Members Cloacal-X Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 Okay, so I won an auction on ebay for a set of Lindy Fralin Real 54s, and I was pretty hyped. They arrived and were packed awesome, but since fralins aren't marked I decided to check the DC resistance just to make sure everything added up. Much to my surprise, they measured in the 8-10k range - 8.7, 8.3, and 9.8k respectively (neck to bridge). Also, the wire looks like 43 gauge enamel and the magnets aren't beveled. Long story short, I think I got a set of Fralin High Outputs. I do still believe them to be fralins, because they're fiber bobbins, have the correct tooling marks, vacuum-potted, correct stagger, correct pole spacing, and the DC resistance pretty much matches a 15%+ set of high outputs. Now, I contacted the seller and the guy is super cool about it - I feel pretty confident if I just want to return 'em, he'll make things right. So everything seems cool there. I don't think he intentionally misrepresented them or anything, somewhere along the lines there was a mixup and I suspect it probably happened at the shop where he bought them 4 years ago. But as an afterthought, I decided to toss them in my guitar just to see - lo and behold, I actually really like them. They've only got a tiny bit less top-end than my old APS-IIs and they've got a lot more midrange and overall power. I thought they'd be really dark and muddy, but they aren't at all. They're quite sweet, and still plenty of that single-coil vibe and just the right amount of sparkle. So I'm thinking about keeping them, but part of me says, they aren't what I bought, send 'em back. But then part of me says, who cares?! They're *good*. What would you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArKay Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 Maybe they suit you better than your original choice? What if you return them and get the other set only to find out that they don't sound as good in your guitar? I would keep them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratMonster Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 I think I would keep them. If your happy with the tone and they are Fralins (sounds like they are from your des.) then I say Rock On, sounds like the seller is cool and the error wasn't on purpose. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TattooedCarrot Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 To my ears Fralins are on the mild side anyways, so a hotter set like that would probably sound good (to me), and not quite as hot as expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paul44 Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 Serendipity!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members _pete_ Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 What's more important to you?The sound or the spec sheet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HMKRich Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 So why do you want to get rid of the ones you like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zepfan976 Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 keep em' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GilmourD Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 Keep 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tweedledee Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 Definitely keep them if you like them. It can be hard to find a set of pickups that sound just like you want them to, so when you do you should hold onto them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alienesque Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 ive just done the same..mistakenly ordered a neck pickup as a bridge position pickup..thought id try it out anyway before maybe moving it on but it sounds great in the bridge position..no problem at all...and as i dont know what the proper bridge pickup would have sounded like im not missing anything.. it sounds great as it is..im happy..im keeping it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aliensporebomb Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 Sometimes things you didn't expect to work do. I bought a Jackson Soloistback in '98 that had Kent Armstrong pickups installed and thought I wouldreplace them with EMGs but ended up loving the Armstrongs and have eventhought of swapping out the EMGs in one of my other guitar with similar pickups. The tone and touch sensitivity surprised me. They're great. The neck pickup PAF has a faux jazz-archtop sound that shocked me froma solidbody guitar. And the lead pickup has this beautiful singing edge with just the slightest rasp to it, it's just nice and loose and singey and the EMGs have more overall output and are probably quieter but even the89/85 with the fat boost doesn't have the same tonal contour or edge tothe tone. Ahh. Keep them! You may have just stumbled into your new sound withouteven realizing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cloacal-X Posted May 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 You guys are pretty much echoing my own sentiment. I'm just so fickle sometimes, so I don't always know when to trust my own judgement. It's interesting though, it just goes to show sometimes the difference between what we *think* we like and what we *actually* like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cloacal-X Posted May 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 So why do you want to get rid of the ones you like? Good question - simply because they aren't what I originally paid for or expected. That's all. But after trying them, I've come to realize it doesn't really matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlackHatHunter Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 What's more important to you? The sound or the spec sheet? +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gilgators Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 But as an afterthought, I decided to toss them in my guitar just to see - lo and behold, I actually really like them. They've only got a tiny bit less top-end than my old APS-IIs and they've got a lot more midrange and overall power. I thought they'd be really dark and muddy, but they aren't at all. They're quite sweet, and still plenty of that single-coil vibe and just the right amount of sparkle. So I'm thinking about keeping them, but part of me says, they aren't what I bought, send 'em back. But then part of me says, who cares?! They're *good*. What would you do? I think you answered your own question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltaire Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 it was Fate that you got them instead of the original ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tulk1 Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 Karma. Keep 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vibroluxman Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 Just make sure they're worth what you paid for the other ones. Then keep them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alchemist Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 What's more important to you?The sound or the spec sheet? This is HCEG, its all about the specs yo:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cloacal-X Posted May 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 What's more important to you?The sound or the spec sheet? Hehe, in this case I'd be inclined to agree, the sound is the only thing that matters here. But that's partially because pickup specifications usually suck, they don't really tell you anything about how the pickups will actually sound. Pickups should come with spectral plots, to begin with. But that's a story for another day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cloacal-X Posted May 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 Well, I've been playing these all day, and I'm keeping them. This has been an interesting learning experience for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zepfan976 Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 cool good descion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Attila Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 I say keep them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rvschulz Posted May 21, 2007 Members Share Posted May 21, 2007 i never trust my ears ... it's all about the image. oh, they sound good ? well, then .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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