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Silver Series Humbuckers by SD Pickups, Dave Stephens, Stephens Design
         
 

STEPHENS DESIGN HUMBUCKERS

To be honest I was never a fan of humbuckers. Every time I think of "buckers" I think of some heavy metal player beating on bar chords and playing too loud. But, after seeing Chris Cain play live with a 335 and some old PAFs Joe Pass gave him, it sent me on a seven year obsession with PAFs. I focused on historically good sounding PAF tones, and gained a wealth of knowledge in this pursuit while back-engineering the technology and materials that were used in these 50's era pickups. The subject is endless, covering many materials and disciplines, and the secrets are many. Others have followed my progress and some will attempt to duplicate my latest products. My last series of truly authentic PAF pickups are the Vintage Lab Series. These truly are as close as anyone will probably ever get....

VINTAGE LAB PAF REPRODUCTION SETS

These sets are the climax and last sets in my PAF inspired humbucker sets. This is THE ONE. Everything in this set is the result of metals analysis and close study of every aspect and measurement of genuine Gibson Patent Applied For humbuckers. Nothing was overlooked. No attempt was made to "improve" the pickups over vintage accuracy. Everything is as accurate as is possible in modern times. Some things can't be perfectly copied, the vintage magnet wire and its aging process, and minor differences in the old steel alloys of the 1950's. PAF magnets were inconsistent alloy mixes, yet modern alnico magnets come very close.

The Vintage Lab is what a real PAF would be if they were still being made today using the same materials available now.

FOR NOW PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO
done by Adreas Straub, a professional studio musician at 48 Windows Studio in Los Angeles. There will be more video and sound clips coming soon on YouTube and on my website. Feedback from professioal studio musicians has been nothing but the most positive, and the Vintage Lab sets are almost indistinguishable from the real thing, according to them. The VL sets are currently available in a stock and PG, or "Peter Green" set. More details will be posted in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

PF STAR PAF RESEARCH PICKUPS

The PF Star bucker set was my last set before the Vintage Lab project. They use a unique magnetic alloy for the critical parts, which impart a smooth, very musical tone that is very balanced overall. They are very PAF-like, but are a more modern, well rounded and versatile set for the modern player.

PF Star Bucker Full Demo
PF Star Repro Neck Copy Test

Here are the PF Stars played through various amps, no pedals just amp and guitar:
A Victoria Regal II, very dark dirty amp, this is not my favorite amp for these pickups:
PF Star Buckers Victoria Regall II
Here another mp3 through a blackfaced '73 Deluxe Reverb, a very different sound:
PF Star Buckers Deluxe Reverb
And here through a Blues Junior:
PF Star Bucker Blues Junior
And here through a '73 Virborlux:
PF Star Bucker Vibrolux
Here is the Vibrolux again with a PF Star, but this one is wound with slightly more clear, smoother sounding wire and an alnico 5 magnet with vintage charging. The bridge in this clip is a real '63 Patent Sticker pickup at 7.7K-this is what a real PAF bridge sounds like, folks, the middle position is out of phase for fun (Peter Green tone). This neck is without cover and sounds really goood in this amp:
PF Star Bucker Vibrolux alternate neck-patent bridge

 

These pickups really take on the character of your amplifier, I wll post more examples soon...

TONE KING HUMBUCKERS

The Tone King bucker set is based on the use of some rare old NOS wire I acquired before the company went out of business. This is a rare BLACK plain enamel, is a bit oversized and has a slightly fatter insulation, resulting in a more open tone and a distinct character not found in other magnet wire. At lower volume these are smooth, not too dark, not too bright. Cranked up they really shine at higher volumes.

Take a listen to my sound clips using my LP nitro finished test guitar, through my '73 Vibrolux. Take the "King" for a ride and I think you'll know why they're called Tone Kings.

Tone King cleanish '73 Vibrolux
Tone King screaming '73 Vibrolux
Here's a new clp courtesy of Jeremy Blessing doing the Allman Brothers thing, with a Marshall JCM800, jamming with his friends:
Allman jam, Mrshall JCM800, '66 Melody Maker

 

 

 

PLATINUM SERIES PAF SETS

These are PAF style sets, but more of of a later 60's style tone. Half the parts are made in my shop and are accurate vintage alloys for the time period. I have made a two part video demonstration of the set which describes them in detail and shows off their tones through my tube amps. Please WATCH THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE, then contact me with any questions you may have.

SILVER SERIES STOCK SET

These are wound as a matched set with alnico 5 bar magnets, plain enamel vintage style wire, and come with nickel silver covers. The A5 magnets give crisp, punchy pick dynamics and crisp output. This set used in the sound clips has a stock wind, but I can tailor the set to your needs, especially if you want a stronger set intended more for rock style playing.

Click to hear Silver Series Stock Humbucker set played through a '73 Princeton Silverface amp with a kind of bright Jensen speaker installed in an Epiphone Dot Deluxe 335 style guitar. The clip plays a short clean sample, then clicks through the 3 switch positions separated by a tone. Also check the reviews page for actual gig samples.


SILVER SERIES ALNICO II SET

Some consider the best sounding PAF buckers to have been made with alnico II magnets. This may or may not be true. My A2 set is what I would call a "blues" set. Alnico 2 has less magnetic pull but also loads the coil more with eddy currents, thus darkening the tone. This can be useful for a set that is wound to lower DC resistance. The combination of darker affecting magnets and lower winds, plus some tricks used in the orginal patent applied for buckers, makes a sweet, warm sounding set that has become my current favorite. They are hard to describe: they are warm yet have plenty of sparkle when you need it.

Silver Series A2's played clean through my '73 Princeton, which now has a Weber speaker in it. Starting on the bridge through to the neck position.

Silver Series A2's played cranked through same amp, starting on bridge proceeding to neck.

Also, so you can hear what these sound like in a live gig, here is V. Dodson playing my Dot through his Magnatone amp with Premier outboard reverb unit. This gives a better idea of how these perform. More clips coming soon.

SILVER SERIES ROCKER SET

Jake E Lee of Ozzy Osbourne helped me design this humbucker set, which he endorses (thanks Jake!). Here he is playing a Procol Harum tune "Bacon" on a '96 SG:

Bacon-Jake E Lee

All the Silver Series humbuckers come with nickel silver covers, which don't muddy up the tone and are the most expensive covers; Gibson style braided/push back wire, and are wound with plain enamel wire, the most expensive wire. Height adjustment screws and springs are included. Coils are taped and not potted. Covers are treated to stop any microphonics from cover vibration. Pickups can also be made without covers if you prefer, but the price is the same with or without. Email me from the contact page for pix of relic covers and a matte raw cover look, these extra options are $20 for 2 cover set.


 
 
     
 

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