Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

['59]

I've been looking at a whole bunch of the old hybrid threads and was thinking about messing around with it. I've got a set of 59n and 59b clones and was thinking about making a hybrid with them. Is it worth it?

[Mincer]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

If you are curious, and confident in your skills making it, then sure. The winds aren't as different as, say a 59/Custom Hybrid, but it might sound neat, anyway. What are you hoping to get that either '59 can't do on its own?

['59]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

Nothing in particular, I just wanna try to expand my abilities. This set of pickups has just been laying around for a while now and I wanted to use them to experiment with. I was thinking about making a dual slug A4 neck and a dual screw A8 bridge

[Clint 55]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

That will get you different sounds for sure.

[blueman335]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

Absolutely worth it. Unmatched coils is one of the factors in the original 1950's PAF's legendary sound. I do exactly what you're talking about to make a neck hybrid: a coil from a bridge PAF with a coil from a neck PAF, they can be the same model or different models (i.e. '59B/'59N, '59B/SethN, etc). The difference in resistance between the coils is enough to let some single coil sound come thru, which adds high-end and reduces midrange, which is what I want in a neck HB (when coils are evenly matched, the 'humbucker effect' cancels noise, reduces treble, & adds mids). As far as the impact of the wind, who knows? Those are trade secrets that PU makers don't share, so we have no idea how much alike or different the wind patterns and tensions are.

The difference in coils between a bridge & neck PAF make a hybrid brighter, even though the combined resistance of the coils is higher than the stock neck PAF used in creating it. For me, that means I can use a warmer unoriented magnet for the added texture (A2 or UOA5) and still have increased high-end and clarity. In the case of stock neck A5 HB's, a hybrid with a warm magnet will also dial down some the excess low-end that some of them can have (the '59N is known for that in some guitars/woods).

Using two coils that have a similar resistance will most likely have subtle differences compared to the parent PU's, too subtle for me (again, who knows what the winds are). To go to the trouble of making a hybrid, I want a clearly discernible difference in tone.

For bridge hybrids, you don't need the huge difference that the '59/Custom has (7K vs 4.2K) to get the benefits of a hybrid HB. It's kind of overkill. 1K difference is plenty, and with that, you may want a warm magnet to tame the treble. For example, a coil from a 14K bridge HB with one from a 12K, or a coil from a 10K with one from a 12K. Try them with the stock magnet and see if the EQ needs to be moved in another direction.

['59]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

Thanks for the info. I was thinking about keeping my current mag combo because that's what is currently in them. Do you have any sound clips of your hybrids?

[majewsky]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

blueman, which coil you recommend to be stronger? The slug or the screw one?

[blueman335]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

blueman, which coil you recommend to be stronger? The slug or the screw one?

With a neck hybrid, it doesn't matter much as the percentage difference of each coil from the bridge is minimal, they both get a lot of string energy/vibration. In a bridge hybrid, one coil is almost twice as far from the bridge as the other. The stronger coil is usually put farther from the bridge, as it'll get the most string energy and give a fuller sound (being a hybrid, it's going to be getting additional treble as it is). For the bridge that means the slug coil is the strongest, which is how I've done it.

['59]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

Blueman, do you have any specific recipies for a hybrid pickup you find particularly good?

[Clint 55]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

Seth bridge and Ant neck hybrid for neck position. A2, 3, or UOA5.

[blueman335]

Re: Hybrid of Neck and Bridge Pickup?

Blueman, do you have any specific recipies for a hybrid pickup you find particularly good?

With Duncans, I've paired various combinations of bridges & necks of '59, A2P, and Seth. I have A2's or UOA5's in all of them. All have worked well, and opened up the sound. You can do the same thing with any other manufacturer's PAF's, using magnet selection to dial in the final EQ. With a difference of around 10% in resistance between coils, you get some single coil sharpness and clarity coming thru, which is my goal. I'm also a fan of P-90's and mini-HB's in the neck slot for those same qualities.