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The Pickup Place / Re: PAF pickups that are close in brightness to singles?

« on: July 06, 2024, 06:33:21 AM »

Bridge EJ seems to be nearly identical specs and EQ of neck AC according to Dimarzio website, aside from being brighter, so was wondering how both would work together, but neck EJ probably does sound like a natural fit.

The EJs were designed to sound like Filtertrons but in a humbucker route. The neck and bridge are the same basic recipe, just calibrated for each respective position. Personally, I would not look to the EJ Custom if I wanted the sound of a full-size humbucker, at least not in the bridge position. If you’re happy with the Air Classic Neck in the bridge I would stick with that.

It was mentioned that a 1M tone pot can be useful in getting more brightness out of a pickup. Choosing a smaller tone cap can also make a marked difference, even with a 500k pot turned all the way up, I would try 15nF or 10nF.

I tried searching more for what Filtertrons generally sound like, and I must say, I think I like this direction more. I've never been happy with any traditional humbucker in the neck, and I tried plenty of them. So if the EJ Custom sounds closer to a single coil than PAF, I'd probably like that more.

I don't know. I have the Air Classic set in 2 guitars, one Les Paul and one Paul Gilbert Ibanez RG. That humbucker set is very bright in both guitars, rivaling the single coils in my Strat.
Have you checked the pot values in your guitar with a multimeter?

Would you say then that even Air Classic Bridge is close enough to single coil, especially overwound models like Heavy Blues 2?

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The Pickup Place / Re: PAF pickups that are close in brightness to singles?

« on: July 01, 2024, 05:19:08 PM »

Definitely "Humbucker from Hell". But it has slightly higher output so you may take it to the bridge or put HFH with lower distance from the strings.

Unfortunately, due to screw type it won't take gold covers, and it's a must that it takes gold covers........ 

I haven’t used the EJ Custom Bridge but I imagine it would excel in the neck position with a somewhat hotter pickup in the bridge. Pairing one with a HFH in the bridge would be interesting, though I can’t see myself ever doing that. With the lower resonant frequency I bet the EJ Bridge would provide a lot of cut in the neck position. But with an Air Classic Neck in the bridge I would recomnend the EJ Classic Neck in the neck.

Thanks for the suggestion! Bridge EJ seems to be nearly identical specs and EQ of neck AC according to Dimarzio website, aside from being brighter, so was wondering how both would work together, but neck EJ probably does sound like a natural fit.

I've used 1M pots with underwound/low-output PAFs for a more strident, single coil-like top end. My first Vigier Shawn Lane used Air Classics with those pot values. Because it used a FS-1 single in a splitting HSH configuration, I subsequently auditioned resistors of various values (332k, 470k, etc.) in parallel with the FS-1 to try to tune the pot loads in the 2 and 4 positions.

For production PAFs which have a lot of single coil character, I've found the Suhr Thornbuckers, Zhangbucker Telebucker and Woodbuckers, and Fralin Unbuckers to get in the ballpark. For Dimarzio offerings, a Bluesbucker in parallel will sound more single coil-like than in series (which is between a P-90 and a PAF), while sounding much like a Fender Texas Special in split mode.

I don't know where you can still find them, but they make pickup rings that allowed you to put a single coil pickup in the middle of where the humbucker usually sits without modifying the guitar. I used to have one in the neck of a 2-humbucker Jackson because I could never find a neck humbucker I liked for it. If you are really into the single coil sound, that might be the way to go.

I still want the humbucker guitar to sound like it has humbuckers in it, at least the bridge pickup  My aim is to have distinctive sounds, however if possible not requiring adjusting the amp when switching between them, and I found neck Air Classic in the bridge to still be HB-ey enough, so it's just a matter of finding a neck pickup that fits the role.

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The Pickup Place / PAF pickups that are close in brightness to singles?

« on: June 30, 2024, 04:41:11 PM »

Hi,

I have two guitars, one is a Strat with a set of Heavy Blues 2 / Area 61 / VV 54 Pro, and the other is Firebird Studio with PAF Master set. There is a colossal difference in brightness between, and I'd like to reduce it somehow. I used to have yet another guitar where I put the Air Classic NECK in the bridge position, and I remember that being much closer in brightness to the singles. I still have that pickup, so I was thinking of replacing the Masters; I'd put the Air Classic Neck in the bridge, but what would pair well with that pickup in the neck position? Is EJ Custom a good candidate, and would I go then with the bridge or the neck model?

