Humbucker Pickups - Balanced vs Unbalanced

[dallasblues]

Hey guys!

Would a humbucker with unbalanced (or mismatched) coils, using Alnico II magnets, produce a brighter tone than a humbucker with balanced (or matched) coils, using Alnico V magnets? Or vice versa?

I have a rather dark sounding guitar ('07 ES-335) and a dark sounding amp ('51 Fender Pro). I wouldn't mind a bit more top end, less mids, tighter bass and more punch.

Any thoughts?

[Stringswinger]

I had a very dark sounding 2005 ES-335 with 57 Classics (matched coils) and a very bright 2016 ES 335 with Burstbuckers (unmatched coils). I preferred the former, but it was quite heavy so both guitars are now with new owners.

In regards to Alnico 5, I found the three Early Patent Sticker (Pre T-Top) pups that I owned to be quite dark (and they had short magnet alnico 5's), but I have two modern guitars with alnico 5 PUPS, A Benedetto A-6 in one and a Duncan 59 in the other (both neck position) and both of those Pups are warm with very good top end clarity. I would suggest trying one of those or a Burstbucker. The 57 Classic is a pretty dark PUP in the neck position.

[aleksandar]

Or you could try some kind of a booster, or an EQ pedal.

[KirkP]

Have you tried turning the bass knob on your amp to near the minimum?

[neatomic]

oddly, was just earlier looking at the design of the ( relatively new-ish) gretsch broadtron pickup...(it was designed to have paf tone crossed with the brite clarity of the classic (low k) gretsch filtertron)...they used mismatched coils and alnico V's....makes sense..the extra gauss of the alnico V will bring out the brights (if well designed!)...a lower wind would also help...

i'd choose slightly mismatched coils, wound to about mid 7k...(w paf standard #42 wire)..with alnico v magnets..and then really play around with pickup height & strings, once it's in the guitar

luck

cheers

[gregunit]

My guitar is an Ibanez ASV10a loaded with Ibanez Classic Elites from the factory.
The body (front, bank, sides and center block) is maple, mahogany neck, teak composite fretboard (like rosewood)
I like the guitar; it feels good and the sound is almost there; it is a keeper for me.

I am considering Seymour Duncan 59 sh-1n, Jazz sh-2n, and Alnico 2 Pro HB n (neck pickups)

I gig through a direct box/pedal into a pa.

Sometimes I use the same direct box/pedal into a Fender Rumble 40 amp for real small gigs and jamming.

My practice amp is a VHT Special 12/20 RT loaded with JJ 12ax7s and 6l6. It's like a 20 watt twin. Clean with lots of headroom. I added a HighGain input (like the old black face) for humbuckers, and it works very well without pedals. Love that amp!

My objective is to clean up the guitar signal, better highs, and articulate bass. However, I don't want to be shrill, boom, honk or get muddy. I can always add a little funky distortion with the pedal or gain.

Any pickup suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Greentone]

I had a 335 with the Seymour Duncan 59 sh-1n, Jazz sh-2n combination. It was a very warm guitar.

Ultimately, I put the old Tarback pickups back in and enjoyed those too. However, the Duncans were great for jazz.

[gregunit]

I don't mind putting a couple hundred into the Ibanez. It's not for sale. Just want better tone.

Thanks for the reply

[gregunit]

ya, not clean enough. I played with the pots too 250 to 500....

[Namelyguitar]

II - More mids compared to V.
II - Less treble and bass than V.
(V has more treble and bass with scooped mids compared to II.)

[GNAPPI]

I'm guessing you have 57's in your 335, and according to Gibson, BB's and 57's come with A2 magnets. I have both in two different 335's, the 57's are less bright than the BB's.

The Duncan "Jazz" are also bright, even according to Duncan (which I in general agree with) ... "the Jazz is an incredibly versatile humbucker that will work for almost any style of music. An Alnico 5 bar magnet and a special coil wind give it a glassy treble response and full, tight bass, while scooped mids help each note"

I have a Duncan "Jazz" (neck position) in an Epi Sheraton, and I mostly agree with the comments on the Duncan site except for the versatile part. IMO, they're not everyone's cup of tea.

