Humbucker Pickup Swap and Comparison - Wilkinson MWHZ / Seymour Duncan Slash Alnico II 

Wilkinsons had a lovely warm sound for the first two tests and while the Duncan's had more clarity they were less pleasing to my ear. But when it came to the high gain test that warmth became a little muddy and the clarity of the Duncan's was really great.

I think the Slash pickups cut the mix better in band situation, but in this video i like (the warmer sounding) Wilkinson pups better.

3:33 for sounds...

I personally like the sound of the Wilkinsons much better. I'm far from a professional ear, but I found the Slash's to be tinny and too trebly for my taste.

Best RU-vid video in most categories I’ve seen for months & many more! Thank you, as the excellent guitarist you are, for demonstrating the pickups not your undeniable skill. Every other video appears as a challenging concert versus ... a simple & precise demonstration.. well done indeed 👍

I happen to like the darker/deeper sound of the Wilkinson pickups. For the money I will keep my Wilkys. But hey I'm a 56 year old guy just picked up guitar a week ago. Maybe by the time I'm good I will change my mind.

Slash are way clearer and open just overall more musical. Wilkinson don't sound bad just a darker tone.

Now this is a proper 'side-by-side' comparison video. Kudos! 👍

I upgraded my SG with these Wilkinson pickups, and I must say that they sound extremely amazing for the price. 🤩

I think the wilkinsons sounded great for clean and crunch. The slash pickups although brighter sounded too thin in clean and crunch but they kicked ass with the distortion up.

Damn, that's a well put together comparison video. Thank you.

i like the wilkinsons, impressive for the price

I just installed the Seymour Duncans Slash set in my guitar. They sound amazing!! Important piece of information: they come with just one wire (live), braided with a shield (ground), please look up the schematics for that because they are not included.

I have a v100 lemon drop and vs6 sg. For the price these guitars are unbelievable. I was initially looking at epiphone les Paul's £450-£600 and Gibsons at £700-£900. Long story short, after playing the vintages I left the shop with 2 guitars and £200 change. Music and sound is down to individuality. The bridge pickup is awesome, the neck is a bit muddy. I got the iron gear blues engine installed in the neck on my sg and it sounds epic. The pickup cost £36 and £25 to get it installed. I have spent £761 in total, I have 2 brilliant sounding guitars and beautiful guitars. If I walked in to the shop that day with £2500 for a Gibson les Paul standard, I would of used my brain and not an ego and still walked out with the 2 vintage brand guitars and £1739 still in my pocket.

Great video! Well done, immediate side by side comparison without useless fooling around. This is to the point and usable.

Wilkinson sound more like a Gibson lp

Managed to get a set of the slash pups a few weeks ago for £50 for my v100, honestly, i ended up keeping the wilkinson bridge pup in as it has a warmer fatter sound, the slash pup was just to trebly and i preffered the Wilkinson. The neck pup, i put in the slash as it has a much better articulate sound, no mud as oppose to the wilkinson neck pup. The result was a banging middle sound to!!

Excellent job comparing these two sets!!!!! Well done!

One thing is sure: pickups matter. To me, the Wilkinsons woulda been muddy in a band mix. Fine in the bedroom, but no cut. The A2'S sparkled and were open.

I like the brighter sound of the Slash pups better, plus I think they might be more versatile and better in a live situation overall they are both great

Both 70s Classic Rock = Wilkinson 90s Heavy = Seymour Duncan Slash Alnico II

The best comparison I've seen!! Thanks!!!! Definitely the slash sang more beautifully.

I like the way that you split the video.Great comparison.thx

hello, i changed it with my epiphone bridge humbucker, but the slash one is narrower. the low e string is higher than the "metal circle" of the pickup, when the high e string is exactly above it. is it normal? i didnt find an answer yet.

