The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I have a question.

    My recently acquired hollowbody is at this moment equipped with some stock (who knows what they are) humbuckers. And i want to replace them with other. Well, not me, but the luthier will do this. I wouldn't know where to start.
    But! Here's the question: how do you compare humbuckers and the sound they make? How do you go about this in any reliable way?

    I mean, you can say that, when you listen to a recording, "oh, those are that type of humbucker, and the guitar is that with those strings AND the amp is that", which, all together, create a particular sound. But it's not the sound the humbucker creates on it's own. It's a part of that.
    What i want to try to avoid is the following: suppose i buy a set because i've read about them, heard a few recordings with guitars that feature them, looked at video's of peoples gear that has them and i bought them, expecting the same sound, but, when fitted into my guitar, produce something completely else.

    I'm probably looking at it the wrong way, but then i ask myself, how do they write the reviews that go along with these?

    Is there a way to achieve this?

    kind thanks for the help/advice.

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  3. #2

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    Hi Lemuel,
    Great questions!
    As someone who changes gear as often as I change socks (about once a year!) , I feel your pain!

    The easy answer: unless you want to buy, install, return, buy, install, return several sets of pickups, I don't think you really can compare them!

    That being said, I'd also step back and ask: what's "wrong" with your current pickups?? "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," is a fitting saying in many gear discussions!

    I enjoy, however, consulting with pickup builders, who often ask, "What sound do you want?" and if I can clearly articulate something, they've said, "OK!" and make something very cool! I know more American makers, but I've had great service from Bare Knuckle in the UK. Give them a shout!

    Enjoy!

    Marc

  4. #3

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    Too many variables for a simple answer, but marcwhy's suggestions are sound. My own contribution would be, have you tried adjusting the pups? My opinion is that pickups usually come from the store too high - too close to the strings - for optimum tonal richness. People tend to judge pickups by how loud they are, and not necessarily for their sonic detail. My thinking is that a lower pickup is sampling a greater string length and contains more information, granted at the price of a lower output, for which amps are handy in making up the difference. Getting the right height - that sweet spot - takes patience and careful listening. Also; if you are going to swap pups, be sure to replace or cover the noisy springs with silicon surgical tubing, available from StewMac if nowhere else. Be very careful when lowering the pups not to drop the off the end of the screw. Ask me how I know.

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lemuel
    I have a question.
    My recently acquired hollowbody is at this moment equipped with some stock (who knows what they are) humbuckers. And i want to replace them with other.
    As some already said, the first question is what is wrong with stock humbuckers. Is something wrong with them? If they are boomy can You fix it with EQ'ing Your amp? If they are too dark or bright can You fix it with EQ'ing Your amp?

    If not, try to adjust the pickups. And when You find a level where boominess is gone but You miss some 'presence', try raising the 6 screws in Your humbucker.

    There is a lot You can do by adjusting the amp and the pickup.

    If those can't help, knowing the brand of Your stock pickups will help forward. If You don't want to see what's reading underneath them You can ask the manufacturer of guitar, or search in the Internet what there might or should be.

    Then You can ask a right question: "what pickups would sound 'brighter'/'less boomy'/'anything You want' than my current Xxxx pickups?"

    When I started the pickup swapping I decided that I'll make it scientific: I'll record something every time I'll swap pickups to my guitar. After I had tried three different pickups I listened and could not hear any difference. But I knew exactly that playing with them and listening live in the same room had been totally different in many aspects, that just couldn't be heard thru mic and speakers.

    Good luck!

  6. #5

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    Thank you all for the very helpfull comments. At this point, there's nothing "wrong" with the actual pickups, it's just that i've been reading up on humbuckers and the "presumed" sound they make, according to whomever is writing the article.

    Which led me to my questions:such as; how did they discover this?

    For instance:
    7 Best Humbuckers (Perfect For Jazz & Blues) (2022)

    When i get my guitar back (it's in the shop for a setup and a restring) i'll be looking and listening to the humbuckers that are currently in place. (if it ain't broke, don't fix it).
    I'm looking forward to hear the sound they produce with the new flatwound strings. That will give an idea of the direction i'm thinking in going.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lemuel
    Thank you all for the very helpfull comments. At this point, there's nothing "wrong" with the actual pickups, it's just that i've been reading up on humbuckers and the "presumed" sound they make, according to whomever is writing the article.

