Neck pickup in bridge position

[Cdntac]

I was recently gifted an early 70s SG. It’s been refinished a few times and I think I’m going to do it again.

I find that it’s a little bright with the pickup I put in the bridge (~8.2k with an A2) and I’m wondering if I should try a lower wound neck pickup in the bridge position.

I’m thinking a neck Seth Lover or maybe a neck 59.

There are vids online I’ve watched but it’s hard to really tell if it makes a substantial difference.

Amy opinions?

I’m of the thought that spending over $100 just to experiment and find out it doesn’t make a huge difference isn’t a wise idea.

 

[hamerfan]

A neck pickup is lower wound and has therefore a higher peak, is brighter. You have a bridge pickup (8.2k) in the bridge. If you feel its too bright, you need a higher wound bridge pickup or use your volume and your tone pot.
Try the following: set the bass side of the neck lower and the whole bridge pickup higher (which sounds contradictive at first), then lower the volume pot of the bridge until bridge und neck are the same volume. If the bridge pickup is still too brite, the lower the tone pot of the bridge. Worked for me on a ES guitar with T-tops.

 

[Bill Dennis]

I was recently gifted an early 70s SG. It’s been refinished a few times and I think I’m going to do it again.

I find that it’s a little bright with the pickup I put in the bridge (~8.2k with an A2) and I’m wondering if I should try a lower wound neck pickup in the bridge position.

I’m thinking a neck Seth Lover or maybe a neck 59.

There are vids online I’ve watched but it’s hard to really tell if it makes a substantial difference.

Amy opinions?

I’m of the thought that spending over $100 just to experiment and find out it doesn’t make a huge difference isn’t a wise idea.

A neck pickup will be even brighter. Probably not a solution

 

[Chistopher]

Did you play around with height adjustment

 

[Mincer]

I've never heard a bright Seth Lover in any position, although a 59 can be bright in the right (wrong) guitar. For a cheaper solution, change the bridge pots to 250k.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I've never heard a bright Seth Lover in any position, although a 59 can be bright in the right (wrong) guitar. For a cheaper solution, change the bridge pots to 250k.

I think most vintage PAF-y winds in the bridge can be pretty bright if you're used to hot overwound pickups.

But I agree. I would change the bridge pots to 250 and start there.

 

[freefrog]

I'll probably sound like a boring broken record by repeating my usual stance...

Guitar heroes of yesteryears plugged through very long and/or coily cables. The darkening effect of this factor on the tone of passive humbuckers can be heard there (to listen until 9:50 at least):

But one doesn't need long wires to get the related tonal change. A low value capacitor from hot to ground of a pickup will get there* for a few cents. Count +/- 45pF per foot of cable to emulate.

This parameter doesn't affect the tone in the same way than lowering the value of pots: lower resistance pots flatten the resonant peak of pickups. Higher parasitic capacitance from hot to ground shifts this resonance down in the audio range, putting the accent on less bright frequencies. It's pretty clear in the video above.

*NOTE - This use of low value caps to tame a too bright pickup was mentioned in the Duncan FAQ, back in the days... ;-)

 

[Sam SG]

I’m of the thought that spending over $100 just to experiment and find out it doesn’t make a huge difference

I hear that. Thats why I rarely swap pickups. I mean ill buy pickups for a build or swap out a squeely one. Or if i have a Super high output and want a vintagey sound or vise verse.
But usually most quality pickups can be made to sound very usable with careful adjustment.

 

[Mincer]

I’m of the thought that spending over $100 just to experiment and find out it doesn’t make a huge difference isn’t a wise idea.

I get it. Try cheaper solutions first. Pots, caps, pedals, amp EQ and the good ol' tone knob.

 

[Cdntac]

I put a slightly higher K pickup into it and it’s not quite as bright now.

It’s not a SD and I’ll admit part of me still wants to put a Seth or 59 into it. Lol.

 

[freefrog]

I put a slightly higher K pickup into it and it’s not quite as bright now.

IOW, you have probably mounted a transducer with a higher inductance, which is one of the ways to darken the tone with passive pickups.

Electrically and as explained in my previous post, the two other ways to do that are to lower the resistive load (by mounting lower resistance pots or simply by lowering the tone control) or to increase parasitic capacitance, which can make a "low K" pickup sonically closer to a "higher K pickup".

While I'm at it, let's share what the Duncan FAQ were saying about that back in the days:

228.
Capacitors can be used to reduce brightness in a pickup by soldering one side to ground and the other to the hot output.

[…]

234.
[...]
7. Cables:
A. guitar cords and length.
The length and conductor used in making guitar cords can determine brightness of your instrument.

[…]

291. How do I get more bass out of my pickup?
First I would turn the treble control counter clock-wise to knock off the high end of a pickup. You can also solder one side of a capacitor to the hot terminal of a pickup and solder the other side to ground. I would start with low values until you find the desired roll-off.

FWIW.