Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

Stolysmaster said:
You misunderstood what I wrote. I am looking for something in the BRIDGE position that will get me as close to a PAF sound as possible using a single coil size. The fact that I have Lace Sensor Emeralds in the neck and middle positions has nothing to do with what I want from the BRIDGE position. I only mentioned those positions regarding why I am not wanting to switch out the 250K volume pot.
Click to expand...
Is obviously not what you want, but what you need to achieve to get close to the tones you're asking for, plus nice quacky tones in position 2 and 4 for free, is to ditch the Laces and get an Everything Axe set.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/everything-axe-pickguard

You can thank me later... ;)
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

I like the '59 bridge better than the neck version personally. I have a few guitars that are routed only for single coils under the pickguard, so these mini 'buckers are my only real choice to get a humbucker like tone. I didn't care for the JB jr, but the Lil '59 and the Lil Screamin Demon are both good in the bridge. The Lil SD seems thicker to me out of those two, but both are good.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

Nostalgic Distortion said:
Yep, the lil 59N sounds much better in the bridge than the actual bridge model IMHO!!! It probably sounds closer to a real PAF than the bridge but I'd have to agree that neither of them are exactly PAF clones? Unfortunately you can voice a Strat sized bladebucker to be PAF-ish but in the end the only way to get a Strat to sound exactly like a old Les Paul is to put it down & buy a L.P.! There's a lot of variables that go "that tone" & your not going to get it just by popping in a different pup?
Click to expand...

Yes, I still may try a Little 59N in the bridge position. I am just trying to "move in the direction" of a PAF type sound with this Strat for the bridge position, searching for a way to get Audley Freed's sound from his "Cry of Love" days. I have read that he used a Little 59 in his Warmoth Strat, but it could have been a 59N or a 59B wired in parallel. The 59B wired in series is way over the top and too midrangy for his tone back then.

Some have just assumed that I am trying to get a Les Paul PAF sound out of this Strat; not true. I already have three guitars that are VERY close to that sound using full size hand wound humbuckers. This is an attempt to duplicate Audley Freed's sound from the early 90s. I probably should have clarified that earlier.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

LtKojak said:
Is obviously not what you want, but what you need to achieve to get close to the tones you're asking for, plus nice quacky tones in position 2 and 4 for free, is to ditch the Laces and get an Everything Axe set.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/everything-axe-pickguard

You can thank me later... ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comment, but no, not at all what I'm looking for. I tried a JB jr. once in the bridge of another Strat and thought it sounded horrible...just based on what I like to hear. It is WAY too thick and muddy for my tastes. Back it the 80s I used a full size JB in one of my guitars, now I don't like them either, too inarticulate and ill-defined for me. Not knocking your preference, just not for me.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

Compared to single coils, even a 59 bridge sounds "inarticulate" to me. That said, I like singles and humbuckers (for years I only played singles though.)
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

thanaton said:
The neck should sound closer, since both the neck and the bridge Little' 59 have lower resonant peaks than a full sized '59 set, but the Little '59 neck pickup's peak is not quite as low as the bridge.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think I have decided to get a little 59N to use in the bridge position, and put in a 500K volume pot. If that is too muddy and mid-rangy for me, then I might try a Dimarzio Fast Track 1.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

Just an update for anyone who might care; after purchasing a Little 59N in the bridge position of this Strat sounds pretty decent, and similar to what I way looking for. The Duckbuckers in the neck (bridge model for more balance against the Little 59N in the bridge) and middle positions do not sound very good though. I'm selling the Duckbuckers, and I ordered two Kinman AVn 59 models for the neck and bridge positions. This should get me very close to Audley Freed's sound from his Cry of Love days.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

I always thought the Little series was designed with 250k in mind, so it can drop right in a Strat. Of course, you can use whatever you want. I never thought the smaller humbuckers sound much like their big brothers, but they have a good sound- my expectation wasn't that I was replicating a specific humbucker sound, though.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

Mincer said:
I always thought the Little series was designed with 250k in mind, so it can drop right in a Strat. Of course, you can use whatever you want. I never thought the smaller humbuckers sound much like their big brothers, but they have a good sound- my expectation wasn't that I was replicating a specific humbucker sound, though.
Click to expand...

I agree. I put 500K pots in all positions, and I like the Little 59n with the 500K volume pot. It is not connected to either of the tone pots; using a standard Strat wiring. I am going to swap out the two tone pots back to 250K when I get the Kinmans, so those pickups will see 167K (500K volume +250K tone) going to ground when all pots are full up. The Kinmans will like that better since they are made for a total resistance of 125K (250K V+250K T) going to ground when wired in a standard fashion.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

Stolysmaster said:
You misunderstood what I wrote. I am looking for something in the BRIDGE position that will get me as close to a PAF sound as possible using a single coil size. The fact that I have Lace Sensor Emeralds in the neck and middle positions has nothing to do with what I want from the BRIDGE position. I only mentioned those positions regarding why I am not wanting to switch out the 250K volume pot.
Click to expand...
Not to be insulting, but why not buy a SSH pickguard and put a real PAF in it? They sell for $15 or less on Ebay all day long.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

I found the dim tone zone s (and T) to be the closest in sound to a full sized humbucker and with 500k pots and series/split/parallel switch and a treble bleed (0.001 cap) works great, can sound like a fat humbucker or a strat.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

I dont have a tonezoneS or protrack but I have the FT1,FT2 and chopper. I would not recommend anything more darker than the chopper for the neck spot, I find it darker than a full sized sh1n but tighter low end and more mids. The chopper is still not a perfect paf sound for the neck(maybe satch track would fair better), but in the bridge it sorta sounds more open but bright, 250k pots might tame that.

Anyways, if the guitar is routed for a humbucker in the bridge then I'd rather get a good PAF in there to sound the best.
 
Re: Little 59 sounds NOTHING like a PAF!

Stolysmaster said:
Pretty aware of that, thanks. That's why I wrote"as close as possible..."
Click to expand...

You already have "as close as possible" and by now you should know: if you want the sound of a full size humbucker, you need a full size humbucker.

That's just the way it is, so if that is important to you, give up on the single coil size.

It ain't gonna ever happen.

You're wasting your time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Rex_Rocker
Why is a PAF Pro so bright?
2
Replies
34
Views
690
Juanhanglo
J
Mark Abbott
Strange Texas Hot resistance readings?
Replies
2
Views
289
Mark Abbott
Mark Abbott
dadodetres
Which humbucker for neck Strat to Fuzz /hi gain?
Replies
14
Views
1K
Mincer
Mincer
alex1fly
Custom 8/59!
Replies
2
Views
520
EmiAba
EmiAba
Mincer
  • Featured
Seymour Duncan Announces ‘59 Model Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Custom Shop Set!
2
Replies
22
Views
873
Rex_Rocker
Rex_Rocker
Back
Top