Pickup Comparison: Vanson Vs Wilkinson

[Johnny Robbo]

The new Harley Benton is a lovely guitar (so, so comfortable & easy to play) but I was struggling to get the tone out of it that I wanted, so a new set of pickups were in order. I got some Vanson Alnico V 59 humbuckers from ebay for £32. They have (as near as makes no difference) the exact same spec as a £130 set of Seymour Duncan 59s. If you're looking for new pickups, I'd give them a try.

Here's a video comparing the Vansons to the Wilkinsons which came as standard on the guitar. I find the Vansons a more mellow set with more warmth (which I prefer) but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L26RI6H8Xs

[Farrell Jackson]

First off, thanks for the pup comparison video Johnny. The most obvious thing I notice is the Wilkinson pups seem to have more output compared to the Vanson. The Wilkinsons also sound like they have a midrange bump with the tone which might account for some of the higher output and harshness. The Vansons do have a warmer (less bright) sound in comparison. You mentioned trying to dial the Wilkinsons in without any success but I'm wondering if pulling (notching) some of the midrange out would result in a warmer sound? Just a thought that you've probably already tried but I had to ask, lol.

To tell the truth, I kind of liked the sound of the Wilkinsons but if a guitar's sound isn't to your liking, changes are in order. One thing I do like about the Vansons are the full chrome covers. They look real classy on the dark finish.

Excellent comparison!

Farrell

[Johnny Robbo]

Yeah, Farrell... this is a bizarre one. I've used Wilkinson p/ups in various guitars over the years and always been delighted with the sound. But this time, they just weren't doing it for me. That "brittle" edge to the treble doesn't really come across as much in the recordings as it does " in the flesh" either.

The other odd thing is that, with a clean sound, the Wilkinsons are a lovely sounding p/up. But as soon as I dial in a bit of dirt, everything goes quite "thin" and harsh somehow. I also did an A/B test with my main guitar (the self-built tele) and the Wilkinson neck humbucker had less body to the sound than the tele neck single coil.

I definitely think the Wilkinson p/ups are ceramic rather than alnico as specified... they have all the characteristics of ceramic magnet units: hotter output, and a rough edge to the treble frequencies when overdriving the amp.

As for your suggestion about adjusting the mids, I did exactly that on every amp model the tonelab has to offer. I also took the guitar into a friend's rehearsal studio to try it out with the amps he has in there (an old Marshall JCM 900 combo & a Peavey Classic 50) and that tell-tale harsh brittle edge was evident no matter what I was plugged into or what I did with the EQ.

What I like about the Vansons is that they give me that old-school PAF warmth but the bolt-on construction of the guitar adds that top end "sparkle" & "twang" that I miss when I'm playing my LP-type guitar. The other thing I noticed (when I had the p/ups outt of the guitar) was that the "carved ash top" on the body actually IS a slab of ash. At this price, I assumed it would be just a veneer.

[Pete C]

Good video Johnny ! To my ears, the difference between the pickups was more noticeable on the crunch and lead settings - the Vansons giving a more mellow tone than the Wilkinsons. On A/B comparisons I can't usually decide which tone I prefer-it's very subjective !  The main thing is you've found the tone you want which makes the swap worthwhile.  I know this is also subjective but, like Farrell, I think the guitar looks better with the covered pickups.

Pete