Replacing a shrill Wylde L500-L

[Orange]

Re: Replacing a shrill Wylde L500-L

As Itsabass, EDX, and orpheo mentioned, the Lawrence philosophy is to make the clearest sounding pickup and then use your amp to color the tone.

Like you, I had a personal conversation with Bill Lawrence. He maintained that with his pickups, a player has a larger range in each tone control in which the guitar will sound good.

One problem that I have is that I believe that all guitars and pickups should sound best clean with treble and bass on 6-7 and midrange on 3-4. But this is obviously not true for every amp, not to mention every guitar and pickup. Jeff McErlaine says, and I think it is right, to adjust your tone controls with your ears and not with your eyes. Try closing your eyes, then move the tone controls around and see what you get. You can probably drop your treble, brightness, and/or presence significantly, then crank up the mids, and get a very good tone, or one that is closer to what you are after.

For what it's worth, if you want to hear a good use of the L-500L, my favorite recordings are those of Alex Lifeson on Grace Under Pressure, which was done exclusively in an HSS strat with an L-500L. And he was aiming for a bright sound, to help him stand out from the synthesizers that Geddy Lee was playing during that era. But there's no reason you can't turn down the high end and up the mids to get what you want.

My $0.02.

So i definitely paid attention to what orpheo, edx and istabass said, in fact i kept reading it over and over.

After reading your comment i sat down and decided that maybe i should scrap my usual settings and try dialing without bias.
Then something unexpected happened.

I didnt pay attention but my Chorus pedal was on.
I use very subtle chorus for my clean tones.
So i start playing a riff and the sound i get is just insane.
I keep playing, trying different tones and switches on my amp, and pretty much everything sounds great and i can't put the guitar down. I pull out my "Krank Distortus Maximus" pedal and try to play a little Pantera, and sure enough i get that heavy buzzsaw sound but instead of sounding shrill trebly and fizzy it now sounds like a ferrari, roaring like a machine.

So that pretty much confirms everything we discussed here.
I guess my chorus somehow toned down the highs.
I'll try different pots and cap values, a concentric pot but the pickup stays.

As for the JB i ordered, well i happen to have just the guitar for that, an old SG knockoff that i use for rock and punk. I must be crazy but sometimes i wish i had more guitars just to try more pickups...

 

[daenius]

Re: Replacing a shrill Wylde L500-L

Wow very jealous that you got to visit the museum! I never made it to Japan before it closed

The Dimarzio Super Distortion is not very dark... it's quite bright and very high output

The Duncan Distortion is very deep sounding. High output, strong bass. Great pickup

 

[jmcorey]

Re: Replacing a shrill Wylde L500-L

So i definitely paid attention to what orpheo, edx and istabass said, in fact i kept reading it over and over.

After reading your comment i sat down and decided that maybe i should scrap my usual settings and try dialing without bias.
Then something unexpected happened.

I didnt pay attention but my Chorus pedal was on.
I use very subtle chorus for my clean tones.
So i start playing a riff and the sound i get is just insane.
I keep playing, trying different tones and switches on my amp, and pretty much everything sounds great and i can't put the guitar down. I pull out my "Krank Distortus Maximus" pedal and try to play a little Pantera, and sure enough i get that heavy buzzsaw sound but instead of sounding shrill trebly and fizzy it now sounds like a ferrari, roaring like a machine.

So that pretty much confirms everything we discussed here.
I guess my chorus somehow toned down the highs.
I'll try different pots and cap values, a concentric pot but the pickup stays.

As for the JB i ordered, well i happen to have just the guitar for that, an old SG knockoff that i use for rock and punk. I must be crazy but sometimes i wish i had more guitars just to try more pickups...

Cool. Glad it worked out for you. It is a great pickup.

Also, there are lots of people on this forum who buy more guitars to try more pickups in!

 

[EDX]

Re: Replacing a shrill Wylde L500-L

lol, that kinda thing happens, i always have reverb at around 4.5 and i just can't stand my distortion tone without reverb, it feels wrong...

 

[Demanic]

Re: Replacing a shrill Wylde L500-L

Chorus can tend to mute the treble just a bit.
I tend to prefer pickups with great clarity and plenty of high end. They seem to translate into better attack. Like the Lace Deathbucker.
But I also love the JB, X2N, Alternative 8 and Distortion. Pickups not known for their clarity as such.

 

[Orange]

Re: Replacing a shrill Wylde L500-L

Chorus can tend to mute the treble just a bit.
I tend to prefer pickups with great clarity and plenty of high end. They seem to translate into better attack. Like the Lace Deathbucker.
But I also love the JB, X2N, Alternative 8 and Distortion. Pickups not known for their clarity as such.

I always wanted to try the deathbucker. I just dont have enough guitars !
I use lace sensors and a dually red/silver these pickups are soo clear and so hifi sounding...
I use the Dually with a C tuned guitar and it's the heaviest thing i have heard but such clarity...