Neck humbucker for Charvel San Dimas recommendations

Axl H

Axl H

Blowthebloodydoorsoffologist
Hi bros,

Got myself a USA Charvel San Dimas - awesome guitar. It has a JB and a '59 in the neck. It is made of Alder, has a Floyd and one piece maple neck/fretboard.

I really like the JB, but the '59 is too thin imo, has this kinda single coilish thing going on. I am thinking that it may be the lack of mids it has, that I perceive as it sounding thin? I am not sure - I just miss this fatness and smoothness in my sound from the '59.

I want a really fat and smooth neck humbucker - something almost like a Les Paul sound, think John Sykes lead sound on Is This Love.

These are the ones I think might fit: Alnico II Pro, PAF Pro, Air Norton and Pearly Gates. Any experiences with these, for this kinda sound? Any other recommendations?

Think sound like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOJk0HW_hJw at 02:45

Thanks bros
 
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Re: Neck humbucker for Charvel San Dimas recommendations

....I was gonna say a 59'. I've never heard a 59' described as thin and single coil like! Maybe check out the wiring job? Most people (that don't like it) think it's boomy!

I've got a Les Paul with a set of Suhr Doug Aldrich pickups in it and MAN does the neck pickup sound sweet! It'll do the Sykes thing all day, don't know how it would sound in a Charvel though.......
 
Re: Neck humbucker for Charvel San Dimas recommendations

metlking said:
....I was gonna say a 59'. I've never heard a 59' described as thin and single coil like! Maybe check out the wiring job? Most people (that don't like it) think it's boomy!

I've got a Les Paul with a set of Suhr Doug Aldrich pickups in it and MAN does the neck pickup sound sweet! It'll do the Sykes thing all day, don't know how it would sound in a Charvel though.......
Click to expand...
Yeah its weird - I guess it the scooped mids it has, that I perceive as sounding like it has that kinda thin sound - I always crank the mids hard, so maybe thats the problem. The wiring is in order. I guess it is more mids, that I am looking for perhaps? Sykes sound is very middy and fat on the neck pickup.

THanks for the Suhr suggestion - I will look into those :)
 
Re: Neck humbucker for Charvel San Dimas recommendations

+1 for checking that the wiring is A1.

An alder bodied, screwed-on neck guitar is never going to have the same natural acoustic midrange as a Les Paul. Hence, the nature tonal balance of '59 may not suit. If you are confident with a soldering iron, the simplest solution would be to change the '59's AlNiCo 5 magnet to an A2 or A4.
 
Re: Neck humbucker for Charvel San Dimas recommendations

I have a JB/Jazz set in my Strat... I absolutely love the combination
 
Re: Neck humbucker for Charvel San Dimas recommendations

Same here. '59 should not be thin. If you can run some tests on it and confirm everything is right, including the pickup wiring. After that, if you have an A2 or an UOA5 to put in there, it could be a start. There is the Full Shred. After that, the A2P.


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Re: Neck humbucker for Charvel San Dimas recommendations

Maybe I worded it the wrong way - tried to elaborate in my original post.

It isn't necessarily thin sounding - it just sounds like it lacks mids, it doesn't have that fatness like a really middy neck pickup tends to have to my ears.

Funk -> I know that the acoustic properties are very different :) John uses so much gain and compression that the floyded Charvel he used for alot of the leads has a similar fatness going on, when you can hear it is on the neck pickup. I am just trying to find a suitable bucker to get me in the ballpark :) After 8 years and Niels attempting to kill me for having to fix my botched wiring, I finally feel somewhat comfortable with wiring jobs :) But changing the magnet is out of my league - I dont really want to tear it apart (I have killed pickups before doing this) and mags are hard to come by in Denmark.

Darth -> I think everything is alright. I didn't notice anything weird, when I looked in the wiring cavity, but I am a total noob in terms for wiring. If I take a picture of the wiring cavity, will you guys be able to see if it's in order or not?

How come you recommend the FS neck? I have never tried it and I am quite intrigued about it. I haven't really heard much about it :)

Thanks bros. Trying my best here to describe what I am lacking/wanting.
 
Re: Neck humbucker for Charvel San Dimas recommendations

The FS neck has a little more drive than the 59 and the Jazz. A little more articulate. Just an option.

But...now that you've clarified your description, you might get more suggestions of a specific nature. Have you looked at the tone chart to get an idea of another model that might have more of what you're looking for?


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