I had a very dark sounding 2005 ES-335 with 57 Classics (matched coils) and a very bright 2016 ES 335 with Burstbuckers (unmatched coils). I preferred the former,

+1. I also like 57's better in the 335, but it sounds like either the "Jazz" or BB's will fit your needs.

[jim777]

I keep hearing really great things about the Gibson Custom Buckers, which have Alnico 3 magnets. I think you have to look for them used though, as they put them in guitars but don't sell them separately yet. They are basically Gibson's latest (and supposedly best so far) take on the original PAFs.

[gregunit]

My guitar is an Ibanez ASV10a loaded with Ibanez Classic Elites from the factory.
The body (front, bank, sides and center block) is maple, mahogany neck, teak composite fretboard (like rosewood)
I like the guitar; it feels good and the sound is almost there; it is a keeper for me.

I am considering Seymour Duncan 59 sh-1n, Jazz sh-2n, and Alnico 2 Pro HB n (neck pickups)

I gig through a direct box/pedal into a pa.

Sometimes I use the same direct box/pedal into a Fender Rumble 40 amp for real small gigs and jamming.

My practice amp is a VHT Special 12/20 RT loaded with JJ 12ax7s and 6l6. It's like a 20 watt twin. Clean with lots of headroom. I added a HighGain input (like the old black face) for humbuckers, and it works very well without pedals. Love that amp!

My objective is to clean up the guitar signal, better highs, and articulate bass. However, I don't want to be shrill, boom, honk or get muddy. I can always add a little funky distortion with the pedal or gain.

Any pickup suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thankyou for your input. Really good stuff!

Per ALEKSANDAY and KIRKP, I spent some time playing with my existing pickups, turning the bass down and applying EQ.

NAMELYGUITAR GNAPPI and JIM777 provided comparisons and information on magnets... that was very useful.

GREENTONE actually tried the 59s and Jazz pickups, then went back to his original "tarbacks" or "tarbuckers" LOL

Based on all of this input, I've decided to try the Seymour Duncan Jazz SH-2 in the neck position. I think it will help me cut through when I'm jamming and will give me that clean jazz tone I'm looking for.

For the bridge position, I'm going to stay with the oem pickups for now.

If the jazz is too bright, I'll first try a 250k pot. If that doesn't work, I'll purchase a SD 59 SH-1

I'll order the pickup after this post. It should be here by Friday. I will be pleased to report back next week on the results.

Again, Many thanks for you kind assistance - Greg

[gregunit]

The Seymour Duncan Jazz SH-2 in the neck position gave me the "clean" sound I was looking for, but are too bright (scrill) with the 500k potentiometer. Switching to a 256k pot tamed the scrill and gave me the tone I was looking for. AND it pares will with the bridge oem tarbucker. Thanks everyone for all of your help. I'm very happy with this combination and jazzguitar.be. ????

[rpjazzguitar]

As I understand it, the larger the length of string which is being sensed by the pickup, the darker the sound. I've always assumed that the narrower the area being sensed the more upper harmonics that come through.

So, that leads to the idea of lowering the pickup and then raising the polepieces. That narrows the length of string being sensed by a bit.

The guitar should sound brighter.

Frankly, when I've tried it, I haven't loved the result. But, it's free, easy and reversible. Maybe worth a try.

[Irez87]

I wanted to revive this thread.

I, too, am looking for a brighter pickup in the nearish future--January (so I can make it a birthday present for myself)

I currently have a Shadow SH AZ-49 pup and it just runs dark and muddy. I've tried it on different amp settings, and teachers in the past have tried it on their setups as well--still muddy.

I wanna get outta that mud, bud!

I think I want something similar to a PAF--at least from what I've heard from recordings--but I want the option to have it custom wound to make it brighter while still giving me depth and sustain.

I've heard of these:

1957 Jazz PAF Humbucker Set - Best Humbucker for Jazz Music – Tone Specific

But I wanted a brighter sound, like this:

Unfortunately, I know exactly what pup Dechter uses--a custom pup made by John Carruthers--they ain't cheap. I think its $400 for one pickup.

