Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

Dave Z

Dave Z

New member
I de-dinarziod my PRS tremonti se last night. Thought the paf pro would be better in bridge as I go after cleaner tones.

First off I was really impressed with the 59n. Amazingly musical pickup, cant believe of all the SD puos I never tried one. So looking to match that tonality in the bridge. PAF pro is ok but not well balanced, kind of thin and ice picky on the high E (but on the SE forcing 9s tight now)

So hoping for a good match for 59 that would fatten the highs a bit but not get into mid hump growly territory. Whole lots humbucker seems to fit here. Or is it better with a wlh neck?

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Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

WLH probably matches just fine, though I've only used it with the WLH neck. Right now I'm enjoying a 59/Custom hybrid in my LP with a 59 neck. I mostly just use my neck for clean/kinda clean though, so your mileage may vary.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

The Saturday night special would go great with a 59 too.. that’s what I plan on getting to match my 59 neck pickup. It’s also recommended on Seymour Duncan’s site for a good match with the 59n.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

The 59 bridge goes perfectly with it but the WLH has a bit more output to it. Be warned it’s a very bright pickup by comparison


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Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

Custom 59 hybrid a good idea, never heard of sat nite special, will check that out. Karan thanks for heads up on brightness, did not come across from the video they link but in the video might be on the neck pickup. And yes the 59 bridge in the running as well. Lots of samples to check out this week.

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Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

I would think nearly anything within the PAF ballpark would work well with a 59. Hotter options would include the Custom or Custom 5.

If it were me, I'd go with a 59 bridge or Custom.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

found an interesting clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt7mEV7LRJk) 2 things about the WLH: the neck is definitely honkier than the 59, and DAMN that bridge is bright! Meanwhile, custom 5 sys 2x as loud as a 59, not looking for that much output. So will look for a good comparo of the custom/59 hybrid and the 59.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

Dave Z said:
found an interesting clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt7mEV7LRJk) 2 things about the WLH: the neck is definitely honkier than the 59, and DAMN that bridge is bright! Meanwhile, custom 5 sys 2x as loud as a 59, not looking for that much output. So will look for a good comparo of the custom/59 hybrid and the 59.
Click to expand...

The WLH bridge may be bright, but it has nothing on a 59B. I recently replaced the 59s in my 335 with a set of WLHs and couldn't be happier. The bridge is still aggressive and crunchy, but it's no longer painfully bright and thin. The neck is less boomy in the low and and maybe a little smoother in the highs; IMO it comes close to doing the Slash thing without getting mushy the way an A2P can.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

The Gibson 498t. I have the 59n paired with a 498t in my SG. They match well.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

If you think a PAF PRO is "ice picky" in the bridge, you should stay away from the WLH. In my case the PAF PRO was a lot smoother than the WLH. You may be better off with a custom 5. The C5 has more top end brightness than a PAF PRO, but with a different flavour. Maybe it would work, but I'm really unsure. First thing I suggest is to put the PAF PRO closer to the strings and see if that smooths it out enough.
 
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Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

I'll check out the Gibson. Someone with a Les Paul or SG must have done an AB with Duncans. I'll listen to some of those clips. Teleplayer, I hear you on the C5, I have a JB in my mahogany PRStrat which also has plenty of highs but is waaay smoother than the PAF pro. I was thinking C5 may be too much but then the JB does not overpower the jazz neck in the PRStrat. Meanwhile the C5 has the scooped mids as does 59 (not looking for the midrange honk, got that covered with the JB/jazz axe). . So maybe that's the way to go. I remember when the C5 came out, it was super popular. dystrust going WLH for both is not in the cards now, just bought the 59, really dig it, need to make it work....but if the ol' lady ever greenlights a les paul, well....

Part of this issue may be the 9's this nut is cut for and I may have to bring the thing in for the nut to be reworked. it's just so odd....g & b strings sound great, but the hi E, anywhere on the neck is shrill. No buzzing frets. moved the pickup away & dropping the pole (thanks for dimarzio hex poles) helped as did turning tone to 5, which doesn't screw up the other strings too much. But still the balance sucks. OK listening to 490T and C5 today....
 
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Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

Dave Z said:
found an interesting clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt7mEV7LRJk) 2 things about the WLH: the neck is definitely honkier than the 59, and DAMN that bridge is bright! Meanwhile, custom 5 sys 2x as loud as a 59, not looking for that much output. So will look for a good comparo of the custom/59 hybrid and the 59.
Click to expand...

In that clip, I bet a beer that it’s because it’s an amp eq thing, not a pickup «issue». I do not hear my WLHs like that at all...


