Seth's...maybe not for this guitar/me

[mikeyp]

Hi guys, I've posted some comments and questions about these before. The guitar is a semi hollow Ibanez. I'm actually very happy with the bridge pup, great classic rock sounds. The neck pup just seems a bit boomy. Clean is better, dirty is my problem. I've made several height adjustments and eq'd the amp to try and compensate but there just doesnt seem to be the clarity I like. This is in a loud band situation btw. At home its a different story and you can hear all that is good about them. Band mix I seem to be fightin with the neck pup all night. I jam with some dudes in a smallish living room where it gets loud and I think in a semi hollow these pups just kinda "keep on blooming", and not always in a good way. Yes its probably a little too loud in there. Felt the top vibrating last time.

My question's are will an a5 magnet in the neck pup cure the clarity issue for me? Would a jazz neck mix well with the seth bridge? I understand the magnet change wont help with the loud room/semi hollow issue...should I just get some potted pups for this thing?

On another note, these are fairly new and there seems to be some oxidation or funky residue on the neck cover that woudn't come off with the usual huff of hot air and polish cloth. Gonna get some polish but wtf? Did I get some fake with cheap covers?

 

[ajeffcote]

Re: Seth's...maybe not for this guitar/me

You think you might have some knock-offs? Guess it's possible. I had Seths in a semi-hollow Carvin and they sound incredible in that guitar. But I bought another Carvin, a CS6, built like a Les Paul and I thought I needed to try the Seths in it. Well, I don't think I'll ever take them out, they sound so good. In the semi-hollow, the neck p/u NEVER got boomy. And I play it loud a lot. I love to hear the feedback! As I turn the volume up, I'm turning the bass down. I usually have the bass all the way down by the time the volume is at 75%. And I pick pretty softly. That last one took me a long time to get used to, but I get better sounds now.
Maybe some others will chime in about the magnets. I don't have much experience there. But I think that A5 powered pickups will produce more bass, and more bass means boomy bass. The Jazz neck p//u is very clear and clean, more so than the Seth so that may be a good choice.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Seth's...maybe not for this guitar/me

Hi, i thinks its more the problem of the guitar. Semis are not good at higher volume and loud band situations. The neck tends to muddy up with higher volumes. Get a solid guitar, preferably a Strat for that situation.
What else could you do? In one of my Les Pauls i wanted a ultra clear neck. I chose a Seth neck and put in Ant magnet. If you combine that that with a 1 meg volume pot and hook off the tone pot, then you are in clean heaven.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Seth's...maybe not for this guitar/me

Try using the bridge pickup for rhythm and the neck pickup for lead. Neck pickups (especially when A2) can get real smooth in a hollow or semi-hollow guitar when they are played at rock-n-roll band volumes...too smooth for a clear rock-n-roll rhythm sound IMO. I tend to use the more cutting pickup (bridge) for rhythm, and the smoother pickup (neck) for single or double notes.

It can also help the clarity if you lower the neck pickup. Don't be afraid of going pretty far down. If you lose too much volume when you do this, you can get it back by raising the screw pole pieces.

 

[mikeyp]

Re: Seth's...maybe not for this guitar/me

Try using the bridge pickup for rhythm and the neck pickup for lead. Neck pickups (especially when A2) can get real smooth in a hollow or semi-hollow guitar when they are played at rock-n-roll band volumes...too smooth for a clear rock-n-roll rhythm sound IMO. I tend to use the more cutting pickup (bridge) for rhythm, and the smoother pickup (neck) for single or double notes.

It can also help the clarity if you lower the neck pickup. Don't be afraid of going pretty far down. If you lose too much volume when you do this, you can get it back by raising the screw pole pieces.

I'll try lowering it some more. Thats pretty how I've been forced to play this guitar, just used to being able to use a neck pup for dirty rhythm.

@ hamerfan, I do have a few solid bodies. No strat tho. I'm generally a humbucker man but I do have a Nashville tele. Not sure I wanna try a magnet swap but I guess it might have to happen. Probably should just get a different neck pup.

I'm not a fan of changing pups in a semi hollow so hopefully I can nail it the next time. I had a set of gibson p94' s in it before these. I was totally happy with the neck pup, brigde seemed a little thin. They would probably still be in it but I just couldn't live with the way it looked. So vain I know.