Menu 1
Menu 2
Menu 3
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between all your cover choices?
A: For my humbuckers I have two series of covers, the Standard series and the P.A.F. replica or Premium series. All my humbucker covers are German Silver, which is a non-magnetic alloy of copper, zinc and nickel--that was used by Gibson in the 50's. Even my standard covers are more closely shaped to original P.A.F.s than modern Gibson covers are, but my P.A.F. replica covers are exact.
The Standard covers weigh about 1.0 oz, the Premium covers weigh about 0.8 oz. The Premium covers are flatter, and fit more tightly as well. In the photographs below you may notice that the modern Gibson has sharper corners, but the edges have a wider radius, or are more rounded. The P.A.F replica corners are more rounded, but the edges have a very tight radius, or are very sharp. My Standard covers are somewhere between the two. The differences are more apparent in person, and mostly when acutually mounted in the pickup rings on a guitar.
Here is a direct comparison between the Standard and the Premium raw covers. I would give the Premiums the slight "edge" over the Standards, heh, heh:
Now the P90 covers are different by shape and color. My Standard P90 covers have slightly sharper corners than either modern Gibson or vintage P90s do. My standard P90 covers are cream and not pink like modern Gibsons, and my replica covers are bone white and shaped like vintage covers.
I offer these range of covers for my various customer's needs and wants. Some just want great tone, others want tone and a vintage correct vibe.
Q: What are the differences in your bobbins?
A:I have two styles of bobbins. One which most of my pickups have are the modern style, the industry standard, much like what Gibson uses today. For my P.A.F. replica pickups, like Earth/Wood/Waterbranes and the BenWabranes, I use an exact replica of the vintage 50s bobbins with butyrate plastic. They also feature the correct shape, correct location and style of the "square in circle" holes, even to the point that the slug side has the circle a bit off center compared to the square, giving the illusion the circle is smaller on the slug side. And the cream color is also vintage accurate. The modern is a tad more pinkish, the vintage more yellow. The vintage style bobbins also flex and the ends bend slightly open with pressure from the wire, just like the originals! The radius of the ends and edges are also correct.
Q: What if I do not like the tone? Can I get a refund?
A: They are guaranteed against defects for one year. If the coils are damaged because of cover removal, or similar accident, sorry! I reserve the right to repair OR replace a defective pickup whichever is most suitable to the individual situation. If you do not like the tone, I will however exchange them one time for you. I will credit your purchase to trade towards another set. I will charge a $25 restocking fee. (mostly for having to put new leads on the pickups). You also must pay postage each way. If you trade to a less expensive set, I will only charge the $25 restocking fee and shipping costs, there will be no refund for the difference. These policies only apply if you buy directly from SKATTERBRANE, through this site. I will also offer some technical support.
Q: What is the difference between A2 and A5 magnets?
A: The A2 magnet tends to give you a more vintage tone. They compress easily, and have a softer "feel". They are rich in midrange, and sound creamier in the neck and drier and woodier in the bridge. Turn your volume pots down and they are pure sweetness. The majority of 50s P.A.Fs have A2 magnents, though A3, A4 and A5 magnets are found in 50s P.A.F.s too.
The A5 magnet sounds more modern and aggressive. The have more treble and bass, so they, in effect, sound more "scooped" in the midrange. I would not say there is LESS midrange, but rather more bass and treble. They have a harder "feel" less compression, but much more dynamic and touch sensitive. In the middle position they are killer. They sound very alive and super sensitive, almost Strat-lke in the middle position. In the neck they cure the mud if you have a dark guitar or they add heft if you have a light guitar. In the bridge they get a bit gritty and nasty.....but in a good rock sense. For the more dynamic and aggressive player. Turn your volume pots down and they mellow out.
Q: Why don't you have an option for raw covers on your Standard sets?
A: Well I now offer standard raw covers, thought not P.A.F. replicas, they are quite nice!
Q: What is your most popular set?
A:By far the Earthbranes are the most popular. I think most people really like the unplated raw covers that will age quickly and naturally. The aged look is really popular! I did not offer a raw set at first, and I would have to say since I have, they have become the most popular.
Q: Do you sell many of your Woodbranes?
A: Woodbranes don't exactly fly off the shelf. They are expensive, I will admit, but those covers cost me quite a bit. It is not easy to appreciate them in pictures. They are very fine! Their shape is like the old P.A.F.s. They have sharp edges and just look stunning mounted in the pickup rings. Like all my covers, they are German silver, but unlike my raw covers, they are nickel plated.
Q: Do you make your own Truss Rod Covers (TRCs)?
A: No, I have them made for me. They come from Europe. They are absolutely the final word in vintage accurate covers. These would be even appropriate to replace missing vintage parts, if you do not want to spend $350-$600 for originals.
Q: Why do you only make Humbuckers?
A: A very good pickup question indeed! As a matter of fact, I recently added P90 style pickups, Firebranes, to the list of pickups available. Although they are the newest pickup I offer, my P90 style is very well received. I hope to get more sound clips for them soon.
Q: Do you give out free pickups in exchange for musicians to endorse you?
A: No, but I am sure depending on if you are Derek Trucks or Fred Smoot (who?---exactly!) I am sure some kind of consideration can be made!
Q. Do you have any dealers?
A. Yes, as SKATTERBRANES are becoming more popular, I have carefully selected a few dealers.
Q: Why no Telecaster or Stratocaster pickups?
A: Sorry Gibson Les Pauls is my thing. It is my passion. I do not think I will be getting into the Fender style pickups. I have enough work as it is.
Q: I want something "hotter", so why don't you make a 13k style pickup?
