Jazz Neck or L500C?

[TheLizardKing]

I'm replacing a Dimarzio Air Norton in the neck position of my guitar. It is overall just way too dark and muddy for my style. My bridge pickup is a Dimarzio Tone Zone which I love and has fairly high output. I'm afraid if I put a duncan jazz pu in the neck the two won't balance out right considering they are both pretty high output. My alternative is the Bill Lawrence L500Clean humbucker which isn't as high output and maybe a little more thin sounding less suitable for jazz. It is also around 25$ cheaper though it takes 3 months to deliver! From past experiences how would you guys rate the Jazz pickup mixed in the neck mixed with another high output pickup in the bridge such as the tone zone? I like the jazz sound but it seems like a one trick pony. Though the sound I'm looking for is really single coilish clean jazz/blues. Any input? :smack: P.S. Are those silver/gold faceplats changable on even the seperate single coil looking jazz humbuckers?

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: Jazz Neck or L500C?

id say try to play both, if possible. but the l500 is definately not a one trick pony. very versatile.

 

[theodie]

Re: Jazz Neck or L500C?

You cant go wrong with the 500C IMO! Though, I do not consider the Jazz a one trick pony! It has a few tricks but, I would say the 500C has a few more tricks up its sleeve!

 

[Dave Z]

Re: Jazz Neck or L500C?

I used to have to Tzone + Jazz in my test axe (epi g400) and I thought they balanced well. With 2 tone ctrls & a split I thought the Jazz was more than a 1 trick pony. The jazz neck is amazingly cool split, with an open woody sound played clean. TZ is good split as well.

What I don't remember is why the hell I sold the jazz, it had a big sound to it which I thought went well with the TZ. Just bought another jazz, in fact....

 

[drpietrzak]

Re: Jazz Neck or L500C?

I am not sure what your guitar is like, nor the type of music you play for sure here. But, I have 2 SD Jazz pups. One covered the other open coil. Neither were overpowereing pickups to me. One was in my US fat tele (Ash body) the other is in my short scale chambered mahog body with maple cap number 1. In the tele the Jazz was very mini-bucker tone and a bit too bright and brittle for me. This is fine and could have worked for a Brent Mason country thing I would guess, but that was not where I was going. In that guitar it would not have done very well (to my ears for Jazz). The Jazz in the second guitar can do more of a Jazz thing, but honestly this is not so much a Jazz pup as the name implies (to me). It is a modern voiced AV magnet speaker that is very clear and articulate. It is not as round or warm to me as the more Jazzy (to me) voiced pups like the Alnicp Pro II or Seth Lover. The 59 may do what you want as well here. The Alnico II mangnet pup are a bit like the Air Norton in the bridge of my number 1 (only Dimarzio pup I own in fact!). But, I thnk the Seth is the most articulate I have played and have 3 of them coming to do some pup swithing over the next few weeks. I will probably put a P-gates in place of the Dimarzio in the #1 as well.