How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

sjturbo

New member
I just picked up a Seth Lover bridge on the the "bay" and believe I have a SD59' for the neck (not the Jazz I thought)? Yup, this is for the Echotone (335 clone, 25.5 scale). Has anyone tried this combo? Any thoughts from the pickup experts and 335 clone owners?
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I'd do it the other way around. The 59N is a nice bridge pickup on some guitars, but too bassy on others.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I just picked up a Seth Lover bridge on the the "bay" and believe I have a SD59' for the neck (not the Jazz I thought)? Yup, this is for the Echotone (335 clone, 25.5 scale). Has anyone tried this combo? Any thoughts from the pickup experts and 335 clone owners?

Not ideal, but it will work ok.

HTH,
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I think it's a great pair for a 335, and I have a few 335's. '59B's are pretty bright, and a Seth will give a bit more warmth and mids. Good choice. '59N's have a nice sharp high end. If it turns out to be a little bassy (which sometimes happens), raise the pole peices, and lower the PU on the bass side. I like the '59N, or most PAF's in the neck slot, over a JazzN, which is on the bland side. PAF's have more color and character.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

Just to make sure, I'm talking about the Seth Lover in the bridge position and the 59' in the neck position. Hope I did not mislead anyone so far.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I think the Seth bridge is one of the best bridge pickups out there. I have one in my Epi Dot and love it. I have also used them in Epi LP's and they worked great there as well. Not so sure about the 59N though .... I would say the Jazz is a better option for most applications.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I find the Seth to be a great pickup in a naturally bright guitar. As Blueman stated it works wonders ina bright guitar adding some needed warmth. I have heard it in Archtops(L5 type of Archtops) and found it to be too dark. the 59 is a great all around pickups.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

As LtKojak stated, they would work but not be ideal. Tonally, they are quite far apart. If you were playing strictly neck or strictly bridge, you might get away with it, but I suspect that the middle position would sound so great. I have both, but I've never put them together in the same guitar -- mainly because I don't like A5 neck pickups.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

As LtKojak stated, they would work but not be ideal. Tonally, they are quite far apart.

Might be. In that case and if you are bothered by an unbalanced volume, i recommend to swap a Alnico 3 magnet into the 59N. This should help.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

The '59 in the neck is very articulate, very bright, yet very bass-boomy. You can soften the highs and lows somewhat by a mag swap (A2 will add mids while softenning the highs and lows). But the lows will take on a different character with the A2...looser/flubbier. The '59 with an A2 has a lot of character and responsiveness.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I find the Seth to be a great pickup in a naturally bright guitar. As Blueman stated it works wonders ina bright guitar adding some needed warmth. I have heard it in Archtops(L5 type of Archtops) and found it to be too dark. the 59 is a great all around pickups.

Exactly. :friday: Seth bridge/'59N is a very good choice. Better than a lot of guys on the forum come up with. '59B's are very bright, too bright with 500K's and the stock A5. A Seth solves that. '59N's have a crisp, clean high end, and any boominess in the low end (which is occasioanlly an issue) is easily cured by lowering the bass side of the PU. These two would work very well with each other, and be easy to get an amp setting for, that compliments both PU's.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I had that pair in a les paul, it worked great.

I didn't find the '59 to be muddy in the lows or overly bright. It's pretty much a standard A5 PAF type pickup that works great as is.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

The '59 is not muddy at all in the lows, but can be a bit boomy. It is definitely bright and mid-scooped. That's a typical characteristic of a PAF...bright, mid-scooped.

I consider a Pearly Gates to be a PAF pup which is also a bit mid-scooped, but not nearly as much as a '59. It also has a bright and clear high end, but again, not nearly as much as a '59. It has strong articulate bass, but never seams to get boomy like the '59.

By the way, I love the '59.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

All said and done, I too think I'd probably rather have the SLb in the neck, and the '59n in the bridge with an A8 magnet. The '59 is awesome in the bridge with an A8 to beef up the mids and output and smooth out the highs a bit.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I appreciate all the inputs! Please keep in mind these will go in a 335 clone, maple body, maple neck and rosewood board.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I like A2 pickup in the bridge and A5 pickup in the neck position of my Epi Dot (in my case A2P - '59). I think SLb - '59n would be a great pair in your Echotone.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I have this combo! Stuck it in my Epi Dot . . . The '59 neck is exactly what I was hoping for, nicely balanced with everything from beautiful almost acoustic sounding Jazzy tones all the way to singing lead stuff. The Seth Lover is a great pickup, but I keep finding myself wishing I could turn it up just a bit more. I've tried messing with pickup heights quite a bit, but the best sounding spot for the Seth seems to be at a lower level than you need it to be to match the '59 in the neck. It's also a touch brighter than I like when paired with the neck pickup. The '59 neck loses something awesome from the sound when you roll the volume back to try and match the two pickups.

I'd either look for a slightly hotter bridge pickup if I were you . . . or go with a matched Seth Lover set.
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

Ok, the deed is done. Results---not quite what I was hoping for, (although I'm not quite sure what I was expecting). I think most of your inputs were spot on. The 59' is articulate, not muddy but somewhat boomy and much higher output than the Seth. I think the Seth sounds ok but it's not exactly what I was expecting. Although even in lows,mids, and highs, I think it sounds more middy than I hoped for, was that to be expected? I tried to raise the Seth and lower the 59' to even the output but I still need to turn down the volume on the neck to even them out. When I do that I loose the clarity of the 59'. I have only tried the new setup with my MMrd50 which as most know is a hybrid and extremely clean. I have a Carvin VT50 that I need to try it with to see if it sounds the same. Not sure I want to get into changing magnets as some have suggested so I'm not sure what I will try next. All that said I still have the dreaded JB I could try in the bridge just for grins. I don't want to give up yet though! What do the experts think?
 
Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

I sort of wonder if simply swapping them would yield a better result. Do the exact opposite, with a 59N in bridge and SLb in neck. Then raise the bridge and lower the neck.

If it's not too much hassle, try it. The second post in this thread said the same thing.
 
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Re: How 'bout Seth Lover Bridge / SD 59' Neck?

Yeh, that's what I said too. '59n in the bridge, and SLb in the neck.

I would definitely recommend starting to learn mag swapping. It's a great tool for fine tuning your pups to get just exactly what you want.

In this case, with the pups switched around, you may find that the '59n in the bridge is very bright. You may not like that and be tempted to either switch them back again or buy a new pup. And you may never be satisfied.

But if you just swap out that A5 mag for an A4 or A2 or even A8, you may just find heaven. Likewise, you may find that the SLb is a bit too muddy and weak in the neck. But an A5 or A4 may give you a bit more brightness, crispness, articulation, and output to have a perfect match with the bridge '59n.

Swapping magnets is easier than changing strings and can have a much greater affect on your tone. Once you start, you will wonder how you ever got along without doing it. It will create an addiction that you never guessed possible, however.
 
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