This is what I get for making my Eastman the most expensive guitar--with all the modifications I've done to her.

I just love how my guitar sounds (acoustically) and feels under my fingers--I don't want to part with her at all.

[KirkP]

I wanted to revive this thread.

I, too, am looking for a brighter pickup in the nearish future--January (so I can make it a birthday present for myself)

Jason Lollar is a short ferry ride away from you, but you don’t need to visit to buy them. Tim Lerch has used a lot of Lollars, and chose Imperials for his “Chubby” Tele a few years ago. I haven’t tried them. They are much less than $400.
Lollar Imperial Humbucker

What pot and cap values are in your guitar? That can be a factor. Also, the capacitance and length of instrument cable.

[GNAPPI]

As I said before, and many agree, the SD "Jazz" or BB's will definitely be bright.

I recently found that in my Epi Sheraton, replacing the magnet with an A3 and putting a cover on the "Jazz" pickup yielded very usable results, because I felt it was too bright previously.

[ruger9]

But I wanted a brighter sound, like this:

.

Never heard of this guy... I enjoyed that!


As for 57's vs BB's, over all the years of reading (I have not yet owned either), it seems at this point more people tend to like 57's over BB's, unless you're playing rock on a Les Paul. 57's got kind of a bad rap initially, but they are now offered across the line, as well as in many Epiphones, and everyone says they're great pickups.

[whiskey02]

$400? Remember we’re talking about a piece of plastic with some wire wrapped around it and a little magnet. WTF?

[coolvinny]

I wanted to revive this thread.

I, too, am looking for a brighter pickup in the nearish future--January (so I can make it a birthday present for myself)

I currently have a Shadow SH AZ-49 pup and it just runs dark and muddy. I've tried it on different amp settings, and teachers in the past have tried it on their setups as well--still muddy.

I wanna get outta that mud, bud!

I think I want something similar to a PAF--at least from what I've heard from recordings--but I want the option to have it custom wound to make it brighter while still giving me depth and sustain.

I've heard of these:

1957 Jazz PAF Humbucker Set - Best Humbucker for Jazz Music – Tone Specific

But I wanted a brighter sound, like this:

...

Unfortunately, I know exactly what pup Dechter uses--a custom pup made by John Carruthers--they ain't cheap. I think its $400 for one pickup.

This is what I get for making my Eastman the most expensive guitar--with all the modifications I've done to her.

I just love how my guitar sounds (acoustically) and feels under my fingers--I don't want to part with her at all.

I had the same mud issue with my laminate jazzbox and a couple of 12" open back combos (one tube, one SS, both "jazz" amps). I really wanted to be able to use a 12" open back when needed. I tried a bunch of mods to my guitar...new nut, different saddle, roundwounds, different HB, different pots, thinner pick, etc. Nothing would strike the right balance for me.

So finally I replaced the Lollar Imperial HB (standard) with a Lollar CC pickup (HB size), and that did the trick. I think the CC can sound a lot like a HB, but with more clarity. It sounds kind of Peter Bernstein-y if you ask me. I never find myself saying "oh, I miss my HB's fatness" or anything remotely like that...the CC is PLENTY fat sounding (I use 13's and a thick pick). Disclaimer: so far I have only used it with my Henriksen and Mambo SS amps...have not tried it with a tube amp.

And remember, Graham Dechter's custom pickup is actually a single coil, it's not a HB. So there is some similarity between the CC and Dechter's pickup.

[Jabberwocky]

I wrote to John Carruthers about Graham Dechter's pickup in June 2015. This was his reply: "Its not a humbucker it is a single coil of a unique design the has a wider string sample that provides more overtones. I custom make them. They are custom made to fit the guitar. I must have the guitar to make and fit the pickup. Humbuckers don't sound as nice they are missing highs and lows. The pickups cost $500.00 installed."

[helios]

Lindy Fralin offers a few single-coil sounding humbuckers such as the: "Sunbucker", "Sunbucker Blues", "Big Single" etc.
I don't think his personal demo (on his website) is that good but the sound files he offers are better (I haven't tried any of them):
Single-Coil-Sounding Humbuckers | Lindy Fralin Pickups