What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

[marcello252]

Being a tone nut like many others here, I'm still hunting for a better tone in my guitars. So, it's about time to try something new in my strat.

This strat, the one in my avatar, has a ash body with maple neck and rosewood fingerboard, full steel block tremolo.
Unplugged it as a very particular sound: high ahead, mid recessed, bass strong. Good resonance, great neck comfort, but a bit difficult to play in terms of sound, it seems a bit stiff.

I tried a number of different bridge hbuckers but still I haven't found THE tone.

At the moment there is my old JB, I've just replaced a 59/CC hybrid with a UOA5 (a wonderful pickup indeed, still I'd wanted something more).

I play with Fender style slightly overdriven amps with some overdrive pedal.

I'm looking for an all around pickup, classic rock style (from 60's blues soft clipping to '70s VH distorted sound)

What would you try in it? Any suggestions are welcome

 

[Leikdoi]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

Maybe a Pearly Gates or a Custom Custom if you want something a bit more modern sounding.

 

[Stef]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

I tried a number of different bridge hbuckers but still I haven't found THE tone.



I play with Fender style slightly overdriven amps with some overdrive pedal.

What would you try in it? Any suggestions are welcome

a marshall lead amp (19 87, 59,22 03, 04) and a 500K volume pot

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

oh yea
leave the JB in and change amp models

 

[marcello252]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

No, thanks, I had Marshalls for so many years I got tired of: I had Jcm800 (head, and later combo), 900, sl-x, plexi, a combo jubilee. Now I'm getting old and I've found I love quiter fender type of vibe.
I know I'll never get VH with a fender, mine was just an indication of the maximum level of distortion (VH in the 70s was not that high, especially live).

I tried 500K pot but the guitar started screaming in a way I don't like, it doesn't pull out the mids, it pumps the higher spectrum.

The Jb is my first love, still has got something wrong in that guitar, it does one sound only, good but lacks some organic.

thankx

 

[Despair]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

You might try an A2 or UOA5 magnet in the JB, especially if the stock JB is a bit harsh or bright in that guitar. [If it's a bright guitar, you might even do better with an overwound JB variant from the Custom Shop like the RTM.]

If that doesn't work, Custom Custom or Custom UOA5 are likely suspects.

 

[Maynardo]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

I have a Custom 8 in my Strat, It's made with Marupa body(sounds something in between Ash and Alder) and Maple neck... maybe it'll work for you too.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

I have a Custom8 in my strat, but thats probably not what marchello is looking for.

First i would try a Alnico 2 magnet in the JB. I had a lot of magnets in my JB (ceramic, A2, A8). Next idea is (when the JB2 comes near to what you like) i would try a CC (Custom with A2) and my last bet is a stock Gibson pickup (a Burstbucker, a 490 or a 57 Classic).
Hope that helps-

 

[GilmourD]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

I have a Strat that's a hardtail Ash Warmoth body with an AllParts LMO neck. I've got a Custom-Custom in the bridge, Fender Texas Special bridge in the middle, and a non-staggered Fender Greybottom from the '70s in the neck. It has a 500K volume, 250K tone shared between the two singles, and a 500K wired to the coil junction between the two coils on the CC so I can variably cut one coil.

I recorded this... Oh, Lord, back in '04. LOL Damn, time flies! Anyhow, it was through a Brownface Fender Super with my old and retired DOD FX7 for effects and distortion. I don't remember what mic my cousin used on the amp. There are some flubs (some funky rhythm parts at the beginning and I butchered the slide at the beginning of the lead) that we meant to fix but we never got back to re-record the parts. LOL

http://www.geargeek.net/media/rotson.mp3

 

[Maynardo]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

I have a Strat that's a hardtail Ash Warmoth body with an AllParts LMO neck. I've got a Custom-Custom in the bridge, Fender Texas Special bridge in the middle, and a non-staggered Fender Greybottom from the '70s in the neck. It has a 500K volume, 250K tone shared between the two singles, and a 500K wired to the coil junction between the two coils on the CC so I can variably cut one coil.

