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

[Lewguitar]

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.

Alnico 4 is cool for a change of pace, but I could never use it in my #1 guitar. Too stringy. Too much note separation.

I just pulled a set of Custom Shop PG's I'd modded with alnico 4 out of my PRS and replaced them with a set of 59's I modded with roughcast Alnico 5.

I've had Tom Holmes HB's with alnico 4 magnets in that same guitar and didn't love them either. Liked them...but didn't love them. Again: too articulate. Comes across as being too bright to my ears.

My two favorite neck humbuckers are a stock A2 PGn and a 59n with a roughcast A5 magnet.

I don't know what guys who claim the 59n is boomy are doing. It never seems boomy to me. Different styles...different levels of experience...I just don't know.

Anyway....the OP ought to try a PGn. That seems to satisfy the guys who find the 59n to be boomy.

 

[Mincer]

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

A PG neck, or even a Whole Lotta Humbucker neck would fix that boom.

 

[357mag]

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

I would like to try the Duncan Distortion neck model. My local music shop has a bridge version. What would that be like in the neck? Otherwise, I have bookmarked a store in Minnesota that carries the neck model.

 

[daenius]

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

What I like to do for neck pickups is the big tilt: have the treble side closer to the strings and lower the bass side to be further away from the strings. You'll get much less output on the bass side this way, and that translates to much less bass response on the bass side, which seems to be what you're looking for while retaining the nice warm singing tones for the treble strings

You'll be surprised to find just how much of a long way pickup heights can go

 

[MkIII Renegade]

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.

One thing is for sure, the 59N is NOT boomy whatsoever in Superstrats. It is buttery on the lower strings, but I love that.

The Air Norton has an extra degree of clarity, but with a little less butta. It is a more modern voicing. I like to get Petrucciesque lead tones with mine. The rolled off highs come in useful in the upper register for a very confidence inspiring, shreddy tone. One of nicest things about the neck pickup of course is the smooth attack up top. I can't think of many that are smoother under high gain than the Air Norton. The Liquifire is in the same category.

 

[Demanic]

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

Alnico 4 is cool for a change of pace, but I could never use it in my #1 guitar. Too stringy. Too much note separation.

I just pulled a set of Custom Shop PG's I'd modded with alnico 4 out of my PRS and replaced them with a set of 59's I modded with roughcast Alnico 5.

I've had Tom Holmes HB's with alnico 4 magnets in that same guitar and didn't love them either. Liked them...but didn't love them. Again: too articulate. Comes across as being too bright to my ears.

My two favorite neck humbuckers are a stock A2 PGn and a 59n with a roughcast A5 magnet.

I don't know what guys who claim the 59n is boomy are doing. It never seems boomy to me. Different styles...different levels of experience...I just don't know.

Anyway....the OP ought to try a PGn. That seems to satisfy the guys who find the 59n to be boomy.

I was using the 59n in a mahogany Shecter with a set neck, rosewood fingerboard, string through body, tonepro bridge, 26.5 scale, 10-54 strings tuned to D standard. It was boomy. With a polished A4, it's not, even tuned down to C standard. Plus that string separation works well with complex chords, even under heavy gain. Oh, and split it sounds gorgeous, almost like a jumbo acoustic.

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

 

[jeremy]

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

I would like to try the Duncan Distortion neck model. My local music shop has a bridge version. What would that be like in the neck? Otherwise, I have bookmarked a store in Minnesota that carries the neck model.

the dd neck is thick sounding but matches well with the bridge model. a bridge model in the neck might be really muddy

 

[357mag]

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

I'm gonna try something different. Gonna go with a Dimarzio PAF Pro in the neck. Seems that also is a popular neck pickup.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

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

I'm gonna try something different. Gonna go with a Dimarzio PAF Pro in the neck. Seems that also is a popular neck pickup.

The PAF Pro is a great neck pickup!

A little mild for the bridge, depending on your taste, but the original JEMs came with them and supported Vai's need for clear sounding pickups that were going to be colored by huge racks. I remember playing on such a rack setup back in the day when they were all the rage using a Blue Floral Pattern JEM. It was a fantastic hotrod sound! Those clear qualities are also fine for players who use minimal processing..

 

[Aceman]

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

I'd try the Mag swaps first, but a PG may be the answer. OK - I'd just throw the PG in there and call it a day. But I'll agree that mag swaps are a very cost effective option!