Mojotone WRHBs?

Dillon · Post by **Dillon** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 8:21 pm

This is probably a longshot...but I just bought a Tele Deluxe (with two reissue WRHBs), and while I don't think they're as bad as everyone makes them out to be, they do lack clarity and are a bit muddy. I looked around and noticed that Mojotone now makes a WRHB clone at a much better price than Novak, Duncan, etc.

http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/pi ... u_5NfndURp

They also make one intended for the stock 250K pots...which are CTS, with good quality wiring, so these are tempting.

http://www.mojotone.com/store/Mojotone- ... u_5gPndURo

[youtube][/youtube]
Both sound good to me, but you know, it's a YouTube video. And it's the only one I could find. Anyone have experience with these?

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:41 am

I would go by the Fendery-amp portions (which sound fantastic) only... very hard to get an honest representation of a pickup, especially when it's a humbucker and/or bridge position, through a crunchy plexi. They impart about 90% of that sound on their own regardless of what guitar you use.
I also noticed he's plugged into one of the II inputs but isn't jumpered, which is unrealistically dark... you couldn't/wouldn't set a modern amp that way, just as you wouldn't set it as bright as one of the I inputs on it's own. While this does point to the pickups sounding better with 250k pots as advertised (if a pickup sounds bright through input II on a plexi it's BRIGHT bright, I can only get the bridge pickup of my '57 RI Strat to sound good that way), it also tells me they might not be as full-bodied or even-sounding as other pickups (maybe they're TOO bright or have really flat lows, etc)

Bear in mind a set of 500k or 1meg pots (the most popular fix for muddy WRHB RIs) will be way cheaper than replacement pickups, so it's always worth experimenting with stuff like that first if all you're experiencing is a bit of mud on a run of guitar that has a reputation for being a bit muddy as standard. I really liked my homebrew Tele Custom's MIM WRHB with 500k pots and it was definitely still thick enough that it could've taken 1Ms (but then the bridge single coil probably would've killed me).

Berto · Post by **Berto** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 5:59 pm

paul_ wrote:Bear in mind a set of 500k or 1meg pots (the most popular fix for muddy WRHB RIs) will be way cheaper than replacement pickups

I rewired my cousins tele deluxe with 500k pots and it made all the difference for like $8. They are really clear now and cut through the mix very well.

Dillon · Post by **Dillon** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Huh, very astute observations, thanks! It couldn't hurt to try that, I even have some 500K pots in my parts bin. But I don't really want the pickups to be any brighter, necessarily. When I say they sound muddy, I guess I meant that the bass strings just seem to all mush together when playing chords. Playing chords in general lacks the kind of "open" and "clear" sound that vintage wide rangers do. That might be fixed by adjusting pole piece height, haven't tried that, but in my experience if a pickup lacks clarity, that's often just the way it is.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Feb 06, 2014 9:47 am

I put 1M pots in my telecaster deluxe RI when I had it immediately, it was a night and day difference.

bradzeera · Post by **bradzeera** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 3:06 pm

The thing that worries me is they don't mention the alloy that makes the magnets, which should be CuNiFe. WRHBs got part their sound because the magnet alloy itself is unique compared to other pickups, Novak wrote a really good article about this.

George · Post by **George** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 3:12 pm

bradzeera wrote:The thing that worries me is they don't mention the alloy that makes the magnets, which should be CuNiFe. WRHBs got part their sound because the magnet alloy itself is unique compared to other pickups, Novak wrote a really good article about this.

if you have $450 (ea.) you can own your very own repro cunife wrhb

http://www.telenator.com/cunife-wide-range-humbucker/

that's why i think most common folk are willing to overlook that detail in a "close enough" sort of way. i would be very surprised if one of the very cheap and readily available alnico types (2,3,4,5, 8 or whatever) doesn't get very near to sounding like cunife, which no one seems to know the sound of anyway

Dillon · Post by **Dillon** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 5:45 pm

bradzeera wrote:The thing that worries me is they don't mention the alloy that makes the magnets, which should be CuNiFe. WRHBs got part their sound because the magnet alloy itself is unique compared to other pickups, Novak wrote a really good article about this.

I read the Mojotones are FeCrCo. Novak and Duncan are AlNiCo. The only company that makes CuNiFe pickups is Telenator, and yeah, they're $450 a piece. No thanks.

Fortunately I've done some adjusting of the pickup height and pole piece height and it's been a VAST improvement. But I may still get a pair of Telenators if I turn out not to be happy after tweaking them a bit more.

George · Post by **George** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 5:54 pm

did you adjust them to radius or raise them generally as well?

Dillon · Post by **Dillon** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 6:09 pm

First I set the pickup height to 4/64" (1.6mm roughly), per recommendation from Fender. Then I set all the pole pieces level with the cover. Then I lowered the two bass pole pieces a half turn or so, knowing that they were previously overpowering the higher strings. Then I adjusted the rest to taste, which ended up meaning raising the two center poles about a quarter turn. But, I want to try this, too. I also want to experiment with raising the "hidden" pole pieces, and swapping the neck and bridge pickups, which apparently gives a lot better balance.

George · Post by **George** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 6:26 pm

lmao at the telenator demos i just listened to

what the fuck is so special about these pickups? they sound like any other split design.

if i could get any old cheap set with alnico 3 magnets i probably would

bradzeera · Post by **bradzeera** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:16 am

Idk, I REALLY like vintage WRHBs which is why I never pulled the trigger and got a set of Novaks when I had a RI Tele Deluxe, so maybe I'm overly picky on the issue. I'm not saying boutique repros with a different alloy aren't good but there is (IMO) something really awesome about vintage spec WRHBs to a point where there isn't really a substitute.

George · Post by **George** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 11:33 pm

BUMP

looking at cheap(est) and available paf sized versions in the uk that are true to the construction of the originals (i.e. threaded magnets, not bar magnet), and without cunife

cats whiskers - "Ranger DLX" - Â£65 each
http://www.catswhiskerpickups.co.uk/humbucker.html

creamery - "wide range humbucker" - Â£87 each
http://www.creamery-pickups.co.uk/baby- ... sized.html

NickD · Post by **NickD** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:37 pm

Mike wrote:I put 1M pots in my telecaster deluxe RI when I had it immediately, it was a night and day difference.

Yup, still sounds great. I have not been tempted in the slightest to change them for some of the closer to the original replicas.