Tweaking my Patriot . . . JB, DD, Custom . . .

[Artie]

This isn't so much a technical question, as me thinking out loud. Anyone, even with just a mild notion, please chime in. I'd love to hear all thoughts.

My Predator, with its 59's, is "dialed-in". I can't imagine I'll ever change it. Its perfect.

My Patriot . . . not so much. The DD in the neck is great, the JB in the bridge is great, but they just don't play nice together. Which is odd, since they share the same blood line. I could swap the ceramic mag in the DD for an A5, and effectively have a "neck" JB. Or, I could swap the mag in the JB for a ceramic, and have a bridge DD. Here's the problem with both of those solutions:

JB: Its the one I found in a box. I know its 15 to 20 years old. Its got MJ's sticker on it, and I don't want to "mess" with it. It has "Mojo". :laugh2:

DD: I really love how this thing sounds in the neck. (Its a "neck" version.) If the 59 in my Predator is the American Patty Duke, this is the English twin. (old farts know what I'm talking about.)

So . . . I could just buy a bridge DD. Or, I do have a Custom around here somewhere. That might work good, since it also has a ceramic mag.

Thanks for reading this far. Any thoughts, anyone?

Artie

 

[mongrollo]

Re: Tweaking my Patriot . . . JB, DD, Custom . . .

I think they don't play well together because the DD neck it is aroun 12K and the Jb it is aroud 16K. Probably the "in between" tone it is closer to the neck pickup more than you would like.

This won't solve the problem but it could be a nice thing to try: the PRS switching system . If I remember correctly to achive it you need a 5 way rotary switch to get something like (from PRS web page):

Rotary Positions
Position 1: Treble pickup - powerful with plenty of definition – traditional humbucker tone
Position 2: Outside coils in parallel - deep and clear sound
Position 3: Series single coils - warm version of the “in between the treble and middle pickups”
Position 4: Parallel single coils - crisp version of the “in between the treble and middle pickups”
Position 5: Bass pickup - warm with tons of character – traditional humbucker tone

The good thing it is that you don't have both buckers in parallel... No problem!! Since you are a schematic maniac you'll know that you have to flip one humbucker's magnet. But you could do this on the DD so It won't harm the JB.

 

[Artie]

Re: Tweaking my Patriot . . . JB, DD, Custom . . .

I think they don't play well together because the DD neck it is aroun 12K and the Jb it is aroud 16K.

True . . . however, its the DD that overpowers the JB. Probably because its a ceramic mag, as opposed to the JB's A5. The PRS switch is a cool idea, the only problem is, the Patriot has just the amount of wood routed out to fit the present controls. Putting in a 5-way rotary would mean chipping away at wood. I'd prefer not to do that.

Besides, I'd like to keep this one simple. 3-way, with two great 'buckers.
But I do like the suggestion.

The more, the merrier.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Tweaking my Patriot . . . JB, DD, Custom . . .

Just for the record...I have always wondered how a neck JB would sound...not a JB in the neck but a 12k JB neck...if you do that let me know how it turns out!!!