E-66 battle!

Tom Campbell · From: Houston, Texas, USA

Is/was there a difference in manufacture over the years with the GeoL E-66 Pickups? I have a 12 string E-66 in my Carter 12 that is so bright, shrill, and chimy that I am about to trash it. The settings that I finally settled on my NV112 are low -1, mid -6, shift 0, high -15 and presence -6. I have checked the impedence and it registers at 17.5 ohms.
I've been working for days on various combinations. Also, following Peavey's "start from scratch" setting (zero based).

I have E-66's in one of my Sierra's and E-66's in my Remington D-8 non-pedal...with no problems finding a good sound.

David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

May be the difference in guitars. From my own experience, Carter guitars tend to be on the bright side tonally, Sierra much more bass heavy. This comparison was made between two of my personal guitars, may not apply to all...FYI: Early Carters came from the factory equipped with an 'E-66' on the E9 neck and a '10-1' on the C6. A few players including myself reversed the two with good results.

Craig Baker · From: Eatonton, Georgia, USA - R.I.P.

Tom,
If the sound is THAT different I would be suspicious of possibly a bad winding, or a high resistance solder connection somewhere. Using an ohm meter, compare it with pickups that are known to be good.

Craig
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Marco Schouten · From: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Maybe it's too close to the strings? Can you lower the pickup a bit?
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Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

Tom......I settled on. George L model that I can't think of at the moment but will find out later today.

This pickup is the only one I like in a U-12 and I have had them all. The other George L that sounds very nice is the 12-1

Lenny

Tom Campbell · From: Houston, Texas, USA

Hi Lenny...hope your do'in well!

I've tried this pickup through other amps and the problem remains. The pickup does register 17.5 ohms which I understand is correct for this model of pickup.

This Carter is the only U12 I have with a metal neck. All my other Sierra's, Non-pedal and lap steels are wood necks. Even so...I can't believe there would be that great a difference in sound; of course my beliefs have been known to be in error at times.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions!

Chuck Blake · From: West Virginia, USA

I don't mean to hijack your E-66 thread but thought My story is similar.

I have two Rains SD-10's with BL 705's. I measured the pups on both guitars and they are identical according to my digital multi-meter. However the tone is different between the guitar. I use my Little Izzy on both of them. One is a little brighter or brittle than the other.

One guitar is a 2010 and the other 2012.

I have always been curious if it is the wood, metal or some other factor.
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Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

Tom

Will get the model of the George L tomorrow.....up to my butt in alligators and just got home. However, don't know who told me this years ago but an E66 does not balance well on a 12 string guitar. Never used one so I can't say this is true or not. Maybe someone else can chime in on this pickup.

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

I had an E-66 on my old Emmons push/pull E9/B6 U-12 for many years. It sounded great.

Lee, from South Texas

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

I have one on an old U12 MSA Vintage xl...I think it works ok with that guitar. It does voice the guitar to the Emmons camp.

I do note that the OP indicates his mid shift at zero. ..didn't know there was a zero but I don't have that amp. .. most players run the mid shift at 800 Hz because there is a spike there in the treble zone.

I don't know if the N122 has a push pull bright switch on the pregain knob. .. but pushing that in will also reduce brightness.

Also. .. some pedals add brightness even when they are off... this includes active vol pedals and effects.

Further yet. ..George L and probably other cables as well can make a guitar sound bright

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

17.5 is a normal number for a 10'string pickup. for a 12 string pickup to have the same number if windings and sound it would be around 20 to 22. In other words a 17.5 12 st pickup would sound like a 15k 10 string. Which is pretty shrill for a George l.

I would try something else.
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Tom Campbell · From: Houston, Texas, USA

Bob,

If that is the case...I'm wondering if GeoL had different versions of the E-66. My 12 string GeoL reads 17.5. If it equates to 15.5 for a 10 string, no wonder it's bright!

Why in the world would GeoL do something like that.
This is the stock pickup that came with the Carter U12 (new...factory off-the-floor)!

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

I had an early Carter with an E-66 and the sound was shrill, all highs, almost no lows in the pickup. As you know, the E-66 was designed to emulate the sound of a 1966 Emmons (good luck with that!). The pickup had excessive highs, not enough lows, and no warmth in the sound. I sold that guitar after two weeks.
I recently bought a 2007 Carter S-10 with a George L's SS pickup and it sounds amazing. What a difference! A full range tone, lots of bite, sweet highs, nice lows. I did a side by side comparison: this Carter and my Emmons p/p, and I actually like the sound of the Carter more (for now). So pickups DO matter! Cool

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Dick Wood · From: Springtown Texas, USA

I had a Carter with an E-66 and absolutely hated it for the same reasons as Doug stated.

I installed an XR16 and it made all the difference in the world.
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Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Let's not discount the issue of the guitar itself. Pickups sound different in different guitars. For example, I have an Alumitone. Kind of an odd and interesting pickup. It sounds pretty cool in my old push-pull, but in my ZB it'll just bite your head off, terribly harsh and overly bright and nasty.

I bet the E66 sounds better or worse in various guitars.

B

Bill Moore · From: Manchester, Michigan

I like the E-66 in my Rittenberry, Derby and Justice S-10. The Justice sounds the brightest. But it still sounds good to me. The last Carter I had, an S-10, had the GL 10-1 and it sounded very good to me. I think Carters are inherently bright sounding, so the E-66 may not be the best choice for them. Also, some amps just are not able to handle the highs very well. An EQ pedal can help, the Freeloader works well too. Since I have been using the Carvin Bass amps, it's been easier to dial in a sound that I like.

Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

The pickup that I had I'm my Zum U-12 that I sold and my Carter U-12 that a friend now has and my Mullun G2 U-12 all have the George L EON pickup. My Carter came with the EON and decided on changing the Zum and G2 to the EON. The EON is 19.5/K ohms

I like the way this pickup responds. I'm open to trying anything but for now I'm a happy camper.

Tom Campbell · From: Houston, Texas, USA

Thanks for the info Lenny. I'll take a look at that pickup...19.5 ohms should produce a rich sound.

Tommy Shown · From: Denham Springs, La.

I had an E66 on my PRO III. It did a fabulous job. Better tan the original pickup I had on the E9 neck of my Pro- III. I had to re adjust my amp settings on my NASHVILLE 400. But once dialed in right, I had superior sound.
Try to adjust your pickup Height from the strings. you don't want it too close to the strings.
Tommy Shown

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