Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

T

Taipan

New member
hi
I installed a set of Duncans in my Burny Lawsuit LP yesterday
Duncan Distortion Bridge and
a 59 N in the neck position.

The Bridge Distortion sound fine.

Probles is the neck postion is too bassy & muddy , i replaced the original
because of this reason . And i have the same issue again.

Without altering the bridge tone, is there something I can do to brighten up the neck pickup ?

Thanks
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

YUP, get an Alnico II Pro neck unit !!!

I LOVE MINE, in my SG ! NO mudd . . . and seriously long singing sustains for minutes !!!




James
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

'59N in a LP...excess bass is a common complaint. Two neck HB's I like in LP's are the JazzN & Dimarzio's Bluesbucker which has a ceramic magnet. These give a lot of definition & have less low end. Perfect for a fat mahogany body.
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

My experience of the 59n in a Les Paul has been that it is not so much muddy as too bassy. It has plenty of top end but an overwhelming amount of bottom end for a Les Paul - "boomy" is the word I'd use. Three suggestions:

Jazz n - Plenty of top end but without the overwhelming bottom. Bright, clear sounding, nicely balanced neck pickup.

Pearly Gates n - Very even in a Les Paul. Less top end than the '59 and Jazz but also much softer bottom end and smooth mids.

Put an A4 magnet in the 59n - This will slightly pull in the top and bottom giving a better balance in the LP neck position.
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

Hi
I hoped there was an easier way other than buying another pickup :banghead:

What about changing to 500k or brighter tone & volume pots ?

Simon , good idea about the magnet
But I would like MORE
top end But less bass .
Which magnet would suite this ?
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

Taipan said:
What about changing to 500k or brighter tone & volume pots?
Click to expand...

Absolutely! Neck HB's should never have 250K or 300K pots, not if you want any clarity & sparkle. Try two 500K's, or even a 1meg. That will let some treble thru.
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

Taipan said:
Hi
I hoped there was an easier way other than buying another pickup :banghead:

What about changing to 500k or brighter tone & volume pots ?

Simon , good idea about the magnet
But I would like MORE
top end But less bass .
Which magnet would suite this ?
Click to expand...

Changing to 500K pots if you don't have them already will help a little. Regarding the A4 magnet, you may find that the decrease in bass gives you an overall tone you like even though it is accompanied by a slight decrease in top end. I'm not aware of a magnet that will give you more top end and less bottom end than the A5 you already have!

Unfortunately, what you are asking for (more top end and less bass than a '59 n) is an exact description of the Jazz n!

Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickup? Lowering it, especially the bass side, may help.
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

First make sure you are using 500k pots if so then go to a brighter or less bassy pickup...Jazz comes to mind as does almost any Alnico II neck pickup...Alnico II Pro, Pearly Gates, etc...but before you try any of that try lowering the pickup as low as it will go...it looks a little funny but for get about that, it might just clear up the mud w/o a pickup swap!
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

I love the 59n in my Les Paul.....I've never thought it was muddy or boomy as most do.......I also have a Duncan Distortion in the bridge!! My favorite combo!

My pots are stock from 1981.....probably 300k
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

Try lowering the bass E pole then drop the bass side to 1/8 inch. If this dosn't help, try a
.15 cap. You might want to consider Sozo caps being their bright. Put one in my friends LP
to cure a muddy 490. Worked great!
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

Thunder said:
Try lowering the bass E pole then drop the bass side to 1/8 inch. If this dosn't help, try a
.15 cap. You might want to consider Sozo caps being their bright. Put one in my friends LP
to cure a muddy 490. Worked great!
Click to expand...

+! Except....

First port of call....

Lower the pup more than 1/8th inch if needed on the bass side.

Lower the Bottom E and A pole pieces.

Raise the B and top E poles.

2nd port.....500k pots and lower value cap.

2rd port additional......Arties de mud.

3rd port......1 meg pot (for some serious top end )

Aloha !.......:friday:.... you've arrived !
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

Thanks guys
I have lowered the pickup and it did not help much
if anything it has even less treble.

**Important note
I dont want to change the tone of the bridge pickup as it sounds pretty good.

As for the pots do you guys mean the Tone or Volume pot ?

