How to add beef and warm up a '59?

[Rex_Rocker]

So I've got this '59 in the bridge position of an inherently bright guitar. I find it a bit thin.

I am already running a 250K volume pot, but it's still kinda thin. I've also got the screws buried in a bit deeper than I normally do on other pups.

So what can I do to add low-end beef to the pickup? Magnet swap?

 

[LtKojak]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

what can I do to add low-end beef to the pickup? Magnet swap?

What do you have in the neck?

 

[dystrust]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

Try an A8, or better yet a WLH.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

What do you have in the neck?

DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary.

 

[Demanic]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

Try a UOA5 magnet. That should fatten up the mids Abit without losing the A5 character.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

The '59 uses a polished A5 magnet.

Going to a roughcast A5 magnet will thicken the mids and soften the highs a little.

Going to an unoriented A5 will take it even further in that direction.

Try both.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary.

Then an A8 would do what's requested, yet keeping a tonal balance with the neck.

HTH,

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

I guess I'm going to order a bunch of magnets and see which one works best with the '59, then. Thanks, dudes.

 

[SJ318]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

+ 1 on the WLH, and RC A5, UO A5
Steve B.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

I guess I'm going to order a bunch of magnets and see which one works best with the '59, then. Thanks, dudes.

That's the spirit!

 

[JeffB]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

WLH is still a very different sound than a 59b no matter what type of A5 you put in it

I would also vote for a UOA5 as first in line for a mag swap.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

Would the UOA5 and RCA5 deal kill some lows as well? I wouldn't want that.

I would also love to try a WLH, but there's no trembucker version available unless going Custom Shop, AFAIK.

 

[BRHGM]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

I would use another pickup. PG perhaps or Dimarzio 36th Anniversary. The 59 is not a super bright pickup and it usually goes with a 500k pot. A8 changes the character too much, UOA5 is consistent with the early SD 59s. You need to adjust the string height and lower the treble side a hair to suit your playing style. Shrill is not how I discribe the 59 in a Tele bridge or a Les Paul.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

More than shrill, I find it thin, TBH. I kinda like the bright snarly bite it has, just think it needs a touch more bass on this guitar. The 250K pot works well to tame the ice pick (I don't use a tone pot, so I guess a single 250K volume is sorta like having 500K vol+tone pots), but it doesn't do anything to help the lack of chunk, I think.

BTW, I just realized the Whole Lotta Humbucker does exist as a Trembucker! I want one! LOL.

 

[esandes]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

Be sure to wire the HB in series if it is currently in parallel.

Really odd to have a overly bright LP!

Check the pot resistance with a multimeter. They have wide discrepancies. I prefer linear pots for equal percentage control.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

It's not a Les Paul, lol. It's an Ibanez RGA121. Thick maple top, thin mahogany back, and maple neck. Lots of maple!

It is in series, and the pot was changed from a 500K, and I definitely notice the 250K being slightly less icepicky.

Like I said, harshness is not really that big of a problem compared to lack of low-end.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

The issue is lack of output. It's like asking for ideas how to beef up 7 gauge strings.

 

[Mincer]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

The 59/Custom beefs up the output but also the tone nicely. It isn't so scooped...it has really nice mids.

 

[Demanic]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

A UOA5 would thicken the mids just enough without losing too much of the top and bottom. An A4 would flatten out the pickups eq such that it would add mids while keeping even more top and bottom. Either would make the pickup sound like it has more output without going to the extreme that an A8 would.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Masta' C]

Re: How to add beef and warm up a '59?

Get a Seymour Duncan "Pickup Booster" pedal

No, seriously...

It's going to be hard to "warm up" the '59 without sacrificing a little output, unless you go with an A8 mag as Lt Kojak suggested, but the Un-Oriented A5 (UOA5) Demanic mentioned would be your best bet.

Might seem like a dumb question, but you are using the "bridge" model of the '59, correct? The "neck" version is notoriously shrill/bright when used in the bridge position. Just wanted to make sure...