Warmer bridge for Charvel so cal

[cherryblonde]

Looking for opinions on a few pickups in mind for my USA Charvel so cal. It came with a Dimarzio super D bridge and hs2s in neck/middle. It currently has a Dimarzio norton in the bridge with Duncan SSL5s in neck/middle. Better, but finding the norton too bright and cold in it’s attack. I love the custom custom in my PRS, considering that, but interested in the ‘78, Saturday night special and maybe concept set alnico 2 JB. Looking to go a bit lower output, less compression, less highs. I should note, this guitar is Alder, maple neck and board, no tone pot, 250 k volume pot, big brass block on the Floyd. I may start with trying my antiquity JB from another guitar before buying new.

How is the eq of the ‘78? Lots of bass or treble? I read somewhere it has the great thick mids of the custom custom. I never loved seriously midrangey humbuckers until the custom custom. To me it’s fat, warm and has lots of raunchy mids without that nasal, notched wah sound many pickups have. I might want a tad less DC though. Ok, long post, thanks!

 

[jeremy]

the 78 is pretty bright, not shrill, but it isnt a bass heavy pup by any stretch. great chewy mids though. with ssl5 neck and mid and 250k pots, i dont know if the 78 would be a good match but i havent tried it and it is a damn cool pup. the sns bridge is meatier for sure, i havent tried the concept jb but i do love an a2 in a jb.

 

[GuitarStv]

My So Cal came with a tone zone in the bridge, which suited it great and wasn't shrill at all.

 

[cherryblonde]

Yeah, I have a tone zone and air zone in other guitars, they’re big n full, but have a bit of that notched, vowel like midrange. Considering duncan though since I swapped the single coils to Duncan. It has a 5 way super switch , so less phase complication if they’re all 1 brand.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

JB works pretty well with a 250K volume pot. And it's certainly a classic in Superstrats.

Seems to me a 250K pot would exaggerate those cocked-wah mids that many DiMarzios share.
AT-1 and the discontinued Breed bridge are wonderful in a Strat, but they need a 500K volume.
That complicates things when mixing humbuckers and singles. Both also have pretty beefy output.

It occurs to me that if the Norton is too bright even with a 250K pot, it's got to be a pretty bright-voiced guitar.
I'd recommend the CustomCustom over a '78 for this one.
You can always set it fairly low to balance better with the singles...

You might also consider the Slash bridge. Slightly overwound A2 Pro, but lower output than a CustomCustom for sure.
Normally comes with 2-conductor wiring however. You could order a 4-wire shop floor custom if you need autosplit.
I like the Slash set, but mine are in a Mockingbird. Would be brighter in a Strat, especially one with strong treble.

 

[hamerfan]

Short answer to a long post. Get a Parallel Axis PATB-1 and swap in a A2. It gives you a modern version of a CC.

 

[GuitarStv]

If you want to mix volume pot values, just run a 500k pot and some 500k, parallel resistors off the switch to drop the pot's value to 250 for the singe coils:

 

[soulforger]

RTM? Dimarzio Air Zone?

 

[LLL]

Sounds like you have an older So Cal.

What amp, speakers and FX/pedals are you using?

(and why doesn't anyone ever ask this when someone wants a pickup change recommendation? logic dictates gotta take the holistic approach)

 

[cherryblonde]

JB works pretty well with a 250K volume pot. And it's certainly a classic in Superstrats.

Seems to me a 250K pot would exaggerate those cocked-wah mids that many DiMarzios share.
AT-1 and the discontinued Breed bridge are wonderful in a Strat, but they need a 500K volume.
That complicates things when mixing humbuckers and singles. Both also have pretty beefy output.

It occurs to me that if the Norton is too bright even with a 250K pot, it's got to be a pretty bright-voiced guitar.
I'd recommend the CustomCustom over a '78 for this one.
You can always set it fairly low to balance better with the singles...

You might also consider the Slash bridge. Slightly overwound A2 Pro, but lower output than a CustomCustom for sure.
Normally comes with 2-conductor wiring however. You could order a 4-wire shop floor custom if you need autosplit.
I like the Slash set, but mine are in a Mockingbird. Would be brighter in a Strat, especially one with strong treble.

yeah, this guitar is brand new, so really feeling it out still. Only gigged it a handful of times. Guess I am finding it on the bright side. I need to gig my alder Ibanez with the antiquity JB bridge and the Charvel on the same night and compare. Gigs always tell me more than playing alone low volume at home. I do have a feeling I might like the JB in the Charvel. I shortly had an alnico 2 pro in my PRS and didn’t love it in the bridge, neck is OK. Bridge was thin to me, even in a mahogany PRS. The custom custom is much nicer. Intrigued by the A2 JB due to digging the custom custom, which as you mentioned, I have set pretty low. Seems to get better harmonics and sustain set lower than average for me in the PRS.

