Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

I did not go with the PAF 36th Anni in the neck because I already have it in one of my guitars, and I want to try a different new pickup this time around. I really really like the DiMarzio, but there's still some things that I'd change about it if I could. I was just wondering if maybe I could find something I like better.

And I did not consider the WLH-N because I don't think it's what I'm looking for. I fear it may resemble the '59 or the Jazz or other A5 neck pickups that I'm not a fan of.

:)
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

I kind of get the picture now, but I don't think I can help very much. I got two comments about the PG vs APH-1

1) APH-1 isn't scooped, and is actually very balanced. IMO it gives a very honest impression of the guitars character. If you put it in a bright guitar it can be bright. If you put it in a guitar that is middy, then that is what you will get.

2) I have not used the Pearly gates, but all the demos I have heard seem to have the sizzle in the mids which adds brightness. I was wondering if it could be too chirpy for you, but I can't say how your string choice and down-tuning will impact the tone.
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

However he complained the Jazz was weak and the WLH is hotter than a 59, so it makes sense to me to go with the APH-2N over the weaker A2 offerings.

Re: scooped or isn't scooped...
I'm still waiting for a sound explanation as to why an A5 causes a pickup to become scooped other than "magic" or "that's what my ears tell me".
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

WLH is not very high output due to UOA5 magnet (Edit: it is Roughcast A5) and modest wind. I would have thought the APH-1 was adequate.
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

I thought it was simply a rough oriented A5 magnet (not really any weaker than polished) and overwound coils @8.8k.

I guess it's another example of not trusting what is published on the website?
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

gregory said:
I thought it was simply a rough oriented A5 magnet (not really any weaker than polished) and overwound coils @8.8k.

I guess it's another example of not trusting what is published on the website?
Click to expand...

Um, No. That seems to be a case of my memory being faulty. Apologies for that!

As for the output: Unless the OP decides to mount the WLH bridge pickup super high, I don't see much risk of running out of output with the APH-1n.
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

gregory said:
FTFW.
Click to expand...
Not only you tried to put things in my mouth that I didn't say, what you suggest I said is simply wrong.

I'm just hearing the sound of one hand clapping.

/Peter
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

gregory said:
I'm still waiting for a sound explanation as to why an A5 causes a pickup to become scooped other than "magic" or "that's what my ears tell me".
Click to expand...
The reason is the same that when you add salt to the water, so it becomes salty.

/Peter
 
Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

Discharged said:
what you suggest I said is simply wrong.
Click to expand...
I believe you were wrong. But even if you were only partially correct, which assumes facts not in evidence and would still be debatable even if it were true, you omitted an important ingredient either because you didn't know or don't believe it makes a difference. If you weren't so absolute in your language I would have left it alone.
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

Discharged said:
The reason is the same that when you add salt to the water, so it becomes salty.
Click to expand...
IOW: you are unable to provide a reasonable explanation. There's no shame in that.
 
Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

Teleplayer said:
WLH is not very high output due to UOA5 magnet (Edit: it is Roughcast A5) and modest wind.
Click to expand...

gregory said:
I thought it was simply a rough oriented A5 magnet (not really any weaker than polished) and overwound coils @8.8k.
Click to expand...
Not sure if it's oriented or unoriented. It definitely looks unpolished. And it's not very high-output either. It's just barely louder to my ears than the '59B. Barely. It seems like the website disagrees with me, though. They say it's actually lower output than the '59B.
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

The WLH is supposed to be a replica of what Seymour Duncan did in the early '70s when UA5 was likely not a viable option, let alone sought after. Rough A5s, OTOH were ubiquitous.

Even if only slightly weaker than the WLH, the APH-2N will also work just fine with the 59B.
 
Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

gregory said:
"Scooped" due to the magnet is an illusion, pure and simple.
Click to expand...

Would you mind to expand on this statement? The physics behind pickup winding is in no way my area of expertise, but Seymour Duncan’s tone charts for the Custom Custom and Custom 5 certainly seem to indicate that, all other things being equal, magnet choice can have a significant impact on bass and mid content. Am I misunderstanding your comment or is there something illusory about our perception of these EQ curves?
 
Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

SweetClyde99 said:
is there something illusory about our perception of these EQ curves?
Click to expand...
Bingo.

There are a lot of factors that will give the impression that the response of a pickup is scooped. The magnet really isn't one of them, at least insofar as it is not the cause of increased bass relative to the other frequencies which is a vital part of something being scooped.

People are used to the sound of scooped midrange and perceive it as natural in part because that is what nearly every, if not literally what every tone stack does.

Now if you use a magnet with a higher metal content with all other things held constant, the inductance of the pickup increases resulting in a shift of the resonant peak lower into the spectrum. The audible effect is an increase in mids and reduced treble relative to a magnet with less metal content. Because magnets that do this are generally weaker, Fletcher-Munson is also in effect (tone is volume-dependent).

There are others here more versed in the physics to whom I will happily defer. Those who offer only anecdotal musings, or simply think they have superior hearing skills, especially those who have lost their ability to hear high frequencies due to age and/or long term exposure to unsafe sound pressure levels, need not apply.


Another note in terms of the dreaded boom from the neck position:

Ignoring all other factors such as wood and construction, when a pickup in the neck is strong or becomes increasing stronger relative to the pickup in the bridge, it will have a strong or increasingly stronger bass response relative to the bridge pickup. This is due to the location of the pickup. If you dial your amp to get a full tone out of the bridge and the neck is too hot, it will be too bassy. This is especially true with clean settings using amps that don't trim the bass response and often dramatically scoop the mids. That should be common sense.

In terms of what A2 pickup is going to be the least bassy without taking into account the guitar and signal chain, you choose the pickup with the least inductance and highest quality factor. I am not familiar with these parameters for all the A2 offerings, so I am unable to provide any definitive answer.
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

gregory said:
IOW: you are unable to provide a reasonable explanation.
Click to expand...
The explanation I provided is completely reasonable.

You, OTOH, are not.

"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible"
- Stuart Chase
 
Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

gregory said:
I believe you were wrong. But even if you were only partially correct, which assumes facts not in evidence and would still be debatable even if it were true, you omitted an important ingredient either because you didn't know or don't believe it makes a difference.
Click to expand...
Too many futile words for just to say "I'm sorry, it just went over my head". Sorry your reading/comprehension skills are not up to par.

gregory said:
If you weren't so absolute in your language I would have left it alone.
Click to expand...
Pot calling kettle black much...?

/Peter
 
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Re: Which is the brightest and/or least bassy Duncan A2 neck humbucker?

A5s give a scooped response merely because you believe it and because an economist proffered the sound logic that your faith makes you correct.

Meanwhile I offered a reasonable explanation why an A5 can be perceived as having a scooped response and your explanation was just: because I say it does.

Glad you cleared that up and an gladder still that Lewguitar agrees with you.
 
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