Does Seymour just really like treble???

J

January_Embers

New member
I was looking at the tone chart and I noticed that almost every single humbucker on there has a very high number in the treble section. I mean heck, the lowest is a four. Most are eights and nines . . . it kinda sucks that my guitar/amp setup is so bright then. Maybe I should look else where for pickups . . .
 
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Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

All the Eq rateings on the tone chart are really misleading. In my experiance they're almost all wrong completely.
For a better Idea of what the pickups actually sound like, Listen to the sound clips.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/soundbytes.shtml
They're much more helpful. Although try not to listen to them ALL at once. Cause everything tends to start to sound the same after five different pickups or so. To me at least.
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

I have yet to hear a piercing sounding SD pickup. With that said, SD's normaly tend to stay on the brighter side when compared to DMZ's.
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

January_Embers said:
I was looking at the tone chart and I noticed that almost every single humbucker on there has a very high number in the treble section. I mean heck, the lowest is a four. Most are eights and nines . . . it kinda sucks that my guitar/amp setup is so bright then. Maybe I should look else where for pickups . . .
Click to expand...

Duncan makes the best pickups in the world, maybe you need a better guitar and amp.:fing2:
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

Stratcat said:
Duncan makes the best pickups in the world, maybe you need a better guitar and amp.:fing2:
Click to expand...

+1

APS-2s for me are perfection, but never would have thought so if I'd just looked at the tone charts..listen to the sound bytes, and ask for advice in here if you get stuck chosing between a few pickups, there's some great people in here who will guide you (I owe them the prolonged life of my MIM Fender now)
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

Don't forget your tone control. Scott F had a great thread about this here. Who says we have to start with the tone control on "10"? :D

Artie
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

Bottom line: the tone chart is highly subjective.... where one hears "bright" or "fizzy", someone else may hear "dark" and "muddy" (no joke), solely based on personal experience and preference.

If you feel an absolute NEED to compare, then use the ´59 as a "pivot point", and compare it to for ex. a D******* PAF or a Gibson ´57 Classic, or other PAF clone, and then go from there using the newly "perspectified" values ;)
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

also consider that seymour does favour vintage voicings over all.. no 382k pickups with resonant peaks of 0.2 Hz in this range ;)

tom
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

If you look at discussions of pickups on this forum, we seldom refer to the eq on the tone charts, but instead usually talk about the amount of bass/ mids/ treble in relation to each other, and other similar pickups, or else we compare to specific guitar tone of certain players/ songs/ albums etc...
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

its not that the pickups are too bright, its just everyone need a mahogony guitar.
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

I don't think there's any popular humbucker that's as bright as a Strat single coil. Seems to me that the high numbers for treble in the humbucker tone chart are only in relation to the other Duncan Humbuckers. I don't think a single one of the popular Duncan humbuckers is to bright. If one is to bright for your tastes, that's what the treble control on an amp is for: so just turn it (and the prescence if you have it) down.
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

so, going by the tone chart and that, the lipstick tube (most trebly pickup around) has less highs than a custom!?

you're meant to look at the treble and compare it to the bass and mids, it doesn't work when comparing pickups, really!

tom
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

me too i do not agree with most of the eq in the tone chart.......i have to admit though that duncans are leaning more to the treble side of the sonic spectrum
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

It is the mids that makes your pickup sound thin or cardboard like, no Duncan I have tried sofar had that nasaly flat mids that makes that awful sound, the highs only makes them more airy and clear, not trebly.
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

Personally, I think you need the amount of treble found in SD pickups because you can always tone it down yourself or keep it 'stock', and just do some tone tweaking and you may just find it really works out (the treble) in the end for ya, in relation to your tone tweaking.

I not too long ago, posted something about having a bit too much treble coming from my pickup and I listend further to my personal tone and tweaked it, and I found adding a bit more gain fixed it and that treble we're talkin' about, lends the needed tone to round out the total tonal spectrum-- as top end sparkle, if you will. So, I feel it's needed.

And me personally, I think the tone charts are right! I compared the charts to my pickups, and sure enough, the comparisons are correct-- I mean why would a reputable pickup site get thier own tones wrong?
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

Rid said:
It is the mids that makes your pickup sound thin or cardboard like, no Duncan I have tried sofar had that nasaly flat mids that makes that awful sound, the highs only makes them more airy and clear, not trebly.
Click to expand...


I kinda agree. :) Lew
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

The tone chart is just a guide, and a debatable one at that. The pickup is merely a link in the chain that includes your guitar's body material, neck material, fretboard material, scale length, string gauge, nut, bridge, pots, wiring, effects, amp, speakers ... and most importantly your ears. Let those be the judge.
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

I loooove treebles just to the point it get's shrill !
I use Jazz neck and Demon bridge and would be very upset if those p-u didn't have the high end that make them sing and harmonically rich , and allow pinch on bass strings .
Treebles = Agression and Harmonics .
Without treebles it would sound blur .
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

I tend to agree that Duncans run on the "bright" side of tone. In a warm or dark guitar they are perfect, but in an bright guitar they can be annoyingly shrill (to my ears)

I also don't find you can really "tune out" the brightness on the amp...best way to do it is use your tone control on your guit..though that's still not a perfect fix. I had to roll the tone off on my Hamer with 59s..treb & presence controls don't really address the frequency correctly, IMO. The extra brightness for example on that guitar resulted in a twangy strat/tele like "thin" tone....it still was twangy when I rolled down the amps controls...the sound just got darker overall. Adjusting the guits tone control rolled off most of the "twang" and made the pups sound thicker. 250K pot would accomplish the same thing I expect.
 
Re: Does Seymour just really like treble???

Lewguitar said:
I don't think there's any popular humbucker that's as bright as a Strat single coil. Seems to me that the high numbers for treble in the humbucker tone chart are only in relation to the other Duncan Humbuckers. I don't think a single one of the popular Duncan humbuckers is to bright. If one is to bright for your tastes, that's what the treble control on an amp is for: so just turn it (and the prescence if you have it) down.
Click to expand...


IMP said:
so, going by the tone chart and that, the lipstick tube (most trebly pickup around) has less highs than a custom!?

you're meant to look at the treble and compare it to the bass and mids, it doesn't work when comparing pickups, really!

tom
Click to expand...
I agree with both of you, I still have to come across any HUmbucker thatis as bright as a normal single coil.Also you need to remmber that a 7 or 8 for treble on a humbucker built with Alnico II magnets is not the same (kind of) 7 or 8 treble with a humbucker built with an ALNICO 5 or CERMAIC. The Trebel in Alnico 5 would tend to be "Glassier". Also the Bottom in an alnico II magnet would be soft where as with a alnico 5 tighter. So while comparing you need to keep all this in mind.
"Tom also put it well you need to look at the treble and then compaare the bass and mids to it for a given pick up". You could then find that the tone cahrt does make lots of sense. Also as Zerberus said " If you feel an absolute NEED to compare, then use the ´59 as a "pivot point", and compare it to for ex. a D******* PAF or a Gibson ´57 Classic, or other PAF clone, and then go from there using the newly "perspectified" values " I actualy have done taht and found it to work quite well.
 
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