Pop humbucker which can take the bass out of basswood?

[littlemachine]

Short version:
A basswood guitar has too much low-end and a muffled top. Which low-output humbucker can compensate for this for mild-gain pop-rock?


Full context:
I've picked up a Squier HH Tele, because I like how it looks and feels, and it's a signature model of my favourite band. However, its body is (cheap) basswood, and I'm used to alder. Even unplugged, it's got much more bass/low-mids and a muffled top compared to my other guitars. Amplified, the difference is even greater. The bridge pickup sound is massively deep; the opposite of what I like. I'd like to rebalance that so it fits in better with my other guitars easily, without having to change amp settings or dedicate a pedal to compensating for it.
Squier only list the stock pickups as '2 chrome covered humbuckers', and there are no labels on them, so I have no idea what they are as a starting point. The stock controls are 500k with a 0.022uf cap.

My other guitars' bridge pickups are a Hot Stack Plus (very far from the strings), a Chopper T (also far from the strings), a Texas Special, and a Shawbucker 2; the Shawbucker is the loudest of them, and I'd like to not exceed that output by much.
The EQ goal is minimal bass and low-mids, as much in the high-mids as possible, and enough treble for some sparkle but not so much that it overtakes the high-mids.
A touch of compression would be nice, too, to give a little variety from the very open Shawbucker.

I play pop-rock in E standard. Not classic rock, not blues, not country, and not metal of any kind. (Though I used to play metal; I already know the Full Shred would be my ideal pickup if only it was 1/3rd the output!)

YouTube sound examples of what I mean by "pop-rock", hopefully directly to the timestamps:
Tonight Alive - Let It Land (2:36)
Scandal - Hachigatsu (1:20)
Scandal - Fuzzy (1:15)
Avril Lavigne - My Happy Ending (2:49)
Paramore - That's What You Get (2:55)

My priorities are crisp, controlled power chords under mild Marshall distortion, and totally clean barre & open chords which are neither booming nor piercing. 90% of my playing is behind the 9th fret; I don't care what a pickup is like for lead playing. I don't care what it's like split or how it balances with any neck pickups; it only has to approximate the output of the other guitars' bridge pickups so my amp (especially the clean volume) isn't hit any/much harder.

Because it's just a backup Squier, I'm not bothering with any Custom Shop or 'boutique' makers. If I can't get exactly what I want off-the-shelf, I'll just grab whatever gets me at least partly there.
Lastly, if possible I'd like it to look like a chrome-covered standard humbucker (or nickel would do), so as to maintain the original appearance of the guitar; no weird adapter rings for other pickup types. Trembucker/F spacing availability is a bonus as the bridge is 54mm.

I did already try the SD pickup finder, which only gave me three pickups I've had in the past: the JB (too hot), Full Shred (too hot), and 59 (too much bass and a fraction too hot). I e-mailed SD customer support a while back but not had a reply yet. I've also e-mailed DiMarzio support, who only suggested the 36th Neck.

Going by manufacturer descriptions & a few weeks of reading old threads, it seems my likely options are:
- SD Jazz Bridge. Website description is nearly ideal, but I can't find any useful examples.
- SD Screamin Demon. The website description makes it sound like a quieter Full Shred, and older threads swear it's even weaker than a 59, which could be perfect. I can't find any relevant (i.e. not shredding) examples, though.
- SD Pearly Gates. I've seen a few old posts saying it's got a similar upper-mids thing as the JB, but an equal number of posts say it's quite thick and has a lot more power than expected.
- DM EJ Custom Bridge. I've read this is DM's equivalent of the Jazz.
- DM PAF 36th Anniversary Neck. DM suggested this and on paper it looks like it'd be ideal, but I can't find any sign of anyone ever using one as a bridge pickup.
- Tonerider Alnico IV Classic. Seems like it could do the job okay, but I'm sceptical of cheap MIC pickups, especially when reviews are too glowing.