 

[cherryblonde]

RTM? Dimarzio Air Zone?

I definitely have considered it, as I know it’s nice and full with great bass and cut highs.

 

[cherryblonde]

Sounds like you have an older So Cal.

What amp, speakers and FX/pedals are you using?

(and why doesn't anyone ever ask this when someone wants a pickup change recommendation? logic dictates gotta take the holistic approach)

Marshall DSL 50 with either 2 heritage 20 watt Greenbacks or a 1x12 with a 60 watt celestion century vintage or a single creamback 65 All pretty warm speakers. Main od pedals are an old OCD, keeley blues driver, retro sonic preamp. None of that is changing and sounds incredible with any of my 14 or so guitars. This so cal is still in production, I special ordered it from the custom shop, waited over a year for it. USA So Cal HSS. Honestly, I’m getting used to the super strat style guitars again. I’m a les paul guy first, but last few years, my EVH Wolfgang and PRS custom 24 are my go to guitars. Both of those are incredible tonewise.

 

[Mincer]

I still think a Custom Custom, or even a Black Winter would solve this

 

[LLL]

Marshall DSL 50 with either 2 heritage 20 watt Greenbacks or a 1x12 with a 60 watt celestion century vintage or a single creamback 65 All pretty warm speakers. Main od pedals are an old OCD, keeley blues driver, retro sonic preamp. None of that is changing and sounds incredible with any of my 14 or so guitars. This so cal is still in production, I special ordered it from the custom shop, waited over a year for it. USA So Cal HSS. Honestly, I’m getting used to the super strat style guitars again. I’m a les paul guy first, but last few years, my EVH Wolfgang and PRS custom 24 are my go to guitars. Both of those are incredible tonewise.

Ah, Marshall flavor.

Greenbacks are all about midrange crunch; including and especially upper midrange.

Odd that your guitar is too bright with a 250K pot on a bridge humbucker, but you did mention no tone pot.

Ya just got an Ensenada So Cal and am modding everything including putting my old 80's JB in the bridge. I generally run things for hair metal stuff with the tone control out of circuit via switching.

The no tone pot aspect is the first thing that comes to mind as being the culprit with "too bright". Wonder if you could install a tone pot first? Anyways...

I question using a JB with a 250K volume pot in alder; might get too constipated. A JB with a 500K volume pot (and no tone) in alder is the 80's recipe.


I would go with the CC versus the JB with your guitar as-is. Slightly less compression and maybe output than a JB... and A2 mags are warm n squishy.

Or JB with a 500K volume pot if you dig the 80's

 

[cherryblonde]

Ah, Marshall flavor.

Greenbacks are all about midrange crunch; including and especially upper midrange.

Odd that your guitar is too bright with a 250K pot on a bridge humbucker, but you did mention no tone pot.

Ya just got an Ensenada So Cal and am modding everything including putting my old 80's JB in the bridge. I generally run things for hair metal stuff with the tone control out of circuit via switching.

The no tone pot aspect is the first thing that comes to mind as being the culprit with "too bright". Wonder if you could install a tone pot first? Anyways...

I question using a JB with a 250K volume pot in alder; might get too constipated. A JB with a 500K volume pot (and no tone) in alder is the 80's recipe.


I would go with the CC versus the JB with your guitar as-is. Slightly less compression and maybe output than a JB... and A2 mags are warm n squishy.

Or JB with a 500K volume pot if you dig the 80's

You may be right about the JB, I played it in my Ibanez last night, which is alder/ebony. Seems brighter at home than the norton in the Charvel a tad. It does have a tone pot, both pots are 500k. Yeah, I’d guess the no tone pot in the Charvel brightens things somewhat. Maybe I should lean custom custom after all, knowing it helped my PRS immensely. Typical guitar player always wanting to try something different! Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.

