RWRP

[tomjackson]

Just about to order a set of Mothers Milk and I'm debating whether to go with the RWRP option or not.  I'm not particularily worried about noise so would it be advantage to go with all the same polarity?  Do the mix positions sound more authentic this way?

Thanks

[Canadian Steve]

I would recommend to not go with RWRP.  One advantage is it helps out Stratitus, when using Stratocasters.  The inbetween settings will be pretty much similar.

[Twinfan]

I would go without.  It's only hum cancelling in positions 2 and 4, and I think the tone loses something with RWRP.

[Elliot]

I cant tell the difference except the loss of hum (which I don't care about)

[oomph]

I'm also trying to decide on the same thing, anyone else got something to add on this?

What I'm trying to achieve is a John Frusciante kind of sound from my strat. These pickups would be replacing the ones that are currently in my Fender Highway One.

Also, I'd like to add that my guitar has a slight modification on it. I've added a toggle that allows me to enable the bridge pickup from any position, thus giving me more pickup combination.

How do you feel this would effect Mothers Milk Pickups? Am I better putting 2 Mothers Milk in the front (Neck/Mid) and a hotter pickup on the bridge?

[Twinfan]

Frusciante uses vintage Strats, so you would NOT want RWRP to be truly accurate...

[dixied]

Just to add my .02, I have RWRP on my Slow Hands. When I want clean, I want clean. The hum, to me, is annoying. Don't get me wrong, I have 2 without RWRP, but when I want the cleanest clean, I go for the hum cancelling. How boring the world would be if we all had the same desires.     :band5:

[Philly Q]

I agree with dixied - I don't think RW/RP is at all detrimental to the tone, and personally I think you might as well cancel hum where you can, even if it is only in 2 out of 5 positions.

[Elliot]

If you have a blender switch don't get a much hotter bridge than standard - remember BKPs are wind the bridge hotter as part of their standard sets (my Mother's Milks are n and m: 5.9k, b: 6.7k).  In my view, that's hot enough to take the strat bridge sharpness out.

[oomph]

I noticed that he plays most his solos with the pickup selecter in the front position.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUJHEdQBAr8



sigh... decisions, decisions, heh

[tomjackson]

Well I think I'm going to go for vintage specs, I never have massive problems with hum so even if there's a tiny, miniscule improvement in tone for the vintage spec I'll take it.  I play clean to just breaking up and want to preserve as much quack and detail as possible in those lovely in-between settings.

On a side note, just looking at the Frusciante clips - and I think he' a great player - does anybody think his solos are a bit repetetive?  He seems to be playing the same solo for the last 10 years!  For me his funky rhythm and studio playing are where he does his best stuff.  I've seen them live and they are great but I just think sometimes playing the blues box on the 12th fret as fast as possible wears a bit thin.  Probably unfair considering he's recorded some of the best strat tones in the last 20 years but there you go.....

I'll probably get shot for saying this :shock:

[Fikealox]

Before you get shot, I'll get in the firing line with you. I think his riffs and rhythms are great, but his solos and leads don't do much for me at all. He had some crazy abs back in the day before he became a beatnick and got the beard, though, so that's gotta count for something  :lol:

[tomjackson]

I best get doing sit-ups then, crazy abs is my only hope.....

[AndyR]

I'm a bit late on this one, but...

I have RWRP on my IT set, and I agonised over the decision.

If I had my time again, I would have chosen standard, but it's not enough to upset me. Yes RWRP cancels the hum in 2 and 4, but I hardly notice the difference (humwise) against 1, 3 and 5 - and I'm in a very hum-prone building.

While I agree with the guys who don't think there's much of a tonal difference, my perception is there's enough of one for me to have decided that my next set will not be RWRP. If I was stuck with it though (eg second hand) it wouldn't bother me at all - still sounds like I wanted. My perception is that there's slightly more transparency in 2 and 4 with a standard middle, but slightly more "quack" with RWRP.

EDIT: Bear in mind though, this is definitely personal opinion/perception :lol:. Especially the "more quack" bit. And that varying the height of the middle pup in relation to the bridge/neck (and the relative height of bass/treble on all the pups) probably has a bigger effect on the perceived amount of "quack" you get.