is usually suggested for humbuckers but I had to distance the bridge and to get closer the low side of the neck PU. Then everything works perfectly.
It seems like a heavy wrap has been pulled off my guitar ! Now it can make his voice be listened. What I find unbeatable is the neck PU: warm, definded, balanced, everything is in it. I can use it (finally!) for clear sound (marvelous) and for bluesy cruncy and creamy lead tones. Another surprise is that I can use both PUs together; in my former set up that position was asolutely weak and without personality and sounded absolutely dull.
If I may, the only nice to have (my personal idea) is a little bit more of attack on low string on neck PU (a little bit more of snap !) The bridge PU is at the level of the bridge one, clear without harshness. Killer in crunch and distorted tones. I think that my guitar started a new, far better life ! You were right: you pulled off the mud from my guitar. To be honest I was not so impressed by the videos on youtube (due to the PC hardware, I supposed) but live your PUs are absolutely killer PUs ! I consider your PUs one of the best choice (if not even the best) to bring for those who love Les Paul.
Well done and thanks a lot !, Stefano
Hi Declan, Just thought I would drop you a line on the set of P3 pickups I got from you this week. I have finished my Tokai LS project, fully rewired with the Pup's installed. I have to say I am extremely impressed with the results. What I was looking for was pickups that had a bell like quality to them and could stand up to the regular named brands that are out there. What I have is something a bit special. The depth of tone and dynamic response that comes from these units is outstanding. The level of clarity and tones available just from the guitar controls goes beyond the norm with this type of guitar. I have found pickups that will be my first choice for all my customer's guitars from now on.
I was very impressed with the fact that the units are extremely musical without every getting muddy no matter what settings I used. String definition even under heavy gain setting is outstanding. Clean sounds just jumped out at me with great bass, mid and treble response. I wasn't expecting this from the higher output P3's. I measured them at 8.3k. The neck pickup is just fantastic with a huge amount of sustain, giving me that LP sound. The coil split is excellent and much better sounding than the Duncan's I have split on another unit. I understand that I have purchased a custom set of pickups that have had many hours of care and attention put into get them right, but they have gone beyond my expectations of what was possible with a regular hum bucker. You have managed to get a bit of magic built into these units that I have transferred into a regular guitar and that what's what it all about for me. I can really see the pro players going for these units. Thanks for the tour of your workshop the other night, It was great to see some passion in what you where doing for me. Very impressed. I will bring down the Tokai and a couple of Gibson's plus a few more models so you can check them out for yourself. You already know what you will hear.
Keep winding, I expect I will need more. Thanks again, Derek
