Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

[gtrgrl]

So I’ve been really working out my jazz chops for a while. I have an Ibanez AFJ91 and I play it through a Roland JC55. I changed the original pickup for an uncovered A2P. At first, I really really liked it. It seemed to make it easy to get “that jazz tone” . Anyhow, lately I just can’t stay satisfied with the A2P.

Is the problem that the A2P isn’t covered? Or is it that it’s too soft or mushy or fat or whatever? Maybe I got better? :lmao:

I feel as if the pickup just has too much bass and mids and is too fat all by itself. I want a more chill pickup that’s like super light weight and more even. I want to really work the tone from the amp with the bass mid and treble controls, and my fingers.

The other suggestion that people here made was the Seth Lover (<3 “Lover”). Is a covered Seth going work better?

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

Before you spend more money, try lowering the pickup and raising the polepieces. That should get you a little less bass and some added clarity.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

Try wiring a trim pot in series with the red/white wires to ground. The middle lug is connected to the red/white and the third lug is connected to ground. This will partially deactivate one of the coils, removing bass and mids. You can adjust the pot to tune it to taste.

Another alternative would be an A3 magnet swap, to thin it out a bit.

 

[Diego]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

Before you spend more money, try lowering the pickup and raising the polepieces. That should get you a little less bass and some added clarity.

This.

 

[Blille]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

The A2Pro is a great pickup and should work great for jazz. In addition to the distance: How do you use your tone knob? What pots/cap do you have? Amp settings?

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

I'm the same. When I started I only wanted full fat, then my tastes changed for more chirp but still jazzy. You could try an A3 like Chris said or an A5 or UOA5. If that doesn't work, yes the Seth is great for more chime but still nice body for jazz.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

Fiddle with the poles but nothing too radical.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

I'd also like to know what caps you're using with the Seth, as this can make a big difference. If you put a cover on the pickup, it will attenuate the highs just a slight bit more, so having it uncovered is better for what you are trying to achieve.

I have found that a .015uf cap in the neck gives me the openness and brightness I currently like in my neck pickup. Even the difference between a .022uf and a .015uf cap makes a difference to me. Putting some sort of A5 in the Seth will certainly make it brighter, if adjusting the pole pieces doesn't work and you have the caps you want in your wiring system.

 

[raistlin]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

Like the others said, backing off the pup height and raising polepieces do make a huge difference IME. Duncan's are incredibly versatile for me. Or maybe I can't hear the difference lol.

I do actually have a Jazzn / A2Pn coil (ahem ahem) and a couple of magnets (A2, A5) which I haven't got to try yet. My rewound Seth (long story) is more honky than the A2P in it, which is quite bassy (but like I said, can be rectified quickly with height adjustment). I would try that first without splurging the $$.

HTH.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

I love the A2Pro for jazz, but along with the adjustments mentioned here, you might even try an A5 magnet, or a roughcast A5 magnet. A 59, Antiquity or Seth Lover are also good choices.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

The Seth does bring a very nice chimey tone to the party, even though it's an A2 magnet; definitely one of my favorites. I honestly need to put a set of my Antiquities back in a guitar. Now that I've moved to .015uf/.022uf neck/bridge caps, perhaps they wont sound quite as smooth and soft as I remember. I used to use .022uf/.047uf in my HB guitars. Now I realize how dark that made my tone.

Not that they sounded bad, just a little smoother and more polite than I wanted at the time. Changing my cap values has really made a difference.

 

[VinceT]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

One other thing to try quickly would be to wire the A2P in parallel, it’ll lower the output, but thin out the bass.


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[Discharged]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

So I’ve been really working out my jazz chops for a while. I have an Ibanez AFJ91 and I play it through a Roland JC55. I changed the original pickup for an uncovered A2P. At first, I really really liked it. It seemed to make it easy to get “that jazz tone” . Anyhow, lately I just can’t stay satisfied with the A2P.

Is the problem that the A2P isn’t covered? Or is it that it’s too soft or mushy or fat or whatever? Maybe I got better? :lmao:

I feel as if the pickup just has too much bass and mids and is too fat all by itself. I want a more chill pickup that’s like super light weight and more even. I want to really work the tone from the amp with the bass mid and treble controls, and my fingers.

The other suggestion that people here made was the Seth Lover (<3 “Lover”). Is a covered Seth going work better?

Set the height of that neck p'up by pressing the 1st and 6th strings on the last fret and set to 4.5mm on the 6th string side and 4.2mm on the 1st string side.

You're welcome.

/Peter

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

An A5 magnet will give you the SD Jazz.
Worth a try.
Or start looking around for a tube amp.
Or both.

 

[Blille]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

IME an A2 magnet (or 3) are the most appropriate for a traditional jazz sound. Adding scoop is usually the last thing you need, it’s all about the mids. We’ve repeatedly said in this forum that the Jazz is misnamed

OF COURSE THERE ARE NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS. Like Mike Stern and others use a 59 in the neck.

I still don’t think the issue lies in the pickup but how it’s setup or somewhere else in the wiring/chain.

Very IMHO. YMMV etc. Not trying to disagree but rather be helpful to the OP.

 

[Securb]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

You may want to look at some of the Benedetto offerings.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

I agree with all the cheap solutions: pole adjustment, spin o split, parallel, A3 or maybe UOA5. But the Seth really is spot on for a chirpy jazz sound. If that's what you want, it's great for that.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

If you started out liking it, and now you don't, but nothing physical has changed, then the change is one of perception.

There is no reason an A2P shouldn't work great for stereotypical jazz tones. You can get whatever you need from it with pickup setup, onboard knobs, and amp knobs.

In order to get good suggestions for adjustments, you'll need to be more specific about why you don't like the pickup's tone now. You say it has too much bass and mids...but you liked it at first...and it's a neck pickup on a thick arch-top. That sounds like it could be a classic arch-top neck pickup jazz tone.

Possibly dumb question, but where are you running the bass and midrange controls on your amp? How about the tone and volume knobs on the guitar?

The only gear I would think about adding, if you honestly can't adjust to get the desired tone, is an outboard e.q. The A2P can pretty much do anything.

 

[SJ318]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

Hi,
I strongly suggest a UOA5. A5 can be harsh, high end wise. A roughcast A5 is a little less harsh in my opinion. UOA5 is very smooth. It is the most pleasing, to my ears, that I have ever tried. It is great for what you are after.
Steve Buffington

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: Not loving my A2P for jazz. Seth?

Try wiring a trim pot in series with the red/white wires to ground. The middle lug is connected to the red/white and the third lug is connected to ground. This will partially deactivate one of the coils, removing bass and mids. You can adjust the pot to tune it to taste.

Another alternative would be an A3 magnet swap, to thin it out a bit.

This is brilliant. I gotta try this now. Recommendations on a good quality trimmer?