Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
Anyone try a pickup from the L500 series in the neck?
Bridge Pickups in the Neck
- Thread starter l0rdhumungus
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freefrog
Well-known member
I have a Wilde L500L in the neck slot of my Steinberger Spirit. Works very well in a 24 frets guitar like this, without much body resonance... In a bigger instrument, I'd not hesitate to mount the 500R mentioned by Jeremy or even a 500C.
fretburner
Well-known member
I have an L500L in the neck with L500XL in the bridge in a Les Paul. Bright and clear pickup in the neck position.
fretburner
Well-known member
I think this works for moderate output single coils and single coil-sized humbuckers.
For full size humbuckers, a bridge pup would sound significantly darker when you put them in the neck position. Happened to me 2x with a 59b.
RanchManSandy
Active member
And yet Paul Gilbert uses an X2N in both neck and bridge
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Does he run them in parallel, though? I know he does that with Super Distortions.And yet Paul Gilbert uses an X2N in both neck and bridge
freefrog
Well-known member
Personally, I've mounted bridge P.A.F. replicas in neck position several times without issue...
My strategy in such situations is to make a conscious and rational use of the parameters involved: if a pickup seems too dark in the neck slot, I fit it with a short + moderately or low gaussed magnet, for instance... and/or I pair it to high resistance pots / low capacitance wiring: weak magnetism avoids boomy lows... high DCR pots make the resonant peak pointier while low cap wires shift it up in the spectrum... non limitative list (shortened screw poles can be useful too, as well as non metallic baseplates avoiding eddy currents like in Bill Lawrence pickups, and so on)...
With too bright pickups in bridge positions, I do the contrary if necessary.
Many times, I've also put or simply played strictly the same pickups in all positions without real problems: as long as the neck pickup is far enough from the strings and the bridge pickup close to them, multiple iterations of the same humbucker in a given guitar can sound fine IME. The LP Custom that I played in the early 80s had three times the same T-Top and sounded just right.
For all these reasons, I see the idea of "b" and "n" models from a relativistic perspective. YMMV. ;-)
fretburner
Well-known member
Viv Campbell before him... And on a Les Paul nonethelessAnd yet Paul Gilbert uses an X2N in both neck and bridge
fretburner
Well-known member
Personally, I've mounted bridge P.A.F. replicas in neck position several times without issue...
My strategy in such situations is to make a conscious and rational use of the parameters involved: if a pickup seems too dark in the neck slot, I fit it with a short + moderately or low gaussed magnet, for instance... and/or I pair it to high resistance pots / low capacitance wiring: weak magnetism avoids boomy lows... high DCR pots make the resonant peak pointier while low cap wires shift it up in the spectrum... non limitative list (shortened screw poles can be useful too, as well as non metallic baseplates avoiding eddy currents like in Bill Lawrence pickups, and so on)...
With too bright pickups in bridge positions, I do the contrary if necessary.
Many times, I've also put or simply played strictly the same pickups in all positions without real problems: as long as the neck pickup is far enough from the strings and the bridge pickup close to them, multiple iterations of the same humbucker in a given guitar can sound fine IME. The LP Custom that I played in the early 80s had three times the same T-Top and sounded just right.
For all these reasons, I see the idea of "b" and "n" models from a relativistic perspective. YMMV. ;-)
Don't get me wrong - I can make a Bridge HB work in the neck position. It's just darker versus its calibrated/dedicated neck version.
In fact, a 59b is still in the neck position of my Yamaha SG1000. Though that guitar was always bright-sounding to begin with.
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80's_Metal
Underglazed Hair Metalologist
I've got an alt-8 in the neck of one my Gibson V's.
Sounds fine there.
Sounds fine there.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
I've never tried a '59B in the neck, although I've always wanted to. But to be honest, at only 8K, I highly doubt it's nearly as dark in the neck as an X2N would be.
I have some cheapie Artec neck pickup in my Les Paul Modern Lite right now in the neck, and it's 8.5, and it's not dark by any means. It's just not as plinky as a Jazz, for example, and it's beefier than the 490R in my Tribute.
I have some cheapie Artec neck pickup in my Les Paul Modern Lite right now in the neck, and it's 8.5, and it's not dark by any means. It's just not as plinky as a Jazz, for example, and it's beefier than the 490R in my Tribute.
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freefrog
Well-known member
Sure, it depends on the guitar... I recall to have upgraded once a PRS copy with a Seth Lover b in neck position. It sounded really good and the owner was very happy.
While thinking to this question, I've also remembered that my very first electric guitar had ended with a DM Dual Sound (IOW: a 4-conductors Super Distortion) as a neck PU and that it was not dark sounding to my ears... I was even finding it too bright when split.
fretburner
Well-known member
Scary stuff in there haha!
My Alt8 has been the pickiest pickup I ever owned. Tried it in 2 LPs and didn't like it, until it finally clicked in a 3rd LP. It's staying there.
2nd pickiest pickup I owned is a PGn. Lost all its bass in a LP and sounded thin, but excellent in my Goth Explorer. It's staying there as well.
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
On the opposite side of the coin, 59n in the bridge is underrated, even without the double screws
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
I think we are getting too hung up up on bridge vs neck. There are plenty of neck pickups that are just as powerful as bridge pickups like the Gibson 490 (8 kΩ) or even the BWn which has the same DCR (13 kΩ) as the Dimebucker. I think it is more about output and EQ balance or unbalance depending on the desired effect but putting a b or n after a pickup's name is arbitrary and a guide at best.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
The Dimebucker is 16-ish.
https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-product/dimebuckerBut yeah... agreed.
That being said, as a general trend, the higher the DCR, the darker a pickup tends to be. Obviously, not a rule of thumb, but 80-90% of the time true, given the . That works for some people, but from what I've gathered from this forum, it doesn't for most.
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Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
The Dimebucker is 16-ish.
Mega brainfart for me. I spend most of my time with that pickup.
freefrog
Well-known member
Depends on the wire gauge used.
I've dealt more than once with humbuckers (often Asian made like in some old Ibanez guitars) whose inductance was in the P.A.F. range (4 to 5H) albeit their measured DCR was around 10-12k... They were just wound with thinner wire gauge, hence the higher DCR. The funny thing is how this increased resistance was making 'em LESS loud than 42AWG equivalents - and how the thinner wire, giving a thinner coil for the same number of turns, tended to make the bass range tighter...
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Yeah, wasn't thinking of that as I typed. You're right. But in the Duncan lineup, I think it's rare that they do that, isn't it? The only example I can think of is the Screamin Demon, right?Depends on the wire gauge used.
I've dealt more than once with humbuckers (often Asian made like in some old Ibanez guitars) whose inductance was in the P.A.F. range (4 to 5H) albeit their measured DCR was around 10-12k... They were just wound with thinner wire gauge, hence the higher DCR. The funny thing is how this increased resistance was making 'em LESS loud than 42AWG equivalents - and how the thinner wire, giving a thinner coil for the same number of turns, tended to make the bass range tighter...
