Looking maybe to swap neck pickups.

[Ascension]

My Purple quilt DC 127 hardtail Carvin. Maple neck ebony board have a Perpetual Burn in the bridge and a Sentient in the neck now. Have a sentient in the neck of my other KOA DC 127 with a Alt 8 and in my Mahogany neck and body DC 400 with a Hybrid in the bridge.
The tonal match with the PB to me is a little off plus I'm looking for a sweeter neck tone. Have a 59 in a couple and want something different in this one. Thinking maybe a Whole Lotta Humbucker neck might be a good match for the big smooth sounding Burn. Anybody got a suggestion preferably that has run the pickup with a Burn.

 

[Mincer]

Also look at the Slash if you want something smoother, but with a little more output.

 

[Ascension]

Also look at the Slash if you want something smoother, but with a little more output.

Thanks and was looking at it and the Pearly Gates also. I'm looking for some thing that has bite and nice cleans but will give me a smoother more singing neck tone for melodic stuff.
This is my set up right now with the Sentient. I'm looking for a softer attack and more fluid smoother tone. Been playing with this guy doing a lot of spontaneous improv like this for years. This is ok but looking to set this particular guitar up a little different. Like my bridge tones with the Perpet but need more sweet and softer feel in the neck without a boomy bottom and mud.

 

[Mincer]

'Smooth' and 'bite' have opposite meanings for me. Something like the Jazz, Sentient, or Full Shred has 'bite'. The Slash or APH-1 is 'smooth'. The trick with the smoother pickups is to not smother it with gain. Maybe boosted Plexi level and that's it, or it gets all smeary, and like running in mud with boots on.

 

[jeremy]

try the wlh, its a great pup and sounds nice clean and with dirt

 

[ErikH]

I've only use the WLH with the PB. I like the combination. The WLH can get bright if you run with no tone control. I did at first and ended up wiring the tone control global rather than bridge only like I originally did. It's really nice split too. Very strat-like, IMO. Makes me feel like I have a great neck pickup. It's wired so it splits to the screw coil rather than the slug.

 

[Ascension]

I've only use the WLH with the PB. I like the combination. The WLH can get bright if you run with no tone control. I did at first and ended up wiring the tone control global rather than bridge only like I originally did. It's really nice split too. Very strat-like, IMO. Makes me feel like I have a great neck pickup. It's wired so it splits to the screw coil rather than the slug.

Thanks for that man.
This is the set up now with a Sentient in the neck at Church. I have 4 rigs. My PRS MT 15 stays at Church running a 1/12 off stage I have a PRS Archon 50 for bigger venues and outdoors then a pair of 25 watt combos. Those are my Zinky Blue Velvet 1/12 and my Mesa Boogie 1/10 Subway Rocket. . I run almost no effects.
I'm looking for more of a smooth woman tone in the neck that won't get mushy with gain. the Sentient kills it in my mahogany neck and body Dc 400 or KOA Dc 127 Carvins but is a little thin and harsh in the maple neck Alder body with the Quilt top DC 127. Need a little fatter and more compressed neck tone in this guitar but still with that nice mid sing.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Maybe consider the Saturday Night Special neck, or even a 59N with an A4 swapped in.
Full disclosure, I haven't owned the SNS myself - just a fan of A4 neck pickups.

A4 has sort of a split personality: for low to mid-gain work it's got high treble that makes for nice snap and sparkle.
Then when you open up the drive for a lead, suddenly the tone goes rich and liquid.
The extra highs still give a nicely defined pick attack, but at gain they don't seem to affect the body of the tone so much anymore.
And the firm lows help keep it from getting muddy when pushed.

Great magnet for neck pickups especially. At the bridge I think A4 can be pickier about the wood than A5 or A2.
Not necessarily about which woods are used, but rather which individual pieces it will or won't like.
That's been my experience, at least, in my fairly limited encounters with A4.

