I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

[357mag]

I have a Custom in the bridge which has a nice searing tone. I put a '59 in the neck which I like way better than the Jazz that I initially installed. I like the sound of the treble strings but the bass strings have this fat, woofy sound kinda distorted which is hard to eliminate.

I may be shopping for a different neck pickup soon so...

any recommendations?

I want a sweet sound like the '59 has with the treble strings but a clearer more defined bass. If Duncan made a full size humbucker that emulated the Malmsteen neck pickup I would buy it right away. Now you have an idea of the sound that I would like, but of course I know that I won't get that with a Les Paul. But if I can move just a bit in that direction good enough.

I remember I tried the Pearly Gates neck a few years ago with a different Les Paul and I remember it biting pretty good. Never tried the Full Shred.

Don't know a lot about Les Paul pickups so that's why I ask.

 

[metlking]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

Keep the 59n, change the magnet......A4, A3, or UOA5 will make it sound much better for very little $$$$!!!!

 

[Blille]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

Keep the 59n, change the magnet......A4, A3, or UOA5 will make it sound much better for very little $$$$!!!!

That.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[saladin]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

Try lowering the 59 and raising the pole pieces first, it might just do the trick!

 

[357mag]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

I knew the changing the magnet thing was gonna be posted. Nope. That's something I would have to learn and I'm not gonna go there. Too much hassle. I'd rather change the pickup.

Lowering poles and pickups doesn't do much.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

If you don't mind having different brands in the same guitar, the Dimarzio Air Norton is brilliant at the neck. I generally like Dimarzios neck pickups better due to their thick mids and rolled off highs. You can definitely ape Malmsteen tonality with the Air Norton. It handles gain very well whilst maintaining a clear tone.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

There are so many things you could do to easily dial in your 59. Like the others said, change the mag, raise the screws, lower the bass side of the pickup only. You can also change your pot values. Les Pauls have the advantage of having 4 pots, so you can tune the pot values individually to each pickup. The thing I think would have the most effect is putting a cap between the series link like the Invader neck.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?257329-What-does-the-capacitor-in-the-neck-Invader-do

Changing mags is the easiest mod ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXbzqQZu-Qk

 

[metlking]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

I knew the changing the magnet thing was gonna be posted. Nope. That's something I would have to learn and I'm not gonna go there. Too much hassle. I'd rather change the pickup.

Lowering poles and pickups doesn't do much.

I thought the same way for a couple of decades until I tried it. Easy.....easier than changing a pickup!

 

[357mag]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

There are so many things you could do to easily dial in your 59. Like the others said, change the mag, raise the screws, lower the bass side of the pickup only. You can also change your pot values. Les Pauls have the advantage of having 4 pots, so you can tune the pot values individually to each pickup. The thing I think would have the most effect is putting a cap between the series link like the Invader neck.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?257329-What-does-the-capacitor-in-the-neck-Invader-do

Changing mags is the easiest mod ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXbzqQZu-Qk

You can't change the sound of a pickup by monkeying with it's height. Lowering or raising has little to no effect on pickup tone. The pickup is the pickup is the pickup. You can't alter the tone by height adjustments. I have lowered my neck plus raising the polepieces after lowering the pickup and the sound of the '59 with it's characteristic woofy bass tone is still there. It has to be.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

Putting a cap between the series link will reduce bass.

 

[Blille]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

 

[Clint 55]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

You could also use a tbx tone control: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlrwH3KopxY

Splitting or paralleling it will also reduce bass. So many options.

 

[Hank-]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

If no mag swaps are ya thing then consider the WLH neck for a alternative to 59n or Sentient for inbetween a jazz & 59 sound.

Although still consider a mag swap, the 59 is protected enough that you wont accidentally cut a winding & the mag is easier to remove since there isn't much tape surrounding it. It will be quicker than replacing it with a new pickup & not need to re-wax or anything either.

 

[AlexR]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

You can't change the sound of a pickup by monkeying with it's height. Lowering or raising has little to no effect on pickup tone. The pickup is the pickup is the pickup. You can't alter the tone by height adjustments. I have lowered my neck plus raising the polepieces after lowering the pickup and the sound of the '59 with it's characteristic woofy bass tone is still there. It has to be.

I'm sorry, but you do change the way a pickup eq manifests with height adjustment....its well known and documented.
Sure you can't turn one pickup into another, but reducing the effect of woofy bass is certainly possible with careful height adjustment - I've done it countless times on my neck pickups. The issue here is that the pickup is not the only part of the equation - the guitar comes into it too. So your success may be more or less based on what guitar its in.
The magnet is also another aspect I'd urge for reconsidering. A3 is a great choice for neck pickups.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

Lowering poles and pickups doesn't do much.

The suggestion was to lower the bass side of the pickup and raise the pole screws on that side. This brightens and tightens- you'll hear a difference, the only question is whether it'll be different enough. But as the simplest first option by far, it's well worth trying. Easy to tweak, and easy to reverse if you aren't happy with it. And it won't affect the tone on the high strings that you do like.

 

[SJ318]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

+1,
What eclecticsynergy said. Leave top where it is, lower the bass side a raise the pole, it will work.
Roughcast A4 works well by evening out the EQ levels and responds even better with low bass side higher poles.
Mags are too easy to swap, takes far less time than a new p'up change.
SJB

 

[357mag]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

+1,
What eclecticsynergy said. Leave top where it is, lower the bass side a raise the pole, it will work.
Roughcast A4 works well by evening out the EQ levels and responds even better with low bass side higher poles.
Mags are too easy to swap, takes far less time than a new p'up change.
SJB

I did lower the whole pickup on the bass side. And I raised the polepieces on the bass side. I didn't hear much of a difference. But I will try it some more.
As far as doing this splitting or wiring parallel thing, my '59 is a two conductor pickup. All it's got is a hot wire and a metal braided ground. Can it still be done?

 

[Clint 55]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

You bet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjW6MjJTW-I

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171245566027?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[EmiAba]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

The 59n is a wonderful pickup and a real tone machine (it is the neck pick up I prefer the most along with dimarzio paf pro). Some users are used to say that it's boomy in guitars like LesPauls. I have it in one of my gibson and I love it even in its factory form. I have never experienced the boominess but I swapped the AlNiCo 5 with a polished AlNiCo 4, just to ear how it sounds. And I prefer this incarnation. It's a matter of taste but the A4 EQ emphasizes the real sound of the woods and it's the best companion for the custom8 I have in the bridge. My 59n is nearly perfect.

 

[BRHGM]

Re: I love the '59 but it's a little too fat and woofy in the bass

I think Lew is right. A PG neck would probably work well for you. Another possibility would be a Seth neck or even a Demon Neck. The Custom is a pretty flexible pickup to match with.