Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

[gregory]

I've been kicking around the idea of dropping a JB2 or some kind of Distortion hybrid in my floyd-equipped 25.5" scale basswood guitar with rosewood fretboard and am curious about a good neck pickup to go with it. I like dynamic bridge pickups that will clean up with soft attack under medium gain.

I prefer neck humbucker pickups to be slightly dark with prominent mids which provide a good solo voice. I don't want a very noticeable reduction in saturation under medium gain compared to the bridge pickup, though I also don't want then neck pickup to swamp the bridge pickup when playing clean due to the extra bass which seems to be the trade-off.

With that in mind, what are your opinions of using a Custom 2 in the neck with a JB2 in the bridge?

How about a Sentient, 59/Jazz 59/FS?

Are there other magnets I should consider for the neck? I'm shying away from A5. Mid scoop with over-emphasized bass is something I wish to avoid, though slightly brighter and punchy wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, so long as the neck doesn't swamp the bridge with low gain.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

Why not an AIIP neck?

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[daenius]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

You plan on magnet swapping a JB to A2?

The 59/Custom Hybrid sounds like a nice idea for the bridge

Custom Custom with its mega mids will probably do fine in the neck but from what I've heard the Custom Custom is certainly on the hot side of medium output humbuckers. Depends on just how much output you want from the neck, of course.

 

[gregory]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

Looking for a fast attack with the high mids/low treble driving the amp as hard as what's in the bridge, though I really don't know how it stands up to the JB2. I need to buy some A2 magnets so I might as well stick one in the 59n that I have. I guess I should start with the 59n since I've never had anything in that guitar other than EMG 81b/85n.

In case it helps-
The neck is 22mm c-profile fender type 1-pc maple, rosewood fingerboard. The the body is thick with square edges and wood seems pretty neutral, though it's also undersized. Routing is through the back.

 

[gregory]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

The 59/Custom Hybrid sounds like a nice idea for the bridge

I'm getting around to that but not for this guitar.

I've heard the Custom Custom is certainly on the hot side of medium output humbuckers.

How hot relative to the JB2? I can lower the neck, but not at the risk of it no longer hitting the amp with the right balance of frequencies.

Depends on just how much output you want from the neck, of course.

More on the hot side. I can manage the difference with the modern wired volume control using a 250k tone pot if need be.

I'd also like for it to give a decent alternative tone when wired in parallel. Thin is ok, but not tinny.

I like the sound of a split Pearly Gates in the neck, though. Maybe even enough to put up with hum when my overdrive is on?

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

If you want the neck to compete with the bridge you want as much cut as possible, the Custom is the last thing you want as all it is is bass when in neck position. Full shred or Distortion hybrids sound like good ideas.

 

[gregory]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

Thanks!

I'd be a bit worried about a DD. I like it in parallel in the bridge but only with some HF roll-off otherwise it can get shrill or even unstable with too much gain. Do I dare try mismatching it with a Custom coil?

I imagine the Custom 2 in parallel would be good in the neck. As for series, I was hoping the A2 would relieve a tubby bottom. It would be nice if the EQ graph on the product web page was an accurate representation, but I've learned the hard way that Duncan's BMT figures can be quite misleading.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

If you put a Custom in the neck it's no longer a Custom, it's a Jazz Bass. Since you were talking about upper mids and no swampy bass, that's exactly what you don't want. The Distortion seems like a good starting point for what you want. When you mismatch coils you get more mids. So it's all about how much cut you want. DD/FS would be max cut, DD/59 would be cool, the 59 is kind of smooth, you could go DD/C2 if you want but the Custom just sounds bad in the neck, I think you have much better options than that.

 

[gregory]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

Again, thanks! I really appreciate your steering me away from using Custom coils in the neck.

Another thing that came to mind is the P-Rails Neck, though I have no idea about how much cut I'll get in series. I also really dig the sound of the QP in the neck, which is what made me think of the P-Rails. Like with series mode, I have no idea where the P-90 coil will land me relative to the JB2. Parallel mode looks promising as well. I was hoping the P-90 sound could still be prominent when in parallel, but I'm guessing I won't be able to get very close to that tone in a humbucker format with hum cancelling.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

No problem! I haven't tried the p rails, but they sound good, and other members seem to like them.

https://youtu.be/KACL6JQeXoA

I like the quarter pound too! I just put it in my mustang and am getting great pawn shop tone from it.