 

[beaubrummels]

I should note, this guitar is Alder, maple neck and board, no tone pot,
. . .
this guitar is brand new, so really feeling it out still. Only gigged it a handful of times. Guess I am finding it on the bright side.
. . .
Honestly, I’m getting used to the super strat style guitars again. I’m a les paul guy first, but last few years, my EVH Wolfgang and PRS custom 24 are my go to guitars. Both of those are incredible tonewise.

Part of that effect of seeming brighter is just switching from Les Pauls to a super strat. Most super strats will almost always seem brighter IME. Part of that is the Floyd, part is brighter body woods with maple necks, not having a tone pot can make it brighter also. PRS would be like a Les Paul in that regard, not much of a departure from a Les Paul when switching. (I've never owned or played a Wolfgang to know about that one, however. Some are basswood with a Floyd, so that should be brighter, unless the pickups are really dark).

But IME pickups can only tame it so far though. The rest requires amp adjustments, or an EQ pedal for one guitar or the other, or different amps sometimes.

FWIW I recently settled on a Custom Custom in my Jackson for the same reasons you are hunting for a replacement for your Charvel. (I tried Custom, Custom 5, Full Shred, Screamin' Demon, Slash, StagMag - almost stayed with StagMag. They all worked fine, several worked really well, I just settled on the one that did what I needed best all around. There are many others I could/should try, I just stopped when I got what I needed, for now.)

 

[eclecticsynergy]

yeah, this guitar is brand new, so really feeling it out still. Only gigged it a handful of times. Guess I am finding it on the bright side. I need to gig my alder Ibanez with the antiquity JB bridge and the Charvel on the same night and compare. Gigs always tell me more than playing alone low volume at home. I do have a feeling I might like the JB in the Charvel. I shortly had an alnico 2 pro in my PRS and didn’t love it in the bridge, neck is OK. Bridge was thin to me, even in a mahogany PRS. The custom custom is much nicer. Intrigued by the A2 JB due to digging the custom custom, oas you mentioned, I have set pretty low. Seems to get better harmonics and sustain set lower than average for me in the PRS.

Yah, IMO gigs are absolutely the best way to evaluate pickups. It's a stress test: reveals any significant weaknesses pretty quickly, and often you discover strong points that might only manifest in that kind of environment. For me, in a band mix at battle volume - or at least full rehearsal levels - is the only way to really explore the synergy between pickups with individual guitars. At home levels you can't learn anything about how they actually behave except for an inkling of their overall EQ and maybe a rough idea tight vs loose.

None of the subtleties of midrange detail or attack character manifest fully at home levels. Not to mention whether the highs are open or more cohesive. Or precisely how the pickups will stop or slop under gain. Or their cleanup & response curve to slight changes on the volume knob, let alone their dynamic interactions with the magic of a cooking tube amp.

Or, perhaps most importantly of all, the way they'll sit in a mix with other instruments. Even with decades of experience I can't always tell about that. Sometimes a tone that seems odd by itself can be great in a band context.

 

[Juanhanglo]

If you like the idea of the norton, look at the breed.

It is about the same power, but is warmer.

I have the set in one of my RGs. The best part about the warmth is that you can bump n up the treble to get brighter neck sounds without the bridge getting shrill.

Both split well too.

IMO, dimarzios and Duncan's rarely mix well.

 

[GuitarStv]

IMO, dimarzios and Duncan's rarely mix well.

Which have you tried? I've got a guitar an HSS guitar with SSL-4s and a Superdistortion that sounds great. No problems mixing a '59 Neck with a Tone Zone either. I think that if you've got two pickups that sound good together the manufacturer shouldn't matter at all.

 

[cherryblonde]

Which have you tried? I've got a guitar an HSS guitar with SSL-4s and a Superdistortion that sounds great. No problems mixing a '59 Neck with a Tone Zone either. I think that if you've got two pickups that sound good together the manufacturer shouldn't matter at all.

Yeah, I know it’s doable to use different brands, just simplifies the process a bit when they’re the same. Super D was stock in the bridge. Found it just too congested in everything, with a cold harsh attack. Harsh in the highs, yet too bassy at the same time. Also, too hot. Noticed a fuzz like quality to single notes. Been years since I used one, forgot what they were like. The hs2s were awesome tonally but so quiet n clean. Seriously low volume even raised high. So far the SSL 5s are nice in neck and middle. Not as warm or dark as some reviews say. I’m glad for that because I bought this guitar to be able to have true sparkly strat tones when needed.