Loss of volume in certain positions, Cool Rails content

R

Robbiedbee

New member
Hey all

I've just recently dropped a Cool Rails(n)/Vintage Rails(n)/Cool Rails(b) combo in my Strat. I am very, very impressed. Each the Cool Rails sound great, unbelievably so, but I have a small problem.

The bridge position doesn't have the output that the neck position does. The pickup has to be very high (like, almost as high as it will go) before it is the same output as the Cool Rails in the neck, which only has maybe 12mm protuding out from the pickguard. This isn't really that much of a problem, only really when it comes to the middle pickup, the Vintage Rails. I take it the Vintage Rails is supposed to be less output than the Cool Rails, but when it has one really high and one really low Cool Rails either side of it, it causes problems. If I set it too low, it's really too quiet next to the other two pups, if I set it too high, then the neck+middle combo doesn't sound like it should, it sounds like just the middle on it's own.

I think the obvious suggestion here is that I made a mistake wiring, and that I put the neck pickup in the bridge slot, and the bridge pickup in the neck slot, which I'm 99% sure I didn't do. I'd check again, but I don't wanna waste a set of strings. I did this quick mod when I was fitting it, if that could have caused anything? http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/schematics/tone_f_bp.html

Is there anything else I could have done wrong? Could it be a bad solder point somewhere? Thanks in advance.

Robbie
 
Re: Loss of volume in certain positions, Cool Rails content

This probably doesn't really help because it sounds like a wiring problem, but just a heads up as I've been playing around with the height of the cool rails a lot lately: I actually lowered it A LOT, probably a good 15 mm away from the strings, and its finally brought out some single coil characteristics. With other pickups I found that as you lower them they lose a lot of high end, but with the cool rails it seemed to be brighter in this particular spot I have it now (maybe it was just TOO close before though). So don't be afraid of lowering that neck pickup.
 
Re: Loss of volume in certain positions, Cool Rails content

Cheers mate, I've tried it, and the neck pickup can go quite low and still sound great.

It does do a lot to equal the outputs between the bridge in neck, but I'm not happy. It shouldn't be this way. Does anyone else have any suggestions?
 
Re: Loss of volume in certain positions, Cool Rails content

The vibration of the string is wider at the neck position than at the bridge position, therefore two pickups wound to exactly the same specs will not be equal in volume in different positions. The only remedy I can think of would be to maybe switch the cool rails in the neck and the bridge, but I don't think that will help. You could also lower the neck pickup until its even with the bridge where you want it. The vintage rails is supposed to be wired in parallel, this reduces output. You could wire the neck and the bridge in parallel and the bridge in series to help with the output issue, but it might affect the tone. Other than that, I got nothin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top