Yosemite Mustang pickups?

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Ricey
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Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by Ricey » Wed Sep 08, 2021 4:38 pm

Does anybody know how the output of the Yosemite Mustang pickups compares to that of the vintage reissue Mustang pickups? I have a MIJ Cobain Mustang. It has a Duncan JB humbucker in the bridge pup position and an MIJ reissue single coil Mustang neck pup.

The reissue neck Mustang pup actually sounds REALLY nice; however, it's relatively low output does not match up well with the JB. I have the single coil set as high as it will go to still maintain a nice clean sound, but setting the JB low enough to match the single coil output wise does not result in the ideal JB sound. If I raise the JB for optimal sound, it overpowers the single coil.

Would the Yosemite's give me a little more output so I could raise the JB a bit? What is the consensus on the Yosemite's sound quality? Sounded good in the store, but I did not have my Cobain with me to compare to it.

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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by HarlowTheFish » Wed Sep 08, 2021 4:46 pm

IMO -- Tim Shaw really doesn't understands offsets and every pickup he's had his mitts on that goes in one is a damn shame, including the Yosemites.

On topic though, yes they'll probably have a bit more kick, but if you want a single-coil to balance evenly with a JB you're looking at something like a Dimarzio SDS-1 or another P90-in-a-Strat-housing kinda thing. The JB's loud as hell, and a big part of the Mustang tone is the lower-medium output pickups. It's really a situation where you can't have your cake and eat it too -- a louder neck pickup is gonna balance better, but it won't have that same kinda vibe (IMO the thing that really sets the Mustang apart is the playing response of the pickups more than the tone), and a lower output humbucker will balance a bit better with the stock neck pickup, but won't have the tone of the JB.

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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by Embenny » Wed Sep 08, 2021 6:38 pm

HarlowTheFish wrote:
Wed Sep 08, 2021 4:46 pm
IMO -- Tim Shaw really doesn't understands offsets and every pickup he's had his mitts on that goes in one is a damn shame, including the Yosemites.
I've yet to hear anything he's designed for Fender that I liked at all. Shawbuckers are a honky mess IMO. I don't know why this guy is getting all this pickup design work. So many talented winders are out there that I started to believe anybody could design pickups. Then Tim Shaw rolls around and reminds me that it's somehow possible to screw up winding 42 gauge wire around alnico magnets in an unchanged 70 year-old formula.
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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by HarlowTheFish » Thu Sep 09, 2021 4:13 am

mbene085 wrote:
Wed Sep 08, 2021 6:38 pm
HarlowTheFish wrote:
Wed Sep 08, 2021 4:46 pm
IMO -- Tim Shaw really doesn't understands offsets and every pickup he's had his mitts on that goes in one is a damn shame, including the Yosemites.
I've yet to hear anything he's designed for Fender that I liked at all. Shawbuckers are a honky mess IMO. I don't know why this guy is getting all this pickup design work. So many talented winders are out there that I started to believe anybody could design pickups. Then Tim Shaw rolls around and reminds me that it's somehow possible to screw up winding 42 gauge wire around alnico magnets in an unchanged 70 year-old formula.
TBF his Shawbuckers are okay if you wire them with 500K (which Fender seems to have a hate-on for) and the Gibson Tim Shaw PAFs are actually super desirable and allegedly very good (never had one in hand, but the Gibson folks go nuts over these). IMO they're kinda generic-sounding, which might be great for a cover band or something, but if I want something that's very easy to mold I'm going with PRS 85/15s any day of the week.

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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by Embenny » Thu Sep 09, 2021 10:24 am

HarlowTheFish wrote:
Thu Sep 09, 2021 4:13 am
mbene085 wrote:
Wed Sep 08, 2021 6:38 pm
HarlowTheFish wrote:
Wed Sep 08, 2021 4:46 pm
IMO -- Tim Shaw really doesn't understands offsets and every pickup he's had his mitts on that goes in one is a damn shame, including the Yosemites.
I've yet to hear anything he's designed for Fender that I liked at all. Shawbuckers are a honky mess IMO. I don't know why this guy is getting all this pickup design work. So many talented winders are out there that I started to believe anybody could design pickups. Then Tim Shaw rolls around and reminds me that it's somehow possible to screw up winding 42 gauge wire around alnico magnets in an unchanged 70 year-old formula.
TBF his Shawbuckers are okay if you wire them with 500K (which Fender seems to have a hate-on for) and the Gibson Tim Shaw PAFs are actually super desirable and allegedly very good (never had one in hand, but the Gibson folks go nuts over these). IMO they're kinda generic-sounding, which might be great for a cover band or something, but if I want something that's very easy to mold I'm going with PRS 85/15s any day of the week.
Yeah, I know he earned his reputation over at Gibson, but not being a big Gibson person, I've never played any of those. But man, the Fenders with Shawbuckers are beyond unimpressive to me. I'd have to assume he'd have input on the pot values they use if he was designing these for them? But in any case, I've consistently found his Fender pickups worse than the average stock pickups they've used over the years.
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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by Beebe » Sun Oct 02, 2022 2:41 am

Reviving this thread. Does anyone know the magnet types and resistance?