Any I'm overlooking? Any of those clearly a bad idea?

 

[Chistopher]

Of those listed, Jazz bridge and Screamin Demon sound really close to what you want. The Screamin D to me is pretty close to a quieter Full Shred, as you mentioned. Bluesbucker would be worth looking into as well if you want a sound closer to a P90 that fits your description

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

TV Jones Supertron
TV Jones Magnatron
TV Jones Classic
Gibson Burstbucker

 

[jeremy]

i agree the jazz or screamin demon are good choices. if i were you, id try the demon first

 

[Mincer]

I'd even suggest a look at the Full Shred, as the EQ will filter out the stuff you don't like.

 

[jeremy]

I already know the Full Shred would be my ideal pickup if only it was 1/3rd the output!

i agree the fs would be a good pup tonally, but the above statement is what makes me think the sd would be a better choice

 

[donaldr]

I had a Screamin Demon on a Fender Strat and I think it might get you where you want to go. In my alder body guitar it didn't have enough bass and had too much high (for my taste, YMMV), so it should remove the lows and "un-mud" the highs on your guitar. It's not a high-output pickup.

Here's a video of the SD, skip the technical presentation and listen to Julian playing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-xkwOtdvRM

 

[beaubrummels]

My first thought was '78 Model

Screamin' Demon would do it also.

The example clips are straight forward rock - humbucker into Marshall. Pearly Gates would do that, Jazz Bridge would do that. I have all of these. But taking the bass out of basswood, '78 or Screamin' would be my first two choices. (FWIW basswood IME is usually bright, so I can't help but wonder if something else is going on there causing the bass.)

 

[Securb]

TV Jones Classic

Close to what I have in my "punk" Tele I have the Classic+. It is great with open chords, like Malcolm Young-type rhythms. It is also bright and snappy clean.

 

[Aceman]

Jazz or Demon

Maybe a Full Shred in Parallel?

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Close to what I have in my "punk" Tele I have the Classic+. It is great with open chords, like Malcolm Young-type rhythms. It is also bright and snappy clean.

Those are some fine looking Teles, but that black one has that extra special kinda sexy going on.

I've had four different models of TV Jones pickups so far. Each one has been spectacular at the tones I wanted out of it, and each one sounded distinctly different from each of the others.

T-Armond. Maybe the most beautiful sounding single coil I ever played through. Closely tied with A5 Soapbar Staple pickups.

Supertron - Single coil like clarity, but with a fat girth to it. I mean for real it is just a big ass beautiful sounding pickup, but retains excellent articulation and a broad frequency response. Clean or dirty they are just fantastic sounding.

Magnatron - The only Humbucker I ever played that had all the snap and twang of a Tele single coil. Glassy, bright, articulate, but not harsh. Take a Tele puckup and mix in just a hint of Filtertron, and that almost describes it. If you want an HB with that clackity clack to it, and lots of twang and chime this will deliver.

Powertron - The hot and sexy thick in the right places love child of a Filtertron and a slightly overwound PAF.

 

[freefrog]

+1 about Jazz and Demon.

I'm not sure I'd recommend TV Jones Classic in this situation and here is why: Filter'Tron pickups have a super low inductance (1.6H). Hence a super high pitched resonant frequency. IOW, this kind of PU's produces its peak voltage way beyond the audio range of many typical guitar loudspeakers. Paradoxical consequence : in an acoustically dark guitar, it will deliver way less hi-mids than a Gibson style humbucker...

Been there, done that: I've a set of TV Jones Classic in a dark voiced Les Paul prototype and albeit they twang and growl, they also sound fatter than any P.A.F. clone in my other guitars, because of what I've explained above.

Now and if the OP finds Filter'Tron's interesting, here is something to try: instead of a mud switch, mount a switchable 3.3nF capacitor from hot to ground. It revoices a Filter'Tron by giving it the same resonant peak than for a P.A.F. clone, and rises its Q factor. Once that done, a Filter'Tron sounds extremely close to a Gibson humbucker.