In some ways this is similar to choosing an amp that has dials that go to 12 vs 10, thinking you are going to be able to play louder. It is natural for people to gravitate to a single measurement to sort out what they are seeking. (it makes their search simplified AND perpetuates myths)
Did you know that a PAF type pickup may actually be LOUDER or offer more overdrive than a 13K pickup? Let me explain only a small part of what I am talking about.
PAFs use 42awg wire, which is THICKER than 43 or 44 awg wire. The thinner a wire, the MORE resistance it has, and you can get more winds on a bobbin with thinner wire.
The more resistance you have in a circuit (with everything else being the same) the more rolled off the high frequencies are AND the LESS power you have at the output.
A PAF, depending on the wind pattern, when the bobbins are full, will top out around 9-9.5K. You run out of room. If you want to get MORE winds, you have to go to thinner wire, 43awg or 44awg. Also as you make more winds, each layer becomes longer per wind, and further away from the pole screws and slugs, this has an effect on energy too.
But here is the crux of the matter, these exampes are arbitrary but reasonable and demonstrative;
PAF 42awg wire 10,000 winds = 8k ohms. Nearly full.
Modern hot pickup 44awg wire 10,000 winds = 12K ohms. But you have still more room to wind more!
The PAF in THIS case (above) is actually going to have more output!! Why? LESS resistance! Same number of winds. To get the same output from the modern pickup you will have to wind more turns to make up for the higher resistance, while actually adding resistance in the process.
Resistance is NOT an indication of a pickups power in itself. It only gives you a clue as to how many winds you have IF you know the gauge of the wire. It is how many WINDS you have that gives you the power.
And I do not know about you, but I would rather have the same power BUT less of my highs taken away.
Let's say to get the same power from a 44awg coil, as the PAF coil, you have to wind it up another 15% to 11,500 winds and add even more resistance, and lose even more highs. This is why many modern "hot" pickups use magnets that tend to exaggerate highs. A5, ceramic etc.
Q: What electronics upgrades do you recommend?
I recommend 500K tone pots regardless. Why? Because if you do not lke 500K tone pots, you can always turn them down to a lesser value, but you cannot turn UP a 250K, 300K tone pot UP to a 500K value.
Don't sweat it if your 500K tone pot reads only 480K I do not think anyone can hear the difference between 480K and 500K tone pot. Yes, there are wide tolerance variances in pots, you can pay a bit more for tighter tolerances.
The main concern (once you have selected your value) is the taper, or how much control you have and how good the feel is. No one likes when all the action is limited to 8-10 or 1-3. It is good to have a nice even sweep from 0-10. But once you reach 10 (assuming the same actual value) there will be no tonal difference between any two pots.
A 100K pot will allow less treble at 10 than a 300K tone pot, which will allow less than a 500K tone pot. If a 500K tone pot has too much treble for you, turn it DOWN to 7 or 8 and you are now operating at 300K. If a P90 sounds better at 250K, just turn your 500K tone pot down to 6 or 7 (for example) and you now, in effect, have a 250K tone pot. Why anyone would limit their tone pot to anything less than 500K confuses me. It would be like buying an oven that only goes to 350F, because all your recipes call only for 350F, but if you ever find a new recipe you like that calls for 450F, you are screwed. (unless you just like the IDEA of your guitar sounding the way you want it at "10" and just cannot stand to look down and see one of your knobs sitting at 7 or 8, you know who you are!)
Remember a pot is just a resistor that is a rheostat, a variable resistor.
Now volume pot values are an entirely different story and selecting their value is a matter of taste, but I like 500K volume pots too, but I do not automatically change out 300K volume pots.
And different caps types, brands, etc, does make a difference in tone, even if they all have the same value, say .022 uF.
Some like ceramic, some mylar, some oil filled paper, some polypropolene, etc. I actually like the Sprague Orange Drop 715P just fine. I like Vit Q PIO too.
Gibson used 300K and even 100K tone pots in the 70s and 80s. Certainly they still use 300K tone pots. If your Les Pauls sounds muddy, maybe all you need to do is make sure your tone pots are 500K, that would certainly brighten up a Les Paul with 300K or (WTF?) 100K tone pots!
I personally like the tone of my Les Pauls when I turn my tones down to 0, (as long as I keep the volumes up to 10) And I also like to turn the volumes down for a very clean tone, while keeping my tones up at 10.
It is fun to play with the settings, sometimes having everything at 10 bores me.
One customer told me his T-Tops sounded muddy in his 70s SG. I thought to myself, "T-Top MUDDY?" hmm. It turned out his stock Gibson tone pots were 100K, well now that he has put in 500K tone pots, his T-Tops are no longer muddy! (who ever heard of a muddy T-Top? not the pickup's fault) But now when he rolls his tone pot back, the mud returns, I guess his T-Tops do not react well with lower resistances.
Q: Do I need long shaft pots or short shaft pots?
As far as whether you need long or short shaft pots. Most Gibsons use short shaft pots (except Les Pauls). As for Les Pauls any Les Paul that does not have a carved top, like Juniors or Specials, they take short shaft. Vintage Les Pauls through about 1975 take short shaft. Historic reissues that have a carved top (not preHistorics!) take short shaft. All carved top USA division Les Pauls from 1976-present, take long shaft.
Now, if you are in doubt, most of the time a long shaft pot will work well in a Les Paul that would take a short shaft. It is EASY, just use one of the nuts and washers that comes with the pots and use it to "choke down" the effective length of the pot shaft. In fact if you use a long pot in a Les Paul that can accept a short shaft pot, you now have much more control on how much of the shaft comes through the top and you can make them look all perfectly even. I use the long shaft pots in my Historics all the time with great success.
__________________