Great video - thanks for doing this. I felt the Wilkinsons were fatter, a little darker while the SD's were more defined and articulate, but at the expense of meat. The slightly lower audio levels on the SD's at first disadvantaged them, but in the overdriven bit when the levels came up, they shone. Its all about personal preference and what you like from your Les Paul, but well done Wilky, none too shabby.

The Slash's for me. Clearer and more airy. I can understand someone preferring the fatter tone of the Wilkinson's but it's easier to fatten and darken a bright pickup then the other way around.

To me the one thing is clear. New Strings with the Slash pups. dead strings on the Wilky's.

I am glad that most people like the Wilkinsons because I have built a guitar with Wilkinsons and plan to build a second one with Wilkinsons and wanted to see what others think about it.

I like the tone of the Wilkinson ones in a guitar like that. They’ve got a bit of an even-keel tone that I know would work well with effects for my taste.

Interesting. For some time now I've been winding my own pickups and I know exactly what materials are used in their production, the cost of those materials, and the amount of time it takes to produce a pickup, and ever since I became proficient at making them I've been against pickup companies that charge over the odds for pickups and Seymour Duncan are 1 of those companies. There are some that charge way way more than Duncans but I still see anything priced around the £100 mark as overpriced. Regarding the Wilkinsons and Duncans, I thought that in the clean tone comparison, the Wilkinsons sounded the better of the 2. Warmer & fuller, while the Duncans were thin & uninspiring to me. In the crunch/heavy comparison, I'd say that again the Wilkinsons were better but only in the bridge position, whereas the Duncans sounded better in the neck position. So if this guitar & the pickups were mine, I'd keep the Wilkinson in the bridge and put the Duncan in the neck. Overall, for the money, the Wilkinsons are good sounding pickups but the Duncans are pretty 'meh', they didn't sound great and I'd be unhappy if I'd just spent that much money on them and heard that sound.

I was looking to buy some because of the cheap price...but this video made me stay with Duncan's ;) Thanks !

Wilkinson. Trev puts his heart into making his guitars and hardware, a brand you can trust, and for a fraction of price big guys sell their stuff, that is not much better.

thank you I wish more of the you tube demoes were like this.

Excellent video. I have the same guitar and am considering the upgrade. The Wilkinsons sound good but the Seymour Duncans appear to cut through the mix. For home use the Wilkinsons get the job done for the price. Did you change out the pots? If so, did you have to mod the guitar to get them to fit.

my two cents: I liked the wilkinsons in the middle position for clean sounds and i also like the wilky cleans in the bridge could have gone either way for the crunch sounds but the seymours really killed in the high gain settings.

The Slash pickups have more top end chime and articulation than the Wilkisons...sounds like a blanket over a speaker with the Wilkinsons....to each there own....Loved how did the side by side video and same riffs for each!!! Nice Work Chaps!!

I have an epiphone Les Paul Korean made. had to do a check up for bad ground. Put a new jack on it but noticed how crusty the wiring harness and humbuckers are. Was going to get a new updated harness and Wilkinson humbuckers and insulate all the body cutouts. Surely Wilkinson will sound better than the standard Korean humbuckers I have?

Just curious if the Wilkinson demo had fresh strings??? Its a huge difference for a Pup comparison.

Nice video - a really good side-by-side comparison. I'm sure the Seymour Duncan's are more articulate but the Wilkinson's had a hell of a lot more punch. I'd have trouble deciding which I'd want.

Interesting demo. I like the Duncans on clean and highest gain, the Wilkinsons on the medium gain. Each has its sweet spot depending on how one likes to position in the gain structure.

The current Vintage V100 range now come with Wilkinson pickups, tuners and bridge as standard although from glancing at the various models/specs they are using various HOT Alnico Vs rather than the lower powered IIs. You are using the Marshall DSL40C which comes standard with the V-Type speaker, this gives a nice smooth clean brighter tone. Slash prefers a smooth warmer mids tone hence he uses 800 cabs with the Heritage branded speakers. SO when you consider a good second hand Vintage V100 will set you back £200 without the Wilkies and new comes complete with the the full Wilkinson pickup/hardware setup for £360 there a good guitar to buy, certainly better than most if not all Epiphones and I would argue also better than the Gibson Player range. Find a good priced newer Vintage V100 with the WIlkies and you are laughing, there a great guitar !!

