59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

[RedHarlow]

Hi guys ! I was wondering which neck pickup would be better suited for the neck position in my ESP TE B 7 strings guitar ! I got a dual rec and a 4x12 mesa cab
and i am mostly into metal but i also like crystal clear clean tone (tone of coil splitted neck humbucker by example)

So obviously the black winter neck pickup will be more compressed because he got 13 DCR output and he got ceramic magnet but also that could be good for some high gain lead tone.. So i feel kinda lost.

The ESP gonna have a black winter in the bridge position.

So for you which pickup got a better crystal clear lead tone ? The Black Winter ? The Sh1n ?

Thanks for reading this and for your help

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

The BW neck is less scooped for sure. I feel it handles high gain lead tone much better. It's smoother, but also tighter. I don't notice it being much more compressed, TBH. To me, it just sounds more fluid and much less wimpy and chirpy. Many people get good results with the '59 in the neck for high gain. I don't think it's unuseable, but it's not really my thing either.

For clean tones, in full humbucker mode, the '59 has a bit more chime. The '59 is more open and vintage-sounding. I like the '59 better for cleans, but the BW is not bad either. It's just louder and a bit drier without the vintage vibe.

I have not tried splitting either in my guitars, but I'm sure the BW would split better.

Overall, I personally think the BW-N is a much better match for the BW-B. If you really want a '59, though, I recommend you look into the '59B in the neck ala Dimebag. It would keep up much better with the BW-B.

 

[RedHarlow]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

For the clean tone i've really found out that splitting your humbucker make your cleans really better now when i use a 59' not splitted or a shr1n not splitted i really find them muddy and bad

Now when i'am in clean tone i always Split my humbucker

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

I don't think either the '59 or the Black Winter are muddy at all in humbucker mode when played clean, but I get what you're saying.

I suspect the BW would sound better split because, it being higher output and being slightly darker (not that it's dark, it's just not as chimey as the '59), it wouldn't be as anemic.

 

[Mincer]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

I'd almost put it between the Jazz and the 59 for the best clear, clean tone. Picking one or the other depends on how many mids you like (or how many inherent mids your guitar has).

 

[RedHarlow]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

The guitar will be full of alder with some maple for the neck and ebony fretboard

 

[Mincer]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

The guitar will be full of alder with some maple for the neck and ebony fretboard

That's a pretty clean and clear formula, right there. I still stick by my recommendations, though.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

Maybe it's just me, but I have a '59N in one of my guitars right now matched with Distortion in the Bridge. In that same guitar, I used to have a '59B in the neck matched with a BW-B. FWIW, If you wanna go for a vintage-voiced pickup, I think the '59B is a much better match for high-output bridge pickups ala Distortion or Black Winter than the '59N. I find the '59N struggles a bit to keep up with the output of the Distortion/BW unless you really jack the height up. Then again, many people do just fine with the '59N, so take that as a grain of salt. JMO.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

Full Shred 7 neck?

 

[RedHarlow]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

Well i am a big fan of the sh6 distortion in bridge but these days i have preferred the tightest Black Winter pickup

I am into modern metal (Korn, Keith Merrow, Dir En Grey stuff etc) but for the clean tone i've always prefered some vintage stuff but i have never tried to coil split a sh1n. I am afraid of a eventually weak output tone.. now i am looking for the perfect neck pickup

This is really a crystal clear tone fight, sh1 vs black winter

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

Well, both are clear to my ears, if that's what you want. The '59 is more scooped and attacky, and the BW is stronger and more fluid, but neither is muddy.

If you want even more clarity, consider the Full Shred or the Jazz, as it has been suggested before. I suspect the BW-N would split better than the '59, Jazz, or FS, but I don't think you'd need to split the FS or Jazz to get those sparkly clear clean tones.

 

[RedHarlow]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

Well you know my 2000's Rectifier really got some not really good clean tone so.. for the full shred i am not a big fin of his tone.. also i don't really like the shr1n, so maybe i am not a big ceramic fan for clean tone..

 

[stratguy23]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

I find the '59N struggles a bit to keep up with the output of the Distortion/BW unless you really jack the height up.

This has been my experience, too. To be precise, I don't think the 59N is truly weak in output. In fact, it can get boomy in the low end in neck position, due to its very scooped EQ.

I think that its very scooped EQ leads to a perception of it being quieter, because it has less mids that contribute to perception of loudness.

So part of this consideration may be whatever bridge pickup OP has. If it's mid-heavy, like a JB or Black Winter, a 59N may not be a good match; a mid-scooped bridge pickup like a Custom 5 might match better.

I will say that the 59N, where it's not boomy (IMO, in 25.5" scale bolt-on guitars), sounds glorious with clean tones, and sounds really good split. Of course the split down to one coil only has a volume drop, but here I think the scooped nature of the 59N helps - half of boomy bass and bright treble (not much mids to lose in the first place) = very usable tone.

I don't have experience yet with Black Winter pickups, but hope to rectify that soon.

PS. The Full Shred neck sounds good, but it is very stiff and precise in feel - no vintage vibe at all. For clean tones, I think it could work well in an 80s-type Rockman/chorused context, but I wouldn't recommend it for, say, classic rock.

 

[RedHarlow]

Re: 59' Sh1n VS Black Winter neck for Clean Tone

Well by example i don't really like the custom5 to me he sounds muddy for high gain stuff, i prefer a Distortion or Black Winter for heavy tone

But again i think i will go for a sh1n, Alnico5 pickups tend to have more love by people for clean sound. If it doesn't sound good i will go for a BW neck pickup