what about mids?

grey

New member
Hey there,friends.I am a new member to this forum.i have been watching this endless and very interesting talk about pups and i decided to join since i am dealing with a real mess myself!
Here is the thing...I own a set-neck 24 frets mahogany body LTD with a jb/59 combo.No complaints about jb but the 59 issue has made me loose my sleep!What i mean is that this pup has a very distinctive sweet sweet sound but absolutely NO MIDS which is personally very important for my soloing sound.So i wonder......is there a neck pup combining the sweetness of the 59 and stronger mids ?
I am looking forward for your threads..help me sleep!
 
Re: what about mids?

I like the pearly gates neck for that purpose. More mids, still with the bass and treble presence that I like in the '59n. A very sweet pickup, and those mids give it a nice "woody" quality when clean, and lots of cut when overdriven.

BTW welcome to the forum!
 
Re: what about mids?

59's have A5 scooped mid magnet. try A2 . i personally got rid of A5 out of both B/N 59's and use A3 which has sweetest transparent mids. i never tried A2
but they are most mid plenty magnets. A4 has sweet mids too -good for jazz tested myself in 59's. i would suggest try A2 first but again my personal fav.is
A3.

GOOD LUCK
 
Re: what about mids?

I guess my guitar has a lot of natural midrange in it (alder, thinner-than-typical body) because both the '59 and now my A5-powered hybrid have plenty of midrange for me. I tried an A8 and it was waaaaayyyy too much in the midsection, same with the CC and Super D I used before. I think it depends on the guitar and the amp you use.

I've been using my Mustang modeling amp a lot lately and the "British 70's (plexi)" is plenty middy with an A5 mag. The hybrid may also lessen the bass and treble spike too, since it's not as bright as the '59 was and the bass it perfect.
 
Re: what about mids?

59's have A5 scooped mid magnet. try A2 . i personally got rid of A5 out of both B/N 59's and use A3 which has sweetest transparent mids. i never tried A2
but they are most mid plenty magnets. A4 has sweet mids too -good for jazz tested myself in 59's. i would suggest try A2 first but again my personal fav.is
A3.

GOOD LUCK

yeh - just get some mags and try a few out....a2, unoriented roughcast a5, a4 etc will all fatten the mids in your 59.

i put a2s in my 59 set (in a 335 which obviously is a totally different axe to yours) and it soothed the tops and fattened the mids considerably - but you may find a4, or uoa5 more to your liking...
 
Re: what about mids?

Thank you so much for your answers,guys...
So,most of you think that i should stick with the 59' and change the mags.
I don't feel like checking DiMarzios so i 'll give it a try...unless this overwelming hunch about screaming deamon in the neck finally overcomes!
 
Re: what about mids?

Changing magnets is a cheap and (moderately) quick exercise once you get the hang of it. Whilst it doesn't change the inherent nature of the pickup, it can tweak the tone enough to make it sound right.
 
Re: what about mids?

I totally agree that you should first try tweaking that '59 with some different mags. The A4 works very well in a neck '59 in a mahogany body. That is the one I'd try first. If that one doesn't give you enough mids, then I'd try the A2.

When you try these swaps, you will find that as you increase the mids you will start to soften the highs as well. The A2 will give you the most mids, but it will also reduce the highs the most and make the bass a little bit looser as well. So start with the A4.

The Pearly is a little warmer in the mids than the '59, but is still pretty bright. The Pearly is one of my very favorite neck pups. But....

If you really want a sweet sounding pup for the neck (or bridge), it's tough to beat the Demon.
 
Re: what about mids?

Pearly Gates Neck is what you need. 59 with an A2 magnet is nowhere near as good.
 
Re: what about mids?

Hey there,friends.I am a new member to this forum.i have been watching this endless and very interesting talk about pups and i decided to join since i am dealing with a real mess myself!
Here is the thing...I own a set-neck 24 frets mahogany body LTD with a jb/59 combo.No complaints about jb but the 59 issue has made me loose my sleep!What i mean is that this pup has a very distinctive sweet sweet sound but absolutely NO MIDS which is personally very important for my soloing sound.So i wonder......is there a neck pup combining the sweetness of the 59 and stronger mids ?
I am looking forward for your threads..help me sleep!