A4 in a 59N was wonderful (for the 59B from that set I chose UA5 instead and have been happy).
I have an A4 Duanebucker from Zhangbucker that's fabulous in bridge position on one particular Les Paul.
Stock A4 McCarty hums from PRS were great in one, kinda lackluster at the bridge in another - but I kept the neck.

 

[jeremy]

i have the sns and wlh but they are in such drastically different guitars its hard to make a direct comparison. i do like them both

 

[ErikH]

Thanks for that man.
This is the set up now with a Sentient in the neck at Church. I have 4 rigs. My PRS MT 15 stays at Church running a 1/12 off stage I have a PRS Archon 50 for bigger venues and outdoors then a pair of 25 watt combos. Those are my Zinky Blue Velvet 1/12 and my Mesa Boogie 1/10 Subway Rocket. . I run almost no effects.
I'm looking for more of a smooth woman tone in the neck that won't get mushy with gain. the Sentient kills it in my mahogany neck and body Dc 400 or KOA Dc 127 Carvins but is a little thin and harsh in the maple neck Alder body with the Quilt top DC 127. Need a little fatter and more compressed neck tone in this guitar but still with that nice mid sing.

Well, the WLH might do it but the woman tone requires rolling back the tone regardless. The WLH does work well with that where as some A2 pickups might get muddy and it doesn't really get too muddy under gain. It's not PAF Pro tight under gain but holds it's own and it'll clean up well too. The Slash Alnico II Pro neck is another great option. It's EQ is ever so slightly different than the regular A2P that it has great cut and is still smooth. Worth looking in to.

 

[Ascension]

Maybe consider the Saturday Night Special neck, or even a 59N with an A4 swapped in.
Full disclosure, I haven't owned the SNS myself - just a fan of A4 neck pickups.

A4 has sort of a split personality: for low to mid-gain work it's got high treble that makes for nice snap and sparkle.
Then when you open up the drive for a lead, suddenly the tone goes rich and liquid.
The extra highs still give a nicely defined pick attack, but at gain they don't seem to affect the body of the tone so much anymore.
And the firm lows help keep it from getting muddy when pushed.

Great magnet for neck pickups especially. At the bridge I think A4 can be pickier about the wood than A5 or A2.
Not necessarily about which woods are used, but rather which individual pieces it will or won't like.
That's been my experience, at least, in my fairly limited encounters with A4.

A4 in a 59N was wonderful (for the 59B from that set I chose UA5 instead and have been happy).
I have an A4 Duanebucker from Zhangbucker that's fabulous in bridge position on one particular Les Paul.
Stock A4 McCarty hums from PRS were great in one, kinda lackluster at the bridge in another - but I kept the neck.

LOVE the SNS have a set in my AE 185 but also tried to use a neck with a Hybrid in another guitar. The tonal match was way off between the 2. Also have a 59 with the A4 in the neck of my 95 Washburn USA MG 102 and a JB in the bridge it's not the tone I'm looking for here. Have given more than a passing thought to running a set of SNS is this guitar though. Need to find another solid body to set up for a set. Love the tones had a set in a Carvin ST 300 and it sounded amazing. Unfortunately the guitar was a Reverb purchase and had been ordered with the thick neck profile and I prefer the thin. Sold it to buy the Purple DC 127 and should have pulled the Zebra SNS Trembucker set before I did.

 

[Ascension]

'Smooth' and 'bite' have opposite meanings for me. Something like the Jazz, Sentient, or Full Shred has 'bite'. The Slash or APH-1 is 'smooth'. The trick with the smoother pickups is to not smother it with gain. Maybe boosted Plexi level and that's it, or it gets all smeary, and like running in mud with boots on.

Agreed and my main amps are the PRS pair. Both have very fluid dynamic high gain crunch sides as well as killer big round sweet cleans. It's walking the tight rope looking for a pickup that is smooth and sweet clean but yet doesn't fall apart at relatively high gain. Finding that balance that's the hard part.