Sounds great. I am wondering if I should purchase the Fleor alnico 5 or should I buy the Wilkinson alnico 5. Both are the same price which one is more cleaner?

Clear difference! Good review

It is simple, if you play early Les Paul classic/vintage rock, you want the Wilkinson, but if you want to play any rock/metal after about 1975, you want the Slash's to cut the mix. You can always mute the brightness of the Slash's, but it is hard to add life to a dark pickup sound.

Were they both brand new strings? Or were the Wilkinson's the old strings? Were the same ones left on for the slash pickups or did you change them with the pickups.

Great review

Every pickup comparison video should be this good! Thanks for setting the bar high for other pickup comparisons! A lot of opinions here on which pickups are "better". I don't think that's the point. It's totally subjective. The Wilkinsons are clearly offer darker, thicker, milkier tone with a more high output punch. The Duncan Slash's have a lower output and far less low-mids so you get a cleaner and more balanced tone across the frequency spectrum. In my opinion, the Wilkinson's sound much better for clean or a slightly dirty vintage tone. The Slash's are a winner for a saturated gain tone for hard rock/metal. Not better or worse. Just what works best for you in your situation.

Please tell me which model of wilkinson humbucker you use? Vintage tone alnico 5 or classic tone ceramic?

Why there is another item name in the Wilkinson's web page? These are MWHZ and those are WVHZ. What is the difference?

What's your opinion on the vintage guitar brand ? Are better than Epiphone ? What would you recommend for the price point ? For LP style guitar.

i have this guitar and i thought about change pickups for this and now i know it's good idea... ;-) thanks

Pickups aside, how did you like the Vintage LP?

Clean (SD) 3:33 3:50 (W) (SD) 4:05 4:21 (W) (SD) 4:36 4:53 (W) Crunch 5:09 5:24 5:34 5:50 5:58 6:15 Heavy Distortion 6:26 6:41 6:55 7:09 7:24 7:38

Supernice, thank you sir! Greetings from Germany

Great video bud I really appreciate you time on this comparison thrust me I know. From what I gather both guitar sound great on a clean channel. As far as overdrive Wilkinson sound freaking great on the bridge probably better then slash alnico if your looking for that vintage rock sound but I notice it lacks a bit on mid and neck and that's where Slash Alnico shines. The Alnico are clearly a beast on all 3 bridge mid and neck., to conclude Wilkinson is sound a bit more darker vintage. Slash Alnico sound more brighter like modern rock.

Any Idea if this MWHZ is Also The Wilkinson M Series Classic Alnico??

My Gibson Slash VOS came with the Duncan's slash pickups. They sound nothing like these Duncan's, what's the weight of this guitar? My Les Paul comes in at 9lb 11oz much warmer tone. I'm guessing there are a few other variables that could make these sound tinny like caps, bridge type...just wasn't feeling this guitar

Wilkinsons sounded more classic, better mids, less output like classic HBs. The Duncans are toppy, a bit shrill for my tastes. Both are okay, but I prefer lower output pickups, since they bring out playing technique much better. I’d stick with the Wilkinsons. Many players upgrade to Wilkinsons.

SD brings clarity and sweetness

Clean sound : Wilkinson wins Driven sound : SD wins

It is a good guitar as they say. Do you have any against?

Both lovely sounding pick ups .Have the Wilkinson’s ..they are warmer and thicker .say 50/50 ..great review to .what ever sound you want .

The Wilkinson's have the traditional les Paul sound, the Duncan's have the traditional Slash sound. Both sound good, but if you want to sound like Slash on a budget, Irongear Tesla's will get you as close as you can get for not a lot of money. Another great video by the boys at Astrings

What kind of magnet is inside the Wilkinson's "MOWHZTHIUD..." (I don't even know how I should say that)? To compare something it would be interesting to know the features of the product. Everybody knows that the same pickup with six different kind of magnets won't sound the same, it's purely physical!

