Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

[noisenet]

Hi All,
I recently refurbished my old Mexi Strat and put in a set of Quarter Pound pickups. Played it on a gig the other night, noticed these pickups are pretty dark sounding. Up until then I was playing an LTD EC1000 with JB/59 combo. The Quarter Pounds definitely sound plenty fat, surprisingly so for a single coil set, but to me a little muffled. I had to raise the highs and presence considerably to roughly match what I had with the LTD-JB/59. Would bumping up the volume pot alleviate this enough to better match the other guitar tone-wise in case I need to switch (I'm using a modified JMP-1 preamp so it's not a matter of just grabbing a few knobs).

I bought the pickups loaded into a pickguard which included 250K pots. I think I'm gonna try a 500k volume pot - would I also need to replace the tone pots with 500K pots?

Also, the wiring included an orange drop cap (i'm new to the whole wiring thing so I dunno what the value of the cap is - guess being an orange drop it's a standard thing???).

I'm also thinking about putting in a full size JB I have in the closet, for which I'd definitely switch to a 500K volume pot - again, do I also need 500K tone pots?

And finally - tonally how close is the JB Jr with the full size JB? I love the full size but if I can get away with just the JR and not buying another pickguard I'd like that....

Thanks in advance!

 

[Guitaraxz]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

Really? Quater Pounds don't sound dark to me at all. Ofcourse they're not as bright as normal singles, but that's the point. I used them on a Strat which I found too bright, a wonderfull solution. Brighter than a Humbucker yet more meat than a Fender Single.

I hate to ask, but are your strings new? Old strings are dark.

 

[noisenet]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

Strings are/were brand new. When I put those pickups/pickguard in I also replaced pretty much everything on the guitar - new higher mass trem/toneblock, graphtech string saver saddles - only thing not changed is the nut & that's happening next week).

My observation of those sounding dark is in comparison with the JB/59 combo in split coil mode (have them wired on a push pull pot in that guitar) so they would be a little thinner than in the full on humbucking mode.

How much brighter would they be with a 500K pot {or pots} (especially as I'm planning to add either a JB or JB Jr in the brighe position)?

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

Try a 500k volume.

 

[noisenet]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

Try a 500k volume.

If I'm switching to a JB Jr in the bridge would I be able to keep the 250k's for the tones or would I need to change 'em all?

 

[Guitaraxz]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

Strings are/were brand new. When I put those pickups/pickguard in I also replaced pretty much everything on the guitar - new higher mass trem/toneblock, graphtech string saver saddles - only thing not changed is the nut & that's happening next week).

My observation of those sounding dark is in comparison with the JB/59 combo in split coil mode (have them wired on a push pull pot in that guitar) so they would be a little thinner than in the full on humbucking mode.

How much brighter would they be with a 500K pot {or pots} (especially as I'm planning to add either a JB or JB Jr in the brighe position)?

Yeah, the 500k would give you a bit more chime. Just try disconecting the pots first, bypassing all pots, to make sure it's not a faulty pot instead of a dark pup. This way you hear the true sound of the Quater Pound, no coloring, without any costs on 500k pots.

 

[Guitaraxz]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

If I'm switching to a JB Jr in the bridge would I be able to keep the 250k's for the tones or would I need to change 'em all?

Use a 500k.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

Use a 500k.

Yep.....

 

[Guitaraxz]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

If I'm switching to a JB Jr in the bridge would I be able to keep the 250k's for the tones or would I need to change 'em all?

Use a 500k.

I mean if you find it "dark sounding", Blueman likes 500k volume and 250k tones for a warmer sound.

 

[J E C]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

I've got a 1/4# neck model in the neck position on a 24 fret 25.5" scale with a 78 in the bridge and using 500k pots. It's good, not to dark by any means, could be just a little darker. It has a wonderful clean tone.

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

I always used 500ks w/ 1/4 pounders,FWIW...

No tone pots,either,tho.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

500k pots will work, but as an experiment, wire each pickup directly to the jack to hear what it sounds like with nothing in between (it is a pain, but worth it). Anything added into the circuit after that will knock down some of the brightness. I'd just like to make sure the pickups themselves are working. I wouldn't call the Quarter Pounders dark at all, but I have had a guitar before that a Jazz pickup sounded dark. The pickup was fine, it didn't work in this particularly dark sounding guitar. A little bit of experimentation can help narrow down the problem, if there is one.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Quarter Pounds Strat Very Dark Sounding

as someone that uses vintage output single coils, the qp is pretty dark. i usually use it with 500k controls