 

[littlemachine]

Thanks for all the responses so far. It looks like the Jazz and Demon are collectively what there's the most backing for. I must say I was leaning towards the Demon myself, if nothing else than because it seems relatively rare and an oddball spec, so trying it would satisfy some curiosity if nothing else.

(FWIW basswood IME is usually bright, so I can't help but wonder if something else is going on there causing the bass.)

I've had a couple of higher-end basswood guitars (MIJ Fender) before which I considered fairly tonally balanced, though not bright per se; in any case, this cheap basswood (MIC Squier) is clearly much darker/deeper/muffled than those were. As I said, it's evident even unplugged, so it's not just down to the electronics, and it's got an all-maple neck and a simple stainless steel fixed bridge, so I'm confident in saying it's the body wood that is to blame.
But whatever the cause is, I believe tone can always be corrected, unlike feel and appearance. A pickup swap has always done the trick for me before.

 

[Mincer]

Wood can be weird. I have a poplar Music Man which is all mids, so I needed pickups that are radically scooped for this guitar to sound 'normal' to me.

 

[Juanhanglo]

Screaming demon sounds like the right choice.

Full shred neck? That's pretty bright and about 59 output.

Dimarzio:
Paf joe. It's got the eq for it. The attack is not super sharp. Never tried it in the bridge though.

Take a look at all their humbuckers and sort them by output, or treble. You'll find all the viable players in a jiffy.

Tonerider pickups are no joke. I have a set of rebel 90s that are killer. There are plenty of positive reviews on their lineup.

I like that dimarzio signature sound "thing", so thats my goto for buckers, but I'd seriously consider toneriders if they had the pickups I wanted. No question.


Serious question: if you need bright and vintage output, have you thought about hb sized p90s?

 

[Hot Octopus]

GFS Filtertron A2
Dimarzio Norton or Steve’s special
Dimarzio EVH/Axis
its high output, but an EMG 85 is very tight.
lace Alumitone is technically low dc resistance and VERY TIGHT
you could try a Carvin M22SD but again, its high ourput
maybe a Perpetuap Burn?

 

[donaldr]

A black Tele with maple fretboard and black hardware: YUMMY!!!! But with a black pickguard :yourock:

 

[Securb]

A black Tele with maple fretboard and black hardware: YUMMY!!!! But with a black pickguard :yourock:

Thanks! The thing is a beast! It has SD Hotrails in the bridge and will blow down walls with the right amp. That is not Springsteen's Tele.

 

[littlemachine]

The hunt isn't over because of course it simply might not work out at all, but I've ordered a Demon to start with. I've got a Mod Shop Strat coming as well, and annoyingly the only humbucker Fender supplies is another Shawbucker; if the Demon turns out to not do the trick in the basswood Squier for some reason, it'll get a second chance in the new Fender.

Serious question: if you need bright and vintage output, have you thought about hb sized p90s?

Not for a decade or so. I've had P-90s a few times before, including the Phat Cat and the P-Rail, and never liked any of them, both tonally—there's something about the pick attack which rubs me the wrong way—and because I can't stand any hum. The Texas Specials are the only 'true' single coil I have and tolerate, and the only reason I haven't replaced those is because the guitar they're in is a rare model and I want to preserve it as it was designed; I barely use it even at home, and for practical playing purposes I use another Strat with a set of Hot & Vintage Hot Stack Plus instead.
I'm aware there are now hum-cancelling Phat Cats and similar designs from DiMarzio, but given I also would like to preserve the standard humbucker look if possible, I'd be more inclined to try a Bluesbucker if I were going that route. Even that I'm dubious of, given DiMarzio's description of it being strongest in the low-mids and treble, and weaker in the high-mids, which matches my experience with every actual P-90 I've ​had.