Bridge PU volume drop

Johnny-DK

Johnny-DK

New member
Hi.

I find it a bit odd that my bridge pickup seems to drop volume compared to the neck pickup when I switch to overdrive.
When I play on clean channel the bridge PU is slightly louder than the neck PU, but when I switch to the overdrive it's vise versa.

This guitar is a MIC LP copy, mahogany with a solid maple deck, and Tonerider Classic II pickups. Neck PU is 7.3K and now have A3 mag, bridge is 8.2 and now have A5OU mag.
Amp is a Laney VC15-110.

To add some info, I can tell that on my Yamaha with a SD Custom bridge and Yam stock neck PU I don't have this behavior - not loudness wise at least. But the neck PU is close to have same output as the custom.

Not a big problem, but it bugs me, because I don't know why ;)

Is that normal?
What can be the cause?

Thanks for reading, and pardon for my grammar.
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

Pickups behave differently under different amp settings and degrees of gain. I had this same issues when I had a 59 in the neck of my guitar and a Custom Custom in the bridge. In "clean" situations, they behaved as you would expect a 8k vs. 14.4k combo to have, but under high-gain the 59 neck sounded louder. I think the level of compression caused the hotter pickup to drop in perceived output. This is why some people like RADICALLY louder bridge pickups, such as the JB/Jazz combo.
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

i think its as much frequency response as anything else
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

+1 The EQ settings of your Overdrive channel or pedal may have scooped too much of the midrange away, leaving no guts to the guitar sound.
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

I notice the same thing in a couple of my guitars. I think the real problem is EQ and frequency response differences that lead to one pickup artificially seeming louder or more aggressive even if it is actually quieter.

I've found that you can minimize this annoyance by raising the bridge pickup a bit and lowing the neck a bit. This will exaggerate the true volume difference between the pickups even more, making it nearly impossible for the neck to seem louder.
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

Razix said:
I've found that you can minimize this annoyance by raising the bridge pickup a bit and lowing the neck a bit. This will exaggerate the true volume difference between the pickups even more, making it nearly impossible for the neck to seem louder.
Click to expand...

Even more i'd say its the bass content of the pup. I would drop the bass side of the neck pup lower and the bass side of the bridge so high until the bass strings (probably the low E) tend to get too near to the poles/screw. This should solve the problem.
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

hamerfan said:
Even more i'd say its the bass content of the pup. I would drop the bass side of the neck pup lower and the bass side of the bridge so high until the bass strings (probably the low E) tend to get too near to the poles/screw. This should solve the problem.
Click to expand...

This was one of the reasons why the 59 in the neck overpowered the CC in the bridge... A5 vs. A2 magnets. PAF type pickups are also more "open"-sounding, so they compress less.

The magnet power is another important aspect of output that people tend to forget about. Frankly, the CC just seemed wimpy. My hybrid, which is 11.8k, is way tougher-sounding pickup with an A8, than it's parent Custom was with an A2.
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I have tried different pickup heights, different amp settings, and different magnets.
The magnets was actually the first thing I tried.

The pickups came with A2 and with those the neck was louder even on the clean channel.

Changing to A3 in the neck and A5UO in the bridge made the bridge louder on clean (even if I push the output tubes into clipping), but the neck is still louder on the overdrive channel.

I'll try to do some more experimenting.

I like playing on the clean channel (I love the sound of hardworking powertubes), so it's not a problem. But when She Who Must Be Obeyed is home, I use the overdrive at lower volumes, and then it bugs me.

Thanks again :)
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

Rather amazing that A3 in neck would overpower UOA5 in bridge. I have an A3 JB in the neck in my guitar, and it hardly competes with my A5 PATB-1b.

Makes me wonder if something else is going on.

If it's bass balance that's the issue, you might want to look into Artie's demud mod, or snagging 0.5" hex screws (Addiction-FX carries them on ebay) to put under the wound strings in the neck pickup. Screw swap is actually easier, but components for the demud mod are likely to be faster & easier to obtain.
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

Just a quick update.

I tried several things. Changing amp settings swapping magnets (again) and playing with PU height got me in the right direction.
So it was a combination, but what seemed to have the biggest effect - or at least made it exactly right - was raising the pole screws on both pickups!

Actually I thought raising the pole screws would sound more treble but at least in this case, it made both pickups having a fuller - and more balanced sound.

The embarrassing part, is that I initially lowered the screws flush with the bobbins while the PU's had A2 mags. At that time I did not notice any significant change :doh:
Silly me, but I learn something every day :D

Thank you all for your help, and have a pleasant day :)
 
Re: Bridge PU volume drop

Johnny-DK said:
when She Who Must Be Obeyed is home, I use the overdrive at lower volumes, and then it bugs me.
Click to expand...

^
This is a major factor in your problem. A high gain overdrive setting heard at domestically acceptable sound pressure levels will often sound fizzy. The fuller/warmer tone of the neck pickup resists "fly in a jam jar" syndrome slightly better than the bridge unit.
 
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