STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
The 59N with an A4 magnet is very good...Doc Barlo is dead on the money when he says the 59N with an A4 is like an aged A5 neck pickup...Mine reads 7.5k at the neck...The pickup is still tight and chimey and clear on note clarity,but it's as if someone walked over to my amp and brought the bass down from say 4 to about 2.5...The lows are still plenty but they don't boom and the pickup isn't as woofy at all....I have the pickup pretty close to flush with the ring(about 4/32")but I Like my neck humbuckers there...To me this pickup sounds and pretty much acts just like the stock 59N but it has less lows...I don't feel as though I Lost anything else with the pickup in the mids,highs,and tightness factor....This was a great swap and I'll mess with it for a bit...Now that the woofy stuff isn't there,I see no reason to try anything else,but we'll give it some time?
The 59B with an A2 magnet....8.6k
Immediately noticed a pretty decent rise in the mids...This pickup in my Love Rock Tokai is still pretty bright and articulate but the low mids or the mids overall are different and more up front...The sweetness factor that I Love so much with A2 bridge pickups is noticable also and I feel it helps the chord crunch factor more..The 59B A5 for sure has less mids and more highs and the lows are tighter...I've not tryed a Seth bridge but I'd have to say we were pretty close to the vibe now with a 59 and an A2 magnet? This pickup also seems a bit "rounder" now in it's presentation.
Sustain and a smoother tone describes the 59B A2 magnet swap with more mids..The highs seemed about the same,as did the lows,but the lows are softer and react differently to pick attack..Because the mids are eq'd up more,it's harder for me to really say what I hear different about the lows? Are the lows less or just softer and that makes the lows seem pulled back some?..
I Like this pickup but not as much as the 59N A4 swap....I'll spend alot more time with this 59B and it's still pretty present in the highs,but this isn't a bad thing....Bachtorock is right about the 59B/C A2 Hybrid in my guitar I think because it's got more overall balls and crunch....The 59B/C A5 that this pickup replaced I got tired of though...Again,it's back to a A2 bridge pickup for my tastes....I Like a warmer,smoother tone that reacts better to picking nuances in the bridge and nothing beats an A2 for that...
Anyway....Subject to change...The 59N A4 should be a permanent fixture in this guitar.....
The 59B A2 is great also but I'll see how it mixes with my band and some other gear at high volumes Tuesday night....I re-melted the wax with a hairdryer and I'm not experiencing any microphonics at this point...
I need to also mention that I feel the neck/bridge tones are better in that I hear more change now in the middle position tones than I heard with the 2 stock 59s...This is with all controls on 10..
Both magnet swaps were positive and I went in the right direction.Special thanks to my buddy Doc Barlo,Lew,and the insight about the 7.5k A4 Fralin pickup from the rest of you....Doc's evaluation was absolutely dead on accurate in my case! Thanks guys!
John
The 59B with an A2 magnet....8.6k
Immediately noticed a pretty decent rise in the mids...This pickup in my Love Rock Tokai is still pretty bright and articulate but the low mids or the mids overall are different and more up front...The sweetness factor that I Love so much with A2 bridge pickups is noticable also and I feel it helps the chord crunch factor more..The 59B A5 for sure has less mids and more highs and the lows are tighter...I've not tryed a Seth bridge but I'd have to say we were pretty close to the vibe now with a 59 and an A2 magnet? This pickup also seems a bit "rounder" now in it's presentation.
Sustain and a smoother tone describes the 59B A2 magnet swap with more mids..The highs seemed about the same,as did the lows,but the lows are softer and react differently to pick attack..Because the mids are eq'd up more,it's harder for me to really say what I hear different about the lows? Are the lows less or just softer and that makes the lows seem pulled back some?..
I Like this pickup but not as much as the 59N A4 swap....I'll spend alot more time with this 59B and it's still pretty present in the highs,but this isn't a bad thing....Bachtorock is right about the 59B/C A2 Hybrid in my guitar I think because it's got more overall balls and crunch....The 59B/C A5 that this pickup replaced I got tired of though...Again,it's back to a A2 bridge pickup for my tastes....I Like a warmer,smoother tone that reacts better to picking nuances in the bridge and nothing beats an A2 for that...
Anyway....Subject to change...The 59N A4 should be a permanent fixture in this guitar.....
The 59B A2 is great also but I'll see how it mixes with my band and some other gear at high volumes Tuesday night....I re-melted the wax with a hairdryer and I'm not experiencing any microphonics at this point...
I need to also mention that I feel the neck/bridge tones are better in that I hear more change now in the middle position tones than I heard with the 2 stock 59s...This is with all controls on 10..
Both magnet swaps were positive and I went in the right direction.Special thanks to my buddy Doc Barlo,Lew,and the insight about the 7.5k A4 Fralin pickup from the rest of you....Doc's evaluation was absolutely dead on accurate in my case! Thanks guys!
John
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