Seymour Duncan SH-1 59's Sounding bright????

[Plus Top Dan]

Just been speaking to somebody who has described the SH-1'59 pickups as sounding very bright

 

Of all the sound clips i've heard and all the research i've done, nothing i've seen, heard or read has described them as being very bright & more suited as a lead type of pickup and not great for rhythm!! Having bought a set of neck and bridge SH-1'59s i'm a bit suprised (and concerned) to hear this comment of being very bright.

 

Does anyone have any opinions of this comment based on personal experience?

 

Thanks......

[Blueman335]

'59's are bright, and that's the case with any bridge PAF. Low wind, low resistance (ohms) = plenty of clarity and treble. In the case of '59's, it's the A5 magnet, which has a lot of treble and bass, and is mid-scooped. Duncan's other PAF's have A2's, which are wound to be bright, to offset the strong mids and lack of treble in A2 magnets. Fralin uses A4's which have a balanced EQ. Every PAF maker has their own take on them. Since original PAF's varied a lot in their windings and types of magnets (A2, A3, A4, A5, and UOA5), they weren't standardized.

 

With any PAF you have a few options to tame the bridge treble. 1) dial down the tone pot (doesn't work for me), 2) a warmer magnet, like an A4, A2, A8, or UOA5, and 3) use one or two 250K pots on the bridge. By reducing treble, you make the mids more prominent and get a bigger, fuller sound.

[Plus Top Dan]

'59's are bright, and that's the case with any bridge PAF. Low wind, low resistance (ohms) = plenty of clarity and treble. In the case of '59's, it's the A5 magnet, which has a lot of treble and bass, and is mid-scooped. Duncan's other PAF's have A2's, which are wound to be bright, to offset the strong mids and lack of treble in A2 magnets. Fralin uses A4's which have a balanced EQ. Every PAF maker has their own take on them. Since original PAF's varied a lot in their windings and types of magnets (A2, A3, A4, A5, and UOA5), they weren't standardized.

 

With any PAF you have a few options to tame the bridge treble. 1) dial down the tone pot (doesn't work for me), 2) a warmer magnet, like an A4, A2, A8, or UOA5, and 3) use one or two 250K pots on the bridge. By reducing treble, you make the mids more prominent and get a bigger, fuller sound.

 

Blueman335, I'll be using 500k pots so that should ensure a bigger, fuller sound shouldn't it?

[bigneil]

Blueman335, I'll be using 500k pots so that should ensure a bigger, fuller sound shouldn't it?

 

if you want to tame brightness use a lower value pot like a 350k, or 300K, or maybe even a 250k.

you can also use a higher value capacitor for the tone control on the treble pickup. ... It also depends a little on how you decide to wire it up...modern style will tame a little bit of the brightness too.

[bigneil]

or you could just turn the treble knob down a bit on your amp.