Model 59's WAY too thin, tinny and springy sounding--- UPDATE: NEVERMIND

J

jt-dad

New member
UPDATE: FOUND THE ISSUE...I overlooked one thing...My Wah Wah pedal was unknowingly on! OMG..so dumb...totally threw off the whole tone and didnt realize it..thanks for all the help guys

Tried out the Model 59's with huge hopes for that classic hard rock sound, but it made my Les Paul sound like a tele. So thin and metallic and plucky and tinny sounding. It lost that growl and thickness.

I'm new to the swapping pick up game, so pardon my ignorance if you guys love that sound...just not what I was expecting.

Had tried the Slash 2.0's before this and they were too hot and compressed.

What's the answer here?
 
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59s shouldn't sound thin at all, and sound great for classic rock. Can you post pics of your wiring? Have you tried wiring them directly to the jack? How far away from the strings are they?
 
Mincer said:
59s shouldn't sound thin at all, and sound great for classic rock. Can you post pics of your wiring? Have you tried wiring them directly to the jack? How far away from the strings are they?
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I have them wired with vintage wiring diagram from Seymour Duncan...I also have a push pot set up with split coil option, so there's a lot going on to take pics. But I have everything wired correctly.

I started them at 2 mm from the strings...and have experiemented with raising and lowering them.

Was not expecting them to sound so springy and tinny...but after looking online, seems like its a common issue. People are calling them "tele's on steroids"
 
jt-dad said:
Tried out the Model 59's with huge hopes for that classic hard rock sound, but it made my Les Paul sound like a tele. So thin and metallic and plucky and tinny sounding. It lost that growl and thickness.

I'm new to the swapping pick up game, so pardon my ignorance if you guys love that sound...just not what I was expecting.

Had tried the Slash 2.0's before this and they were too hot and compressed.

What's the answer here?
Click to expand...
The slash stuff are glorified Alnico II Pro's. Basically PAFS like the 59's. Too hot and compressed are the opposite of what they are.

What you are describing just does not fit what they are. I guess it would help to know what you are coming from
 
lots of old vintage les pauls do sound like a tele on steroids. works great into a cranked tube amp, maybe less so with other rigs.

you could mag swap the 59, i like a3 neck, a2 bridge, but that might not be enough for you, and you may not like a2 since you didnt like the slash 2.0. what pups are you replacing? i assume you got 4conductor 59s since they usually dont come that way. do the coil splits seem to work correctly?
 
jt-dad said:
I wouldnt even know how to do that. I just used SD wiring diagram and double checked everything with AI to ensure it was where it's supposed to be
Click to expand...
Clearly something is not right. If you needed AI to check your work, I am still of the mind there is a wiring issue. Especially if you are coil splitting. Tap each coil with a screw driver. Are they both active?
 
jeremy said:
lots of old vintage les pauls do sound like a tele on steroids. works great into a cranked tube amp, maybe less so with other rigs.

you could mag swap the 59, i like a3 neck, a2 bridge, but that might not be enough for you, and you may not like a2 since you didnt like the slash 2.0. what pups are you replacing?
Click to expand...
Thanks...Yeah...guess I wasnt expecting that tele on steroid vibe...Might swap for the original slash as Jeff suggested from SD.
 
Bill Dennis said:
Clearly something is not right. If you needed AI to check your work, I am still of the mind there is a wiring issue. Especially if you are coil splitting. Tap each coil with a screw driver. Are they both active?
Click to expand...
My first swap job...but followed the diagrams. Not that complex. Red and white together, ground and bare grounded...all pots grounded to each other...coil spit works...vol and tone knobs work...Dont sense any wiring issue. If there's something specific to check though, Im down to look again. I looked on AI just to make sure I did the push pull pot correctly
 
got a multimeter? if so plug a (short if you have it) cable into the jack, set all volume and tone controls full up. set the meter to read 20k dc resistance, but the two leads on the tip and sleeve of the cable and you should see like 7.5k for the neck, 4k in the middle, and 8.2k in the bridge or something like that
 
any typical multimeter would work.

the slash 2.0 is 8.8k and 9.4k or something like that, but with a2 magnets. that was too hot and compressed, and maybe the 59s are too thin so something in between like the wlh or hades gates or sns
 
I like to get a simple set of leads like this, and cut off the 'gator clips. Then solder the red & black wires to the tip & sleeve of a 1/4" plug. Then you can just plug it into the guitar for quick measurements.

Meter leads
 
From my bad memory, I don't think the 59 and Slash sound as different as the OP's descriptions. Seems highly unlikely, but maybe one of the 59 coils was hooked up incorrectly by the manufacturer. Seems a long shot though.
 
Señor Verde said:
From my bad memory, I don't think the 59 and Slash sound as different as the OP's descriptions. Seems highly unlikely, but maybe one of the 59 coils was hooked up incorrectly by the manufacturer. Seems a long shot though.
Click to expand...
Apparently Im a dumbass...I didnt realize, I had my wah wah pedal active and everything was sounding so weird and I couldnt figure out why.
 
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