BL 710s, 910s and LXR-16s

Peter Leavenworth · From: Madbury, New Hampshire, USA

Can anyone who has tried these pickups share their impressions of relative merits? I have a 910 and a Lxr-16 to install and a 710 in a PRP Mullen D-10 on the E9 neck that I love. I realize the 910 is single-coil. The Mullen C6 neck has what looks and sounds like a stock Emmons single-coil. Iâ€™m thinking of experimenting with any of the three in one of my Emmons D-10 PPs on either neck. I remember someone here on a BL thread saying they liked the LXR-16 on the C6. Just looking to hear of othersâ€™ experiences before I start operating.
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2008 Zum D-10, 1996 Mullens PRP D-10, 1974 Emmons D-10, 1976 Emmons D-10, early 70s Emmons GS-10, Milkman Sideman head w/Telonics 15" speaker, 1966 Fender Super Reverb, 1970 Fender Dual Showman head, Wechter/Scheerhorn and Beard Dobros, 1962 Supro lap steels, Gibson 1939 RB-11 banjo, Gibson 1978 RB-250
banjo......and way too much more

John Swain · From: Winchester, Va

The BL910 is actually a humbucker with stacked coils. I've never owned one but Hal Rugg had them on his Zum. The XR-16 similar to the 710 with a slightly thicker midrange.

George Macdonald · From: Vancouver Island BC Canada

My U12 Carter came with an LXR-16 14 years ago. I used that pickup for 4 years before I started experimenting with 6 or 7 other pickups. Now I'm back to the XR-16. I like it the best, [for me, in the Carter]. I also like the George L's 12-1 very much.

Bill Miller · From: Gaspe, Quebec, Canada

Well I own two out of three...never tried a 710. I found the 910 to be very musical and sweet sounding while playing at home but onstage with the band it wasn't cutting through enough to be heard properly. The LXR-16 is also a very musical sounding pickup and it, for my money at least, does a much better job keeping up in a live band situation. These days I am using a Telonics 409 in my Mullen G2 and of the many pickups I've tried it is a clear winner.

Roger Crawford · From: Griffin, GA USA

I had 910s on a Zum, and my experience was like Bill's in that it just wouldn't cut through. I've heard several guitars with XR16s and they all sounded great.

Peter Leavenworth · From: Madbury, New Hampshire, USA

Thanks John for pointing that out, itâ€™s all coming back to me now......it doesnâ€™t help that the Bill Lawrence site has almost zero information about the pedal steel pickup details.
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2008 Zum D-10, 1996 Mullens PRP D-10, 1974 Emmons D-10, 1976 Emmons D-10, early 70s Emmons GS-10, Milkman Sideman head w/Telonics 15" speaker, 1966 Fender Super Reverb, 1970 Fender Dual Showman head, Wechter/Scheerhorn and Beard Dobros, 1962 Supro lap steels, Gibson 1939 RB-11 banjo, Gibson 1978 RB-250
banjo......and way too much more

James Quackenbush · From: Pomona, New York, USA

These are all humbuckers......
The 7 series pickups are the britest.....
The 9 series are darker sounding ( my least fav BL pickup )
The XR16 pickup as described earlier is pretty accurate w/more mids...This pickup has a smooth bottom and top end w/nice punch......Iâ€™m not a humbucker kind of guy,but I can live with these......Jim

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

710's are my favorite pickups. I put them in both a SB Professional and a Super-Pro. I had them in my Carter D10 for years before I put a Telonics and an E66 in recently (last year). After having 710's for so long, the E66 and Telonics sound like crap to me. The 710's are going back in.

My main guitar now is a new Mullen SD12. I love the single coil in it, but play places that are noisy and turning the position of the guitar doesn't really do much. I just ordered an XLR-16 (12 string) for the Mullen. Hopefully it will be a good match. I'm going to wire it so I can switch between single coil and humbucker.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

Marco Schouten · From: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I dont have experience with the XR-16, but I do with the BL710 and the BL910.
With the BL710 in my JCH, the guitar sounded like an Emmons push pull with that metallic growl when playing the lower strings. Being more of a Sho-Bud guy I wanted to try a different pickup and found a BL910. Most people say that it is darker than a BL710 though I read one comment from someone who thought it is brighter than the BL710. My first impression after putting the BL910 on my JCH was: it isn't darker than the BL710. I discovered that the BL910 changes its tone depending on picking angle, force of picking etc much more than the BL710 does. It makes the metallic sound of the lower strings go away. The BL910 is a great pickup if you can consiously change the way you pick, you can make it bright and snappy, warm and sweet. It's very versatile.
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JCH SD-10 with BL XR-16 pickup, Sho-Bud Volume Pedal, Evidence Audio Lyric HG cables, Quilter Steelaire combo

Brett Cooper · From: Mississippi, USA

Id be curious to know from the guys whoâ€™ve tried the 910 and decided it wasnâ€™t cutting through . . . were you using a pot volume pedal or an active pedal, like say a Hilton?

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I have a 912 in my Zum universal 12-string, and have used 910s in my Zum D10 - right now the D10 has some single-coil Wallace True Tones wound to 17.5K Ohms. I like the 910/912. Yes, they have more midrange than a 710/712 and even a wee bit more than the 705. But I like the midrange quality of them, unless the amp is ridiculously midrangey. I use the word "warm". To my ears, nice in a Twin Reverb (which scoops the midrange quite a lot), but also in my Session 400 with a 12" Telonics speaker.

I sometimes use them just straight into my old Sho Bud pot pedals, and sometimes I have a Sarno Freeloader before the pedal. The Freeloader should handle any loading issues, and I never turn it above about 1 o'clock, which I think gives an input impedance of around 500-600 KOhms.