What is interesting to me is how good that guitar holds up for its price.

I can see how the wilkinsons would work for players who prefer more mid-range oriented tone, but the slash's sounded "tighter" much like a low-shelf EQ with a (for the sake of argument) high q in the 80-220hz range, or maybe a a mid-scoop of some sort. When i say "tight" i usually think of subtractive EQing .

where i can find this guitar

wiring aph2,50's,60's or modern ?

Both sound good, sd seemed brighter to me, liked both. I wouldn't personally find a need to change, one can always alter the signal with pedals etc, that's a really nice geetar for the price !

I own one of these guitars and the pickups are good, the only real problem is that they don't clean up very well when using the volume knobs. I've changed the pickups to the Slash sig pickups and re-wired everything using CST pots, orange drop caps, switchcraft switch and output jack. Wired in a 50's style and it sounds so much better and is so much more versatile. I think if you are going to do the upgrade on this guitar, replace all of the electronics. It's an excellent guitar, plays very well, punches well above its price point but with the upgrades I would put up against any Gibson traditional any day of the week and it's a fraction of the cost

I liked the two but only one doubt that these wilkinson pickups are made in korea?

I have the same guitar and (just my humble opinion)... the Wilkinsons give more warmth, the Alnicos more "bite" and clearness. I love the mid-range and the warmth... if I need that "bite" I just change the setting on my EQ and use a different setting on my distortion. Does the same job! Interesting to see your comparison- but for me no need to swop the pickups. Thanks anyway mate for that comparison!

Sam Chez, i would keep wilkinsons too))

Are the Vintage Alnico 5 Seymour Duncan Alnico 2, I like the Vintage not as biting sharp as the Seymour Duncan

I'd have to hear more. In this particular comparison the Duncans are too bright and the Wilkinsons too wooly. I'd be looking for something in between. Of course one could adjust amp settings to taste. Need to know if it was the same set of strings..

Did you guys change the electronics? pots and wire? If so did you change it to 50's style wiring??? Makes a big difference all on its own.. A good quality set of pots and caps along with 50's style wiring really wakes up a guitar without even touching the pups, instantly brighter and has more bark to it.. I own a Vintage v-100 and 1st thing I did was swap out electronics but kept the pups intact and it made a huge difference in tone. Food for thought...

I’m curious are we comparing apples to apples did you play old strings vs new strings because that could vary the brightness noted in the Seymour Duncan’s

Which wiring are you using?

I put some chrome covered alnico 5 wilkinson wvch pro's in a really good strat recently and they sounded clearer and had more bite than this example with overall a much better balance and sound. Perfect for early ZZ Top etc... I traded it to a friend for jazz lessons and also do all his set ups, so still get to play it. I am getting a gold covered set this week for another build. I also put covered SD Alnico 2 pro into a 1978 Greco EG500 LP standard about 5 years ago. Sold it to a guy who played Fleetwood Mac'y sort of stuff. The Alnico 2 tend towards clearer and more flutelike. I liked both but it is horses for courses.

A good comparison on how to change the tone of a solid body LP style guitar. Apples and Oranges comparison on pickups. The Wilky’s are ceramic (neck 7.5k, bridge 14k), and the Slash pups are AlNiCo II (neck 8.3k, bridge 8.9k). AlNiCo II’s are the quintessential bright clean bucker. Interesting on the discrepancy of resistance on the Wilky’s pups - although the resistance values aren’t the only thing that indicates pup tone. Both have their place in music. It’s just a matter of playing style and desired tone on which you prefer.

Great comparison. The seymour sound clearer which is important to cut through the mix. That said, Wilkinson are doing great pickups for the price.

