Need more output from a bridge Seth or Ant
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Re: Need more output from a bridge Seth or Ant
You know, I actually thought about doing that to balance the pups. But when I reduced the neck output, it really affected the pickup's overdrive characteristics. Even with more gain on the amp, I lose that low-end "howl" that comes from a full-throttle, low-output PAF-type pup.
But I did I incorporate some of the suggestions you guys gave me, and experimented with various mag combinations. The Ant in the bridge with a full-strength A2 was pretty nice, but a bit bright and edgy. I tried an A8 in the Ant; stunningly great tone, but a bit hard-hitting for this guitar's intended use.
So I dd the Ant with an A4, a pup I've never found a good use for, and it was an eye-opener. To my ears, it did for the bridge what a PG does for the neck, but still a tiny bit too edgy. Since that edge was preent with three different mags - and this is a pickup with a high wind that should sound a bit darker - I decided it might be due to asymmetric coils. The same effect as a BurstBucker vs. a Classic '57.
So, deciding I needed a more symmetric coil structure, I took a Seth bridge and put the A4 in it. Wow!! Done deal. But while it solved the edginess problem, moving down to the Seth (8.1K) from the Ant (8.78K) took me back to being a bit too low-output vs. the neck.
I absolutely love the Seth neck tone in this guitar, but it kept being a tad too loud for the various bridge pups. So then it hit me. A few of you suggested a full-strength A2 in the Ant bridge. That made me think along a similar line: a weakened A2 in the Seth neck. I took the Ant magnet and put it in the Seth neck, and it worked! It retained the Seth's tone and compression enough for my tastes, but at a slightly lower output.
So I ended up with a Seth neck with weakened A2, and Seth bridge with A4. Definitely an unusual combination, but man does it sound great! The Seth/A4 truly has an expensive, boutique sound and feel. It has as much upper-mid bite and high harmonics as I can imagine getting without any harsh or brittle artifacts. The Seth with weakened A2 in the neck is probably what I'd have gotten from an Ant neck, if I had one to use.
So that's the long, detailed summary. I post these mini-books in the hopes that my experiments can offer up ideas, or save someone from going down a few bad roads! I'll do a separate post about the "Pity Install" of the stock A2P bridge.
You know, I actually thought about doing that to balance the pups. But when I reduced the neck output, it really affected the pickup's overdrive characteristics. Even with more gain on the amp, I lose that low-end "howl" that comes from a full-throttle, low-output PAF-type pup.
But I did I incorporate some of the suggestions you guys gave me, and experimented with various mag combinations. The Ant in the bridge with a full-strength A2 was pretty nice, but a bit bright and edgy. I tried an A8 in the Ant; stunningly great tone, but a bit hard-hitting for this guitar's intended use.
So I dd the Ant with an A4, a pup I've never found a good use for, and it was an eye-opener. To my ears, it did for the bridge what a PG does for the neck, but still a tiny bit too edgy. Since that edge was preent with three different mags - and this is a pickup with a high wind that should sound a bit darker - I decided it might be due to asymmetric coils. The same effect as a BurstBucker vs. a Classic '57.
So, deciding I needed a more symmetric coil structure, I took a Seth bridge and put the A4 in it. Wow!! Done deal. But while it solved the edginess problem, moving down to the Seth (8.1K) from the Ant (8.78K) took me back to being a bit too low-output vs. the neck.
I absolutely love the Seth neck tone in this guitar, but it kept being a tad too loud for the various bridge pups. So then it hit me. A few of you suggested a full-strength A2 in the Ant bridge. That made me think along a similar line: a weakened A2 in the Seth neck. I took the Ant magnet and put it in the Seth neck, and it worked! It retained the Seth's tone and compression enough for my tastes, but at a slightly lower output.
So I ended up with a Seth neck with weakened A2, and Seth bridge with A4. Definitely an unusual combination, but man does it sound great! The Seth/A4 truly has an expensive, boutique sound and feel. It has as much upper-mid bite and high harmonics as I can imagine getting without any harsh or brittle artifacts. The Seth with weakened A2 in the neck is probably what I'd have gotten from an Ant neck, if I had one to use.
So that's the long, detailed summary. I post these mini-books in the hopes that my experiments can offer up ideas, or save someone from going down a few bad roads! I'll do a separate post about the "Pity Install" of the stock A2P bridge.
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Re: Need more output from a bridge Seth or Ant
OK, kjrocks. As promised, I gave the A2P bridge (zebra, so cosmetically unacceptable for this guitar) a shot. The tone was alright, but it replicated a problem that has puzzled me for years: any time I use a set of same-model Duncans (i.e. 59 bridge & 59 neck, or PG bridge & PG neck) the neck pup sounds beautiful and the bridge is thin, overly-bright and underpowered. I absoultely LOVE the A2P neck, but the bridge model simply sounds trebly and harsh to me - the exact opposite of the neck A2P.
I don't think I have ever used a Duncan bridge pickup which has a neck "mate" (59, PG, A2P, Seth, Jazz, etc.) that I ended up keeping in the guitar. The one exception is the Ant, which is basically a custom-shop pup, but even then it has to be very hot-wound (like 8.6 or higher) to have a chance. Un-mated models like the JB or Holdsworth (basically a JB with 12 screw poles) seem to do better.
I do like warmer tones than do many other rockers, but that doesn't explain why the neck pups are plenty warm for me and the bridge pups are so unsatisfying. By contrast, I've found many bridge pups from DiMarzio, WCR, Holmes and others that really do it for me. Anyone else have this same experience?
OK, kjrocks. As promised, I gave the A2P bridge (zebra, so cosmetically unacceptable for this guitar) a shot. The tone was alright, but it replicated a problem that has puzzled me for years: any time I use a set of same-model Duncans (i.e. 59 bridge & 59 neck, or PG bridge & PG neck) the neck pup sounds beautiful and the bridge is thin, overly-bright and underpowered. I absoultely LOVE the A2P neck, but the bridge model simply sounds trebly and harsh to me - the exact opposite of the neck A2P.
I don't think I have ever used a Duncan bridge pickup which has a neck "mate" (59, PG, A2P, Seth, Jazz, etc.) that I ended up keeping in the guitar. The one exception is the Ant, which is basically a custom-shop pup, but even then it has to be very hot-wound (like 8.6 or higher) to have a chance. Un-mated models like the JB or Holdsworth (basically a JB with 12 screw poles) seem to do better.
I do like warmer tones than do many other rockers, but that doesn't explain why the neck pups are plenty warm for me and the bridge pups are so unsatisfying. By contrast, I've found many bridge pups from DiMarzio, WCR, Holmes and others that really do it for me. Anyone else have this same experience?
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