Tonal differences between Jazz N, PG n, Seth N

[Gearjoneser]

Right now, all of my neck humbuckers are 59's, mostly because they mate well with C-5's. I love the rich solo tone I get, but the rhythm tones seem
a bit gainy, unless I back down the volume.

I'm getting ready to swap out a few 59's for some other popular neck pickups,
mostly the one's I mentioned. Which of these pickups put the biggest smile on your face, and why? What are the real tonal differences between the 3,
and which one do you think would have the best mid position tone with
a Custom 5? The guitars are Les Paul Standards and PRS McCarty.

 

[Seraphial]

Re: Tonal differences between Jazz N, PG n, Seth N

I love the Jazz - clean, clear with crystal highs. Splits well which is a bonus if your coil tapping. My Seth is quite thick, which though not muddy, can seem a tad too much in a set neck. I'm guessing the best place for would be in a tele neck.

 

[Travis]

Re: Tonal differences between Jazz N, PG n, Seth N

The Jazz mates well with the Custom in the bridge of my Ibanez. I have no experience with the other two, and I probalby never will. The Jazz is that good.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Tonal differences between Jazz N, PG n, Seth N

Jonsey -

I've had both the PG and the Seth in the neck of my hardtail. To me the PG had an upper mid hump in my guitar that made it lack articulation. That is not everyone's experience. The sizzle for lack of a better word just didn't give me the clarity I wanted.

The Seth had a more open quality, more clarity and better balance IMO. A tad sweeter. No other way to describe it in my words. If I hadn't already ordered the APH set for that guitar, the Seth would have stayed. It may still go back in...it's that good.

No experience with the Jazz.

If you click on my soundlip link below, there is a Seth and PG neck clip labled as such a few songs down the list. They were both done thru my Marshall JCM 800 on the gain channel, gain around 8 if I remember correctly. A little delay for depth....miked with a SM 57 thru an Eminence V12, straight to soundcard.

 

[Guitarist]

Re: Tonal differences between Jazz N, PG n, Seth N

To further question Gearjoneser's origional question - how does the Jazz sound under distortion? For say, warm leads? Is it fat and creamy or is it almost too clean and clear like I have a vision of it being. I've heard it clean and it's wonderful, just curious about driving it with some meat. Thanks.

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: Tonal differences between Jazz N, PG n, Seth N

I wasn't impressed with the dirt from the Jazz neck. It's not a thick pickup. It's great for articulation-based soloing, but it's not a thumper.

The 59 is a thumper.

 

[Guitarist]

Re: Tonal differences between Jazz N, PG n, Seth N

I wasn't impressed with the dirt from the Jazz neck. It's not a thick pickup. It's great for articulation-based soloing, but it's not a thumper.

The 59 is a thumper.

My speculations precisely. Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Tonal differences between Jazz N, PG n, Seth N

Jonsey -

I've had both the PG and the Seth in the neck of my hardtail. To me the PG had an upper mid hump in my guitar that made it lack articulation. That is not everyone's experience. The sizzle for lack of a better word just didn't give me the clarity I wanted.

The Seth had a more open quality, more clarity and better balance IMO. A tad sweeter. No other way to describe it in my words. If I hadn't already ordered the APH set for that guitar, the Seth would have stayed. It may still go back in...it's that good.

No experience with the Jazz.

That is my feeling too...tho I have limited experiance with the PG and alot of experiance with the Jazz N, 59N, Seth N and Antiquity N.

The PG uses unbalanced coils, which opens up the mids a little and extends the treble...as does the Antiquity. But the aged magnet in the Antiquity might smooth out the highs and help prevent the harshness that some mention about the upper mids of the PG...as well as the superior winding technique of MJ and Seymour, who wind the Antiquity.

The Seth is sweet and fat but retains a beautiful open, breathy quality that I love.

The Antquity is similar but has a little more of that open or hollow quality and a little less of the "fat" quality of the Seth.

Alot of times, I prefer the Seth...but those two are my favorites when it comes to Duncan neck humbuckers.

The Jazz most closely resembles the 59N you're already using.

The diff between the Jazz and the 59N is that the Jazz has some extra chime and harmonics way up on top...I can hear them twinkling like little stars.

The 59N doesn't have those harmonics to the same degree that the Jazz does...and it also has more bass.

I hear the Jazz as having 5% more twinkle and 5% less bass than the 59N.

But the Jazz can still rock with lots of power...just listen to any of Jolly's clips for proof of that!

Compared to the alnico 2 Seth and Antiquity, the a5 Jazz and 59N have more bass and glassier, more extended highs.

Compared to the a5 Jazz and 59N, the Seth and Antiquity have more prominant mids and softer, less extended bass and treble...IMO.

Lew