Which SD for bridge?

R

rom661

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H i. My first post. Please bear with me as I'm visually impaired. I may post something that seems stupid. It could be due to my vision. Or that I'm stupid. The vision is a nice excuse...

I just bought an inexpensive guitar. I have some cheap ones, some that I made, a couple of pricier ones. This is a PRS SE 245. The owner had changed the pots and the pickups to SD Jazz in the neck, pretty good on this sort of dark guitar, and a JB in the bridge. I hate JB's. My own thing so bear with me. I play clean a lot and usually cascade OD's rather than distortion. I'd like to stay with the Jazz but do something less hot and less, umm, painful, in the bridge. I don't care for Seth Lovers or 59's. I have way too many pickups but not sure of polarity so sticking with SD seems smart. Whole Lotta Love? Slash? More vintage output, not necessarily a 2, 5 is OK is it's right. I use middle position more than most so don't want something to totally overwhelm the Jazz. It's not an expensive guitar and I'm more than a little reluctant to put $300 worth of pickups in it. Thanks.
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

The Whole Lotta Love is a good choice with the Jazz...it is on the hotter PAF side. The Slash might be a little more round on the high end than the Jazz, so you might not like the EQ to shift that much when you change pickups. BTW, I am not a JB fan, either.
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

Why not just go with the obvious: Jazz bridge.

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Re: Which SD for bridge?

If your guitar is a little dark sounding, and if you want the Jazz for the neck, a good option for the bridge might be a C/59 hybrid wired with a split option (to the Custom coil obviously).
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

Pearly Gates
Jazz Bridge
59/Custom
Custom (ceramic)
Custom Custom (A2)
‘78 Model

I’ve used all these in a dark sounding mahogany SG with a Jazz neck and they all blend well and do clean well (the Custom requires backing off the gain of your amp) and they do just about any music you would want to play from the 1960’s to the 2010’s using a vintage-hot PAF.

I currently have a Jazz bridge/Jazz neck in an LP Studio and it’s been the tone I’ve been chasing for a while. It’s like a 1959 LP / Jimmy Page foundation with a little more push and slight extra top end allowing variety and control with the volume and tones. Standard wiring gets me what I need without splits.

Whole Lotta Humbucker set is reverse in one aspect. It’s a 1959 LP / Jimmy Page foundation with a little more push and slightly less top end. Possibly due to the RCA5. But they still sound like a way better and much more versatile 59 set. They split well and every combination and volume/tone setting is usable.

WLH set stayed in my SG for a year, but I had JP wiring to make it the most useful. Pearly/Jazz stayed in my SG for a year with just standard 50’s wiring, it was that versatile. I’ve only had the Jazz/Jazz in for a month (the bridge is hard to find unless you make one from an A2P), but I don’t want to take them out. It’s Clapton to Kossoff to Page to Angus to Van Halen with the right amp/settings.
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

The Jazz bridge is pretty bright. So you have to dig that, or have a dark guitar for it to work.
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

Mincer said:
The Jazz bridge is pretty bright. So you have to dig that, or have a dark guitar for it to work.
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Totally agree. I don't typically use SD pickups as I've not had many I liked but I do like the Jazz in the neck. Thinking maybe a Saturday Night Special in the bridge for something with a little less reticent on top but not sizzly like the JB. I do hate that pickups...
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

Mincer said:
The Jazz bridge is pretty bright. So you have to dig that, or have a dark guitar for it to work.
Click to expand...

I find it’s best tamed with the amp and the guitar tone control. That also allows using a variety of amps and being able to retain the same general sound. Meaning, I don’t have to have a specific amp to get my sound and I can sit in with anyone and even use someone else’s back line if required. But if the top end isn’t there to begin with, nothing after the guitar will draw it out.
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

beaubrummels said:
I find it’s best tamed with the amp and the guitar tone control. That also allows using a variety of amps and being able to retain the same general sound. Meaning, I don’t have to have a specific amp to get my sound and I can sit in with anyone and even use someone else’s back line if required. But if the top end isn’t there to begin with, nothing after the guitar will draw it out.
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A pickup that has to be tamed with the amp and tone controls is my definition of the wrong pickup. Just sayin'... If the basic sound I want isn't there to begin with it's not right for me. Your solution is OK if you get a guitar with a pickup you don't like, I suppose. That's why I'm getting rid of the JB.
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

The Jazz Bridge is my second favorite humbucker ever; I only sold it because while the number of guitars I own goes up, the number that have anywhere to put a humbucker goes down so this one sat for a while. On that note I didn’t think the Jazz Bridge was bright; but it was also surrounded by single coils in my ownership, and my favorite humbucker ever is even brighter (Demon.) For me a lot of things I’d say about the more familiar Jazz Neck apply to the Bridge; an open, rich, harmonic, somewhat squishy/juicy tone with some single coil response characteristics - looser than the Screaming Demon. More awesome than the JB by a long shot.
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

The JB was the worst pickup they could have chosen for that guitar. The very short scale of the SE245 tends to smooth out whatever pickup you put in them. They even tame the Duncan Distortion. I can see why the Jazz neck works because they need a bright clear neck pickup to avoid mud. Bridge pickups that may sound harsh in other guitars work well in them. That is why I would suggest the Duncan Custom to go with your Jazz. I have had A2Pro Slash set in one. The bridge was very bright but useable, the neck was round and bubbly and not super clear, but not muddy. The middle position (both combined) sounds like a very balanced bridge pickup. You can almost use that as the bridge pickup sound, and use the full on bridge position like a boost. It was a very open airy sounding set.
 
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Which SD for bridge?

rom661 said:
A pickup that has to be tamed with the amp and tone controls is my definition of the wrong pickup. Just sayin'... If the basic sound I want isn't there to begin with it's not right for me. Your solution is OK if you get a guitar with a pickup you don't like, I suppose. That's why I'm getting rid of the JB.
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I think you’d need to hear it. You’re taking ‘tame’ like it’s a way bigger change than what I’m saying. The basic sound is there, and it survives dark guitars and any amp you want to run it through.
 
Re: Which SD for bridge?

I have had many SE’s great instrument in my opinion. I have found the Custom Custom and 5 work really well. So do the A2P’s.

I am seeing a lot of love for the Jazz Bridge so I think that would be good too. I am going to probably try that now.


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Re: Which SD for bridge?

rom661 said:
A pickup that has to be tamed with the amp and tone controls is my definition of the wrong pickup. Just sayin'... If the basic sound I want isn't there to begin with it's not right for me. Your solution is OK if you get a guitar with a pickup you don't like, I suppose. That's why I'm getting rid of the JB.
Click to expand...

Do you have any guitars or amps with any tone knobs?
Why? Do you have the wrong pups in your guitar(s)?
 
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