I was thinking of going to 500 but maybe just shoot for 1 meg volume pot
what do you think
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

The problem is the Distortion pickup. If you are EQ-ing your amp to make the Distortion sound good then you will have a problem with the 59. If you like what the Distortion sounds like then I would change to a Jazz in the neck spot. Before you do so, I would try EQ-ing the amp to the 59, them listen to what the Distortion sounds like (thin and nasally). You might want to consider changing it instead of the Distortion. The 59 is (to me) what a Les Paul should sound like. I set my amps up first to handle the neck pickup and then bring the bridge in to the picture. You didn't mention what type of music you play, if your happy with the Distortion you might want to try a JB in the neck position. It will match nicely with the Distortion and is great for leads.
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

Taipan said:
Thanks guys
I have lowered the pickup and it did not help much
if anything it has even less treble.

**Important note
I dont want to change the tone of the bridge pickup as it sounds pretty good.

As for the pots do you guys mean the Tone or Volume pot ?

I was thinking of going to 500 but maybe just shoot for 1 meg volume pot
what do you think
Click to expand...

You lowered the pup on the bass side.... right ?
....and now you have even less treble ?...Impossible !

Thats like rolling down the bass control on your amp and now have even less treble .....Impossible !

Did you lower the bass side ( Bottom E string side ) of the pup by at least an eight of an inch and raise the treble side ( top E string side ) almost as much so that the pup is slanted sideways / downwards on an angle. ?

Have you also lowered the Bass E and A pole pieces by screwing them clockwise until they are below the level of the cover ?

( Volume pot is the critical one to change to 500 k.)
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

I installed TBX tone pots in my alder strat to cut some of the bass on the neck pup. This improved the problem. Did not solve it completely, but there was a positive difference.


Taipan said:
Hi
I hoped there was an easier way other than buying another pickup :banghead:

What about changing to 500k or brighter tone & volume pots ?

Simon , good idea about the magnet
But I would like MORE
top end But less bass .
Which magnet would suite this ?
Click to expand...
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

wanmei1 said:
You lowered the pup on the bass side.... right ?
....and now you have even less treble ?...Impossible !

Thats like rolling down the bass control on your amp and now have even less treble .....Impossible !

Did you lower the bass side ( Bottom E string side ) of the pup by at least an eight of an inch and raise the treble side ( top E string side ) almost as much so that the pup is slanted sideways / downwards on an angle. ?

Have you also lowered the Bass E and A pole pieces by screwing them clockwise until they are below the level of the cover ?

( Volume pot is the critical one to change to 500 k.)
Click to expand...
Are your electronics ok? Good soldering? If so hieght adjustment of pole's and pup should do it.
 
Last edited:
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

Hi
I lowered the whole pickup
I just raised the pole peices on the high E & B.
The sound was ok but not great

Im using the same amp settings as I do on all my guitars
I don't want to set up for a good neck tone , mainly because i hate very dright bridge tones

Im hoping a 500k or 1 meg pot will cure this problem,
other than that I'll have to start looking for another pickup
which I don't really want to start again ...you know :banghead:

I use marshalls Mainly Vintage to some Plexi Reissues
& JCM 800's Master & Non master
As well as an old Carvin X100b.

I play many styles but the LP's are for Old School Classic Hard Rock tones
Brit rock tones
Think AC/DC Highway to hell / Back in Black
Scorpions , UFO etc
 
Re: Need help Duncan 59n too muddy.

Taipan said:
Hi
I lowered the whole pickup
I just raised the pole peices on the high E & B.
The sound was ok but not great
Click to expand...

Taipan .....
Don't lower the whole pickup !... just lower the bass string side of the pickup and raise the treble side.

The pick up has 2 height adjusting screws right ?
One on the top E ( treble / thin string ) side.
and one on the low E ( bass / thick string ) side.

You need to adjust the top E side so that it comes up in height.
and you need to adjust the low E side so that it goes down in height.
Are you with me so far ?

So Here's what you do :

First you have to adjust the treble side ( high E string side of the pickup).
You have to adjust this side of the pickup so that it comes up in height.

Turn the pickup adjustment screw clockwise ( to the right ) so that the thin treble/ high E string side of the pickup comes up above the height of the pickup surround ( pickup mounting ring ). by about a 16 th of an inch.

Secondly you have to adjust the opposite side of the pickup ( opposite side to which you have just adjusted )...this is the bass side of the pickup that has the thick E string closest to it.

Turn the pickup adjustment screw anti clockwise ( to the left ) so that the thick / low bass string side of the pickup lowers down in height to below the pickup surround ( pickup mounting ring ) by about an eighth of an inch.
That is you want just this side to go down into the pickup cavity so that it is below the pickup mounting ring in height.

Remember,... you don't want to lower the whole pick up in height you want to raise the treble side of the pickup and just lower the bass side.
 
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