In my super strat I have a Antiquity/Seth hybrid with the A2 from the Ant to go with my C8/JB. Its 7.5k and it sits slightly lower than the 15k bridge.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

How about an A2 59/Custom Hybrid at the neck to go with your JB2 bridge? Good cut, nice mids, no flab, medium output. Could be a good match. Not sure it would do well in parallel, too much coil offset. But with the 59/c's degree of clarity you probably wouldn't feel the need to switch to parallel. Plus it splits really well too, if you ever wanted to.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

The P-Rails in the neck is good, but there isn't much 'cut' in series. I still might opt for something like a Jazz in the neck, and then experiment with magnets for it. Start out with the A5, the most cutting, and then step down. It would be easy and cheap.

 

[gregory]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

I wish I hadn't gone along with using the term cut, rather I want equal saturation with the bridge in the mids and low treble under medium gain. I am willing to concede that a Jazz may have enough midrange/low treble to compete with an A2-loaded JB, however.

I'll make no bones about it: my desire to load an HH guitar with a JB2 is inspired by Warren DiMartini. If it were an HS Superstrat I'd be thinking along the lines of an SDS-1 or QP in the neck. I mentioned the QP earlier, but I probably like the tone of the SDS-1 even more. I can listen to Jake E. Lee's neck tone from the second Badlands album all day long. So this line of thinking is pulling me away from the idea of a darker louder neck sound centered around a 43 gauge coil or pair of coils and pushing me more towards the idea of something that sounds like a beefy single or P-90, which should also produce a prominent amount of mids and low treble, minus the saturation. Either way, I'd like at least one additional usable alternative tone running in parallel or possibly split for the lower gain stuff.

I've also been looking at the Bluesbucker, since I'd prefer a P-90 sound that is also noise-canceling. The split tone of the Bluesbucker is also quite nice, though I have my doubts about parallel mode, especially compared to that of the P-Rails. Maybe it would work out when paired with the JB2 so long as it didn't take on any Telecaster characteristics.

The controls on the guitar are 1 volume, 1 tone and a large 3-way toggle. I don't want to do any routing and would prefer to stick with push-pulls, but am not entirely opposed to using Triple Shots if the pickup provides more than two great tones, which could be the case with a P-Rails. with a usable alternative tone running in parallel, though split would be OK for cleans

 

[Mincer]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

If you are using a JB2, I'd go for that Alnico II Pro in the neck. I used this combo for a few years, and it does the 'warm Jake E Lee' thing really well.

 

[gregory]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

Thanks, Mincer!

Is it fair to say that you're steering me away from a P-Rails in favor of an A2P?

Any thoughts about a Pearly Gates Neck?

I really liked some of the samples I heard of the PGn split and I'm wanting some additional versatility, though it might not be necessary now that I found out that the JB2 is actually capable of really nice cleans. The JB5 has a good split sound, so I'm betting the JB2 will too; maybe even better?

Regardless, I'll make sure to try an A2 with my Ibanez/Duncan HB-101N before cannibalizing the coils for a hybrid.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

Well, I really dig the A2P. It is my favorite neck pickup, so I am sort of biased there. But it is also the one I have experience with, along with the JB2.

 

[Wolfshead]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

24 frets? If so I wouldn't worry too much about the neck pickup. I've tried all sorts in my 24 fret guitars and ended up just going with things like Ibanez INF or whatever. I honestly think putting a 59 or A2Pro or anything like that is a waste as they just don't work that well in a 24 fret guitar.
I tried a LOT of different pickups to come to that conclusion too.

 

[gregory]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

22 frets

 

[Mincer]

Re: Medium Output Set for HH Superstrat

24 frets? If so I wouldn't worry too much about the neck pickup. I've tried all sorts in my 24 fret guitars and ended up just going with things like Ibanez INF or whatever. I honestly think putting a 59 or A2Pro or anything like that is a waste as they just don't work that well in a 24 fret guitar.
I tried a LOT of different pickups to come to that conclusion too.

I know it is 22 frets, but I feel the same about every neck pickup I've tried in a 24 fret guitar.