Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

Dr. Lo said:
[*]Standard series operation, screw coil toward neck: Much too thick sounding - just muddy really, but not too "loud" relative to bridge pickup.
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+1. How in God's name does anyone think that sounds like a PAF or P-90???

But, put in an alnico and make it a medium output bridge PU! That would be the best use for it.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

blueman335 said:
+1. How in God's name does anyone think that sounds like a PAF or P-90???

But, put in an alnico and make it a medium output bridge PU! That would be the best use for it.
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Doesn't sound PAF-ish in the least, and I cannot comment on whether it sounds like a P90 because I've never played one long enough to really judge.

However, perhaps installing the pickup with the screw coil toward the bridge (backward) would bring it closer to a P90 sound. Doing that will make it brighter. I just can't be bothered right now.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

Played the Bluesbucker (split) some more and decided to take it out. Just not my bag. Too bassy and "sterile" (sorry, that's the only descriptor that comes to mind). I wasn't interested in reinstalling it backwards because (1) the backwards look doesn't do much for me (it's got a nickel cover, so it would be obvious) and (2) I felt the risk was too great that I still wouldn't be happy with it. I only have so much time to screw around (no pun intended) with pickups. Replaced it with an old Gibson "The Original" HB-R (7.16k), which is giving me a sound I prefer, and balances well with the 57 Classic in the bridge.

Oh! I discovered that the 57 Classic that Gibson had initially put in the neck position of my SG was actually hotter (8k) than the one they put in the bridge (7.5k). Weird.
 
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Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

I think you ought to put the 57 Classic back in and switch to 500K pots. To my ears, there's nothing wrong with the 57 Classic pickups - it's those damned 300K volume pots removing treble by passing treble to ground before the signal even reaches your amplifier. That's what's probably causing the "wooly" part of the "smooth" and "wooly" tone you're blaming on the 57 Classic.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

Haven't touched this thread in a while.

I decided to put a Mean 90 in the neck slot of my SG. Soooooo much better (tighter, snappier) than the Bluesbucker and the Burstbucker Pro (neck) I had tried.

For the record, I have a 500k volume pot and the tone pot is disconnected.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

I have had the BB Pros in my 2004 LP for years. Not now but I did. The bridge was about 8.4K and the neck was about 7.8K. Same with others I have owned. Great pickups, nice clarity! Neck pickup is so clear.
I think they are going back into my LP soon.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

Ok sorry to resurrect an old thread but skimming through it drove me crazy..

The Dimarzio Bluesbucker has to be my favorite neck humbucker of all time. It is bright sounding, has good overtones, it is very dynamic, cleans up well, and it is lower output. It's definitely got a fat single coil vibe going. It's not the super hot and muddy pickup some of you guys are saying it is. Just because its a 10K pickup doesnt mean it's super high output. Sure it might be wound hotter but this pickup is an airbucker which means the magnet isn't touching the slugs or screws which reduces output a bit. Sure it might have a Ceramic magnet but that doesnt mean that its gonna sound harsh or is only meant for metal. All these generalizations about pickups is just annoying. Everyone likes to think that looking at the resistance and magnet type is going to tell you exactly how hot it is and exactly how its going to sound when in reality you really have no clue until you try it. Especially with Dimarzios since they have their technologies like Dual Resonance, AirBucker, and Virtual Vintage which can make guessing how a pickup will sound even more difficult.

The Bluesbucker definitely has a fat single coil tone to it. I cant say its like a P90 since Ive never used one but I do use hot and fat Strat single coils which is exactly why I use the Bluesbucker in my HH guitars. Id recommend this pickup to everyone looking for a sound in between a PAF and a Strat single coil which I assume a P90 is like.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

I have a Bluesbucker for the neck position to a TZ bridge in my Charvel. It's great neck pick up in that guitar with that bridge pickup. I have played many P-90s and it doesn't sound exactly like a real P-90, but it is a cool and useful sound that it has. I can run it it in series or in parallel. Both are good sounds. I have the screw coil toward the neck and on this guitar the harmonic of the strings are exactly over the screws which I think adds chime.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

The Bluesbucker that I had predated DiMarzio Air humbuckers. It was uncovered. I installed the pickup in the neck position of an Ash/Maple HH Bitsacaster with an original Wilkinson VS100 bridge. Through overdriven valve amplification, the sound was fatter than a Strat but clearer than a humbucker. It responded well to tone control adjustments. I would not presume to say that the sound was exactly like a P90 but bridge design, neck joint and scale length are also factors in the equation.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

Well the arrangement is different then an actual P90 so it will be different but I just hate when people look at a magnet and a resistance spec and judge it right off the bat. The screw coil is like 6K and is the main coil and the slug coil is 4K and is a dummy coil. No magnet touches the slug coil it is just there as a hum canceling dummy coil. Theres two mini ceramic bar magnets on each side of the screws on the screw coil and thats how it works. I'm assuming they used ceramic because the bar magnets are a smaller size then on an actual P90 and the small ceramics would balance in output with larger alnicos.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

ACH91332 said:
All these generalizations about pickups is just annoying. Everyone likes to think that looking at the resistance and magnet type is going to tell you exactly how hot it is and exactly how its going to sound when in reality you really have no clue until you try it.

The Bluesbucker definitely has a fat single coil tone to it. [B]I cant say its like a P90 since Ive never used one [/B]but I do use hot and fat Strat single coils which is exactly why I use the Bluesbucker in my HH guitars. Id recommend this pickup to everyone looking for a sound in between a PAF and a Strat single coil which I assume a P90 is like.
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I have a Bluesbucker and a number of P-90's, so I have some idea of what they both sound like. Maybe if you tried both yourself, you wouldn't make generalizations.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

Never said it sounded or didnt sound like a P90. I just said it isnt a super hot metal machine because its 10K and has a ceramic magnet.
 
Re: Ordered a Bluesbucker to replace the 57 Classic (neck) in my SG

ACH91332 said:
I just said it isnt a super hot metal machine because its 10K and has a ceramic magnet.
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Okay, but it doesn't sound like a P-90, no HB does, nor does it sound like a PAF. It's an interesting idea for a PU, it's just mislabeled.
 
DiMarzio forum registration is broken so I figure this thread is as good as any to ask this:

There's a massive resistance difference between the coils, which may be down to different wire gauges but I haven't seen this mentioned by anyone. My question is: despite the differing coil resistances, does this fully buck hum or is it more like a Fralin Unbucker that is partially hum-cancelling?
 
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