Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

[fingerstyle]

Needed, a Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.
I play a lot of clean lead - country, blues, jazz and I also play with overdrive ala Cream era Clapton and Allan Holdsworth.
i almost love the Seymour Duncan 59 neck but the low wound strings sound undefined and woofy. I've had the same problem
with my Gibson Les Paul, trying to fined a low to medium output pickup that is focused and clear in the bass...
the guitar I'm upgrading now is my Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AS83. The ibanez 58's are okay, but a bit to much low mids for me.
With the SD 59 and the Ibanez 58 in the neck I fined myself turning the bass on my amps almost off.
I purchased a set of Slash Duncans, not because of his music, but because I keep hearing about these being great pickups.
Well, again, woofy lows and undefined mids in the neck and a somewhat harsh bridge in the 2.5k or so upper mids.
Along with my search for a neck pickup, I need a bridge the will not have overbearing highs and high mids after adjusting my amp for the neck pickup.
So, a neck pickup with clear and articulate lows, scooped mids, without harsh overbearing highs,
...and a bridge pickup that matches it after adjusting the amp for the neck.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

You should try a set of Seths. Also, mess with the pickup heights and adjustable poles. There is a lot of tone tweaking that can be done with simple pickup adjustments.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

I'd go for a Sentient in the neck, and you don't have to worry about woofy lows. While marketed as a metal pickup, it does a lot more, and at all gain ranges.

 

[fingerstyle]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Yes, I've tried all that, still flubby lows. Just in case I missed something, what would you do to make the lows in the neck less woofy?

 

[Cynical]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Yes, I've tried all that, still flubby lows. Just in case I missed something, what would you do to make the lows in the neck less woofy?

It sounds to me like a neck humbucker isn't for you. Maybe try a Phat Cat P90?

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Sounds to me like a Jazz neck would suit your needs.

 

[OsvyRock]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

According to my experience...

Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates (NECK)
Dimarzio PAF Master (NECK)

PS. What do you have in the bridge?

 

[fingerstyle]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

At the moment I have the Duncan Slash in the bridge, before that the Ibanez super 58.

 

[Blille]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Sounds to me like a Jazz neck would suit your needs.

My thought exactly.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Whole Lotta Humbucker set. If the neck is still too woofy, there's a trick that can fix it. Put a small capacitor in series with the hot lead to the switch. The value of the capacitor depends on how much low end you need rolled off. Use a couple alligator clips and try a few different values out until you find what works for you and then solder it in place.

 

[Tone Meister]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Assuming you already have 500K volume pots. Try this simple mod before changing any pickups

https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/muddy-neck-pickup

 

[fingerstyle]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Hello ErikH
I really should try that cap mod... thank you!

 

[fingerstyle]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Hello Tone Meister,
I will try this mod tonight! Thanks so much!
Oh, i would assume that a .022 will remove less bass? I may try both.

 

[JimmyO]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Second the whole lotta humbucker recommendation. It's like a 59 but less woof and a bit more juice. WLHs are my favorite classic rock set for Les Paul's. Another option for the styles you mentioned would be the Pearly Gates. Vintage PAF style but with slight more midrange juice and less bass than the 59. Great neck pickup.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

You can also put a trim pot in series with the red/white wires to ground so that you can dial out one of coils of the humbuckers so that it can go anywhere between fully humbucker and fully split. Then you can stuff it in the control cavity and forget about it if you want to, that way the wiring still feels "vintage correct", for lack of a better phrase.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Hello Tone Meister,
I will try this mod tonight! Thanks so much!
Oh, i would assume that a .022 will remove less bass? I may try both.

it will remove more bass

 

[Toejam]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

The Jazz will do it.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

The Jazz or the DiMarzio Humbucker from Hell will do what you want.

 

[metlking]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Have you tried any magnet swapping in the 59n? In my experience you can tweak it to sound so much better with a different magnet. I have an A3 in one of mine and an unoriented A5 in another. Either one sounds WAY better. Some people have recommended an A4, I didn't care for it. Grab some magnets and let your ears decide! Its cheap.......

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Neck Humbucker that isn't woofy or flubby or overbearing in the bass.

Yes, I've tried all that, still flubby lows. Just in case I missed something, what would you do to make the lows in the neck less woofy?

You've tried a Seth, and careful pickup adjustments, and you still have a flubby and woofy bass? Staying within the general P.A.F. realm, the Seth is usually the answer to the problems of the '59. It's significantly lower in output, and more mid balanced, than the '59. What amp, and what are your settings? Anything else in the signal, like effects boxes?

What I would do is lower the pickup until it sounded clear enough on its own. Then I would raise the individual poles in order to balance the strings, and balance the volume with the bridge pickup.

If Seths don't do it, with these adjustments, try the DiMarzio EJ Custom. That's a mini humbucker tone in a full-sized humbucker form.