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I was given one of these pickups as a gift. Before I install it in the neck position of my Epiphone ES 339 (it no longer has the push-pul pot for coil splitting and, hence, no molex connector). I wondered if anyone had any experience using this specific pickup in the neck position for jazz. My amp is a DV Mark Little Jazz. I am not a skilled player but I love the sound of jazz chords and tones.
I fully understand the reality that the only real way to know how it sounds (and if it appeals to me) is to try it for awhile.
Thanks for your opinions, comments and advice.
Cheers
Dave
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03-02-2020 03:09 PM
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I have one, in a solid body. it sounds more like a Fender single coil (strat pickup) than it does a humbucker. It's very thin- that's the point... "thin" isn't a bad thing, when you talk about a neck humbucker that handles gain better because it lacks low end. It is not a neck pickup I would recommend for jazz, at least not for traditional jazz tones. My tele neck pickup is warmer.
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Thank You very much! You saved me a lot of time and energy.
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DiMarzio publishes nicely detailed blurbs & specs which are well worth reviewing.
Looks like it's way underwound to sound more like a single-coil. That could be a really cool jazz sound if you like the sound of single-coils. But with that in mind, my guess is you would not want to coil-split (@ 2.9k !!) or run it out-of-phase, so standard two-conductor wiring makes sense. You might want to use a 250k volume pot too.
Don't get hung up on whether it's 'loud' or not -- that's what they make amplifiers for. "Output quantity" and "thin-ness" each depend on many factors, including the string gauge and size of the gap between the unit and the strings.
At my house, "I got it for free" means "I've got nothing to lose." Give it a spin!
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@Sam Sherry ..I would not be using it with a coil split. (see my original post)
My strings are TI 12-50 Flatwounds
I understand that "I've got nothing to lose" ...but working on 339s is frustrating enough without having at least a slight expectation of being somewhat pleased with the results. Hence, this thread.
Last edited by Greco; 03-02-2020 at 05:49 PM.
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Just for info, in case anyone ends up here in the future....
I have mine wired for both split and out-of-phase (OOP) with the bridge humbucker (which is a JB). The split sound of the HFH is very weak; I would never use it... it sounds like a weak single coil, certainly weaker than a strat pickup. Wired OOP with another humbucker, it's kind of interesting... the combination (2 coils HFH OOP with 2 coils JB) has a stratty quack to it (even tho a strat's quack on the in-between positions is NOT because the pickups are out-of-phase; they are not). I prefer it to the straight in-phase wiring, only because it's a more unique sound than in-phase, which basically sounds like a Les Paul.
To the OP: would it sound good in a 339? It would sound like a strat neck pickup in a 339... if you think you'd like that, give it a try. If you think the neck pickup sounds very bassy and woofy and you can't get any use out of it, then the HFH would be worth a try. But it'll sound NOTHING like the HB that's in there. And I totally agree about working on these things- i HATE working on my Gretsch, it's such a PITA I have to work myself up to it over a month or so LOL.
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Thanks for the detailed response. Much appreciated!
Originally Posted by ruger9
The present neck HB in my Epi 339 is a DiMarzio 36th Anniversary PAF which I put in recently. It sounds fine to me.
My hobby is doing wiring repairs on guitars for friends, building and installing new replacement harnesses, doing pickup swaps, etc. I have likely worked on 30 or so ES 335, 339 and fully hollowbody style guitars. I am OK with with doing the work if I think it might be worth it.
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Can anyone give me an answer how this sounds for METAL, E flat in a neck? Need a bright neck pickup at this point. Have tried lots of DiMarzios. Cleans, chords, lead liquid sounds? I imagine cleans are great being lowered output.
Brightest neck pickup by DiMarzio I am after.
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HFH is the brightest pickup in an HB format that they make by far. I think it sounds nice for jazz. You can warm it up from the amp and it will still stay nice and clear.
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Have your tried this for leads , power chords in the neck for metal. After as much info on this pickup. It will be with a DiMarzio D-Activator in the bridge .
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I've never played metal, sorry but my recollection is that the pickup was designed for Eric Johnson's 335 so he could have a single coil sound in the neck to go with a traditional PAF sound in the bridge in a single guitar.
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I have... that's what I bought it for. Altho "metal" might be a little strong... the guitar it's in is my old Charvel, which i play Vai-type stuff on... Originally Posted by WATERPIG
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When I first saw this thread I thought you were asking about the Lace Alumitone Deathbucker.
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Hey there
I am 37 and best friend is 49. He grew up with the thrash era. But I did more research and songs he sent me he liked a lot from bands and that's when I noticed single coils in a necks. Ordered it be true cause of this pandemic. Be safe people and keeping pulling on those strings.
Here is a list of what he tried. All too smooth or rounded/muddy.
DiMarzio;
•PAF pro
•Evo neck
• Air Norton
• D-Activator neck
• Titan neck
None of these fit my buddies trained ear. I personally have my sweet spot for necks with a Evo neck, D-Activator neck and the PAF pro was my #1.
He now has my old D-Activator bridge and is amazed. I got the craziest tones with this pickup and a vintage one.
I now have a Crunch Lab/D-Activator neck.
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I wonder if it would work for those trying to get a more "acoustic" sound out of an archtop, especially a carved top. Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
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WOW! This thread certainly picked up traction recently.
Now my curiosity has been piqued and I will have to try it in my Epi 339 after I have had fun with this recent "mod"...
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Hey there!
My friend swears by the Humbucker from Hell with our setup. 11-54's standard E. I had the 20 minutes privilege of testing it out myself and I very impressed with it. Full metal bore.
I suffered and tortured my masochist self with the Evo 2/EVO neck in high end Mahogany/maplecap (No millennial downtuning with this setup). Strictly half Step E.
My new Rival is Humbucker from Hell. We now have matching Jackson guitars, amps and pickups.
My standard C setting is the big test. 13-62's No cookie Monster vocals, no Millenial Drop C platforms so common with my generation and era. I believe if your gonna tune to C. Go standard C.
All and all, were all shredding and holding the faith at 37 & 49. We ain't no 9-5 Joe's. OOOORAH!
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