Swapping the pickups on a Carter D-10

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 14 Dec 2005 12:09 am

Hi guys, my Carter D-10 came with a GL E-66 on the E9 neck and a GL D-1 on the C6. Has anyone ever swapped em around and if so how did it sound. It seems to me that doin so would balance out the sound a little more. The top strings on the E9 sound a little to thin to me sometimes.

Ivan Posa · Post by **Ivan Posa** » 14 Dec 2005 12:37 am

Thats exactly what Dr. Seymour would advise. GL 10-1 on E9 and GL E66 on C6 neck....IP

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Joe Smith · Post by **Joe Smith** » 14 Dec 2005 6:43 am

Andy, I have a Carter D10 and a Mullen D10 and on both guitars I use GL 10-1 pickups on both necks. For me, it's the only way to go.

Dick Wood · Post by **Dick Wood** » 14 Dec 2005 8:24 am

Had E66's which I felt sounded thin and shrill and I changed them to XR16's which really fattened up the sound considerably.

It's not hard to change them but the soldering can be slightly aggrevating sometimes.

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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 14 Dec 2005 8:25 am

I'm also thinkin of maybe replacing both pickups with some TrueTones. Anybody got a Carter with Truetones?

Scott Swartz · Post by **Scott Swartz** » 14 Dec 2005 8:33 am

Truetones on a Carter sound great, but you will get the standard 60 Hz hum.

I had a 18.3K Truetone on my Carter for a while. It sounded the best of all the pickups I tried, but unfortunatly it hummed too much in my recording studio. At my practice space it was pretty quiet, you just never know with SCs. I was planning to put it up for sale, email me if interested, the wires are full length.

Paul Brainard · Post by **Paul Brainard** » 14 Dec 2005 8:52 am

I have a pair of GL Eons for sale which originally came in my Carter D-10. I ended up putting TT's in it & eventually sold the guitar. But it sounded great with the Eons. I actually went back to them before I moved it along but the buyer wanted the TT's. Eons are the same impedance as E66's with different blades & a little looser winding (I gather) so they sound a little darker. Smokier is how I'd describe them. Do a good job capturing the "cluck" of a single-coil.

My first Carter years ago had E-66 on E9 and 10-1 on C6, I never thought that was a good balance.

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 14 Dec 2005 12:08 pm

Andy, I had the 10-1 on E9th and E-66 on C6th on my MCI and it was the perfect combination. You should give it a try, to my ears it made the E9th much more balanced having the 10-1 on there, and the E-66 on C6th seemed to really enhance the mids and give the bottom end a bit more clarity.

Billy Carr · Post by **Billy Carr** » 14 Dec 2005 2:19 pm

I'm a strong believer in the XR-16's. They give me what I'm looking for in the high and low range and are quiet as a mouse! I'm currently using a XR-16 on my S-12U Carter.

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 17 Dec 2005 10:29 pm

Well I swapped the pickups from one neck to the other on my Carter and the E9 sounds better with the 10-1 but to my ears the E66 now on the C6 neck still sounds a little shrill and thin to me. I'm gonna play it a few more days and see what happens. I play most of the time at home through a 70's Fender Twin and I'm wonderin if the Truetones are gonna be too noisy. I still might try em out.

Howard Tate · Post by **Howard Tate** » 18 Dec 2005 4:59 am

My Carter has XR-16's on both necks, I get a lot of compliments on the tone. Not many on the picking tho.

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Howard, 'Les Paul Recording, Zum SD12U, Carter D10 8/8, Vegas 400, Boss ME-5, Boss DM-3, DD-3, Fender Steel King, Understanding wife. http://www.Charmedmusic.com

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 18 Dec 2005 5:19 am

Howard you kill me

XR-16s sound great.
Hook

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www.HookMoore.com

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 18 Dec 2005 5:59 am

I have TrueTones on my Carter and IMHO it made the guitar sound 100% better. I felt the humbuckers had a really sterile sound, and the TrueTones bring it closer to sounding like a great vintage steel (BTW check the instruments for sale area- I have to sell it to finance a Zum, which now come standard with TrueTones).

I have only had hum problems if my steel is right next to the computer screen-on the gig it has been no less noisy than a typical 6 string with single coils. For me, noise is a non-issue.

The sound of a great single coil pickup can't be beat.

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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...

Bill Myers · Post by **Bill Myers** » 18 Dec 2005 6:23 am

I have had two Carters (I still have the one and the other was just sold). I have the George L's in both.....I went to True Tones in both and tone for tone....they were the best I've heard. Unfortunately, the had some hum which bothered me. I ended up putting Lawrence 710's in the one and LXR-16's in the other. The sound pretty darned good too. About 90% of the tone of the true tones with 0 hum.

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2003 Carter D10, 9x5 Black and 1998 Carter D10 9x5, Evans Amp

Frank Parish · Post by **Frank Parish** » 18 Dec 2005 7:30 am

I've had the E66 on E9, 10-1 on C6 then a pair of Truetones, and now BL 710's on both necks. It's the best tone I've had yet. When I went to the ISGC I noticed the BL 710's on quite a few of the new Carters there but I have to give credit to Ted Solesky for telling about them. It's a good balance and zero hum.

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 18 Dec 2005 12:22 pm

Frank I think you will find that the Carters had BL XR-16's not 710's ---- they look the same !! I have XR16's on my Carter and they are really great ! They seem to be the standard pickup for the Lacquer Carters !

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 19 Dec 2005 9:17 pm

Well I've given the GL's a good workout after swappin em out and after reading post after post about pickups I've decided to try out a TrueTone on the E9 neck. I talked to Jerry today and he's gonna hook me up. I'll keep you guys posted.