Is every neck pickup muddy???

[Ampex456]

I have a Trinity 18 watt running with an OD. I turned the gain down, turned the bass on the amp all the way off and its still not there. I just can't seem to get any attack out of it once there is any gain. All my other guitars have SD and Mojotone pups, I am really leaning towards swapping it for a Mojotone PAF set

 

[ARandall]

Yep, as dougie said, those 57's have gone downhill.

My Trad+ has/had a bright bridge and a muted neck no matter what I did (its up for sale now).....so it could just be the guitar.
The other thing with lowering the pickup and raising polepieces is that this tends to get rid of low boom, but it also gets rid of bite....and raising the screws accentuates the coil that has the least treble of the two.....unless you do the Greeny bit and have the screws facing the bridge end.

 

[st.bede]

nevermind

 

[JMV]

Adjust your pickups and polepieces and learn to EQ your amp differently than you're used to. (I like to EQ to my neck pickup with tone and volume full up).

Makes a WORLD of difference.

 

[eddie_bowers]

Generally its hard to get a good neck tone and bridge tone with everything stock.
The best trick I learned was the .033 cap inline with the neck output. Basically a low cut filter. Its cheap and easy to try before looking for a new pickup.

 

[robertoa1a]

At the risk of shaming myself I will say that the Dimarzio Air Norton sounds damn good by the neck.

I use a Gibson classic+ at the bridge.

Odd arrangement but tried and true!

 

[Chadd]

When I first started playing (30+ years ago), I thought the same thing about neck pickups. For me the issue was setting up the amp to sound great on the bridge PUP, only inevitably results in a muddy sounding neck only sound.

Same thing for me. I have found that with most neck pickups, lowering the pickup and raising the pole pieces for the three plain strings does make a huge difference for me. I also use a brighter tone than I used to when I was younger. It's all about finding somewhere to sit in the mix, not just being louder than everyone else.

 

[NYPV]

This did wonders for me, although try the cap values I listed below

Mod Squad: Muddy sounding neck pickup? | Seymour Duncan Blog

Start with a 5000pf cap. Also grab a 3300pf and 6800pf, these are all common values. Just remember this:

Larger cap = more bass.
Smaller cap = less bass.

 

[korus]

On a LP as long as studs (screws) for tailpiece are brass, neck will be somewhat muddy and bridge will be somewhat harsh. Use steel studs, then readjust amp EQ. That will be it.

Also, random/scatter wound pickups with a slight mismatched coils, esp in neck position, will give you 'piano like' tones, BUT it can not replace steel studs for tailpiece.

There are steel studs for $20 nowadays (Faber, Kluson etc). But I guess we will be reading about muddy neck tone (on a LP) forever, or at least as long as guitars and guitar forums exist in this world.

 

[tazzboy]

It seems like every stock neck pickup I have is terrible!! Just bought a 13 Trad. Redid all the wiring (50s) with nice pots and caps. It plays like a dream and the bridge pickup is on point, BUT the classic 57 in the neck sounds like the tone is rolled off. I've lowered the pup down to the pickup ring and raised the polepieces very high to no avail, it sounds muddy on all my amps. I'd like it to be bright and then have the woman tone peter green thing on tap with the tone knob. Trolling thru MLP has not given me a direct simple answer. Do I need to adjust it or replace it? What am I missing here? Thanks for your time

Try either .010 or .015 in the neck.

 

[tazzboy]

I have a Trinity 18 watt running with an OD. I turned the gain down, turned the bass on the amp all the way off and its still not there. I just can't seem to get any attack out of it once there is any gain. All my other guitars have SD and Mojotone pups, I am really leaning towards swapping it for a Mojotone PAF set

What pickups do you have in there?

 

[Ayton]

Generally its hard to get a good neck tone and bridge tone with everything stock.
The best trick I learned was the .033 cap inline with the neck output. Basically a low cut filter. Its cheap and easy to try before looking for a new pickup.

This did wonders for me, although try the cap values I listed below

Mod Squad: Muddy sounding neck pickup? | Seymour Duncan Blog

Start with a 5000pf cap. Also grab a 3300pf and 6800pf, these are all common values. Just remember this:

Larger cap = more bass.
Smaller cap = less bass.

