Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

M

Maximusgordon 2.0

New member
Hi everyone--

I got back my Ernie Ball Music Man Silhouette yesterday with a new Whole Lotta Humbucker set in it. To be honest, I'm not quite satisfied, although it may not be the pickups fault (more on that in a moment). I liked the presence the original PAF Pros had, but the bridge pickup didn't have quite enough body for me. But now the WLH set seems a little flat by comparison. The highs seem a bit choked and the sound doesn't burst off the string with enough life for my taste.

Many of you might beg to differ in my description of the sound, so before I do jump to conclusions, I have a couple of theories I'd like to float out there which could be contributing to my lack of enthusiasm about the sound. Perhaps someone with greater expertise on this kind of thing help validate them or shoot them down.

First off, I mistakenly ordered the standard spacing instead of the trembucker version which means that the high and low E in particular aren't perfectly aligned. In both cases the string passes just barely over the edge of the pole pieces. Could that be contributing to a duller sound?

Also, I left the original 250k pots in there. I figured I wanted to keep the middle single coil sounding as good as can be, but in the process could I have compromised the sound of the humbuckers by not going to 500k pots?

Please help! I wanna fix this.

Best,
Max
 
Re: Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

I would start with raising the pole pieces up slightly under the high strings. If the highs still seem a bit choked, you should definitely consider 500K pots. You might find the single coil gets along rather nicely with 500K, as well.

As far as trem vs standard spacing, it will make a .00001% (i.e. negligible) difference in the tone as the magnetic field is larger than the physical pole pieces. With most guitars, the difference is largely an aesthetic one, not a tonal or performance one.
 
Re: Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

The volume pot is your issue.
Keep the 250k tone but swap the volume for a 500k.
 
Re: Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

Well, first I would say that the 250k pot is killing your humbuckers. The Whole Lotta humbuckers are not pickups I would even think about trying with 250k pots. I find that the Whole Lotta Neck sounds best with its pole pieces set flush with the bobbin. Try changing those pots out and see if that cures your problem.
 
Re: Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

Well... this is not going to be fuzzy or warm sounding advice but it needs to be stated.

The PAF Pro is a hyped PAF design with extra presence and upper mids... it's primary function is to be bright enough to use with single coils/250k pots while simultaneously being able to cut through the mix. The upper mids have been tweaked so much that their strong peak gives way to a sort of cocked wah sound in the normal mids/low midrange.

The WLH set is COMPLETELY different. The WLH set has ZERO upper midrange hype... it is balanced sounding with a full midrange. Instead of a cocked wah sound, you get a snarl and growl with the WLH set's midrange. The WLH set has rounded highs as well. The attack of the WLH set is tuned to the lower midrange instead of the upper midrange like the PAF Pros.

It's not as if the WLH is dull and lifeless... it's that they have a relaxed upper midrange and rounded highs. There are a lot of hyper upper midrange pickup designs out there but very few with a balanced and relaxed midrange.

Yes, you need 500k pots with the WLH set... the middle single coil will just get brighter and have a tiny bit more power as a result of a change of potentiometers.

And in all honestly... you will have to take some time to get used to the lack of hyped upper mids AND... the WLH set's bass response doesn't quite extend as far as the PAF Pro's either. The WLH set will make up for the lack of upper mids and extended bass by having a full midrange with no scooping. The output is also a bit softer with the WLH set... the power and compression is found within the lower midrange, which could take some getting used to. Pickup swaps sometime need a sort of "breaking in period" where you adjust your playing and ears to the new sonic signature.

Some of my most favorite pickups took weeks for me to fully get on with them. Good luck!
 
Re: Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

Thanks guys, I appreciate your input.

zenmindbeginner: I assumed that someone would say something along those lines at some point. A lot of the sonic differences you pointed out are exactly what I was looking for in the new set of pickups, I knew they would be not as bright - that was part of the point - I just didn't expect it to be so incredibly dramatic. I'm gonna play them a bit more but something tells me I'll be switching the volume pot to 500k very soon.

I'll report back.
 
Re: Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

Maximusgordon 2.0 said:
Thanks guys, I appreciate your input.

zenmindbeginner: I assumed that someone would say something along those lines at some point. A lot of the sonic differences you pointed out are exactly what I was looking for in the new set of pickups, I knew they would be not as bright - that was part of the point - I just didn't expect it to be so incredibly dramatic. I'm gonna play them a bit more but something tells me I'll be switching the volume pot to 500k very soon.

I'll report back.
Click to expand...

It's pretty dramatic and I didn't want it to seem like a simple pot change would give the pickups a lift. The thing with low output pickups is that most are fairly bright compared to their darker and overwound counterparts. THe WLH will surprise people with how warm and midrange focused they are. I just didn't want you to think that your ears were fooling you and wanted to more or less confirm your findings.
 
Re: Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

you can install 500k pots all round, then just add a 470k load resistor to your single coil, so that it sees close to 250k at the pot. That way you can have your cake and eat it too.
 
Re: Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

Good idea gibson175, thank you!

zenmindbeginner: Yeah, that's always been my experience with lower output humbuckers as well. Glad I'm not crazy.

In case I decide that these pickups are not for me (at least not in this guitar), and wind up looking for something a bit fuller than the PAF Pro but that has more upper midrange bite than the WLH's, what should I go with? Pearly Gates perhaps? I'm jumping the gun here, mind you. I'm gonna give these at least a few weeks.
 
Re: Issues with WLH set in EBMM Silhouette.

Bear in mind that the WLH pair is designed primarily to go in a set neck guitar of 24.75" scale length and with a fixed stud-mount bridge/tailpiece. The MM Silhouette is none of these things.
 
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