The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

[Edgecrusher]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

Well,
I was gonna ask in a new thread, maybe I'll try it here. I have a jazz neck pup and a neck position tele that needs a pup. What about an A2 in place of the A5 the jazz comes with? As the jazz is so scooped but very highendie ( highendie.........copyright 2014), maybe the A2 would still let the jazz keep much of it's high end character but bump up the mids?
Please tell me it could be so. If any of you veteran forum folks think it is worth a go, I have a spare A2 mag.
I just can't find a loud enough single coil that after 6k or so doesn't lose it's sparkle! Maybe the A2 would calm the boominess of the A5 in the jazz.
Steve B

The Jazz with an A2 creates an Alnico pro 2 pickup. It changes the highs some but does bump up the mids.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

OP, have you tried adjusting the height of the six screws in the non-slug coil (assuming your current neck pup is uncovered)? I just tried it on the Dimarzio Eric Johnson hb in my Epi LP, and it really helped to de-boom the tone. In particular, I sunk the screw for the low E string considerably, lowered the A string screw a bit, and raised the D and G string screws a bit. YMMV.

 

[spidermissile]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

No, Rockstar216, I was just pointing out that the same phenomenon applies to bass neck pickups...the position is bassy and woofy and muddy to begin with, if one likes a focussed attack, and it's hard to get great articulation. The physics are still the same. But in this case, I am DEFINITELY talking guitar PuPs, esp. typical side by side humbuckers.

 

[spidermissile]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

Kingswebe, I have toyed with adjusting the screws before... a little. I think it may work better on some PuPs than others & it's definitely worth some recording the same parts with different adjustments & doing blind auditions. Thanks!

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

Have you tried a Screamin Demon in the neck of your LP?

 

[spidermissile]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

Rockstar216: The Screamin' Demon is definitely on the list should the Pearly gates and or/ Whole lotta Humbucker fail.
In fact, years of reading on the screamin demon, and SD's constant reminders that it's not a brutal monster, have me believing it must be one of the most interesting PuPs/ sets around. I almost never hear anyone say truly bad things about it. It's basic characteristics probably appeal to me.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

I used a lil screamin demon in the middle position on a HSH strat and it worked well but I wanted more of a true single sound so I replaced it with a Noiseless single and i'm totally happy with it. But the Lil demon was a great pup very articulate under gain never got sloppy.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

I just hate mid scooped neck pickups. The stock '59 and Jazz fall into that category. Do a mod that gives them more mids and it suddenly turns from a boomy or hollow whooping sound into a rich, warm, articulate, flutey (in a good way) pickup that is a joy to play with. The high end is extremely important for me too. Hate neck pickups that are too dark or warm. I don't have a ton of experience with Duncan neck pickups though

I have the same mindset, but the Jazz is not that mid-scooped (I'd say it is stronger in the ~4KHz range, so pretty high-range mids bordering on treble). I think the tone chart EQ is inaccurate for that pickup. It can keep up with a Custom Custom if your amp settings already have a boatload of mids. I just don't expect the Jazz to be as cutting than other pickups for solos. Maybe I should still experiment with A3 and UOA5 magnets in the Jazz to see if I really am missing anything.

This is all in a 24-fret basswood guitar though, so that's possibly why I don't notice as much of a mid-scoop from the Jazz.

 

[sedawkgrep]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

A3 and A4 magnet swaps help a LOT of neck pickups. I am a huge fan of A3 in the neck as it removes the boominess of A2/A5 and adds articulation. It does lower the output some though. Experiment. You might stumble onto something great.

 

[Letus]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

*Warning: Opinionated Rant Ahead*
I guess I stand alone, more or less, in this. The Les Paul tone has seeped into our collective consciousnesses for its unique voicing, low-end focused, but still balanced. What really strikes us as the Les Paul tone is, in fact, the lead tone of the neck pickup. I've always loved it, and will continue to. I hate fuzz, wooliness and muffled tones as much as any person here, but I think no one has really harnessed the full low-end potential of the Les Paul neck. People like Slash use the neck pickup with a lot of treble and presence, and do what to me is compromise on the focus of the tone to avoid wooliness and fuzz. Slash's neck tone to me is very loose, slightly scooped overall, and if I may coin a tone term, 'soupy', as well as being 'over-sweetened' with high-end. I can understand why people like it, though. My ideal Les Paul tone would not be overtly bassy and mirangey with no treble, rather, it would have a very modest EQ curve, but the bass and midrange present would be tight, punchy, and clear, so as to have it perfectly able to do leads, and cleans with the tone knob more open, but without compromising on the low-end focus. I use what Timmy has suggested heavily, and to an extreme, so as to have as much headroom and clarity as possible while keeping my tone punchy.

 

[Studioplayer]

Re: The NECK PICKUP PROBLEM!

I have the Duncan '59 set in my Classic for 11 years or so. I too struggled with the same issue about what to do about the sometimes muddy sound that I was hearing. After reading different forums and careful use of a screwdriver, I now realize what AlexR and TimmyPage write (above) about setting your amps' e.q. for your neck pickup and lowering the gain while slowly increasing the amp volume is good advice. When I did that, all of a sudden what others had discovered, was revealed to me. My next step was to then ideal in the pickup height and pole screws to balance each string to each other. My test is to play the 6th. and 1st. string together and determine that neither sounds louder than the other...then to play any two notes on adjacent strings together and listen for balance.

The whole process might take some time, but to get my neck pickup dialed in.....it's well worth the effort. I now have no need for magnet swaps and searching for the right brand and wind of expensive offerings on the market these days. As far as what a photo of the '59 neck pup would look like....I can say that the bass side is now about a good 1/16th inch below the ring and the treble side as much or more above the ring. It might not look quite correct and stylish, but the sound, not the look is what counts with me.

Studioplayer