More twangy alternative to Seth Lover neck?

[Supernautilus]

I’m not strongly averse to using other brands. I’ve heard great things about Fralin and that Twangmaster looks interesting. I’m just used to SD and I’ve used them for years. All my guitars have SDs. I know the color codes and I don’t have to worry about phasing or polarity issues. It’s just a comfort thing really.

 

[Securb]

I rarely stray from Duncan and when I do, it is because I am looking for something specific and iconic like a DiMarzio Super Distortion or T.V. Jones.SD in most if not all cases also has something that fits the bill for what I am looking for.

 

[Supernautilus]

Hey all, got another question that hopefully someone can answer. While I have this Seth cracked open, I have taken it upon myself to attempt to convert this 2 conductor pickup to 4 conductor. It seems pretty straightforward but I'm confused about hooking up the colored wires. The wires on the pickup are ALL black. The whole north/south start/finish thing kinda confuses me and I'm not sure which colors to hook up where if I want to stick with SD colors. I'll put the pics below. Can someone tell me which colors go where? Much appreciated, thank you.

 

[GuitarStv]

The only thing twangier than the Seth is the Ant with the aged cover. It makes it a little spikier. You might want to go with a mini tho. Mag swaps could also add twang. My go to mags for max spike in the neck are UOA5 and A9. The A2P or PG would be about the same smoothness as the Seth.

You find the Antiquity is twangy? To my ears it has a kind of soft sound to it, not much in the way of very bright highs. The '59 neck sounds much twangier to me as long as you position the bass side lower and play with the pole pieces to get rid of boominess.

 

[Mincer]

The Antiquity is bright to my ears, too, but balanced by the bass. It really has no compression to speak of, and is probably the most un-compressed feeling humbucker I've ever tried. So, in that way, it responds a lot like a single coil.

 

[GuitarDoc]

The screw coil is:
Green = start of the coil winding
Red = finish
The slug coil is:
White = finish
Black = start.

Connect a Green wire to the black wire from the screw coil that is going to the inside of the coil (the start of the winding).
Connect a Red wire to the black wire from the screw coil that is coming off the top of the coil (finish).
Connect a Black wire to the black wire from the slug coil that is going to the inside of the coil winding (start).
Connect a White wire to the other black wire of the slug coil coming off the top of the coil (finish).

The Green wire will be the ground. The two coil finish wires (Red and White) are used to split to the slug coil when both are grounded. They are also useful for linking the two coils in series, parallel, or out of phase. The Black wire is the lead/hot wire.


https://www.seymourduncan.com/images/wiring-diagrams/WD_Pickup_Color_Codes.jpg

 

[Supernautilus]

The screw coil is:
Green = start of the coil winding
Red = finish
The slug coil is:
White = finish
Black = start.

Connect a Green wire to the black wire from the screw coil that is going to the inside of the coil (the start of the winding).
Connect a Red wire to the black wire from the screw coil that is coming off the top of the coil (finish).
Connect a Black wire to the black wire from the slug coil that is going to the inside of the coil winding (start).
Connect a White wire to the other black wire of the slug coil coming off the top of the coil (finish).

The Green wire will be the ground. The two coil finish wires (Red and White) are used to split to the slug coil when both are grounded. They are also useful for linking the two coils in series, parallel, or out of phase. The Black wire is the lead/hot wire.


https://www.seymourduncan.com/images/wiring-diagrams/WD_Pickup_Color_Codes.jpg

Thank you so much! So just to clarify, when you refer to “inside of the coil” does that mean the wires coming out of the bottom of the bobbins in the picture? And the “top of the coil” would be the wires above those on the side?

 

[GuitarStv]

The Antiquity is bright to my ears, too, but balanced by the bass. It really has no compression to speak of, and is probably the most un-compressed feeling humbucker I've ever tried. So, in that way, it responds a lot like a single coil.

It's the lack of compression that I like the best about the Antiquity, that's really lovely from a humbucker. Definitely not a dark pickup, but I feel like the '59 is a good bit brighter . . . it can get almost scratchy and piercing sounding sometimes, whereas the Antiquity never does that.