Specifically for a 2018 American Performer Mustang?

Sweetwater's site says AlNiCo 5, but an interview I read with Tim Shaw made it sound like a mix of 2 and 4.

The marketing mentions increased output over vintage ones.

What specs do vintage Mustang Pickups traditionaly have?

I have the guitar, so I'll measure the resistance later today. But I'd like to know what others have found.

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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by Embenny » Sun Oct 02, 2022 6:55 am

Beebe wrote:
Sun Oct 02, 2022 2:41 am
Reviving this thread. Does anyone know the magnet types and resistance?

Specifically for a 2018 American Performer Mustang?

Sweetwater's site says AlNiCo 5, but an interview I read with Tim Shaw made it sound like a mix of 2 and 4.

The marketing mentions increased output over vintage ones.

What specs do vintage Mustang Pickups traditionaly have?

I have the guitar, so I'll measure the resistance later today. But I'd like to know what others have found.
I know the strat pickups are an A4 neck wound to 7.8k and an A2 bridge wound to 8.9k. Not sure what gauge wire, which makes direct comparison impossible.

Vintage Mustang pickups used A5 magnets and were wound with 42 AWG wire to a resistance between 5-6k, frequently on the lower end. I've measured lots of 60s Mustang pickups and other than one 5.8k, the rest were between 5.1k and 5.5k.
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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by JSett » Sun Oct 02, 2022 11:53 am

mbene085 wrote:
Thu Sep 09, 2021 10:24 am
but not being a big Gibson person
Well, this statement did not age well did it Mike? :D
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by Embenny » Sun Oct 02, 2022 12:19 pm

johnnysomersett wrote:
Sun Oct 02, 2022 11:53 am
mbene085 wrote:
Thu Sep 09, 2021 10:24 am
but not being a big Gibson person
Well, this statement did not age well did it Mike? :D
Hah!

I'd like to think we all have the capacity to grow as people. I'll never pretend I was into Gibsons all along. I got here honestly.

My original statement still applies though, since I still haven't played any T-tops.
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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by JSett » Sun Oct 02, 2022 10:06 pm

mbene085 wrote:
Sun Oct 02, 2022 12:19 pm
Hah!

I'd like to think we all have the capacity to grow as people. I'll never pretend I was into Gibsons all along. I got here honestly.

My original statement still applies though, since I still haven't played any T-tops.
I know man, just yanking your chain is all :P I was the same with shortscales for the longest time then it suddenly clicked and I ended up with loads of them!
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by Beebe » Mon Oct 03, 2022 2:01 am

mbene085 wrote:
Sun Oct 02, 2022 6:55 am
Beebe wrote:
Sun Oct 02, 2022 2:41 am
Reviving this thread. Does anyone know the magnet types and resistance?

Specifically for a 2018 American Performer Mustang?

Sweetwater's site says AlNiCo 5, but an interview I read with Tim Shaw made it sound like a mix of 2 and 4.

The marketing mentions increased output over vintage ones.

What specs do vintage Mustang Pickups traditionaly have?

I have the guitar, so I'll measure the resistance later today. But I'd like to know what others have found.
I know the strat pickups are an A4 neck wound to 7.8k and an A2 bridge wound to 8.9k. Not sure what gauge wire, which makes direct comparison impossible.

Vintage Mustang pickups used A5 magnets and were wound with 42 AWG wire to a resistance between 5-6k, frequently on the lower end. I've measured lots of 60s Mustang pickups and other than one 5.8k, the rest were between 5.1k and 5.5k.
Cool Thanks! I'll post what I measure mine as... if I can remember.

For the kind of stuff I'm playing in my current band (loud, fast, mid gain), I think A4 bridge and A2 neck would work better... Theoretically.

I would prefer the bass response to be about the same between the two settings.

I was tinkering with pickup height screws yesterday. I boosted the low strings output on the bridge and reduced the low strings output on the neck A LOT... to get the chunky-ness I like in the bridge and not have neck washed out in bass.

So to my ears, with limited experience in this regard, A2 bridge A4 neck could be what is in mine as well.
Without music, life would be a mistake.

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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by Beebe » Mon Oct 03, 2022 11:30 am

Measured mine at 9k bridge and 6.8k neck.
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Re: Yosemite Mustang pickups?

Post by sunburster » Mon Jan 01, 2024 11:40 am

Fender wiring diagram for the Performer Mustang:

Performer wiring diagram

It lists the pickups as:

NECK - 8.2 - 8.8KΩ - ALNICO 4 BEVELED - SOUTH POLARITY
BRIDGE - 8.5 - 10.5KΩ - ALNICO 2 BEVELED - NORTH POLARITY

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