thejay Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Stock setup for the Explorer - anyone find any issues with a sound that you would describe as thin? Personally I am unsure if its the wood that is causing the tone or the pickups themselves because of their known output. Frankly its the only guitar that I have ever had that I would describe as thin sounding... any opinions? I thought maybe a pickup swap could correct the issue but if it's the wood not the pickups then I'm kinda stuck...
Rick Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Stock setup for the Explorer - anyone find any issues with a sound that you would describe as thin? Personally I am unsure if its the wood that is causing the tone or the pickups themselves because of their known output. Frankly its the only guitar that I have ever had that I would describe as thin sounding... any opinions? I thought maybe a pickup swap could correct the issue but if it's the wood not the pickups then I'm kinda stuck... I replaced the 496R with a SD Alnico II pro and it sounds better,IMHO. the 500T is a good hard rock/metal PU (not too thin,it dipends by your amp and your amp settings)
greg420blues Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Man, my Explorer ... with the same setup ... sounds thick and awesome. HOWEVER, my little brother had a faded SG where the bridge pickup ALL OF A SUDDEN lost some of its output power. Not sure the source of that problem. Maybe having your pots cleaned, or upgrade to some of RS's 500k pots. Dunno, though. If BOTH pickups sound thin, it could be anything in the rest of the electronics chain. Good luck!
thejay Posted April 23, 2009 Author Posted April 23, 2009 Sounds like I have quite the hunt ahead of me searching through the electronics then! I like the sound of the pickups, don't get me wrong... I play through a Mesa Boogie Roadster. Itself, is a BEAST! Any tube amp I have played through with this particular guitar it has sounded this way so I'm kinda lost with it, obviously...
MojoRedFoot Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 For mine it depends on the amp. At home I play through a Line 6 Spider and Line 6 Pod XT live. And the sound is not 100% clear. Not thin, a little too thick. Doesn't matter which setting I use. I play a LP copy w/ EMG 81/60 combo and I get the clarity. BUT played through my B52 ATH-100, the explorer sounds great. I will probably throw EMG 81/60 in there at some point. I'm saving for a Mesa Triple Rectifier any way to get that Metallica sound so might as well.
Bender 4 Life Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 The 496r on my Flyin'V has an oddity.......i guess either a bad connection or a bit of dirt in the pot........select rythym, thin, whiney sound........tap the tophat a few times, and it returns to the full, throaty "singin'" tone that I love. gotta work on that the next time I change strings........
Riffster Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 I added pickup covers to my Explorer and also changed to pots to RS 500K and changed caps. I like the sound better. I posted pics in here a while ago. If you do a search it should come up. I would not describe the sound as thin but rather as "ceramic" because of the magnets. If you want to leave the pickups alone a nd thicken you sound I would recommend a "BBE Sonic Maximizer", the Lo Contour knob dialed in at about 2 o'clock will make the bass come out and make the speakers move some air.
max2343 Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 What about trying some .030-.042 caps? That range will thickin your tone up.
Riffster Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 What about trying some .030-.042 caps? That range will thickin your tone up. With humbuckers those cap values would make the guitar sound muffled.
brundaddy Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 I would not describe the sound as thin but rather as "ceramic" because of the magnets. If you want to leave the pickups alone a nd thicken you sound I would recommend a "BBE Sonic Maximizer"' date=' the Lo Contour knob dialed in at about 2 o'clock will make the bass come out and make the speakers move some air.[/quote'] I agree, that pedal can do wonders for tone... but it don't come cheap at all. My flying V's 498T bridge pickup was thin & kinda shrill (plus it had microphonic squeal issues - but the neck pup doesn't bug me so much so I kept it). I swapped the bridge pup for a 57 Classic Plus and I am very happy with the bridge tone & love the contrast between the two textures of the 'mismatched' pickups. I never fooled around with the pots though. I suppose it *could* be a cheaper route but I just never figured pots could 'polish the turd' all that much.
thejay Posted May 7, 2009 Author Posted May 7, 2009 I did swap out the cap - I dropped a spraque oil cap in there and it did amazing things for the clarity so much so I thought about dropping the same cap in my other guitars but I never did... time... money... etc... it made the tone thicker and provided more clarity but it's still thin. It might be the ceramics but I had a V that I loved, same pickups thats why I am baffled...
Riffster Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 Pickup height matters a lot, if you had a V that sounded great with the same pickups you should play with the pickup height on the Explorer.
Riffster Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 Pickup height matters a lot, if you had a V that sounded great with the same pickups you should play with the pickup height on the Explorer.
thejay Posted May 10, 2009 Author Posted May 10, 2009 Yea, I have adjusted the pup height. I might try some new pots...
AdianKBryan Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Is it possible that the pups have been wired with the coils in parallel instead of the usual series wiring? This will give a lower, cleaner output which can sometimes sound thin. Adrian.
AdianKBryan Posted May 21, 2009 Posted May 21, 2009 Sorry, I am presuming that the pups are 4-conductor type. Apparently, factory fitted ones are 2-conductor. Adrian.
thejay Posted May 21, 2009 Author Posted May 21, 2009 I haven't had a whole lot of time to play with her but I know in the past I checked all the wiring and it was fine... I did buy the guitar used many years ago so who knows it might not even be the stock pickups come to think of it...
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