wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

[Reload in 5]

So I have 2 59s in my washburn. Both sound great, but need help. The neck I think could benefit from the demud mod, but doesnt REALLY need it. The bridge is where the issue is. I prefer a guitar with a single volume and tone, so that is how I have it wired, with a 500k CTS pot. And now I read that people say the 59 bridge works better with a 250k pot, it tames some of the brightness.
So how do I get both ? will a 500k resistor across the leads from the bridge pickup work ?

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

stewmac has dual concentric pots

may be something to consider

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

That's why the C-5/59 or Custom/59 are such popular sets. Pots won't really beef up that bridge the way you want. You just need a meatier sounding bridge pickup.

Trade the 59B for a Custom, and I think you'll hear what you want to hear.

 

[Artie]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

Will a 500k resistor across the leads from the bridge pickup work ?

To answer your technical question, yes, that will work. May or may not provide the tone you want. The 59b can be touchy about the guitar its in. I had one where I had the same problem as you. I have two others where I love a pair of 59's.

 

[hanumanlangur]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

The '59b sounds great with 250k pots. After you get that bit fixed up with the resistor, you should try degaussing it a bit. It really balances the tone and brings out the warmth.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

That's why the C-5/59 or Custom/59 are such popular sets. Pots won't really beef up that bridge the way you want. You just need a meatier sounding bridge pickup.

Trade the 59B for a Custom, and I think you'll hear what you want to hear.

I would try going with 250k pots and replace the neck pup with a PG

 

[blueman335]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

The best thing to do in your situation is to put an A4 magnet in your '59B, and that way you may not have to change pots. If its still bright after that, you can change out one of the 500K's with a 250K. Going to two 250K's will probably make your neck '59 too dark.

The '59B gets it brightness from being low output (8,500 ohms) & the A5 magnet. With a little of the high end shaved off, it has a great tone.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

That's why the C-5/59 or Custom/59 are such popular sets. Pots won't really beef up that bridge the way you want. You just need a meatier sounding bridge pickup.

Trade the 59B for a Custom, and I think you'll hear what you want to hear.

Me too.

So I have 2 59s in my washburn. Both sound great, but need help. The neck I think could benefit from the demud mod, but doesnt REALLY need it. The bridge is where the issue is. I prefer a guitar with a single volume and tone, so that is how I have it wired, with a 500k CTS pot. And now I read that people say the 59 bridge works better with a 250k pot, it tames some of the brightness.

What brightness???? It's a paf humbucker! A Strat pickup is bright...a Tele pickup is bright. But a 59B? That isn't bright! :7:

Just kidding, but you probably would like a pickup with more mids. Something like a Custom or Custom Custom.



Lew

 

[blueman335]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

By the way...

This is another example of why it is so important to tweak what you have now with magnets, pots, & caps before you start buying more PU's, that also may not be what you want, considering that wood varies so much in it's tonal qualities.

With a two pot guitar (volume & tone), I'll make one a 500K volume pot for the neck, and the other a 250K volume pot for the bridge, connected to a hidden 250K tone pot in the cavity (wrapped in plastic so it doesn't touch anything), & it will take off a little more of the treble. There are many solutions to a problem. Think outside the box.

Too many people immediately give up on a high quality PU and can't throw their money fast enough at another one. Tone is an art, and in my experience, very few PU's will give you what you want without dialing in some of the other variables.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

By the way...

This is another example of why it is so important to tweak what you have now with magnets, pots, & caps before you start buying more PU's, that also may not be what you want, considering that wood varies so much in it's tonal qualities.

With a two pot guitar (volume & tone), I'll make one a 500K volume pot for the neck, and the other a 250K volume pot for the bridge, connected to a hidden 250K tone pot in the cavity (wrapped in plastic so it doesn't touch anything), & it will take off a little more of the treble. There are many solutions to a problem. Think outside the box.

Too many people immediately give up on a high quality PU and can't throw their money fast enough at another one. Tone is an art, and in my experience, very few PU's will give you what you want without dialing in some of the other variables.

To much trouble. To many switches, contact points, etc. rather than solid solder connections. From my experience, when a guy says an alnico 5 pickup is to bright, what he's often needing is a sound with more mids...because more mids changes the balance. It's usually about balance. For example, a Duncan Custom may have as much treble as a 59 or Custom 5...but it has more mids so the balance is differant and the treble isn't perceived as being as "bright" and the overall tone isn't perceived as being as "thin". For me, the simpler the better: fewer switches and pots. Simpler lasts longer and sounds better..at least to me.

When I was twenty I spent alot of time dreaming up alot of complex wiring schemes to create a guitar with the ultimate in versatility. What a bunch of nonsense.

Get a Strat for Strat tones. Get a Tele for Tele tones. Get a Strat or Tele or ??? with two humbuckers for "Gibson" tones.

Get a Strat or Tele with two humbuckers you love that can be split into single coils for a taste of both worlds.

Get an amp and speaker you love playing through.

Then forget all that BS and play.

Lew

 

[uOpt]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

So how do I get both ? will a 500k resistor across the leads from the bridge pickup work ?

Yes, but it screws up how the poti works when you turn it down. If you never use the volume poti it's perfect.

However, it won't do what you want here. I don't think higher resistance load will help you.

If anything you should try a capacitor across the pickup, something between 0.2 and 2 nF (that's nano, very small).

 

[blueman335]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

To much trouble. a Duncan Custom may have as much treble as a 59 or Custom 5...but it has more mids so the balance is differant and the treble isn't perceived as being as "bright" and the overall tone isn't perceived as being as "thin". Lew

Since a Custom 5 is a Custom with an A5 instead of a ceramic magnet (and the Custom Custom the same thing with an A2), swapping a $5 magnet is a better move than automatically buying a new PU if the EQ is off. It isn't cost effective for manufacturers to offer us all the PU/magnet combinations that would work best in our guitars, so it's up to us to do it. It's a cheap & easy mod.

What do you do when you get a HB that doesn't sound the way someone told you it would? Sell it for $40 on eBay and buy a new one for $80? And if that one isn't quite what you want...do it all over again? I like players to get the ideal tone they want, and that frequently doesn't happen with stock PU's & stock wiring (the "one-size-fits-all" thing). I think the usual advice of "buy this one", "buy that one" is great if you have lots of cash. But when you have several guitars, and it takes trying a few PU's on each one, to get a PU that fits your wood's tones for the sound you want, that's a lot of money.

For those that don't want to do anything to a guitar but play it, they can blow through all the replacement PU's they want & have a tech do the work. But for the guys that don't mind putting 15 minutes into swapping a pot or magnet, then I'll help them with that. I'd rather take a few minutes myself to dial in my guitar's tone, than play it with a tone that's not what I want.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

I think both of you are right: Lew, it's very little what we need but the classic combos is what we hear all day on classic records
and blueman: there is nothing like 'sound voodoo' on pickups, its a well crafted coil with different magnets, nothing that couldn't be improved easily.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

Yes, but it screws up how the poti works when you turn it down. If you never use the volume poti it's perfect.

Ive never had any issues

 

[hanumanlangur]

Re: wiring for 2 59s, bridge too bright

The '59b is an excellent pickup, and tonally strong and meaty when adjusted. It's the 500k pot that is throwing your tone off. If you can get the effect of a 250k pot on your bridge pickup with a resistor, you will be happier. And if you end up wanting more warm mids, you can plenty of them by doing a little degaussing with a disk magnet.