A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

papersoul

papersoul

New member
Have any of you compared the Duncan Jazz neck to the Dimarzio Humbucker from hell? Dimarzio markets the Humbucker from Hell as single coil tone in a humbucker and we all know about the Jazz. Problem I have had for years is not using my humbucker neck pickups due to the tubby flub.

I now have a Rio Grande Texas in my new LP Standard bridge and a Rio BBQ in the bridge of my SG Special. I need that clean and clear neck humbucker now. I am close to making a grab at a few Jazz necks but now this Humbucker from Hell has me interested!!!

Any experience with these guys? :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZFgfy3p1ns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woTJDzn9oKk
 
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Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

I don't have experience with either of those buckers BUT I will say I had somewhat of the same problem with my neck bucker. I started off using a PGn with the stock a2 which is a great pup for what it is but I needed something with a not so flabby bottom and I currently use a UOA5 mag in it and it's working for me so far. The mids don't sound congested, the bass is a lil tighter but not overly tight, and the highs aren't to sharp. Gives me a great clean and over driven.
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

Contrary to Dimarzio's claims the HFH is not corrective surgery for a dark neck position. The HFH is low output and very transparent sounding, so it takes on the character of the fretboard material. With rosewood it is dark, dull and weak while with a maple neck is bright, sweet and brilliant.

The brightness you hear in the HFH clip is more the product of the maple top than the pickups EQ curve. However it is still fairly mellow because of the rosewood fretboard and its low output.
 
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Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

SH-2 Jazz humbucker, for me, for the rest of my life, is my choice for clean, bright, neck pick up.
Steve Buffington
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

+1 for me also. Have the SH-2 Neck Jazz H/B in a LP and a SG. In addition, I have a Jazz Bridge in the neck spot of an Explorer and it is married up with a SD in the bridge. With these three guitars, I would have to say the Jazz pup beyond clear and bright, is smooth.
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

Lower the Jazz and bring up the treble side pole pieces and it will brighten up nicely. I tend to use a thicker tone for my bridge pickup and it makes the neck pickup a little flubby. By making those changes, it has made the Jazz and 57 classics in my les pauls very usable.
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

SJ318 said:
SH-2 Jazz humbucker, for me, for the rest of my life, is my choice for clean, bright, neck pick up.
Steve Buffington
Click to expand...
I think you are right, I just ordered one in nickel. I hope it can keep up with the Rio Grande BBQ and the Rio Texas which even though not too hot, are very muscular and powerful.
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

SJ318 said:
SH-2 Jazz humbucker, for me, for the rest of my life, is my choice for clean, bright, neck pick up.
Steve Buffington
Click to expand...
+1 This is the first thing I thought when I seen the Thread heading.
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

I actually had a Jazz in the neck of my SG, and I wasn't too fond of it, as I found it too bright for a neck position, and I didn't like how it sounded when overdriven. I currently use a '59 in the neck, and will never replace it.
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

^Well if you play alot of Neck solos you are going to love the 59 way much better. For chord work I love the JAzz
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

I have experience with both pups (SD Jazz and Dimarzio HFH) in a Epi Les Paul Classic, and the Dimarzio HFH was a much cleaner pickup to my ears. As some have mentioned, you would still need to play around with pickup height and/or pole piece height, particularly, lowering one or the other on the side of the heavier strings - the LPs seem to me to have an inherently boomy bass tone. And I say that based not only on experience with my Epi, but also w good amount of time spent trying out my friend's 1978 Gibson LP Studio.

I currently have a Dimarzio Eric Johnson Neck in that Epi - also very good like the HFH, but not as clean - has bit more bite. But still, also much cleaner than the SD Jazz. I would prefer to hav a HFH in there, but the HFH had already gone into my Ibanez RG, and I wanted to try out the Eric Johnson.
 
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A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

Jocelyn said:
^Well if you play alot of Neck solos you are going to love the 59 way much better. For chord work I love the JAzz
Click to expand...

Agreed. I've never put a 59 in my lp but I do have the jazz in there. Cleans up great but my leads lack a bit.
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

My Ibanez has an exceptionally warm neck position. I tried the Jazz in it, and the HFH. And didn't like either of them. They both sounded too warm and flubby. Had great results with the PAF pro though.
 
Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

I've tried both in my '83 Black Beauty, which is a horribly muddy guitar. The DMZ was far preferable to my ears. It had more of a bluesy bite to it, with lots of raw, funky, garagey character. (Think of the opening guitar sounds in The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night.") The Jazz had some high end, but sounded too scooped and "clinical" for me. I have the same problem with '59 necks. They have the needed treble, but too much bottom, and nowhere near enough mids. It's a sound that I hate – both clanky and muddy at once.

At any rate, the HFH was the best neck pickup I tried in that Paul, though I eventually went to single coils.

What I'd do now, if I still had the need, would be to call up Wilde and explain my problem, and see what Bill and Becky suggest. I didn't know about them when I was on the tone hunt with that guitar.
 
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Re: A CLEAN neck pickup for a Gibson?

I found the hfh description of being almost acoustic like fairly accurate. I do very little on the neck pup, but it was vaguely piezo-like.
 
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