One thing about pickups (IMO) - performance varies with different guitars, effects chains, and amps, at least in my experience. I have to just try them and see if I can get what I want. And nobody has ever argued that my guitars (steel or 6-string) don't cut through, left to my own devices. Ha!

And yes - 710/712, 705, 910/912, and XR-16 are all humbuckers, not single-coil, as stated previously.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

I bought a new BL XR-16. Would not fit in my 2017 Mullen Royal Precision SD12. Base plate too long and too wide. I started to file the base plate to be about even with the pickup, but stopped. I've decided to sell it as it has never been in a guitar.

Although I also had to file down the ends of a 710 (actually 2) to make them fit in my Carter.

I love the sound of the BL pickups, but this last bout with a pickup that doesn't fit has pretty much made up my mind that I won't choose BL pickups in the future.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

George Macdonald · From: Vancouver Island BC Canada

I bought a new XR-16 for my 12 string Carter a couple of months ago and it fits perfectly without any modification. I did mention to Becky Lawrence that it was for a Carter when I ordered it.

Austin Tripp · From: Nashville TN

I play a 12 string G2 universal and I have the XR16 in it. It's an amazing pickup. Exceptional tone range across the fretboard. It has a fat low end and clear midrange and the highs are real sweet, not to shrill. I've also used 710s before in my Emmons. The low end is similar to the XR16 but the mid range and the high end is more bright in the 710 (in my opinion) I like the 710 for recording and the Xr16 live. However, you cant go wrong with either.
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"Hotrod"
Steel guitarist for Cody Jinks
Member CMA

John Goux · From: California, USA

Today we did a quick pickup swap using alligator clips.
Truetone, Telonics, BL 712 and BL 912.:
Williams S-12, a bright guitar.

I liked the Truetone in this Williams but I need a Humbucker for some upcoming gigs in a noisy club.
The Telonics is punchy and loud with a strong midrange.
The 712 is noticeably bright, with good realism.
The 912 is sweet, it is the most friendly or organic sounding of the bunch, sounding quite different than the 712. Completely different construction so that makes sense.

I opted for the Telonics, it will get the job done. But there is something sterile about the attack on those pickups. I seem to be the only person that thinks that.
If the XR-16 is like a 712 but more midrange, I think Iâ€™ll like that better.
John

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

From what the maker said, the 710 pickup was designed to work best with pot pedals, and the 910 was designed for use with powered volume pedals.

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

John Goux · From: California, USA

I do use a 500k pot pedal and enjoy it.
I liked the organic quality of the 912, but it had the least volume of the 3 we tried. The Telonics was the loudest, and as we know louder sounds better in an A/B comparison,
It makes sense the 912 could have been developed for active pedals.

I spent some time raising and lowering the Telonics and screws. The changes are pretty subtle. The pickups sounds like it sounds.

I came home and ordered a BL XR-16. If it sounds like a 710, but warmer, that may be the ticket for me having a humbucker on this Williams.

John

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

John - I have a 705 on my Williams and it sounds great.

You may want to call or email the good folks at Williams and ask for input.
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Lee, from South Texas - Down On The Rio Grande

There are only two options as I see it.
Either I'm right, or there is a sinister conspiracy to conceal the fact that I'm right.

Williams Keyless S-10, BMI S-10, Evans FET-500LV, Fender Steel King, 2 Roland Cube 80XL's,
Sarno FreeLoader, Goodrich Passive Volume Pedals, Vintage ACE Pack-A-Seat

Steve Spitz · From: New Orleans, LA, USA

Years ago I tried a 910 in my GFI through an active pedal. It did sound a bit dark, so I went back to the stock pickup. If I recall, John Hughey used the 910.

I asked Gene Fields about the idea of trying different pickups once. He said:
â€œ youâ€™re just dying to spend some money, arenâ€™t you ? â€œ

Lots of variables. Iâ€™m liking the Telonics pickups these days.

Michael Brebes · From: Northridge CA

I was swapping pickups for John and listening from a greater distance from the amp. Here's my take. A Vibrosonic split cabinet was used and the tone controls were set the same for all pickups on his Williams S12, with the settings set for a Truetone, which was then removed. I found the BL912 to be very warm with scooped mids and nice top end. In a solo situation it would be a gorgeous sounding pickup but I could see how it could get lost in a band without serious amp tone change. The BL712 had less bottom with similar scooped mids and more top end than the 912. The Telonics, to me, had less bottom with more mids and less top end than the 712. It seemed a good balance for his guitar. The bottom strings were present but not overbearing and matched the middle strings of the guitar well. I personally like the top end better on the 712, but it was a good option for his guitar.
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Michael Brebes
Instrument/amp/ pickup repair
MSA D10 Classic/Rickenbacher B6/
Dickerson MOTS/Dobro D32 Hawaiian/
Goldtone Paul Beard Reso

Mesa Boogie Studio Pre/Hafler 3000
RP1/MPX100

John Goux · From: California, USA

Well said, Michael.
J

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Michael Brebes · From: Northridge CA

With experience swapping pickups on a number of guitars, I have found that I have had to 1)shave off width and/or length of pickup baseplate to clear the hole, 2)enlarge or reshape mounting holes in pickups, 3)make new screw holes on guitar pickup mounting plates for proper alignment, or 4)route out an older guitar for more standard pickup sizes.
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Michael Brebes
Instrument/amp/ pickup repair
MSA D10 Classic/Rickenbacher B6/
Dickerson MOTS/Dobro D32 Hawaiian/
Goldtone Paul Beard Reso

Mesa Boogie Studio Pre/Hafler 3000
RP1/MPX100

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