How to clean old nasty pickups?

[RacerX]

I restored the thing, and it looks amazing with the maple top but those pickups look like ass.

[jed9]

Like Toejam said, just unscrew them out of the pickup and clean them...then put them back in

I did, I cannot get inside the grooves.

When I got it:


I'll get pics of them how they are now after I get some dinner. Side question, did these come with a cap or veneer?

[toejam]

WD40 and a toothbrush?

[jed9]

WD40 and a toothbrush?

Yup, spent about a half an hour on the neck and 15 on the bridge. I am going to try BRADSTANG's method next. That bridge pickup looks great with the blades, and I could get the neck shiny too if it weren't for the adjustable poles...I should try to find new poles...

Here they are after a fair amount of cleaning.

[Rupe]

Looks good...string it up and start playing!!!

[jed9]

I've got a new saddle for the trem (worn out 580lp yuck) in the mail. I blocked the bridge and played the top 3 strings though, sounds fucking amazing! I cannot believe branded pickups can sound this good. I am going to start looking for pole pieces tonight. I am kind of a perfectionist. I don't really like the pretty maple stuff, but I figure if I am going to have it I might as well make the whole thing look like sex.

[toejam]

Cool. Looking good!

[nafe]

Yup, spent about a half an hour on the neck and 15 on the bridge. I am going to try BRADSTANG's method next. That bridge pickup looks great with the blades, and I could get the neck shiny too if it weren't for the adjustable poles...I should try to find new poles...

Here they are after a fair amount of cleaning.

Hey Jed (or anyone really)
What model is that Rail PUP, and are they any good? I see them around occasionally and have often wondered how they compared with other rails like X2N's or SH-13's.

I'm knocking together a mutt for around the house and have seen one for sale, but it'd be cool to know if it's actually worth it

[jed9]

Its a j-85. I have not tried a x2n so I cannot compare to that. It is much thicker than the dimebucker, less harmonics and more crunchy not scooped at all and almost lacking lows a little but they are tight. The highs are smooth and not brittle like the dimebucker or a Jb. I would say over all it is very crunchy, very mid oriented and hot, punchy, and really quiet. Its does not have as much harmonics as the j-80c but has a great modern crunch sound. I would actually like to get another 80c to replace it, its more thick and complex. I have nothing against the 85 though its a really good pickup. Hard to find information on. PM me if your interested, I might be able to get some sound samples. Hopefully someone else can chime in with another comparison, and on the x2n.

[Rupe]

The X2N is mega-high output. It was designed in a time when there were no high gain amps like we see today...it was meant to pummel the input of an amp. I find it to be focused in the highs and mids with a fairly loose low end. It also lacks dynamics in a big way, but splits well and gets some of those back in that scenario. Essentially I've found it to have a big, loud, yet somewhat soft/loose sound, but I've heard others who got some good results with it. Like anything, if it interests you, check it out and let your ears do the work.

If you use a modern high gain amp (ENGL, Bogner, Diezel, Soldano, etc) it's really overkill to use a pickup this hot, although YMMV.

[jed9]

Rupe- Thanks for the info. Do you think that the J-85 is about as hot?

[nafe]

Cheers for the info guys.
I forgot to mention that i did actually have an X2N in a Dinky which was stolen a while ago, so i'm familiar with that particular PUP (and for the record. they're awesome), but i don't really know anything about the SH-13.
I was just curious as to whether this PUP would stand up against either of them.
Maybe i'll have a go at just for something to do, it's going cheap and it's not going in one of my live guitars, so......

[jed9]

I would try to bill lawrence before a dimebucker any day. I dont know if there as hot, but they have much better tone. I jammed with a guy that had a dime in his sg and it was shrill IMO. Keep us posted if you end up doing a 3 way comparison! That would be some great info for a lot of people. BTW the bill lawrence (bill and becky "version") are also cheaper than a dimebucker. I may swap one for the 85 in the bridge of this guitar.

[nafe]

I would try to bill lawrence before a dimebucker any day. I dont know if there as hot, but they have much better tone. I jammed with a guy that had a dime in his sg and it was shrill IMO. Keep us posted if you end up doing a 3 way comparison! That would be some great info for a lot of people. BTW the bill lawrence (bill and becky "version") are also cheaper than a dimebucker. I may swap one for the 85 in the bridge of this guitar.

Haha, it's funny you say that, I've just installed a couple of L500XL's in another guitar (a JDR) that i'm building (though they're not wired up up yet coz i fail at electronics ) Will let you know how they go....

[Rupe]

Rupe- Thanks for the info. Do you think that the J-85 is about as hot?

I never played a J-85. The X2N is waaaay hotter than a J-90C though, which was Jackson's hottest pickup (at least it was in the 80's).