Great video thank you! I recently bought a V100 in arctic white and it's a beautiful guitar but I do find the neck pickup is too muddy and as such loses definition somewhat so I'll be replacing both as I like having the same brand in a guitar. My choice when replacing pickups however won't be an overppriced brand like SD, I will always buy Tonerider as their pups are on a par with anything I've heard but the prices are extremely reasonable, these days getting ripped off with guitars, electrics and hardware is a choice, it's no longer mandatory.

Slash have better definition, clarity and tighter sounding, not a huge amount in it tho. Is it worth £150? I could get a nice Vintage Vs6 from eBay for that.

The wilkinson model is WVHZ?? MODEL VINTAGE???

I liked the Wilkinsons' for the clean tones. but liked the note separation of the Seymours' as overdrive was added

txs a lot for this video. very interesting. i read somewhere, or I actually I think that the guy who sold me my afd100 for €260, that the most urgent upgrade was not the pickups but electronics and wiring, to modern Gibson LP specs. pots are really on/off on this guitar and to vintage specs (300kohm low quality pots). sounds killer as it is in my laney ti15

Great video. The Seymour Duncan PUs sounded like they had more clarity/definition, if that makes sense to you.

I surprisingly preferred the Wilkinson’s. I think the Wilkinson’s capture the AFD sound quite well and probably reflect the APH1’s better that we’re in the original Derrig Lester.

the tone im looking for is the Slash pups thank you

I replaced the Wilkinson's in my Vintage AFD 100 Paradise with Seymour Duncan Slash Signatures for this exact reason. The Wilkinsons are by no means bad pickups, but I found them to be too bass heavy, boomy and hot. I didn't buy this guitar intending it to be a metal machine, I wanted a good rock n' roll guitar, and after the pickup change, I'm perfectly satisfied. Pickups aside, I have to give huge kudos to Vintage - the AFD 100 Paradise is an excellent instrument, love the way it feels, plays and it feels like it's really gonna withstand the test of time.

What kind of guitar? It’s beautiful.

The hilarious thing here is that if I was the guy getting the p-ups replaced, and I watched this video. I would immediately send my guitar back to get the Wilkinson’s put back in. They just have so much more body and tone than the Slash p-ups.

think i would have stuck with the willkinsons

The Wilkinsons sound a bit muddier, which is cool if you consider they cost a fraction of the price. I'd consider a pot and condenser change though, that would have gotten you closer for much less :)

Got to say both beautiful sounding pick ups ..SD slash are great if you want a brighter sound rather than the darker ..50/50 on this one .

I have Wilkinson vintage pickups in an LP build, I LOVE THEM. A fraction of the cost, with all the sound! I did a 50s style wiring, which is a superior set up for that classic 1970s rock. You get a great sound when switching between neck and bridge, natural..... Without buggering about with tone. Also using na good quality pot with good taper help you control to drive as well. Overall, I really liked the Wilkinson pickups.... Just watch for knockoffs from China on the Amazon.

Thanks for this. I will save a bundle getting the Wilkinson pickups. The Duncans so trebly that the fundamentals on the bass strings are buried in harmonics. The Wilkinson's sound more balanced.

I wanted to say I bought a Harley Benton and their Roswell pickups are decent,but I upgraded to the Seymour Duncan Slash Alcinos,much happier and it has that grit I'm looking for coming out of my Marshall tube amp.

Both are good, Wilkinsons are a bit darker / warmer and that's fine ... Add an EQ and a good boost pedal ( which most guitar players already have ) and you can most likely dial in any tone you want. Wilkinsons for the win, and not just on price ( but yes that helps )

I think both sets sounded great, just slightly diff voicings. Ultimately surprised at how the Wilks really held their own in this comparison--not sure I could justify the so-called 'upgrade'...I do agree that the SD's would prahbly cut through in a live band mix a little bit better. I really feel like this gentleman needed to include some well-executed iconic Appetite-era licks for the best perspective. Mainly since, IMVHO, the Slash pickups actually sounded like a SD Pearly Gates set. Great demo in any event. Again , the Wilks really shined!