De-muddying the neck pickup

[chipper]

Yes, it's called the hotwire mod and works really well. There was a thread about it here some time ago. It actually cuts some of the bass out. The lower the cap value the more lower mids and bass are cut. I've got 0.022 in mine. Makes the bass less boomy.

 

[Scott Olson]

There are quite a few things that can take the mud out, whether it be a higher capacitor, changing the height of the pickup, pole piece adjustment, changing pot values etc.

Just to give you an example of how much a simple capacitor can change the tone check out this post from Joe Gore: Change Your Caps, Change the World!(or at least your tone pot response) - tonefiend.com

 

[joegore]

There are quite a few things that can take the mud out, whether it be a higher capacitor, changing the height of the pickup, pole piece adjustment, changing pot values etc.

Just to give you an example of how much a simple capacitor can change the tone check out this post from Joe Gore: Change Your Caps, Change the World!(or at least your tone pot response) - tonefiend.com

Thanks for the plug, Scott!

But since the topic is de-muddying, I've got to mention my #1 all-time fave mod for humbucker guitars: the old G&L PTB ("passive treble bass") wiring scheme, which uses two separate pots for treble cut AND bass cut. Being able to nix some lows as needed is spectacularly useful, especially on the neck humbucker. I recommend the mod to any Paul player who doesn't truly need separate tone controls per pickup.

You can find the wiring scheme online. I've also got demos and instructions at tonefiend.com. Just search for "PTB tone control."

 

[edguidry]

Thanks for the plug, Scott!

But since the topic is de-muddying, I've got to mention my #1 all-time fave mod for humbucker guitars: the old G&L PTB ("passive treble bass") wiring scheme, which uses two separate pots for treble cut AND bass cut. Being able to nix some lows as needed is spectacularly useful, especially on the neck humbucker. I recommend the mod to any Paul player who doesn't truly need separate tone controls per pickup.

You can find the wiring scheme online. I've also got demos and instructions at tonefiend.com. Just search for "PTB tone control."

I love that video. It illustrates exactly what can be accomplished by shaving off the bass. Truly a useful control.

The hot - wire mod is basically a fixed version of this. I was thinking of breadboarding a passive bass control, measuring the resistance of the pot, and using resistors to have a fixed bass cut, although the simple capacitor trick is really effective too. I saw in a forum Joe Naylor was recommending the hot wire mod, and he uses something similar to the PTB (maybe identical) in Reverend Guitars.

Right now I'm using a .002 cap and it took this crappy spare humbucker I had (GFS VEH for the bridge, something like alnico V, 10k) and it tightened up the bass to where it sounds beautiful like a P90. Tight on the bottom strings like a single coil, you know, that SRV "snap" sound. You lose some drive, you're not saturating the front end of the amp or pedal as much, but that's not a problem for me. The pickup also cleans up MUCH better.

Once my Zhangbuckers come in, this mod might not be as necessary (or maybe not as drastic) but until they do, I can get a real nice sound out of what I've always found was the least-useful sound on a Les Paul, and one reason I've avoided Les Pauls all these years ... the muddy neck sound.

 

[siore]

Interesting idea. The analogy with pedal or amp gain stages makes sense. You gotta watch out you don't overpower the gain stages downstream. I might try this out sometime.