Wolfetone and WRC pup users I need your HELP!

[standingzero]

So I'm in the final plans for a custom gold top made by Rob @ Prairiewood Guitars . It'll basically be an LP style gold top with a german deck carved top. It's going to look amazing. The all important pickup decision is one that I'm still not set on. The Prairewood comes stock with Wolfetone Dr. V's on this model; though he'll use other brands if you want. I've done a lot of reading (almost too much) and listening and decided to contact Wolfetone and WCR. Here is the meat of my email:

I play an equal mix of: Sweet cleans, raunchy riffing, saturated delayed legato, and layered /ambient delay work.

My favorite LP tones are:
1. Bonamassa's Live @ Royal Albert Hall tones
2. Slash's AFD and Use your Illusion tones
3. Dean Deleo's Stone Temple Pilots tones
4. Typical Page / Cream tones


My current main amp is an EL84 combo w/ a number of stompboxes. However, I intend on using this guitar w/ 6L6 and EL34 amps as well.


Wolfe recommended the Dr. V in the neck and the Marshallhead in the bridge. Saying that the neck is sweet, clear, and sings well while the bridge has more mid-honk and does classic rock really well.

Jim @ WCR recommended a modded version of the American Steele set. Modded to have a bit stronger neck, and a bit milder bridge; which apparently is the same set the Joe Bonamassa and the main guitarist from Buckcherry have in their guitars.


So I'm at a stand still with choosing which winder. I know they're both quality.

Can any of you guys comment? Have you used any of these pickups?

 

[big mike]

I've used/use them both. Can't go wrong either way.

 

[pete692]

I've got a set of Wolfetone Dr. V's in my R7, everyone who hears it wants a set. They're sweet and stringy, yet chunky and powerful. It's the first humbucker bridge I've owned that sounded good througout the range of my volume knob, and the neck can go from a tele-like stringiness to smooth, warm Slash like sustain with the volume knob. They can easily handle the examples of the tones you like, and sound great clean or distorted.

 

[JackStraw12]

I really like my WCR Fillmores in my LP Studio! Great customer service.

 

[standingzero]

Cool, anyone else looking to chime in?

I keep hearing how great the thickness of the Godwood bridge is and am wondering if I'd be missing something w/ a Marshallhead in that spot. What I've read edges me to WCR, but my builder works w/Wolfe and has installed them on many guitars and really likes how they sound in his LP styled models.

 

[doublescale1]

If your chasing Joe B - why not just go with his WCR set? the rest of what your looking for can come from that set easily - talk to Jim again and go for it.

 

[standingzero]

Well I think I'm going w/ stock Dr. V in the neck and a Wolfetone in the bridge. I spoke to Wolfe for a while on the phone today and he's confident we'll get the tones I want and he's rewind for me if we don't get it on the first try; even though he'd have to ship to Korea. That's service!

Also, Re: Bonamassa tones, I found this on his site written by Joe himself:
http://forum.jbonamassa.com/viewtopic.php?id=1586

"The main 59 has original Patent Applied For pickups from a 1963 ES -335.. I got the pickups first and then the guitar eventually.. ( long story) Those are the best for obvious reasons.. The Tom Murphy 58 has Seymor Duncans and the other 59 has a Burst Bucker 1 in the front and a Burst Bucker 2 in the lead.. the Gold Top has the same.. The Triple Pickup custom sounds really bright and has been taken out of rotation for now until I can get the lead pickup right..
My recomendation is determine if the guitar is worthy of swapping pickup after pickup and then try the burst buckers first.. Lollars are also supposed to be on the low output.. Just remember the pickups cant save the guitar. It will drive you crazy and drain your bank account. Next question how to determine if the guitar is worthy of doing this?
Is it light? Is it acoustically loud when played? Do you feel the body resonate when strummed acoustically or does it feel like strings bolted onto a 2X4? Those are the things to look for.. One good thing you have going is that you want it brighter rather than darker.. Thats a whole lot easier than the flip side of that equation. LP customs are tricky sometimes.. Good Luck hope some of this helps...
Joe Bonamassa"

------
Since my build is an inspiration mix of Joe's and Slash's Gold Tops and Joe's got stock Gibson Burstbuckers in that guitar (Slash has SD Alnico 2s - which I'm sure Wolfe's Dr. Vs are a better version of) I might as well go w/the Wolfetones which is what my builder regularly uses; especially if Wolfe is down to rewind if I'm not happy.

I'll definitely keep WCR on the radar though!

Thanks all!

 

[pete692]

Well I think I'm going w/ stock Dr. V in the neck and a Wolfetone in the bridge. I spoke to Wolfe for a while on the phone today and he's confident we'll get the tones I want and he's rewind for me if we don't get it on the first try; even though he'd have to ship to Korea. That's service!

Also, Re: Bonamassa tones, I found this on his site written by Joe himself:
http://forum.jbonamassa.com/viewtopic.php?id=1586

"The main 59 has original Patent Applied For pickups from a 1963 ES -335.. I got the pickups first and then the guitar eventually.. ( long story) Those are the best for obvious reasons.. The Tom Murphy 58 has Seymor Duncans and the other 59 has a Burst Bucker 1 in the front and a Burst Bucker 2 in the lead.. the Gold Top has the same.. The Triple Pickup custom sounds really bright and has been taken out of rotation for now until I can get the lead pickup right..
My recomendation is determine if the guitar is worthy of swapping pickup after pickup and then try the burst buckers first.. Lollars are also supposed to be on the low output.. Just remember the pickups cant save the guitar. It will drive you crazy and drain your bank account. Next question how to determine if the guitar is worthy of doing this?
Is it light? Is it acoustically loud when played? Do you feel the body resonate when strummed acoustically or does it feel like strings bolted onto a 2X4? Those are the things to look for.. One good thing you have going is that you want it brighter rather than darker.. Thats a whole lot easier than the flip side of that equation. LP customs are tricky sometimes.. Good Luck hope some of this helps...
Joe Bonamassa"

------
Since my build is an inspiration mix of Joe's and Slash's Gold Tops and Joe's got stock Gibson Burstbuckers in that guitar (Slash has SD Alnico 2s - which I'm sure Wolfe's Dr. Vs are a better version of) I might as well go w/the Wolfetones which is what my builder regularly uses; especially if Wolfe is down to rewind if I'm not happy.

I'll definitely keep WCR on the radar though!

Thanks all!

Let me know how it works out, I think you'll love the Wolfetones. I preferred them over WCR Fillmores, Godwoods, and Crossroads/Darkburst combo (my favorites from WCR) for my R7. All the WCR's were great, and in fact sounded quite awesome in an Explorer and SG I had, but in my Historic, they just imparted too much damned HONK. I think the wood in my Historic, for whatever reason imparts a lot of "honk" itself, and just didn't jive with the WCR's.

 

[standingzero]

Will do, the build is 6 months away from being complete.