eclecticsynergy
Well-known member
My other McCarty has 57/08s and they're remarkable, very 3-D and super responsive. This one is all korina and it should be bouncy and snappy but with the stock pickups it's just a little too polite. I feel like it has personality & potential that aren't being fully realized.
I'd like to up the attitude a little, and my first impulse was to replace the pickups- maybe a 59/C and a 59N, both of which I have sitting around unused. But I'd like to try getting more out of the ones that are in there.
The McCarty humbuckers are A4, 9K bridge / 8K neck. Very balanced- not thin, not muddy, not at all bad, just sort of... bland.
So I'm thinking about polished A2 neck / UA5 bridge for a semi-vintage feel, or A5 neck / RCA5 bridge for more cut & depth. This guitar could really snap, I think, and IME korina doesn't tend to be boomy. Have also toyed with the idea of A8 for the bridge, bringing it more in line with my korina Explorers which have hotter-than-vintage pickups.
I think any of these three routes would suit both the character of the guitar and my personal tastes. So the choice might hinge on the experience of others. Or I might try all three for myself. But I'd love to have information about mag swaps in these particular pickups.
Very interested to hear anyone's experience with alternate mags in McCarty humbuckers.
What did you try, and what were the results?
Also open to general thoughts and advice. What would you choose if you were me?
I'd like to up the attitude a little, and my first impulse was to replace the pickups- maybe a 59/C and a 59N, both of which I have sitting around unused. But I'd like to try getting more out of the ones that are in there.
The McCarty humbuckers are A4, 9K bridge / 8K neck. Very balanced- not thin, not muddy, not at all bad, just sort of... bland.
So I'm thinking about polished A2 neck / UA5 bridge for a semi-vintage feel, or A5 neck / RCA5 bridge for more cut & depth. This guitar could really snap, I think, and IME korina doesn't tend to be boomy. Have also toyed with the idea of A8 for the bridge, bringing it more in line with my korina Explorers which have hotter-than-vintage pickups.
I think any of these three routes would suit both the character of the guitar and my personal tastes. So the choice might hinge on the experience of others. Or I might try all three for myself. But I'd love to have information about mag swaps in these particular pickups.
Very interested to hear anyone's experience with alternate mags in McCarty humbuckers.
What did you try, and what were the results?
Also open to general thoughts and advice. What would you choose if you were me?
