Dropped SH-11 into LP bridge. Looking for more

[blueman335]

Re: Dropped SH-11 into LP bridge. Looking for more

Before you give up on the CC, just buy a handful of magnets. Even an A5, UOA5 and A8 will transform the sound, and you will probably be out less than $12. Better than buying another pickup.

+1. The Custom platform works very well with a variety of magnets. Most players can find a magnet or two that gives them great tones in a Custom. There's the two above (A8 & UOA5), the three stock models (A5, A2, & ceramic), and some members like A4 & A3. That's a lot of choices.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Dropped SH-11 into LP bridge. Looking for more

Buy a handful of mags is NEVER bad advice.

Of all those mentioned, I'm thinking only the A8 and/or Ceramic will give him the thickness and compression he want. And if it's Custom vs Tone Zone for thick and compressed - the Tone Zone slays compared to any Custom mutation.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Dropped SH-11 into LP bridge. Looking for more

You guys are a riot. Haha!

I think this just isn't the pickup for this guitar. Maybe I will have to try out a Tone Zone... am I banned now?

Not at all dude - we have ONE religion here: Tone. We are non-denominational, even though this is Seymour's house of worship.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Dropped SH-11 into LP bridge. Looking for more

#3 To tighten up the lows - which are there but pretty loose…either chop the bass poles short, or swap out for hex poles from something like a full shred. Short poles is the key here.

Ace has an important point, a mod to consider, easily reversed by just getting new screws. Chopping about 1/4" off the wound string screws will beef up the bottom end there by beefing the overall loudness of those strings. I would add to this that you may get best results by "tuning" these pole screws, by which I mean cutting them to different lengths -- it could be that the length that works great for one string is just too much or little for another.

How does this work? At standard length, the screws pull some of the magnetic field down below the baseplate, spreading the magnetic field over a larger space and thus diluting/diffusing it a bit. Cutting the screws will make it more concentrated and thus more powerful at the strings.

 

[Chad]

Re: Dropped SH-11 into LP bridge. Looking for more

Yeah, a Tone Zone might work for what you are wanting. But for me personally, it would be awful. I had an Air Zone in the bridge of an ESP Eclipse (Les Paul style) and it was just too much low end. And that was a bright guitar. And the Air Zone is milder than a Tone Zone.

I'm also not a CC fan. The mids are so pumped up that it sounds weak in the low end.

I'd probably throw in an A8 mag and see how that works. Ceramic might work too, but the top end can be strident with some guitars.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Dropped SH-11 into LP bridge. Looking for more

I have had decent luck with Tone Zones in bright guitars but would be very reluctant to drop one into a Paul. Just WAY to thick and sludgy for my style in a Paul.
I stand behind the 59 Custom idea in particular after doing an a/b with my Tele running the Hybrid and one of my old faithful Washburn USA MG Superstrats today. The Hybrid loaded Tele just floored us all today at rehearsal with the tones. The C8 and Alt 8 also would be solid choices for a Paul but that Hybrid IMO would really be NICE in a Paul.