Little 59 vs Std. 59

[Andrew Lamprecht]

How does the little 59 match up to the regular 59 in the bridge position?

Both in a tele and strat.

I know this has probably been covered but putting 59 in the search brings up every other thread here haha.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

the lil 59 works just fine with a 59 in the bridge, they balance well

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

the lil 59 works just fine with a 59 in the bridge, they balance well

sorry, I actually meant, does the lil 59 sound the same as a regular 59 or similar.... if they were in the same position

 

[LatsMcGee]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

Well at one point I was rocking an MIJ strat with a 59 bridge next to a MIM strat with lil 59 bridge, the lil 59 seemed hotter with a better midrange IMO.....

 

[jeremy]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

the lil 59 and fullsize dont sound the same. youll never get a single coil sized pup to sound like something that "hears" twice as much of the string.

the 59 has a wider more open tone than the lil 59

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

Not at all the same. The full sized '59 neck has a big lower mid and low end bump the little is lacking, which in that position IMO is a good thing, but the same is true in the bridge, which IMO is a bad thing for that position.

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

Not at all the same. The full sized '59 neck has a big lower mid and low end bump the little is lacking, which in that position IMO is a good thing, but the same is true in the bridge, which IMO is a bad thing for that position.

This is fascinating.

I may just give it a shot in my superstrat.
I like my DMZ Chopper, but it's a little too midrangy for a neck pickup. Need it to be more airy. Less thick.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

I'd have to agree with Ray. you'd not think they are related at all. sorta seems the same with the JB Jr, so the naming of the Duncan "rails" seems as if they got something in the ball park and threw the 'known name' on it.

the Lil '59 would be my preference for the Duncan "rails". keeps it together in the lows, can cut through in the highs, and cleans up nicely. if I had to pick one Duncan "rails" it'd be the Hot Rail. this would be the second. I'd not pick any of the others.

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

Not at all the same. The full sized '59 neck has a big lower mid and low end bump the little is lacking, which in that position IMO is a good thing, but the same is true in the bridge, which IMO is a bad thing for that position.

Ray, I think Darth and I are on the same page about how to orient this pickup.

If I have a hot/trebly bridge pickup like a full-size JB or Distortion, is it better to use the neck or bridge model Little '59 for the neck position? I'm thinking you might get a bit more treble with a bridge model, but you sacrifice some cleans doing it.

It'd be nice to experiment, but these single-coil sized buckers are more expensive than their full-sized counterparts. I'd rather get it right the first time around.

Another forum brother recommended wiring a bridge Little '59 in parallel with the full-sized bridge. But what about regular series wiring?

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

The neck version is brighter/tighter. I never recommend bridge pickups in the neck, too muddy. Run it in series for a sound that is sort of humbucker like but with some single coil tightness; in parallel it gets a lot more like a traditional single. Add switching for versatility.

 

[guitarkid]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

I don't think they sound anything alike. The 59 is my favorite pickup, so I thought that I would try the Lil59 bridge in my Tele, since I like 59s so much. To my disappointment, the Lil59 doesn't sound anything like a regular 59. The 59 is very clear and articulate, while I found the Lil59 to be muddy, undefined, and really just nothing like the real thing. I know some people like it, but it wasn't for me.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

I don't think they sound anything alike. The 59 is my favorite pickup, so I thought that I would try the Lil59 bridge in my Tele, since I like 59s so much. To my disappointment, the Lil59 doesn't sound anything like a regular 59. The 59 is very clear and articulate, while I found the Lil59 to be muddy, undefined, and really just nothing like the real thing. I know some people like it, but it wasn't for me.

That's what I would have expected, trying to get a little PU to duplicate a PAF. Like sending a boy to do a man's job. :cool2:

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

^ lol. I like that.

 

[BRHGM]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

I agree. The Lil 59 for tele bridge just doesn't do it for me either. The 59 however sounds great in the bridge of my tele.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

The neck version is brighter/tighter. I never recommend bridge pickups in the neck, too muddy.

I agree. Duncan winds bridge models different than neck, and putting a bridge in a neck has never worked out for me. too dark/muffled/muddy. now putting a bridge in a middle position is a different story, but that's just me.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Little 59 vs Std. 59

I have the Little 59 in my Tele bridge position and it is an incredible pickup, but it is rather dark with a 250K volume pot so I had to change this to a 500K.