    Which led me to my questions:such as; how did they discover this?
    They researched other articles. Guitar journalism is not known for integrity. The writers do not waste time listening to pickups before writing their reviews, especially when they could be in the pub.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Litterick
    They researched other articles. Guitar journalism is not known for integrity. The writers do not waste time listening to pickups before writing their reviews, especially when they could be in the pub.
    Understood. I'll be listening to the combo of guitar/electronics/amp then, rather than reading something, someone wrote.

  9. #8

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    My trepidation about trying other pickups is that I would like to able to compare them side by side in the same kind of guitar.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lemuel
    Thank you all for the very helpfull comments. At this point, there's nothing "wrong" with the actual pickups, it's just that i've been reading up on humbuckers and the "presumed" sound they make, according to whomever is writing the article.

    Which led me to my questions:such as; how did they discover this?

    For instance:
    7 Best Humbuckers (Perfect For Jazz & Blues) (2022)

    When i get my guitar back (it's in the shop for a setup and a restring) i'll be looking and listening to the humbuckers that are currently in place. (if it ain't broke, don't fix it).
    I'm looking forward to hear the sound they produce with the new flatwound strings. That will give an idea of the direction i'm thinking in going.
    When you think about pickups, there are broad brushstrokes and then there are fine details. The broad brushstrokes are the general direction or niche in which they fit (high output, medium output, low output, single coil, P90, humbucker), and the fine details (flat response, accentuated highs, lows, mids or other), an sonic artifacts that are characteristic of some pickups. None of these things is really either good or bad. They are just characteristics and how we value them is really a function of out desires, goals and playing techniques. For instance, reading the 7 pickups this author has listed, he is clearly drawn to the hotter end of the moderate output pickups. The Lollar Imperials and the Bluesbuckers are both on the hot side of that range (in fact the Imperial is hot enough that here is a low-wind version available as a separate item). So that's where you start. How hot do you want them to be? How hard do you pick? Are there any specific characteristics that you're looking for? From there, honestly, just talk to us. Between us we've owned just about every pickup imaginable and most people here would be happy to tell you their experiences.

  11. #10

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    When I play "Jazz" I frequently roll off the volume and tone. So my pots and capacitor and wiring scheme control the sound more than the windings and magnet strength of the humbucker. I'm a "tone is in the fingers" person, because not only do my fingers hold the pick and mute the strings, they also control the knobs and operate a screw driver that fits the humbuckers adjustment screws.

    I'd say 90% of my pickup replacements involve tracking down or re-creating (at great trouble some times) the original pickups for a guitar and putting them back in the guitar.

  12. #11

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    So the short answer is buy the following Manluis Landmark regular
    wind for the neck and Hot Rod59 for the bridge. 4 wire for both and wax potted.
    I have had these in many thinlines hollow bodies, solids always works!

  13. #12

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    This is such a complicated topic…

    But a cap change in the wiring, an EQ pedal, height adjustment, etc.… particularly when you feel that there is nothing "wrong" with your current ones, I think other changes to the overall "system" (think of it all as one, from strings down to the speaker) would provide you with easier, cheaper and more flexible options for experimentation.

    A pickup swap is invasive, expensive, and, as you and others already said, hard to facilitate without a lot of trial and error, because there is really no good way to "compare" one with the other in the same guitar. Imho it‘s mostly worth it when you swap for a Singlecoil, but otherwise…

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    My trepidation about trying other pickups is that I would like to able to compare them side by side in the same kind of guitar.
    Wise words, in theory. Unfortunately wood is so living material that every guitar rings differently.

    I had a 1992 LP Std which sounded too dark to my ears. After swapping tens of pickups and bridges and +500 kOhm pots I realised that it just is the sound of that guitar. I decided to sell it and bought a 2012 LP R8 instead. It rings so balanced that every pickups sound good in it. So it has stock ones.

    With a LP pickup swapping can be a nice hobby but with an archtop the procedure is so much more difficult that ”nice hobby” is far away from it. (Or I haven’t had enough experience…!)

    BTW: When You’ll have the guitar back with the fresh strings the sound might be surprisingly bright. I like to play some days before the strings get their ’jazz sound’. Usually they will then have it for months.

  15. #14

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    As for comparison... I know a guy who made a kind of a jack-type socket so he could easily swap two different humbuckers every week days... probably it was the most efficient way that I know - after two months or so he settled down with one of them.

    But he is a handy guy