[jmcorey]

Hi All,

Yamaha RGX820z. 250k controls. Plays like buttah.

Came with JB and 59n. Didn't like. Replaced with MoJoe and PAF Joe that sounded OK in it, but I didn't like the "fake" harmonics that came with those pickups. I sent them back for an Air Norton in the bridge and an Air Classic Neck. AN bridge worked well, but Air Classic sounded too soft with gain, not enough attack and bite. I have a Norton that I bought some years ago from someone on the forum, and would like to put it in bridge eventually.

While every bridge pickup in that guitar has sounded good (except for a JB), every neck pickup has sounded either boomy/wooly, weak, slow, etc. Even the with a magnet swap, a 59N with A4 magnet sounds a tad mushy. So far, whenever I have found something in the neck that is bright enough, it sounds weak under gain.

So I am looking for a neck pickup that wounds somewhat clear when clean and has bite with gain.  Thanks.

[daenius]

Air Norton in the neck is excellent: smooth, hot, warm, and clear.

If you're running 250k pots and suffer from muddy sounding neck pickups, you'll want to put in something bright, like the Humbucker From Hell or the aforementioned Air Norton

If you wanna try Duncans, the Jazz Model should do better than the 59n. Also heard great things about the Full Shred.

[greenlion]

Air Norton would be the last thing I would suggest if you want bite in the neck. There is a reason you aren't liking all of those humbuckers and have no bite in the neck position if you are running them with 250k pots. Replace the pots with 500k pots. Try the pickups you have again after that.

[357mag]

I tried the Jazz in the neck. Didn't work. It was articulate and clear like advertised, but the overall sound was kinda lame for hard and heavy soloing.

[jazzfromhell]

I agree wholeheartedly with Greenlion on this one.

1) stay away from the Air Norton.
2) switch to 500k pots.
3) try a Super 2 in the neck. Clear as a bell and build to shred.
http://www.dimarzio.com/node/2118

[greenlion]

Super 2 is a great neck pickup for shred.

[jmcorey]

Not really interested in Shred.  Just more classic rock, versatile.

Dimarzio candidates that I have in mind include 36th neck, PAF Pro, PAF Master Neck, mostly.

[Timius]

I really dig the evolution neck. 

[jazzfromhell]

The biggest difference is gonna be to change those pots. Try that first. If you're happy with the 250k in the bridge there's probably a way to make only the neck see 500k. Someone here can probably tell you how to do it.

[darkbluemurder]

Just checked the specs - the three controls are volume, tone (for both magnetic pickups) and a piezo volume control.

I second the recommendation to change to a 500k volume control. To make the bridge pickup see a 250k load, add a 470k resistor (or two 1 meg resistors in parallel for 500k) from the bridge pickup's hot connection to ground.

As regards neck pickups: this is generally difficult since string movement in the neck spot is huge and produces a lot of bass response. From the DiMarzio line up I had success with the Bluesbucker but I would only use it with 500k pots in the neck, otherwise it will be too dark. Seymour Duncan Full Shred neck is another good one. If you want to move away to a slightly more single coil tone you can use a Wide Range Humbucker in normal humbucker format (The Creamery and Catswhisker make them) or maybe a Zhangbucker Telebucker (that one has magnetic poles in the neckside coil like a strat pickup). The latter would benefit from a 250k pot.

Cheers Stephan

[jmcorey]

Sounds like great advice.  Stephan, thanks for the footwork in looking that stuff up, and in making the recommendation re: the circuitry adjustment.

Just to be clear, you would leave the tone at 250k, but change the volume to 500k?

[darkbluemurder]

Just to be clear, you would leave the tone at 250k, but change the volume to 500k?

Yes - if you are only going to change one of the pots it should be the volume pot as it makes a bigger difference. The tone pot is only wired as a variable resistance, and a 250k tone pot on 10 is roughly the equivalent of a 500k tone pot on 8. To my (old) ears this difference is quite subtle.

Cheers Stephan

[slugworth]

Switch to 500k pots and get a Breed Neck. Stays crunchy even in milk. You will thank me.

[KH Guitar Freak]

Honestly, swap both the volume and tone pots to 500k ohm ones. It's just not the pickups. The electronics with things such as pots may do the trick for you

For me, I generally use 500k ohm pots for humbuckers. I do however insist on the 250k ohm pots for the JB/Jazz set

[darkbluemurder]

Switch to 500k pots and get a Breed Neck. Stays crunchy even in milk. You will thank me.

That sounds interesting. I still have a Breed neck lying around and doing nothing at the moment.

Cheers Stephan