Lil' '59 w/ too much sizzle?

['Vid]

A while ago I picked up a used Lil '59 (Tele bridge) pickup on Ebay and finally got around to dropping it in my Reverend Hitman (Tele custom pickup setup). The pickup sounds fairly full but a little too brittle than what it should, and when I crank the gain it sounds like it has too much sizzle, almost annoyingly distorted. Could be the previous owner messed with the magnets polarity? The windings appear in good shape and untampered with. All the pots and switches are clean and okay. I know what a great sounding pickup this normally is having owned two of them prior. Any ideas? Thanks - 'Vid Sutton

 

[jeremy]

Re: Lil' '59 w/ too much sizzle?

so youve owned these before and this one doesnt sound right?
have you tried raising and lowering the pup height to see if that helps?

 

['Vid]

Re: Lil' '59 w/ too much sizzle?

Yeah, I've tried everything. Well, almost. I may send it out for repair or maybe I'll just try a new one. Thanks for your help Jeremy.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Lil' '59 w/ too much sizzle?

If you'll be sending it out to the CS, see if it's possible to get an alnico II magnet in place of the ceramic. I have a Lil Pearly Gates for strat from the Custom Shop (loaded with an alnico II bar) and it's smooooooth. :burnout: