Guitar Pickup Review

Mojotone 59 Clone Humbucker Set

A cool thing about the 59 Clone is that Mojotone sets out in pursuit of something as vintage spec as possible.  There is a bit of conditioning on the pickup realm.  A common aftermarket 59 humbucker can be overwound affair, garnished with a heavier tone than what was made in 1959.  Let’s be happy that Mojotone makes one that is not common with that regard.

Mojotone 59 Clone
Mojotone 59 Clone

What you get is a nicely balanced tone.  An open vibe that remains firmly grounded.  The result is what I’ve been finding with many of Mojotone’s offerings: a really versatile humbucker.

Right up front, Mojotone makes a few versions of the 59 Clone. They all come with Alnico 4 magnets. There is the regular version, a low output version, and a high output version. There is also the “modern” set, which is the regular one with short legs and 4-con lead wire. This article will be discussing a regular bridge and a low output neck. You can find my article on the Hot bridge HERE.

Installation

For this assessment, I am using a double-hum guitar. The wiring harness on this guitar has Bourns 500k pots, a Switchcraft 12120X 3-way toggle, and Switchcraft 1/4″ jack.  During installation, I hit the friction points with some Lizard Spit Slick Nutz.

59 Clone Bridge

Throwing down on a dirty amp setting with the 59 Clone bridge, you’ll find a pickup with controlled authority.  Plenty of life and lots of definition.  The 59 Clone takes agressive amp tones really well.  For an unpotted humbucker, there were no issues with feedback.  Clean amp settings help to reveal how well the 59 Clone responds to the volume knob.

59 Clone Low Output Neck

Something I really like about this pickup is the offset coil windings that still cancel the hum but allow for a wider range of frequencies and more nuance to come through. Then they add the butyrate bobbins, maple spacer, and vintage spec screws/slugs.

On a clean amp setting, you can still push it to want to break up.  With a parallel wiring option it produced nice clean tones. Chimey and airy, with a nice presence in the low end that do not overbear. On a dirty amp setting, the offset coils really go to work to deliver nice chording, while lead work really shines with a nice accent in the mids and highs that don’t wimp out but don’t take off your head. I think it’s a nice versatile option

Demo Samples
Mojotone PAF Clone Demo with Hanan Rubinstein (Alicia Keys Band & NYC Session Guitarist)
Mojotone Low Wind 59 PAF humbuckers with Rockett Blue Note overdrive
59 Humbucker Low Output Neck Clean
Specs

59 Clone Bridge
Series – 8.119 k
Inductance – 4.633 H
Split N – 4.177 k
Split S – 3.931 k
Parallel – 2.025 k
Magnet – Alnico 4

59 Clone Low Output Neck
Series – 6.946 k
Inductance – 3.548 H
Split N – 3.721 k
Split S – 3.223 k
Parallel – 1.727 k
Magnet – Alnico 4

The 59 Clone humbuckers are going to be good for blues, country, jazz, funk, indie, reggae, classic rock, heavy rock, metal, garage, punk, alternative, and more.

If ordering online, you can choose open or covered bobbins.  Covers include nickel, gold and aged nickel and aged gold. You can get these humbucker in standard or in wide pole spacing.

For reference, this Mojotone 59 Clone humbucker pickup set evaluation was conducted with a Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller.  Real cabs in use are Marshall 1960BMojotone British, and Peavey 6505 cabs loaded with Celestion Classic Series Vintage 30s and Classic Series G12M Greenbacks.

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