Everything Axe Pickups - harsh overtones - related to the pots/caps?

[TheBigK]

I've noticed that I'm often getting some harsh overtones on my Everything Axe pickups I installed in my EBMM Cutlass. I've adjusted pickup heights, and I can roll off the tone to make it somewhat better, but sometimes I get very harsh tones compared to my other guitars (about a half dozen). Every now and then I get a really harsh set of piercing notes I can only describe as overtones that really are heavy on the treble. Perhaps I can record it if anyone is interested in understand what I'm talking about.

This seems to happen in all of the positions, not just one, and since they are three different pickups, I'd think maybe it's related to the pots/caps? Pots are 250k from CTS, volume pot has a .022u cap on it. I had a treble bleed that I installed originally but that seemed to make things more harsh.

What would you suggest? Different pots, or different cap? Has anyone had this issue or something similar they can share?

 

[Clint 55]

Welcome to the forum.

I say try removing the treble bleed then go from there.

 

[Artie]

The "pot" value isn't written in stone. I'm using 250k's with my Jazz set and love it. Pots aren't expensive. Try that first. IMHO.

 

[Teleplayer]

Have you correctly set the relief on the neck? It could be a slight fret buzz if the setup isn’t spot on.

 

[Mincer]

Also check that the pickup height is ideal. If the JB Jr gets too close, it can sound harsh.

 

[freefrog]

Pots: If you want a lower resistance than your stock 250k's, you'll have to mount 100k pots, which are rather rarely used - and whose effect would be largely similar to lowering the existing tone control, anyway.

Caps: a 47nF or a 100nF with a 250k pot would make a difference in overtones compared to a 22nF but most of this difference should theoretically be noticeable once the tone control set at 3/10 or lower than this...

Volume control: if the cap on it is indeed a .022µ (22nF), it's not really a "treble bleed"... 22nF would pass all frequencies above 500hz. Unless it's a 2.2nF? or a 220pF? If it's a 2.2nF, this value is still a bit high for a treble bleed, able to promote "ice pick" high mids once the volume lowered.

What are the six other guitars? The rig used (amp; effects, cab)? Through how many cables, of which length? Devil is in the details.

And yes, a recording might help to help.

 

[jeremy]

the treble bleed is the first thing that needs to go. 250k pots are fine, i like a .022 cap but .047 is a normal value as well. is the neck lil 59 doing the same thing? that should be a pretty fat sounding pup

 

[Mincer]

Yes, the Little 59 shouldn't sound harsh at all. It should be warm and fat...the opposite of the bridge pickup.

 

[TheBigK]

Thanks, lots of good responses here, so let me try to address it one by one. Yes, this is happening on almost all pickups, which leads me to think it's something in the pots/caps.

I've already removed the treble bleed, and it seems slightly better, but the overtones are still there. The 22u cap is on the Tone as per the wiring diagram. I do see it suggests a potentially higher cap, but it's hard to read in the available diagram. I wonder if this would make the difference I need?



In terms of setup, the guitar has a good setup right now. I normally setup my own guitars, and have actually set this one a bit higher than others because of this issue, and that hasn't made a difference.

In terms of pickup height, I've noticed this at several different heights, and if the pickups get too low, then the sound becomes very thin and unpleasant. It seems like they're a small range where these pickups work best - particularly together with the middle single coil that can get a volume drop. I would actually like these pickups to be lower, but they seem to do better around 3mm from the strings, whereas my Strat single coils and Humbucker are almost flush with the pick guard for optimal sound.

In terms of other electric guitars, I have a Yamaha Revstar P90, American Pro Strat HSS, two Les Pauls (490R/498T) and a modern with Burstbucker Pro Leads, a Guild S-100 with Humbuckers, Reverend Charger with 2 P90s. None of these have the same issue through my amp and pedals and cables. I typically use a 15 foot cable into the pedals, and 15 foot cable from pedals into the amp, and then I use a volume pedal in the effects loop. But I get the same issue when plugged directly into the home studio amp (Mesa Fillmore 50), or into software modelers/DAW, or into my gigging amp (solid state).

Lastly, I typically like things to be a bit brighter, and find that I don't roll the tone knob down very often on any of my other guitars, if at all. Mainly for me is volume and pickup combo. If I roll down the tone, I haven't noticed much difference other than the tone starts to get muddy, and I like mine clean and punchy. This is not a problem on any other guitars I've mentioned above.

 

[freefrog]

In terms of other electric guitars, I have a Yamaha Revstar P90, American Pro Strat HSS, two Les Pauls (490R/498T) and a modern with Burstbucker Pro Leads, a Guild S-100 with Humbuckers, Reverend Charger with 2 P90s. None of these have the same issue through my amp and pedals and cables.

Seems to me that all your other guitars have AlniCo loaded pickups, then, while the Everything Axe set involves models with ceramic magnets... Might contribute to explain your feelings IMHO: AlNiCo magnets are magnetically weaker and more inductive than ceramic ones. It effectively tends to give different signatures when it comes to "overtones".

Single coil sized humbuckers also filter harmonics in a different way, related to the narrow magnetic windows of their coils.

Below is evoked a possible solution, other than reducing pot value to 100k or mounting a different tone cap (whose interest would be limited if you don't use much your tone control)...

https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/...ors-to-a-coil-to-change-the-tone-of-my-pickup

FWIW.

 

[Mincer]

I might start with the easiest....047 tone cap with the tone rolled down some. That might just shave off enough high end to reveal more body.

 

[beaubrummels]

I think Freefrog nailed it. Just not used to ceramic, has amp dialed for Alnico types, and perhaps ceramic is just not the right flavor for the OP.