Pickup sounding tinny

Nem

Nem

New member
whenever I play the GBE strings on my electric, whichever pickup I have selected, the sound I get is ultra bright and tinny, what could be the cause of this?

Ive tried changing the height of the pickups but no change. the wiring is pretty standard

Ive heard of this thing called phasing which can leading to a tinny tone, but isnt that only the case when humbuckers are split?
even when I have a whole humbucker selected and nothing else, the GBE sounds really bright

I do remember that years ago I reversed the direction of the magnet in the pickup (dont remember why), could this be a contributing factor? I thought this was only the case when youre using that humbucker with something else (which Im not)
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

We need more info:

What guitar are you playing; woods? neck? Fretboard?

What PU? How close did you get it to the strings?

What strings? Guage?

Have you tried raising the side of the pup under the plain strings and lowering the side of the pup under the wound strings. The pole pieces (adjustment screws in the pup) should be screwed flush with the pup under the high 'e' string and progressively taller under the other strings.

I don't know if this made much sense, but essentially adjust the pup at an angle - closer to the high 'e' string, away from the low 'e' string. then adjust the screws to be equally close to all the strings. This is not exact science, so some experimenting with the angles and heights is necessary.

This will give more meat to the high strings and clean up the lows.

The orientation of the mag won't make any difference in a one pup guitar.
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

I don't think it's an electronic issue. Sounds to me like there's something amiss with the actual guitar or the strings themselves.
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

Your wiring may well be "pretty standard" but it would still help to know what it actually is before attempting any remote diagnosis.

Usually, phase reversal (BOTH electroinic and magnetic) is only an issue when two (or more) pickups are operating at the same time. If your guitar exhibits this problem regardless of how many pickups are selected, it is probably one of the following;
1) The coils of each of your pickups have been wired out of phase. (i.e. You have soldered the 4 con + shield wiring in the wrong order.)
2) Your guitar has a nut or bridge saddle issue.
3) The natural sound of your guitar is tinny.
4) Your amplifier tone controls need adjusting.

Incidentally, what amplification are you using?
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

ok so im playing a Jackson SLSMG, SD A2P in the neck and Dimarzio crunch lab in the bridge

I believe my wiring is correct. the SD for example: green and silver are grounded, black goes to the selector, and red/white are soldered together and taped

wiring is: position 1: neck, 2: neck and bridge, 3: bridge

daddario 9-42 strings (EXL120). my SG uses the same strings, and although it does suffer from the same problem, it is nowhere near as bad

this is all going through a line 6 pod XTL
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

well i run my SG through the pod as well and the problem isnt as noticeable

is it possible that a low action could cause this? i know it could cause fret buzz but is it also possible for it to cause a tinny sound?
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

Your wiring for SD is correct. Strings are standard.

Try your guitars through a combo amplifier.
Just get a 10 watter (that you know to work fine) from a friend.
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

As a general rule, the higher the action, the rounder the tone. Another option for you might be to step up to 10's. Maybe finding a set (or making your own) with the top strings out of a 10 set and the bottoms out of a 9-42 set.
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

i tried the guitar through an old marshall and an old peavey amp I have without going through the pod, same problem

and in thinking it was possibly due to having light strings on the guitar I changed them to 10s, same deal, not really a change

a stranger thing is that on my SG, I dont get this problem with the neck pickup, but I do get it with the bridge pickup only, whereas I get it with both pups on my jackson :s
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

Ok, did you mess with electronics on your SG?

Maybe it is the cable problem? :)
It happened to me yesterday. I was thinking that the amp went bezerk, turning it on/off, switched and spinned all knobs on the guitar.
I was just about to open the control cavity when I realized it was faulty cable.
The sound was so thin on clean, and distortion was like volume and tone were set to 20% (weak and muddy).
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

yup i have tried adjusting the pickup height and pole heights, the high strings still sound way tinnier than they should
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

raise your action and check the wiring to the jack
 
Re: Pickup sounding tinny

First of all, I can't imagine an A2P sounding tinny, nor a Crunch Lab. Especially in your guitars.

Second, you have the problem on multiple guitars.

The common denominator is NOT your pups nor your guitars.

Somewhere else in your electrical chain. Check cords, wiring, stomps, amps.
 
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