my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

[C8rockin]

my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

I mean, basically they sound the same but one is thicker and smoother and more aggressive,... They have been swapped between my 2 guitars several times to make sure it‘s not just “all in my head“. One of them can do no wrong. I can dial it in in minutes every time. The other one however, never seems to sound as good no matter how I set it up. I always try to set it exactly the same as the other but it never sounds (or feels) as good. If it makes a difference, the pickups came from 2 different places about a year apart, but the A8 magnets came from the same place at the same time. Anyone know why this is?

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Check the gauss on the magnet. Both pickup winds should be within tolerance.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Make sure magnet hasnt been flipped. I had one that didnt sound good in positions 2 and 4 and I had the polarity goofed up..

As you know, I love the C8s and one thing I love about them is that the do let the guitars character come thru, but keep the same characteristics so my attack and approach can be the same.
Hope you figure it out

 

[lemonman]

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Swap the mags if you want to find out if it's the wind or the mag that's causing the difference. While it's more likely a difference in the magnets, there's often a noticeable difference between winds. I have several identical models of pups where I like a particular wind better than another.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

i have many Duncan PU's now and i have had 2 Customs that were 2 completely different beasts... one is noisefree and brighter sounding... the other allows more hum thru and has more bass for some reason... and i have tried them in different axes and they have both been in the same guitar, in the same spot for the bridge position with the same pickguard mounted on the guitar....

i have one JB that for some reason is much better then my others...

onetime i found a huge difference in tone was 2 different pickguards i had... one had the bridge position routed in a slightly different spot... the one guard had it's bridge rout 3 1/16th's closer to the bridge then the other guard i was using... needless to say it was much much brighter when it was closer to the bridge... even with that little difference...

 

[C8rockin]

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

It dawned on me last night that the one that doesn't sound as good used to be under a nickle cover, and I remember posting a while back that I liked the C8 better with a cover because it wasn't as harsh. The one that sounds better now was still a CC at the time. I've since removed the cover and now that I've made the other one a C8 and I now have them both in working guitars at the same time is when I noticed the difference.

The pickup sat on the counter for a few weeks while I was getting my second guitar back togather and when I installed it I didn't put the cover back on it. I forgot about that, but the cover made it the same as the other one is without a cover.

I hope you followed all that... I think I'll go ahead and swap the magnets like you you suggest and see if thats it. I wish I had a gauss meter...

 

[C8rockin]

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Lots of pick up and mag swapping yesterday and it's definately the winds. I swapped the magnets then swapped guitars again, then did it all again with A2 mag.s, and the difference is definately in the pickup. The one in question sounds really good as a CC, which is what it was meant to be, but I made it a C8 before I ever used it. It'll stay a CC now, I've kinda been missing my my old friend anyway. The CC was my first love. It sounds really good with my new Muff too. I'm new to Fuzz and I hadn't yet concidered that certain pickups would sound better than others with it.

Well, I don't think it matters that it's different anymore. I have 2 guitars that sound great, and I have some diversity now. First time for everything. This is the first time I've had more than one working guitar, so I need to get over my "one guitar to do it all" way of thinking. Thanks guys...

p.s. I would like to find out what the difference in coils are just so I know, but I need to buy a new meter before I can do that. Mine died.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

Re: my 2 C8’s sound and feel different,.. ???

i have many Duncan PU's now and i have had 2 Customs that were 2 completely different beasts... one is noisefree and brighter sounding... the other allows more hum thru and has more bass for some reason...

A more or less humming Humbucker is more or less defective.

I had humbuckers in all states of defectiveness. For instance the last incomming was an old 59B (all cream, but never had a cover!) which measured in the Mega Ohm area. Both (!!) coils were defective and it sounded weird thin without bass and without real highs.