My axe or the pickups? help please.

[danglybanger]

This thread might determine whether my Paul is for me or not... It might be for sale soon.

So, I'm really fed up with having crappy sounding palm mutes. I've got a fairly resonant axe, and the tone is decent in every other respect, but I've noticed that with the 498T pickup, quite counter-intuitively, palm mutes sound better (but still not great) with the bass turned down. Has anyone else noticed this? It seems like as the bass eq increases, the bass sounds less growly, and turns very round and pianolike and compresses to nothing. Has anyone else noticed that?

Or is this just inherent in the axe (all mahogany, 3/4 width les paul type) or do the 498T pickups just really suck?

I have a 59 bridge I've got half a mind to switch in... I know these pickups aren't renowned for their palm muting, but it's got to be better than the 498T... right?

I tried a Dime in another (brighter) guitar once, and that had the best palm mute chunk ever (should have kept it). That pickup would strike me as being too muddy and scooped for the all mahogany paul... (though there is no info on the pickup in the tone chart). would you agree?

So for an all mahogany paul type guitar as I have, what would give the best, tightest, grindy palm mute chunk? Is everyone going to say DD, or is the Custom better for that.

slade

 

[metalspider]

Re: My axe or the pickups? help please.

i have a custom custom in my hamer (its like a les paul) and i love it.
you have to watch you picking hand position when palm muting being right on the bridge makes for very nice chunky palm mutes.

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: My axe or the pickups? help please.

The 498 is not a bassy pickup so it is probably the guitar witch have a big fat bottom :9:
then forget about the Custom and try some tight pickup like the DD , Full Shred or the Demon .
Note that i use to have a gibson MIII witch was bass heavy and the Demon sounded the best in it : palm mutes in this tight and percussive pickup was shaking the speakers like HELL of an eathquake , plus this pickups is loaded with harmonics without being harsh ( especcially in a dark guitar ) .

 

[Nightburst]

Re: My axe or the pickups? help please.

The Custom is hard to beat for heavy palm mute chunks. Huge bottom end!
Also check you amp's eq, for good chunk you need a good amount of treble along with the bass.

 

[saladin]

Re: My axe or the pickups? help please.

I have no problems palm muting with 59's, they sound great for any style music.

 

[JeffB]

Re: My axe or the pickups? help please.

This thread might determine whether my Paul is for me or not... It might be for sale soon.

So, I'm really fed up with having crappy sounding palm mutes. I've got a fairly resonant axe, and the tone is decent in every other respect, but I've noticed that with the 498T pickup, quite counter-intuitively, palm mutes sound better (but still not great) with the bass turned down. Has anyone else noticed this? It seems like as the bass eq increases, the bass sounds less growly, and turns very round and pianolike and compresses to nothing. Has anyone else noticed that?

Or is this just inherent in the axe (all mahogany, 3/4 width les paul type) or do the 498T pickups just really suck?

I have a 59 bridge I've got half a mind to switch in... I know these pickups aren't renowned for their palm muting, but it's got to be better than the 498T... right?

I tried a Dime in another (brighter) guitar once, and that had the best palm mute chunk ever (should have kept it). That pickup would strike me as being too muddy and scooped for the all mahogany paul... (though there is no info on the pickup in the tone chart). would you agree?

So for an all mahogany paul type guitar as I have, what would give the best, tightest, grindy palm mute chunk? Is everyone going to say DD, or is the Custom better for that.

slade

If the 498T is not to your liking for mutes, I doubt the 59 will be either...the 59 is tubbier on the low end of the spectrum, and IME, not as tight. That said, if you want REALLY tight palm mutes you gotta go with a really clear sounding HO pup...DiMarzio Super D, Duncan D...the Custom works very well but isn't as tight as the DD, or Super D.

I've got clips of my Firebird somewhere with the 498T that has some palm muting I'm pretty sure... PM me your email addy, I can send it to ya (it's a big file I made for a forum member who was interested in buying it). And my soundclick page has plenty of muting with the 59s in my Hamer.

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: My axe or the pickups? help please.

Man , I think that for chung-chung the receipe is a pickup with clean-tight bass then preamp and then add bass in the amp .
If you start with saturated bass ( witch comes when you use a bassy p-u or a lot of bass in the preamp EQ ) you end with big but undefined and muddy bass ; no chunk here .
That's why use a bass-tight p-u or a little amount of bass before the distortion stage , and add bass after the distortion stage .
So I keep on thinking that the Custom can't be the best choice for it ( and I know this p-u ) :no1: :no1: :no1: :no1: :no1: :no1: :no1: :no1: :no1: