HH Set for Classic Rock?

[NYCTone]

Okay, so the Jazz neck and Custom 5 setup arrived Wednesday, got installed yesterday, and is being pulled out today.

They sound out of tune even when in tune. Horrible.

So back to square 1.

Vintage to medium output, say 8 to 10 or 11 kohm DCR, roughly even mids and treble, Seymour Duncan. Trembucker bridge, regular neck.

Thinking JB or 59/Custom hybrid trembucker in the bridge, open to suggestions for the neck please.

The JB is a high output pickup that doesn't match what you described. It can do classic rock but it wouldn't be my first choice.

I would really consider a 59 or alnico pro 2 set. I think they're both perfect for classic rock. In a strat they don't have any of the issues with being boomy compared to a 24.75 guitar.

 

[Demanic]

In a strat, a 59n with a Custom in the bridge would cover a lot of ground. Or the 59/Custom hybrid in the bridge.

 

[Benjy_26]

PS would it be sacrilege to put the set of Gibsons I pulled out of my SG in a DIY strat?

If it's the Burstbuckers, I'd try em. They're not too far off from PG's.

 

[Mincer]

Okay, so the Jazz neck and Custom 5 setup arrived Wednesday, got installed yesterday, and is being pulled out today.

They sound out of tune even when in tune. Horrible.

So back to square 1.

Vintage to medium output, say 8 to 10 or 11 kohm DCR, roughly even mids and treble, Seymour Duncan. Trembucker bridge, regular neck.

Thinking JB or 59/Custom hybrid trembucker in the bridge, open to suggestions for the neck please.

Well, I'd go for Alnico II Pro in the neck (or Black Winter) and Hybrid in the bridge.

 

[Mr. 80's]

They were more than likely using the new options of high output pups in that time frame mentioned. They were hot rodding their guitars for a more aggressive tone especially since they were still using lower gain amps at the time (much like the Origin you have) My 1st choice for the late 70-early 80's British Heavy Metal would be a custom, then either Distortion or JB, w/a 59 in the neck. I wouldn't bother splitting the Jazz or 59 they are to low in output to sound good split. The same goes for anything else in that range (below 10.k) IMHO. Low output pups just do not split well. The bridge pups I mentioned will split well and were popular at the time. So I'd go for a regular 3 way blade switch and a mini toggle to split the bridge in any position. They weren't splitting their pups back then anyways so it's not really necessary to begin with. Just more things to take you further away from the sound you're going for IMHO.

 

[chadd]

Okay, so the Jazz neck and Custom 5 setup arrived Wednesday, got installed yesterday, and is being pulled out today.

They sound out of tune even when in tune. Horrible.

So back to square 1.

Vintage to medium output, say 8 to 10 or 11 kohm DCR, roughly even mids and treble, Seymour Duncan. Trembucker bridge, regular neck.

Thinking JB or 59/Custom hybrid trembucker in the bridge, open to suggestions for the neck please.

8-10k but you're thinking about a JB?

I stand by the Saturday Night Special set suggestion. DCR is in the range, A4 gives pretty flat EQ curve, no trembucker option but that really doesn't make a dramatic difference

 

[GuitarDoc]

I'm a little late to the party, but coincidentally, I was going to suggest a Custom for the bridge and a Jazz for the neck.

Jazz is just about my favorite all time do-it-all neck pup...good choice. I also love the Jazz bridge model in the neck. Another favorite is the Demon in the neck. Some have suggested an A2Pro which is just a Jazz with an A2 mag if you feel you want to go that route.
The Custom is really a great choice and accepts any magnet like a duck to water. If you ordered the Custom (with ceramic magnet) and find it too bright and/or too bassy, a UOA5 works wonders. It's like a miracle pup (Custom with UOA5) in a Strat. If you want it even smoother/softer an A2 (making it a Custom Custom) also works great in a Strat.

After you get your guitar up and running and had a chance to play around with it, check back in with a report. I'm interested to know how it works out for you.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

So...

A duff volume pot and a duff tone pot...

The Jazz now sounds fine, just as it should, but the Custom 5 is way too bright.