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The Pickup Place / Re: HELP KEEP THIS PLACE RUNNING!

« on: April 25, 2018, 04:20:52 AM »

I know the answer to why it's so quiet here. Dimarzio pickups make people play their guitar more and spend less time on the internet, while Duncan players are more often dissatisfied with what they have and spend more time discussing which other pickup they need to try, only to fail the quest for tone again and be back writing more...

:-D

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The Pickup Place / Re: Help with choosing pickups and pot values?

« on: December 28, 2017, 03:34:10 AM »

Thanks so far for your suggestions. Bluesbucker sounds very promising as a neck pickup, and I got very good options regarding the bridge pickup, I'll just have to pick one and see how I like it, and change it if I don't :-)

@greenlion: I tried few Duncans, and never got on with them. The only thing I liked about the Jazz/JB was how they matched each other, and they gave me a good idea of what I want to achieve when choosing pickups, otherwise not my tone. I found the ones I tried to have like a 'screamy' sound about them (not a bad thing in itself, just doesn't suit me), whereas Dimarzios I tried so far have been 'growly' or 'barky', which is what I prefer. And that's why I post here, not on the Duncan forum ;-)

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The Pickup Place / Re: Help with choosing pickups and pot values?

« on: December 23, 2017, 07:57:58 AM »

Get a few values and try them out.

Yes, figured as much, no harm in having too many pots in your stash ;-)

Fred/Humbucker from Hell combo for the RG with an area67 or area61 in the middle. Do you not even have a volume pot hooked to your bridge humbucker? Why not? They are made to run with 500k pots. Breed bridge sounds good in a Jackson DK. Both of the bridge buckers will have the mid bump you are looking for.

That's correct, I have no pots connected to bridge pickups. I've realized when I want that extra cut from bridge pickup it's because I really want to go loud, and therefore I don't need the volume or tone control on it, just the way I use it. Volume for neck pickup is good if I want to clean up my signal for rhythm, and then I just switch into solo mode right on my guitar :-)

Are Breed or Fred low output enough for vintage style fuzzes, and how similar or different would HB from Hell be to a single coil, as I understand it's designed to emulate one, similar to EJ neck or Bluesbucker?

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The Pickup Place / Help with choosing pickups and pot values?

« on: December 21, 2017, 03:48:22 PM »

Hi,

My first post here, and already got two weird questions:

1. I am looking for a pair of humbuckers for both Jackson DK2 (alder) and Ibanez RG550 (basswood). At first I was thinking of just asking about neck pickups (these guitars currently have a Super Distortion and Super 3 in bridge position only, respectively), but I recently acquired a Fulltone Fuzz Face clone, but it doesn't get along too well with such hot pickups... So I am thinking of replacing those with some low output bridge HB's as well. What I want to achieve with the combo is to have a clear sounding neck and mid-humpy bridge pickup, similar to the Seymour Duncan Jazz + JB combo (had it, didn't like the tone, but loved the 'matching mismatch' :-)). It seems that PAF Master combo, or PAF Master neck + PAF 36th bridge are most likely candidates here, but would I get enough mid boost with the bridge compared to the neck?

2a. In the neck slot of my Ibanez RG550 I currently have a PAF Pro, but I somehow find it really muddy. One of the reason for it could be that I run my bridge pickups WITHOUT any pots, straight to the switch, while neck has a 500k volume. Obviously without any load, the bridge has a very sharp sound, while the pot loads down on the neck and cuts out some of the highs. Would I benefit from moving up to a 1M value pot?

2b. Also, if I wanted to add a single coil between the HB's, would I bump up the pot value for it to 500k, or are they bright enough that a 250k would still be fine? (In my Jackson, as an experiment I wired Super Distortion to a push-pull in such way that I get either straight to output series HB or split coil with volume; I find the split coil brighter with 500k volume than the series HB, and it's not a true single coil either, that's where I'm coming from anyway).

Thanks for at least reading ;-)