Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

[BetaCAM]

Hello folks,

Here's the deal: I have a 1990 Charvel 475.

I took out all the active system, and I replaced it with 500K pots.

I put lil59 in neck position and vintage rails in the middle.

Currently in bridge: Super Distortion which I do NOT like.

It sounds too boomy, too much lows that don't complement the guitar at all, not enough high end, and it doesn't sound raw enough.

On the other hand I have a TB4 that I tried. It gave me much more pleasing sound, but there is a problem, it's noisy as hell!

Any other pickup that I've tried is quieter than this one, but none of them gave me the sound I'm after like the JB does.

Can you recommend me a pickup that has a sound similar to the JB but would be quieter and maybe a tad louder? one more important thing is that it must have a decent output, that is between medium to high.

Thank You!

 

[blueman335]

Re: Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

I don't think a properly functioning JB would be overly noisy. Are you sure everything is interconnected in the ground loop?

From what you said, the Duncan Custom maybe be what you're looking for. Check it out.

 

[BetaCAM]

Re: Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

Hello,

Yes, I'm certain the pickup is wired correctly. black wire is hot, red and white are soldered and insulated and the green and shielding goes to ground.

Like I said, even the super distortion isn't presenting this kind of hum, it's just the JB.

The JB gives the humbucking sound but it's simply unusable with its big amount of hum.

I have other seymour duncans on the guitar and they don't blow a whistle.

 

[BetaCAM]

Re: Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

Hi,

Just wanted to let you know that I found a pickup that works better for me and in spite of being a bit noisy (I guess that my shielding on the guitar is not good enough, any suggestions?), the sound is miles better than the JB to me. That's the trembucker Pearly Gates.

I've never heard it before and I wish I did, because it simply blows away the JB in every aspect to my opinion. It doesn't have that annoying treble response and hollow sound (somehow it works on mahogany guitars) and it feels louder than the JB although it uses Alnico 2 mag and it has less DC resistance, but as we all know that data won't tell much about how would the pickup sound.

Simply a warmer, fatter, louder and more balls than the JB.

So I guess that a high output pickup isn't necessarily the right answer for me.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

the pearly gates is one of my favorite pups out there, glad you found it and like it oo

 

[sonnyblu]

Re: Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

What about a slightly fatter Pearly Gates? Is that the C5?
Let's say you love the PG in all your other guitars...
But it is too thin in one particular guitar ... but you still want that basic PG vibe.
Just a bit hotter, slighty fatter mids and a touch off the treble.
What pickup would this be? A PG with 330K pots? or a C5?
.

 

[Mononoaware]

Re: Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

Perhaps a JB with an A2 mag?

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

put an a8 mag in the pearly gates. it cuts off some of the harmonics imo, but it beefs it up in a good way while still retaining it's core characteristics pretty well.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

What about a slightly fatter Pearly Gates? Is that the C5?
Let's say you love the PG in all your other guitars...
But it is too thin in one particular guitar ... but you still want that basic PG vibe.
Just a bit hotter, slighty fatter mids and a touch off the treble.
What pickup would this be? A PG with 330K pots? or a C5?
.

Get a Fender Pearly Gates Plus and swap in a A2 magnet!

 

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Please Help: Humbucker advice for my Charvel

ya +1 on the PG's with the A2 mag. that could be a pretty nasty pup!