Single Coil Guy’s battle with a neck Humbucker

[JBB72]

After reading dozens of posts, watching every YouTube video on the planet, and woodshedding for at least 10 hours … I’m really twisted up.

Background: I’m covering for a guy in a blues band for 2 months. I’m just going to use his rig to keep things simple - Les Paul into a mic’d Deluxe via a Helix which provides modulation, delay and EQ If needed. I’m a Tele player.

Target tone: standard Fender crunchy / saturated tone.

Situation: The only way I can get a saturated neck pickup tone without woofiness is to turn the amp volume WAY past where you need it and then turn the P-up volume down to 6? If I don’t do this, any rhythm work using the low E string is super woofy. Then you monkey around with the bridge volume and tone to get a balance. More volume knob fiddling to get solo tones, etc. It just seems so … complicated. I’ve tried every tone stack thing and every pickup height thing.

Question: Is there something I’m missing? Are there any down sides? The amount of fiddling with knobs Is disconcerting. It sounds fine, but I’m swapping out 30 years of experience (Tele on 10 into an Vox with clean boost for solos) and am looking for some expert second opinions.

 

[GlassSnuff]

That's the way I've always done it. Reasonable setting on the guitar into a raging amplifier. It's not as simple as a Tele, but it's a lot more versatile.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Any Name You Wish]

Maybe use the middle switch position and back off the bridge pickup until you get something that sounds good without the woof.

 

[DutchRay]

You could try to lower the neck pickup a bit and use your volume controls, that way you can get tons of sounds out of a dual humbcuker guitar!

 

[LeonC]

I prefer lower output humbuckers in order to lower the woofiness that's so common. And consider is using a 50s style wiring. This will help retain high end as you turn your guitar down a bit.

And I use much cleaner amp settings than most guys I know...but I'll set the amp pretty loud and back the guitar down a bit. (Also, I often use a volume pedal to back my guitar volume down as I generally lose less high end through the vol pedal.)

I often set my amp a bit brighter than I want it and use the tone knobs (particularly on the bridge pickup) to cut back the highs when not needed. But when playing loud and clean on the neck pickup, this can help.

 

[charliechitlins]

I was a single coil only guy for 30 years until I discovered low output humbuckers dropped way down.
Mmmmm, mmmm good.
I dime the treble and back the bass on the amp way off, stay on the neck most of the night and ride that tone control on the guitar.
If I want some cut for a bit of a solo (but mostly for rhythm) I go to the middle.
The only time I use bridge only is if I didn't bring enough amp for the gig and things start to fall apart from cranking it too far.

 

[Dave P]

I would suggest a low turn neck pickup, around 7.1k, wound with asymmetric coils. A4 magnet. That and fiddling with the pickup height should get you in the ballpark.

 

[JBB72]

Thanks everyone. First rehearsal is tomorrow night. I’ll report back.

I’ve gotten a bit more comfortable with messing with the knobs on the guitar so much.

We’ll see how it goes.

 

[rays44]

Try disconnecting the tone pot. It's reversible and can be made switchable if you like it.

 

[bursty]

@JBB72 Sounds like your ~30 years of fiddling with just two knobs is a lot more simple than fiddling with the four knobs on the Les Paul so, to keep things simple maybe think about going back to the Tele? Just a thought. Get one with binding on a hog body, throw a 'bucker in the neck position, you'll only have two knobs and then you can call it a TelePaul.

 

[thejaf]

treble bleed. It works.

 

[charliechitlins]

treble bleed. It works.

Yup.
Or 50s wiring.

 

[c_wester]

Just bring your tele.

 

[Classicplayer]

All good recipies above. Coming from Fender necks pickups to Les Pauls was also a challenge for me, especially with amps designed with lots of gain in the circuit. I've found I can get a clearer, well-balanced and more towards a single coil pickup, if it's a lower wind pup and lower it to almost it's surround's level. The “trick” I've learned is to adjust the neck pup pole screws to have the low E and high E strings about equal in volume, and ensure the other 4 strings' volumes are not in competion with any other string. I like a strong definitive sounding lower e-string that responds to the crunch on my amp; when needed. That can be a trick in itself. Took some tweaking of both my Les Pauls neck pups, but now sound pretty clear when rolling back their volumes a touch. One pup being a SD Seth Lover and the other. BB1.

Don't be afraid to tweak. It doesn't cost anything, but your time, and can yield varied and surprising tone results.


Classicplayer

 

[ADP]

The best humbucker to ever split to single coil for me is an early 80's "SEYMOURIZER II" whatever that pickup is sounds like a 60's Stratocaster in single coil mode. I have it in the neck position of my 1984 Explorer which is alder/maple neck/ebony board - so not quite apples to apples with a normal Les Paul. But that is my all-time favorite. Second to that pickup, the Invader Bridge model also splits to an unbelievable single coil tone that one would never expect.

As far as a normal humbucker without splitting capabilities, the best I've heard recently was the neck pickup from a set of "Rewind '73 Jimmy Page" humbuckers in a '61 LP/SG

Also VIP Pots. 550k. It is the greatest thing you will do to ANY of your guitars.

 

[NickiC]

This setup works for a Burstbucker 2 in the
neck position of a Les Paul. Most of the neck pickups in my Les Pauls
have close to the same adjustment. Worth a try.