The Watering Hole

Thinking of changing the pickups in my Les Paul.
Currently she has the stock 498T and 490R pickups which are fine but out of sheer curiosity I'd like to experiment with something new.

After a thorough research I'm about to invest into WCR pickups. There are many guys out there, most are flavor of the month, but this one seems to get praise all over and going on for years.
So, after going through his products, there's only three sets that are of interest to me:

-Godwood (formerly called "Goodwood")
-Darkburst
-Fillmore

Any of you guys tried any of these pickups?

I give you an enthusiastic HELL YES on WCR pickups!!!!   I've got a Godwood(Bridge)/Darkburst(neck) set in my PRS Singlecut and a Godwood set in my PRS Custom 22.  They sound freakin' AWESOME!!!  Harmonics on the Godwood bridge are unreal.  I can do pinch-harmonics just about anywhere on the neck (even at the 1st fret).  I've yet to run into a pickup that has the harmonics of this pickup.  I don't know if I like the Godwood in the neck of my Custom 22, and may swap it for a Darkburst (Darkburst is an awesome neck pickup; VERY warm).  The also just sound bigger.  It's a very girthy sound.  They absolutely smoke any other pickup I own save the Dimarzio set in my Musicman Petrucci; they are very well suited for that guitar.

I would highly recommend, in addition to the stock Alnico 5 magnet that comes in the pickup, to pickup a Ceramic 8 magnet for the bridge (for $10 more).  It gets a little more output and much greater clarity, yet has a good sound (not NEARLY as bright as the Gibson ceramics).  The magnets are VERY easy to swap out.  Jim puts 4 screws on the bottom of the pickup plate that you can loosen to pull out the magnet (he includes directions with the magnet on how to do the swap).  

The Godwood bridge, compared to the Darkburst bridge, has a little more bite to it (which I like in a bridge pickup) and a little more balls.  One of the guys I work with has a Darkburst set in his PRS Custom 22.  He dropped a Ceramic 8 in the bridge Darkburst and loves it.  Darkbursts are a little smoother (and the neck version is yummy).

I haven't heard the Fillmores.  I don't particularly care for the clips of them on Jim's site.

You might want to consider a pot & cap upgrade from him also.  This upgrade actually makes your tone pot usable across it's whole range.  I did it on my Custom 22 and the cap/tone pot upgrade was worth it.  If you do that, I'd recommend not getting the stiffer pot.  I got that for my volume, and it's a little too stiff (that's not what she said...hahaha).  He does offer push/pull pots, but they aren't advertised on the website.  I just had him send me a Paypal bill so I could order the push/pull pots along with the pups.

Send Jim Wagner (they guy behind WCR) an email about what sound you are looking for and he'll give you good advice about which one is for you.  He's a hell of a cool guy and can make some great recommendations.  

Wow, thanks Chris, that is great info! Exactly what I was looking for.
Cool! I'm gonna do all that.

One more question:
What do you feel are the differences in sound between the Godwood neck and the Darkburst neck?
I'm torn between that set aswell. Was first considering an all Godwood-set.
What don't you like about the Godwood neck that makes you consider another Darkburst neck?

"The Godwood bridge, compared to the Darkburst bridge, has a little more bite to it"
Good to read that. So far, I've been under the impression (from the user reviews at TGP) that the Godwood set is overall fatter and bigger than the Darkburst set, which can be a little trebly from time to time and lacks the mids and lows of the Godwood set (so I've read).
So, you say the Godwood has a touch more bite (treble)?

Schneidas — Apr 14, 2009Wow, thanks Chris, that is great info! Exactly what I was looking for.
Cool! I'm gonna do all that.

One more question:
What do you feel are the differences in sound between the Godwood neck and the Darkburst neck?
I'm torn between that set aswell. Was first considering an all Godwood-set.
What don't you like about the Godwood neck that makes you consider another Darkburst neck?

"The Godwood bridge, compared to the Darkburst bridge, has a little more bite to it"
Good to read that. So far, I've been under the impression (from the user reviews at TGP) that the Godwood set is overall fatter and bigger than the Darkburst set, which can be a little trebly from time to time and lacks the mids and lows of the Godwood set (so I've read).
So, you say the Godwood has a touch more bite (treble)?

The Godwood, in the neck position, doesn't sound as warm.  It sounds very good, but just NOT as good as the Darkburst in the neck position.  I think the Darkburst is better suited for the neck and sings better in that position.  

The Godwood I thinks is also on the overwound side.  I asked Jim if it was possible to add winds to a Godwood bridge to bump up the output, but he said he didn't think he could fix one extra wind on it.  

I don't consider the Darkburst brighter; I actually do think they're a little darker.  They also sound (in the bridge) slightly compressed frequency-wise.  

You can order a mixed set Godwood/Darkburst in his store.  Just make sure you check the color-coding on the pickup when they get in.  He normally color-codes the back of his bridge pickup in red lettering and the neck in blue lettering.  When I got mine, the pickup labeled Godwood was in blue lettering.  But inside of it, the magnet was labled DB for Darkburst.  Vica versa for the other pickup.  The color coding and magnet labeling determined it for me in this instance.  

The Godwood, especially with the Ceramic8 magnet, had got balls.  In a LP, it will SLAY!!!

If for some reason he won't ship overseas, let me know and I'll help ya out with getting them to Deutcheland.   :)

Dearth, have you ever tried Bare Knuckle Pickups?  If you have, how did they compare with the WCR's?

Craig, I've got a set of Nailbombs in my RG770DX.  They are VERY good, but I'm definitely more partial to the WCR's (I'd really like to trade the Nailbombs for a set of ceramic War Pigs).  Sustain, harmonics, girthiness, they've got it all for my tastes.  

The harmonics of my WCR's smoke the Nailbomb's!!  With the ceramic mags (stock mag is alnico 5), the Godwood can actually get more output and the clarity is awesome.  

Thanks a lot Chris, those are great infos.

I'm definitely getting the Darkburst neck now. Seems to be exactly what I'm looking for the neck position of the Paul.

"I asked Jim if it was possible to add winds to a Godwood bridge to bump up the output, but he said he didn't think he could fix one extra wind on it."
I've read that the Godwood used to be called "Goodwood" and had a resistance of about 9.5k, he has rcently updated them a bit and they now run at around 10k.
Maybe you already got the updated design?


I'll shoot Jim a mail and get my order started. Definitely shooting for the mixed GW/DB set.

Thanks a lot for the offer on helping me out with the shipping to Germ. If he can't do it, I'll gladly take you up on it.
Cheers

Mine were definitely called Godwoods.  I'm pretty sure that mine are both the newest versions of it.  

Cool beans man, I think you'll really dig these pups.  Just remember to snag the Ceramic8 magnet in addition to the 2 pups.  The cool thing is, if you end up liking the Alnico5 more, it's easy to swap them out.

Just tell Jim I sent you his way.  ;)