How to Warm a Pickup?

[misterwhizzy]

I swapped the Custom in my LP with a WLH recently, and it is BRIGHT. I like the output and the push it gives, but I need to drastically tame the top end, and I’d prefer not to replace the pots. I already went to .10uF on the tone control, swapped in an A2, and still need to warm it a bit.

I know the first response will likely be to turn the treble knob counterclockwise, but I need it where it is for cleans.

Do I lower the pole pieces? What hints do you have?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

You can add a resistor in parallel to lower the pot's resistance without having to change the pots themselves. You basically have to solder one end of the resitor to the pickup's hot wire, and the other end to the ground.

 

[freefrog]

You can play through a higher capacitance cable (IOW: a longer and/or coily cable) or just emulate cable capacitance with a low value capacitor from hot to ground (of the output jack or of the pickup itself as PRS does it sometimes). Count 40 or 45 pf per foot of generic guitar cable to emulate.

Example of what all passive pickups do with more cable capacitance (to watch from 9:20 to 10:00):

Example involving added capacitors to tame the brightness in the same way than a cable does:

It's an old trick, most often ignored albeit it was evoked back in the days by Bill Lawrence or even in the old Duncan F.A.Q. from a few decades ago.

FWIW - and to those who did read me rambling on this topic dozens of times here or elsewhere: sorry about that.

EDIT - And if ever videos are too long to watch, below is illustrated how a same passive humbucker EQs itself through 1ft vs 50ft of cable (with the related capacitive value, allowing to use a cap instead of the cable):

 

[Mincer]

When you turn the tone knob down on the guitar, at what point does it start sounding 'right'?

 

[misterwhizzy]

When you turn the tone knob down on the guitar, at what point does it start sounding 'right'?

7 or 8.

 

[Sam SG]

On my WLHs I allready loved them. But lowering poles just a milliturn tamed the pick chirp that was too much for me.

 

[Chistopher]

I would say pick closer to the neck