Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

[Nightburst]

Hey guys,

I have a strat loaded with tex mex pickups which sound allright for playing chilli peppers, hendrix, pearl jam and other funky/bluesy stuff.
However sometimes I need a little more beef/grit from the bridge position so I ordered a lil 59. Did I do the right thing? lol I like to use the strat for some gainy rock also since my new band requires a little more diversity.
Keep reading that the lil 59 can sound dull, but I thought it sounded pretty allright in soundclips that I've heard. I just think the tex mex bridge sounds great with gain/breakup minus the hum and I would like it slightly hotter. Maybe I'm looking for another pickup here?

TLDR, will the lil 59 and tex mex pickups balance out nicely in a strat? I dont want to get the lil JB as I already have the JB in another strat and its too one dimensional for my likes.

 

[agdtec]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

Have you tried the lil demon? from the Vids I have checked out it seems to do 80's rock really well but can do blues and country as well.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

you ordered the lil59 so put it in and try it out. if you dont like it you have a short period of time to swap it for another duncan. the lil 59 can be a great pup in the bridge of a strat

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

This week, I have been mostly running Fender Tex-Mex neck and centre single coils with an SD Antiquity Texas Hot, Bridge model. Nice!

IMO, anything in the 9-12k range should balance nicely.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

Yeah its coming in tomorrow, but the company doesnt have a lil screaming demon in their stock No problem I can send it back and get my money back I guess.
I dont see any online retailer that has the lil screaming demon and sends it to holland?

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

Am I crazy thinking about a magnet swap already? is that even possible with a lil bucker? XD
Dont get me wrong I am going to try the lil 59 first but I kinda have a gibson already. 100% impulse buy, hope it turns out good

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

Am I crazy thinking about a magnet swap already?

Yes.

is that even possible with a lil bucker?

Possible but tricky and fairly pointless. The majority of SD Li'l 'buckers use a small ceramic bar magnet. There is little or no alternative in the appropriate size.

I am going to try the lil 59 first but I kinda have a gibson already.

Already, schmeady. With respect to Mr. Duncan, and with the best will in the world, a Li'l 'bucker in a Fender style guitar is not going to sound exactly like a Gibson. It will drive a valve amplifier nicely but the detail expected of a Gibson will not be there.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

since its already on its way, throw it in and see what you think. i much prefer the lil59 to the lil screamin demon

 

[MacBradley]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

I really liked the lil59 in a strat bridge when I had it with the stock Fender single coils that came on MIA standards in the early 2000's. Its louder than the most single coils and has more mids, but not so much that it doesn't blend well for a HSS setup.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

It will sound great, I've got a guard built with the same pup's? The lil 59 neck makes a much better bridge pickup I.M.H.O., to me it sounds much closer to a full sized P.A.F.? Although the difference is minimal? In any case you have one so try it? All you got to lose is a bit of time but I think you're going to be happy with that setup?

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

I had a Strat with a "Lil59 in in the bridge. It gave me just the right amount of added heat in the bridge only position ... fatter than a single coil but obviously not as fat as a full size humbucker. The great thing is how well it played with an SSL-2 single coil in the middle when wired for auto-split. It should be very similar combined with the Tex Mex pups.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

Hey guys I tried the lil 59 this weekend in my strat and I'm not completely happy with it.
It's way louder than the tex mex and also got a completely different voicing. The pickup by itself sounds nice but when I swith back to the single coils I'm just enjoying those so much more, it's not what i was looking for I'm afraid.
Any tips on balancing it out more?
Also any suggestions on something that has the nice power and grit from the lil 59 but has a similar voice as the tex mex pickups?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

How close to the strings have you set each of your pickups? Is the Li'l '59 connected to a tone control?

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

How close to the strings have you set each of your pickups? Is the Li'l '59 connected to a tone control?

The 2 single coils only stick out 2 mm of the scratchplate the bucker is defaulted much higher due to the silicon tubes being too short. Polepieces on the lil 59 are as far down as they can go.
I connected the lil 59 according to the regular schematic so the black wire goes on the first lug of the switch, bare and green on backside of pot and red/white soldered together and taped off.
This is correct isn't it?

I just feel that the lil 59 is too hot for the tex mex to balance well.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

Would help a lot if you could properly adjust them. Try to dig up some springs or tubes so you can drop the little 59 down a bit and try raising the tex mex's a touch.

 

[MacBradley]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

The 2 single coils only stick out 2 mm of the scratchplate the bucker is defaulted much higher due to the silicon tubes being too short. Polepieces on the lil 59 are as far down as they can go.
I connected the lil 59 according to the regular schematic so the black wire goes on the first lug of the switch, bare and green on backside of pot and red/white soldered together and taped off.
This is correct isn't it?

I just feel that the lil 59 is too hot for the tex mex to balance well.

There is no "written in stone" rule on pickup height, but it sounds like your tex mex pickups are WAAAY too far down. Try something more like 5mm from the strings when holding down the last fret on the guitar, and then change heights on all pickups slightly to adjust for tone/output.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

id start by lowering the lil 59, it will thin out the tone and lower the output. raising the tex mex isnt a bad idea either but if you are happy with them where they are, id start with lowering the lil 59.

you just put a humbucker in your guitar, it is going to have a much different voicing than a single coil by nature.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

On the guitar mentioned in post #4, the distances between the tops of the plastic pickup covers and the underside edges of the strings are;

NECK = 5.5mm low E, 6mm high E.
CENTRE = 5.25mm low E, 5.5mm high E.
BRIDGE = 5mm low E, 3mm high E.


NOTE: I have measured from the pickup cover tops to negate the effects of differing rod magnet polepiece lengths. (My Fender Tex-Mex single coil pickups have been modified. I exploited their plastic bobbin construction to reset the rod magnet tops as if for a left-handed guitar.​)

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

Thanks for all the help guys, I really apreciate it! Raising the single coils did help a bit in output differences (thanks for the approx 5 mm reference point!) but the lil 59 doesnt work for me unfortunately.
I decided to take it out and order something else. Putting back the tex mex bridge bucker reminds me that I need something that sounds similar (like a strat) but without the hum. Eyeballing the vintage rails now for bridge position and asked for it in another thread.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Will the lil 59 in strat bridge play nice with tex mex?

The stock Fender Tex-Mex humbucker is a cheaply assembled affair. If you have access to a HSS pickguard, consider the Pearly Gates Plus. (Made by SD. Sold exclusively by Fender.)

I understand what you are saying about the Li'l '59. I have the Tele version in a G&L Tribute series ASAT Classic. 2.5mm low E, 2mm high E. It rawks and still manages to twang a bit. It took a Hot Rails neck position pickup to keep up with it.