i like the Jazz in the neck, and currently have a 59 in the bridge, but i find the 59 a little too harsh on the cleans, maybe it's the midrange?
what could i replace it with? maybe something with a little less output? does a jazz in the bridge work?
I find the stock 59B to be a little brighter than my favorite pickups too. But it's also one of my favorite pickups for trying different magnets in.
Stock, the newer 59B's have a
polished Alnico 5 magnet. Replacing it with a
roughcast Alnico 5 magnet will round that treble, seem to add some texture to the treble and mids and loosen up the bass just a little. It will be more "touch sensitive" and you'll be able to shape the tone more easily with different ways of picking.
My favorite magnet swap in a 59B is to swap the stock
polished Alnico 5 magnet with a
roughcast Alnico 2 magnet. That will round and warm the treble even more, and add even more mids and texture to the 59.
Original Gibson paf's used roughcast magnets and more often than not sound to me like roughcast Alnico 2 or Alnico 4.
Alnico 4 gives a 59B a sound that's in between Alnico 2 and Alnico 5, but closer to Alnico 2.
None of my 59's were wax potted or had covers, so swapping the magnet was easy.
Much easier (and cheaper) than unsoldering the old pickup and installing a new one.
Most of us buy our magnets from AddictionFX.