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Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

Dave Z said:
found an interesting clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt7mEV7LRJk) 2 things about the WLH: the neck is definitely honkier than the 59, and DAMN that bridge is bright! Meanwhile, custom 5 sys 2x as loud as a 59, not looking for that much output. So will look for a good comparo of the custom/59 hybrid and the 59.
Click to expand...

The Custom is hotter than the '59, but not 2X, output is not a linear function of DCR, there are more factors to output than DCR. Look up the output on the DiMarzio Super Distortion and Super 3, the output is pretty much the same but the DCR on the S3 is 2X the SD.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

devastone said:
The Custom is hotter than the '59, but not 2X, output is not a linear function of DCR, there are more factors to output than DCR. Look up the output on the DiMarzio Super Distortion and Super 3, the output is pretty much the same but the DCR on the S3 is 2X the SD.
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Good to know. It's actually SD's marketing that says that: "If the 59 Model bridge humbucker was twice as loud, it would be a Custom 5" I'm thinking it has to work as the JB/Jazz combo works. Leaning toward the C5 after listening to a bunch of clips. Hard to find it played clean though.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

Dave Z said:
Good to know. It's actually SD's marketing that says that: "If the 59 Model bridge humbucker was twice as loud, it would be a Custom 5" I'm thinking it has to work as the JB/Jazz combo works. Leaning toward the C5 after listening to a bunch of clips. Hard to find it played clean though.
Click to expand...

I've had 59s, Customs, and Custom 5s, and IMO a regular ceramic Custom sounds more like a louder 59. That said, it isn't twice as loud; it's somewhat louder while being more full and definitely a bit more compressed.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

Marketing is marketing, it might have 1/3 more output, but that is such a hard thing to measure. DiMarzio has output voltage numbers, but I think they are best viewed relative to each other, not any black and white number.

I'm not sure where it started that DCR was an output measurement, I've even hear Dave Friedman use it as such, which just lowers my respect for him (yes, I know he makes great amps).

FWIW, I like the Custom wind, the C5 is a scooped, but it might be just what you need, it won't be as brash and "loud" as the JB so it might work great for you.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

You know, if your really this confused. Just write into the custom shop and place an order with them.

I actually use an Albico IV Bareknuckle in my bridge and I needed something for the neck that would match, be coil splittable (without volume loss) have out of phase sounds in the middle and be made with PAF materials as per tradition.

They wound it perfect and the sticker at the back says wound by MJ

Trust them to deliver!


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Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

Dave Z: You're best advised to wean yourself off of making decisions from sound clips. The inherent problem with sound clips is that you probably aren't using the same guitar design, woods, string gauge, amp, tubes, speakers, and effects as the clip. You don't know how the tone controls are set on the amp or guitar. So you're not likely to be able to duplicate what you hear on the clips. If the guitar is a Strat thru a Fender amp, you're not going to sound like the clip with the same pickup in a Les Paul thru a Marshall. Pickup makers know this and don't like sound clips for that reason, but a lot of players (who don't know better) insist on hearing sound clips to make a purchase. Many have been steered in the wrong direction and then blame the pickup.

Due to differences in wood, you can put the same pickup in 5 examples of the same guitar model, and each could sound different. No two pieces of wood are identical, as each varies in density, grain, water content, mineral content, etc. That impacts tones and sustain. Ted McCarty (president of Gibson during the golden years) said that the same size piece of mahogany could weigh 5 lbs or 25 lbs, due to the mineral content.

What many of us have learned here is how to dial in a pickup's sound by set up, pots and caps, & magnets. That's handy when a pickup doesn't sound the way you want, in your guitar thru your rig.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

@Karan - not so confused. Custom shop would be great but pricey I imagine and I'd have the same issue I'm having now. How to communicate sound.
@Blueman335 - well...10 years ago I went through about 12 pickups and a couple guitars and storebought amps looking for the sounds I wanted then. Built my own amps, swapped a lot of pups, did a ton of stuff on ebay and got audited by the IRS (they were nice and did not fine me for not declaring my 'income' from those sales, LOL). Now, looking for lower gain stuff, ebay isn't as fun anymore and neither is the IRS, and I don't have the time to try 12 pickups, so yeah, I know I can't see the settings and it's bad data, but it's data.
So, all that said, dealing withth e PAF pro for now but leaning toward a C5. Might try to snag one used on ebay, given time, should see one.
 
Re: Bridge for 59 neck: the WLH or 59, or...?

@devastone, yup that's where I'm headed. A woodier, more organic alternative to the jb/jazz combo in the PRStrat.
 
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