 

[Clint 55]

What Mincer said, it has some upper clank to it, but it's balanced with bass so it's not super bright but has some edge to it.

 

[EC Strat]

How about the Saturday Night Special Neck? That is one I have never tried, but the description does seem to fit the bill. If it were me, I would try the Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell Neck, but you may be wanting to stick with Seymour Duncans.

SNS is very mellow and balanced. Not twangy at all.

 

[Supernautilus]

Update: Just figured I’d report my results. I swapped the mag to A4. It’s definitely better. Still a pretty dark pickup but it’s much more punchy now compared to A2. It’s not as much of a change as I heard with my Jazz A4. But I think that’s because of the cover on the Seth which attenuates the high end a bit. I have half a mind to try A5 next just to see the effect. I’ll report back if I do.

 

[Clint 55]

You could use a push pull pot to partial split the Seth. That would involve more tinkering with the inner wires tho.

 

[Supernautilus]

You could use a push pull pot to partial split the Seth. That would involve more tinkering with the inner wires tho.

Yeah, I actually tried split and parallel modes with a 3 way switch I installed but I was not pleased with the result. I think the pickup is too weak for this kind of thing. I actually reverted the pickup back to 2 conductor shortly after. Which I'm fine with.

However, because I already have a switch hole cut out in the pickguard, I was considering putting in a bypass switch for the tone control to take it out of the circuit. Maybe that would open up the Seth a little bit. I'll have to try it.

 

[gsammo79]

Ive got a Jazz 35th anniversary in the neck of an epi LP. Some of the guys have mentioned a strat-like quality with split humbuckers. This Jazz 35th does a solid stratocaster imitation. It's not a cheap pup, but i highly recommend it.

 

[chadd]

Update: Just figured I’d report my results. I swapped the mag to A4. It’s definitely better. Still a pretty dark pickup but it’s much more punchy now compared to A2. It’s not as much of a change as I heard with my Jazz A4. But I think that’s because of the cover on the Seth which attenuates the high end a bit. I have half a mind to try A5 next just to see the effect. I’ll report back if I do.

When I get some time I want to try A3 and A4 in a full shred. I have a feeling that could be interesting

 

[Clint 55]

Update: Just figured I’d report my results. I swapped the mag to A4. It’s definitely better. Still a pretty dark pickup but it’s much more punchy now compared to A2. It’s not as much of a change as I heard with my Jazz A4. But I think that’s because of the cover on the Seth which attenuates the high end a bit. I have half a mind to try A5 next just to see the effect. I’ll report back if I do.

My secret weapon for bite in a neck hum is A9.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Yeah, I actually tried split and parallel modes with a 3 way switch I installed but I was not pleased with the result. I think the pickup is too weak for this kind of thing. I actually reverted the pickup back to 2 conductor shortly after. Which I'm fine with.

However, because I already have a switch hole cut out in the pickguard, I was considering putting in a bypass switch for the tone control to take it out of the circuit. Maybe that would open up the Seth a little bit. I'll have to try it.

I put tone bypass switches in all my custom builds. Works beautifully and is less costly than using a no-load pot. Plus it gives you the option of setting your tone pot to a sweet, usually-used setting, then just flip the switch to go full-on tone (as if there was no tone pot even installed). Then just flip the switch back to get that sweet spot without having to search for it. Quick and simple.

 

[Supernautilus]

Hey all, just an update on this issue and a request for more assistance please.

After using this A4 Seth Lover for a while, I’ve decided that while I like it better than A2, it’s still not where I want it to be. The highs and lows are ok. There’s just something lacking in the mids.

I’ve also decided that I miss the sound of the uncovered A2 Jazz I used to have in this slot. It was brighter and had much more punchy mids than this SL has.

So if I’m trying to get this covered SL to sound more like an uncovered A2 Jazz (or APH-1), what mag should I try next? A2 was too dark. A4 is too flat. I’m thinking UOA5 next? Does that make sense?

 

[skelt101]

What about a3?

 

[Clint 55]

UOA5 or A3. They're similar but UOA5 is brighter and A3 is richer.