Interesting idea. I guess the cap then resistor (the pot) forms a high-pass filter. With a couple alligator clips you could easily try out different cap values before committing and soldering one in.

 

[rapaul76]

The Seymour Duncan Slash Alinco Pro II neck pickup is awesome! Just set it low and it can either scream or clean up nice. I was really impressed when I installed mine....like it much better than the bridge pup.

 

[freefrog]

Interesting idea. I guess the cap then resistor (the pot) forms a high-pass filter. With a couple alligator clips you could easily try out different cap values before committing and soldering one in.

It's an old trick applied by Rickenbacker : I've repaired a Ricky with a 4,7n cap like that. It sounds accordingly.


To complete my previous post, I add below a picture done with a few of the screenshots that I've in my archives.

The pickups selected are, from left to right and from top to bottom:

-an uncovered unpotted Patent Sticker T-Top, short A5 mag;
-an uncovered potted 496R Gibson, long ceramic mag;
-a covered unpotted boutique PAF clone, long A2 mag ;
-a Bill Lawrence L500 (from Bill & Becky): A5 magnet, AFAIK;
-another covered unpotted boutique PAF clone, still with a long A2 mag;
-a covered & potted single coil - Fender Nocaster neck PU, A3.

The frequencies are those produced when chords are played between open strings and 12th fret.

Watch how a mountain of mud can be SEEN in the low mid range of the 496R, whose high frequencies are restricted, congested.

See how the T-Top, L500 and boutique models have a much flatter response and a wider high range, even with covers and A2 mags, and are finally close to the Fender SC...

WYSIWYG.

 

[gally99]

They were called 'Super Humbuckers'. They use ceramic magnets and a low resistance coil (usually around the 6k/ohm mark). This makes for a much clearer and articulate sounding pickup then a normal PAF style pickup. Due to the strong magnets, the actual output is still strong (comparable to an 8-9k/ohm pickup).They are potted in tar, hence they are often called tarbacks. There was a set on eBay for $200USD IIRC not long ago. I have a 1977 L6-S custom with these in them. It's a wonderful guitar.

I currently don't own a Gibson Les Paul, but if I did get one, my plan would be to put a set of these in it. They are a bit of an undiscovered gem of a pickup I feel.

I've never seen tarbacks with a solid cover.
I love, love, love the tarbacks in one of my SGs, but I don't think I could use them without having access to the poles. I set the neck pickup a little higher on the treble side then screw the poles opposite. Tons of power, no mud.
I find that setup works for most humbuckers in the neck. Then EQ the amp to that and roll the tone back on the bridge pickup.

 

[darkbluemurder]

Generally its hard to get a good neck tone and bridge tone with everything stock.
The best trick I learned was the .033 cap inline with the neck output. Basically a low cut filter. Its cheap and easy to try before looking for a new pickup.

This indeed works well on the individual pickup. The issue I had with this was that it affects the middle position in a weird way: the low strings sound out of phase.

Cheers Stephan

 

[darkbluemurder]

I now rarely ever use just the bridge PUP. I dial in my amp for a great neck PUP sound, then use the middle switch position to mix neck and bridge to suit whatever I'm doing.

I like this suggestion - makes sense. When you use the middle position and turn down the neck pickup, you will hear the bridge pickup, and due to the increased loading of both volume controls it will be less bright than used in the bridge position. That would allow you to set the amp for a brighter tone to suit the neck pickup alone.

But I would replace that 57 Classic anyway. There are good suggestions already given in this thread. From the non-boutique stuff I like the DiMarzio Bluesbucker.

Cheers Stephan

 

[darkbluemurder]

There should be more guitars with humbucker bridge and Firebird/Gretsch/P90 pickups in the neck.

 

[wildschwein]

A coil split to the screw coil with a push-pull pot is always an option. I have this on a lot of my humbucker-equipped axes and it gets quite a bit of use.

 

[50WPLEXI]

You really have to experiment a bit if you want something better than "off the shelf" Check your neck pot output, if it's way below 500k that's a problem. Also try a different cap, that can make a big difference. Adjusting the pickup (some are very height sensitive) will help also.

Why in the hell people listen to that jackass Scott Grove is beyond me. Talk to a good pickup maker, they are usually point on. Just my .02