HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

M

Multi Angle Vise

New member
I bought a cheap Hamer Vector a while ago, it's pretty neat. I think the bridge pickup is an HB-103 Duncan Design. I'm tending toward calling it harsh and tinny, although some days I like it better than others.

I feel one of the things affecting the sound is that the bridge HB route is closer to the bridge than any other guitar I've had. (I originally bought it with a Floyd Rose in mind, but on further inspection it turns out that the Floyd posts would practically be in the pickup route, supported by sweet FA - that's how close it is.)

I would like the sound to be thicker and warmer. Sounds that I like include DLR-era EVH, Brian May, Jim Martin, Dave Murray.

The guitar has a maple set neck and alder body.

These HB-103 pickups, how close are they to a Distortion? How are people's results with mag swaps? Would it be worth trying A2 for example?

Any other pickups you'd recommend when it's hard up against the bridge?

Cheers!
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Multi Angle Vise said:
I bought a cheap Hamer Vector a while ago, it's pretty neat. I think the bridge pickup is an HB-103 Duncan Design. I'm tending toward calling it harsh and tinny, although some days I like it better than others.

I feel one of the things affecting the sound is that the bridge HB route is closer to the bridge than any other guitar I've had. (I originally bought it with a Floyd Rose in mind, but on further inspection it turns out that the Floyd posts would practically be in the pickup route, supported by sweet FA - that's how close it is.)

I would like the sound to be thicker and warmer. Sounds that I like include DLR-era EVH, Brian May, Jim Martin, Dave Murray.

The guitar has a maple set neck and alder body.

These HB-103 pickups, how close are they to a Distortion? How are people's results with mag swaps? Would it be worth trying A2 for example?

Any other pickups you'd recommend when it's hard up against the bridge?

Cheers!
Click to expand...
For a quick easy and inexpensive fix try the mag swap first, it may suprise you. what you will wind up with what is a JB2 type pu in the bridge spot.Tthis will defintiely be warmer and fatter and will sound a lot closer to VH, may,murray and martin than what you have now. another option is to use a 250K volume pot
 
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Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Everything in this set up says bright: Maple neck, alder body, A5 pickup, near to the bridge, Floyd Rose makes that worse too.

Try a mag swap, but think of another guitar too.
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Yeah, try an A2 or an A5. The A5 will make it into a HB102/JB. The HB103 has a double thick ceramic, so take a look at the spacers. The one I had had two thin spacers stacked together, you can split them apart for thinner Alnico magnets.
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Dimarzio SD or Dimarzio Super 3. Those will warm up almost anything.
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

jimlp said:
Dimarzio SD or Dimarzio Super 3. Those will warm up almost anything.
Click to expand...

+1, after a magnet swap to A2.

I have the HB103B in a Kelly and it sounds pretty killer. I have real Duncan Distortions but the guitar sounds great. Don't fix it if it isn't broken.
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

or if you done want a hotter output a dimarzio double whammy will warm the guitar up nicely:cool2:
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

frankfalbo said:
[the Custom Custom... is a great option.
Click to expand...

+1. This gets a lot of recommendations here for players who have bright guitars. And if you like the warmth but want a little more output, put in an A8 magnet (making it a 'C8').
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Thanks all, lots of good suggestions there to try.

I think I'll try most of them. I'll do the A2 first, see what that's like. I have a Metal Live Wire somewhere, bought around the time of Angel Dust, and that makes a lot of sense too, black V, Metal LW, just need a mirror pickguard and kahler to finish it off.

I'm assembling another parts-o-caster (very slowly) and I had either a Custom Custom or Super Distortion in mind for that, so that gives me further excuse to get either or both of those for experimenting in the Vector as well.

The P-Rails also sound intriguing.


If I may append more questions - where do you buy Super Distortions for a reasonable price? I've got a vague impression from the forum that they might be cheaper than Duncan pickups. I'm in Australia and can do Ebay, but locally Dimarzio pickups seem to be really expensive, maybe equivalent of US$120 or more. Even on Ebay they seem to average higher than Duncans, or is it just me?

Is Mighty Mite still making a pickup that is functionally the same as a DSD?
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Try turning the screw coil towards the neck.
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Multi Angle Vise said:
Thanks all, lots of good suggestions there to try.

I think I'll try most of them. I'll do the A2 first, see what that's like. I have a Metal Live Wire somewhere, bought around the time of Angel Dust, and that makes a lot of sense too, black V, Metal LW, just need a mirror pickguard and kahler to finish it off.

I'm assembling another parts-o-caster (very slowly) and I had either a Custom Custom or Super Distortion in mind for that, so that gives me further excuse to get either or both of those for experimenting in the Vector as well.

The P-Rails also sound intriguing.


If I may append more questions - where do you buy Super Distortions for a reasonable price? I've got a vague impression from the forum that they might be cheaper than Duncan pickups. I'm in Australia and can do Ebay, but locally Dimarzio pickups seem to be really expensive, maybe equivalent of US$120 or more. Even on Ebay they seem to average higher than Duncans, or is it just me?

Is Mighty Mite still making a pickup that is functionally the same as a DSD?
Click to expand...

No that Mighty mite screamer (MM1300) is long discontinued,you have to track down a old one used and they can be expensive! just get the DSD it is the same:14:
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Throw a Tone Zone in there, just buy used. I completely understand the prices in Australia. ;)

You could also try a Mighty Mite Motherbucker, insane output and very thick. They are very good for the price.
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Finally got a round tuit and pulled the thing out:

hamer_vector_humbucker003.jpg


I don't think this is what was advertised as being in the guitar at all. Never mind.

It's 11.7kohms, Alnico something, brass base plate, chrome plated brass cover (brass was visible where it was soldered to the base), and the magnet was glued in, so a bit tricky to remove.

It's not Duncan Design anything, is it?

Does Duncan Design still use nickel silver for base and cover?

The magnet is 2.5mm x 12.2mm or 0.1" x 0.48" - whereas it looks like the standard dimension on Addiction FX is 0.125" x 0.5" - I think the width can be accommodated, looks like there's possibly a little play there, although screws might not line up exactly with cover. I think I'd need a shim to accommodate the extra height.

So the darkest magnet easily available would be a rough cast A2, and if I understand correctly all A2 is unoriented?
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Since it's not a Duncan Designed, you may be much better off replacing the pickup completely.

If you like the look of the covered pickups, try to find yourself an HB-102b that's covered. That's the JB version, and it should sound pretty good in your guitar, and not be too expensive.
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

What about de-gaussing. ;)
 
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Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

If it's closer to the bridge than typical, degaussing or swapping magnets or pickups aren't going to help all that much. The pickup just isn't seeing the freq's you want where it is. Just grab a router and give yourself another 1/8" of space closer to the neck.
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

That's cheating. Might even consider 1/4".

I think pickup location is an underutilized resource because it is hard to change. ;)
 
Re: HB route very close to bridge, want thicker sound.

Didn't update this, but currently there's a chrome covered Custom Custom in the bridge position, screws towards the neck. I like it. The guitar is acoustically very bright and zingy, which still comes across, but the CC tames it enough that it's pleasant.
 
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