The root of this funny sound you're getting from the neck p'up is the fact your guitar's a 24-fretter. The neck p'up is located in a place that I call "no tone zone".

Unfortunately, there's no cure; although there are some paliatives, like make a neck p'up with a hotter screw coil to compensate for the pìupìs reading of the "wrong harmonics", so to speak.

If I could, I'd make an hybrid of a screw coil from a Jazz bridge, combined with the slug coil of a Seth neck, using an A4 or an UOA5 mag. That could balance well, specially if an A8 is used into that JB.

Well, that's my take, FWIW. Consider it a somewhat educated guess.

EDIT: sometime this year I've asked for guidance as I couldn't get a 24-fret semihollow to have a decent "both-on" sound and Frank Falbo gave me some pointers that ultimately helped me to satisfy the customer... try to do a search with FF's past posts on the subject to see if it can help you as well.

HTH,
 
Last edited:
Re: what about mids?

Friend Lt Kojak, too much time and risk for such a specific matter...Not that i question the knowledge and will to help of the members that posted a thread.I would like your opinion about putting the 'demon' in the neck position.Would that give the soloing sound a bit more punch and depth without loosing the warmness of the 59'?If i get my self convinced that this 'trick' isn't going to work then i 'll start 'digging' into the alternatives.
 
Re: what about mids?

IMHO, the Demon is a real great, underused, underappreciated neck or bridge pup. It is not scooped like the '59 so there are lots more mids and therefore it is warmer. It's higher 10k resistence also gives it a bit more oomph.

But it has a very even EQ, it is not heavily weighted in any frequency range. It is a very articulate pup so you don't get any mud. The only downside to being so articulate is that it shows off any mistakes you make. But I'm a pretty sloppy player and I really don't notice that much...maybe I'm just used to very articulate pups ('59, Pearly Gates, Demon, P-90, etc)

I typically love the Pearly Gates in the neck because it is clear and articulate sounding. Part of the clarity of the Pearly comes from the mids being a bit scooped (like the '59 but not as much). But I've most recently fallen in love with the Demon in the neck because I get at least as good clarity and articulation but without the scoop, so it's a warmer sound without mud.

With your guitar being a 24 fretter, the neck pup is moved more toward the bridge giving it more brightness. It also is moved away from the natural node which makes it sound weaker and thinner. The Demon, with it's warmer mids and slightly higher output should work perfect for what you are after, IMO.

If you do decide that mag swapping in your '59 isn't for you, or if you try some swapping and it doesn't get what you want, I would definitely recommend that you try the Demon.



.
 
Re: what about mids?

IMHO, the Demon is a real great, underused, underappreciated neck or bridge pup. It is not scooped like the '59 so there are lots more mids and therefore it is warmer. It's higher 10k resistence also gives it a bit more oomph.

But it has a very even EQ, it is not heavily weighted in any frequency range. It is a very articulate pup so you don't get any mud. The only downside to being so articulate is that it shows off any mistakes you make. But I'm a pretty sloppy player and I really don't notice that much...maybe I'm just used to very articulate pups ('59, Pearly Gates, Demon, P-90, etc)

I typically love the Pearly Gates in the neck because it is clear and articulate sounding. Part of the clarity of the Pearly comes from the mids being a bit scooped (like the '59 but not as much). But I've most recently fallen in love with the Demon in the neck because I get at least as good clarity and articulation but without the scoop, so it's a warmer sound without mud.

With your guitar being a 24 fretter, the neck pup is moved more toward the bridge giving it more brightness. It also is moved away from the natural node which makes it sound weaker and thinner. The Demon, with it's warmer mids and slightly higher output should work perfect for what you are after, IMO.

If you do decide that mag swapping in your '59 isn't for you, or if you try some swapping and it doesn't get what you want, I would definitely recommend that you try the Demon.



Divine!Tell me about Alnico 2...
 
Re: what about mids?

Search for a post by Blueman, he very acurately describes all of the popular magnet types.
 
Back
Top