Going to keep the Jazz, go for a 59/Custom Hybrid trembucker in the bridge.

Same as came out of it and, swapping the trembucker for a regular spaced humbucker, went in the SG.

Oh well.

 

[jeremy]

try a different magnet in the c5. the c8 and cc are both really nice pups depending on what you want. i keep wanting to try a a4 in the cc in the bridge of a washburn but the cc is really great in that guitar so havent done it yet

 

[Aceman]

You know....for "classic' classic rock, what you really need is a Chopper T.

 

[NYCTone]

So...

A duff volume pot and a duff tone pot...

The Jazz now sounds fine, just as it should, but the Custom 5 is way too bright.

Going to keep the Jazz, go for a 59/Custom Hybrid trembucker in the bridge.

Same as came out of it and, swapping the trembucker for a regular spaced humbucker, went in the SG.

Oh well.

That sounds like an excellent combo to me. I think paf vibes so more AC/DC, Zeppelin, The Who, etc. generally for classic rock. I wouldn't go anything hotter than a custom for classic rock except if you're going for that specific sound like a super distortion (Kiss, Boston, VH1).

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

try a different magnet in the c5. the c8 and cc are both really nice pups depending on what you want. i keep wanting to try a a4 in the cc in the bridge of a washburn but the cc is really great in that guitar so havent done it yet

Me and taking pickups apart? Not a good idea.

Better just to send it back to SD for an exchange.

 

[jeremy]

mag swaps are easy but fair enough

 

[GuitarDoc]

The 59/Custom is a pretty bright sounding pup. If you found that the C5 is "way too bright", you're not going to like the hybrid.

You really ought to just try a mag swap (either A2, A8, or UOA5). It's very easy.

 

[jeremy]

id think the same thing but i dont have the 59/c in any of my guitars

 

[Dudeman7]

I have a 59/Custom Hybrid in one of my Strats and I think it's great. While I don't find it overly bright, it is a detailed and nuanced pickup. More so than you find in many humbuckers.

It should also be asked: Do you usually keep the Tone control on your guitar maxed out? That and the capacitor value on the Tone control will go a long way in darkening a bright pickup. (I'm sure you already know this but I feel it's worth considering.)

 

[beaubrummels]

They sound out of tune even when in tune. Horrible.

How is this even possible? A pickup has absolutely nothing to do with whether a guitar sounds in tune.

That aside, if you just want softer treble and a bit more mids with a similar configuration, I would go Custom Custom bridge / Alnico 2 Pro neck. It's the A2 version of the same setup. Takes what you had and fixes what you complained about (except the 'sounding in tune' part - no pickup will fix that). If you can't make classic rock work with that, ... oh never mind.

 

[jeremy]

if you have master volume, master tone on a guitar, it can be a real pita if the two pups arent balanced in a live situation. wide open for the neck with rolled back to 7 for the bridge is tough mid solo. this is for a strat so maybe its v, t, t but from the discussion, i think its mv, mt. if thats the case then id put a 250k tone for the bridge pup with 500k for the other controls.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

How is this even possible? A pickup has absolutely nothing to do with whether a guitar sounds in tune.

That aside, if you just want softer treble and a bit more mids with a similar configuration, I would go Custom Custom bridge / Alnico 2 Pro neck. It's the A2 version of the same setup. Takes what you had and fixes what you complained about (except the 'sounding in tune' part - no pickup will fix that). If you can't make classic rock work with that, ... oh never mind.

Turned out to be a bad volume pot and a bad tone pot. Maybe even a bad tone cap. All "previously cherished" parts. Probably something to do with what the tone control was, and was not, dumping to ground.

The Jazz sounds fine, the C5 way too treble-ey. Most likely due to the very low mids. The 59/Custom EQ graph shows much more even mids and trebles.

 

[chadd]

I have a 59/Custom Hybrid in one of my Strats and I think it's great. While I don't find it overly bright, it is a detailed and nuanced pickup. More so than you find in many humbuckers.

Using 250k pots helps tame it a bit, but I still find it pretty harsh