Damn!!!... this is gonna sound really gay, but it's some beatiful wood dude... I also love the big 70's headstock... with white pups and knobs would look better though.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

Damn!!!... this is gonna sound really gay, but it's some beatiful wood dude... I also love the big 70's headstock... with white pups and knobs would look better though.

I used to have that setup with a white Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge and it just seemed boring to me. I needed something different.

Actually, what I want to do is recreate this guitar but put a non-recessed Floyd Rose on it and finish it with a transparent color over the ash, like emerald green or something.

 

[marcello252]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

My custom/59 comes from a CC, maybe I could revert the mod and try again the CC, I still should have the A2 magnet somewhere

 

[flieger67]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

I wonder if a '78 might work well for you if you don't a high-ouptut pickup. In fact, I think that you probably wouldn't want a high-output pickup from what you've said so far, marcello252.

If you want another pickup to consider, check out the Grosh Blown 59. I have that pickup in an ash-bodied guitar with a maple neck and fingerboard and I'm quite satisfied with the tones. And the pickup splits really nicely, too.

Good luck with your tone hunt.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

Damn!!!... this is gonna sound really gay, but it's some beatiful wood dude... I also love the big 70's headstock...

Sigged

 

[socalscott]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

My JB in alder sounds much better after I did this.

Removed 3 screws and 3 slugs from each coil in a staggered format.
Fuller and more open and the wounds have a single coil thing in the P90 realm. Volume roll-off is SC bite.
This worked really great on the Jazz neck too.

Oh, 250k pot.

 

[ZeroCool]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

I have a Strat that's a hardtail Ash Warmoth body with an AllParts LMO neck. I've got a Custom-Custom in the bridge, Fender Texas Special bridge in the middle, and a non-staggered Fender Greybottom from the '70s in the neck. It has a 500K volume, 250K tone shared between the two singles, and a 500K wired to the coil junction between the two coils on the CC so I can variably cut one coil.

I recorded this... Oh, Lord, back in '04. LOL Damn, time flies! Anyhow, it was through a Brownface Fender Super with my old and retired DOD FX7 for effects and distortion. I don't remember what mic my cousin used on the amp. There are some flubs (some funky rhythm parts at the beginning and I butchered the slide at the beginning of the lead) that we meant to fix but we never got back to re-record the parts. LOL

http://www.geargeek.net/media/rotson.mp3

Do you notice any harshness with the 500k volume and the single coils?

 

[GilmourD]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

Do you notice any harshness with the 500k volume and the single coils?

None that I find displeasurable at all. It's a bit brighter than one would expect, but you still get that gorgeous bell tone in the neck position. Actually, it's probably my favorite neck position sound out of all my guitars.

 

[marcello252]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

Reading your advices I decided I'll switch back to the CC, I'll keep it for a while and then see if need something different.

thank you all

 

[marcello252]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

Excuse me, I'm reanimating my old thread.

I put the CC some months ago, well it sounds very, very good.
So far I think it's the best bridge pickup I've installed in this ash guitar but it has a big problem I can't solve: the difference in volume compared to the single coils (both around 6.2K) is huge, the cleans are unbalanced and the slight crunch tones too.

So I'm looking for a PU similiar in tone to the CC but tad quiter, the first that comes in to my mind is a Pearly Gates, next a '59b with A2 magnet (if I can get one), then a APH1b.

Since at the time I don't have any of these, could anybody confirm my idea before I start looking around for the pickup?

Thank you

 

[chris_tw21]

Re: What bridge hb in a ash + rw neck strat?

Custom shop overwound 59 humbucker and maybe 250k master volume,250k tone neck,500k tone bridge to get brighter for blues with the humbucker.25 1/2 scale guitar's need more mids in humbucker's,59 with its wire and magnets
should work.