Pickup for Dead sounding ash guitar?

[freefrog]

Swap the neck. Seriously! I have tried that scenario many times. Swap the neck with something different. You may start to achieve something.

FWIW, I have two Strats with ash bodies. If I put on body 1 the maple neck currently mounted on body 2, I get a middy tone without any sparkle. Body 2 paired with the same neck brings back the brigthness...

There would be a lot to say about variability of woods (even with individual pieces of a same tree), about how resonant frequencies of various parts will cooperate or fight each others to create dead spots, and so on. Not to mention theories like this: https://www.frudua.com/neck_influence_in_guitar_tone.htm

Regarding pickups, one thing to consider at least IMHO: the Dual-Resonance of a Tone Zone seems to be voiced to comb filter out some high harmonics. So it's effectively not the best choice for a naturally mid forward instrument...

... but there's a bunch of good ideas for alternative solutions in previous answers.

 

[Top-L]

I’ve got an Ash Charvel and it sounds dead. I’ve tried a few pickups and it sounds bad no matter what. Currently, it has a Tone Zone b/ PAF Pro n. WAY TOO MUCH MIDS, treble thats hidden behind all the mids and not enough low end.

A Tone Zone has more bass than any pickup I've ever tried besides the Super3. But the Tone Zones treble is kinda veiled and not distinct. I didn't like it.

Dense woods don't always resonate acoustically, but they sound great plugged in. They tend to have more punch and presence.

If the TZ doesn't have enough bass for you, my first thought is that it has to be a wiring problem. Maybe you have it in parallel? Or maybe you have 1000K pots?

If the TZ doesn't have enough bass, only the Super3 has more that I am aware of.

 

[nienturi]

FWIW, I have two Strats with ash bodies. If I put on body 1 the maple neck currently mounted on body 2, I get a middy tone without any sparkle. Body 2 paired with the same neck brings back the brigthness...

There would be a lot to say about variability of woods (even with individual pieces of a same tree), about how resonant frequencies of various parts will cooperate or fight each others to create dead spots, and so on. Not to mention theories like this: https://www.frudua.com/neck_influence_in_guitar_tone.htm

I have a custom made guitar. It was once had serious clarity issues. I did many mods to rid the mud off. Changed the pole pieces, add a capasitor to neck humbucker etc. But changing the neck was the certain solution. Now it is bright enough and i havent got any clairty problems, not even a slightest. Moreover i had a custom shop once and did many repairs and modifications. There i had many experiments of swapping necks or bodies

 

[Bowtomecha]

A Tone Zone has more bass than any pickup I've ever tried besides the Super3. But the Tone Zones treble is kinda veiled and not distinct. I didn't like it.

Dense woods don't always resonate acoustically, but they sound great plugged in. They tend to have more punch and presence.

If the TZ doesn't have enough bass for you, my first thought is that it has to be a wiring problem. Maybe you have it in parallel? Or maybe you have 1000K pots?

If the TZ doesn't have enough bass, only the Super3 has more that I am aware of.

1 Meg pots cut the bass? I assumed that they let more of everything through.

 

[orpheo]

Why look into pickups, instead of actually fixing the guitar. Take off the tremolo block and replace it with a steel block. I'm assuming it has a Floyd Rose.

https://periodcorrectguitarparts.com/products/steel-sustain-blocks

I find that those blocks add a lot of snap to the tone. Brass rounds off the highs a bit too much to my ear. Aluminium is also a great choice, i love alu blocks but those are imho not as easy to find.

Grab a block to swap out the zinc block a Floyd Rose comes with originally, and then look at pickups. If the tone is 'dead' unplugged, a better block or better trem can improve things quite a bit.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

1 Meg pots cut the bass? I assumed that they let more of everything through.

No, they don't cut the bass, but they do increase the treble, which in turn, shifts the focus of the pickup higher up by comparison, thus, relatively, making the bass less dominant.

I'm not sure about the actual physics/electronics behind it, but IME, 1 Meg pots don't make a pickup feel hotter, just punchier, liveliler, brighter, and decrease the focus on the bass and lower mids. I guess if you're getting more treble, you are indeed getting more signal. But rather than being feeling more saturated, I feel they just feel punchier.

 

[Mincer]

I think the line to keep on 'fixing' issues with a guitar is different for everyone. To me, I won't put that much time in. If I swap pickups to an informed choice which should help with the issues I have with the guitar, and I still don't like it...I get rid of it.

 

[soulforger]

Grab a block to swap out the zinc block a Floyd Rose comes with originally, and then look at pickups. If the tone is 'dead' unplugged, a better block or better trem can improve things quite a bit. [/QUOTE]

This Charvel will have the 1000 Series Floyd Rose so it has a nickel plated brass block