Stormy muddy

[jockman]

My new pair of stormy mondies are still great, BUT, I have had to rename the neck pickup to stormy 'muddy', I may have to replace it, it has a very muddy bass sound, and it also seems substantially louder than the bridge pup, it is at the lowest it will go in the adjustment travel, and the bridge is getting to close to the strings to go any higher, pretty sad about this, oh, it is with both clean and driven amp sounds.
Any opinions?

Jon

[TwilightOdyssey]

This may sound silly, but perhaps you have the neck and bridge pickups reversed?

[Philly Q]

This is probably completely wrong, but I wonder if the neck and bridge pickups are wound the same, in true "vintage" style like old PAFs?

On the products page the SM (bridge) is quoted as 7.4K, and my own SM neck pickup is 7.3K.

As for the muddiness, what guitar are they in?  Is it the Martyn Booth/Yamaha MSG in your avatar?

[Fourth Feline]

I have an Alnico II (the default value)  pair of Stormy Mondays in a Gibson S.G. and notice that the Bass is 'looser' / less focused than the Alnico IV Mules in my Les Paul. This I take as being a natural result of the differing magnet type.

 Thankfully in in such a thin bodied guitar, this slight "looseness" imparts a breathing quality across the range and an even sweeter and more rounded treble than even the Mules. I have heard sound samples of the SMs in the 'Players' section in a semi-acoustic and they sound similar there too. I have tried them in a heavy Les Paul, and the result is the same when compred to Mules.

My impedance ratings are 7.8 k Bridge / 7.2 K neck.

Also  remember that the strings are vibrating wider and looser at the neck position and to balance the volume/ tone I also had to set the neck at about 3mm + away from the strings and the bridge about 2mm.

My neck P/U is almost below the pickup ring and my bridge well above, like yours.
 
I would be interested in hearing Tim's take on this one.

[Tim]

Stormy Monday neck is DC7.1K Alnico II-muddy it's not, at least not in any guitar I've ever fitted them into.In fact it's as clear a neck humbucker as you can get.Check your volume/tone pot values aren't too low as this will load the pickups back too much and roll the highs out.

['Ash' J. Williams]

In fact it's as clear a neck humbucker as you can get.

That's exactly what i though when i first heard it in my father's 82 LP Custom.

[gwEm]

the stormy monday neck in my V is the total opposite of muddy - its clear like a mountain spring. i guess there much be some problem...

[Fourth Feline]

Stormy Monday neck is DC7.1K Alnico II-muddy it's not, at least not in any guitar I've ever fitted them into.In fact it's as clear a neck humbucker as you can get.Check your volume/tone pot values aren't too low as this will load the pickups back too much and roll the highs out.

Of course !

I had forgotten to mention that the Stormy Monday's true qualities were not as apparent in my own Gibsons until I removed the stock 300 K  ohm volume/tone pots and replaced them with a more appropriate 500 K ohm set.

 :D

[PhilKing]

I have unpotted alnico II Stormy Mondays in my 335 and it sounds great, the notes are really clear and articulate even in chord work.  I also have a Les Paul with a Stormy Monday alnico IV neck and I love the sound of that too, in fact this was what prompted me to get the pickups for the 335.  TO has the same Riff Raff/AIV Stormy Monday in his LP and the SM sounds great in there too.

[jockman]

Thanks for the replies. I adjusted the neck pup down even further, seems to have mad a difference.
The pups were fitted by an 'expert', (the maker of the guitar)I have no idea wether they are alnico 2 or 4 as I bought them used from a reputable luthier. in fact, all it says on the bottom is bareknuckle etc, nothing else. They are supposed to be pretty knew, ie less than 6 months. The neck seems to be potted, no gaps betwwen the metal and black cover, the bridge on the other hand seems to be 'semi' potted, it has a wax coating on the metal, but has some spaces between the metal and casing. The volume pot comes out at 503k on my dmm.
I will carry on making little adjustments.

[Peter Antal]

If the two pickups have the same spacing, I'd measure their DC resistance just to be sure that they're in the right position. BTW, the bridge Mule has a red sticker on its baseplate in my set.

[Philly Q]

BTW, the bridge Mule has a red sticker on its baseplate in my set.

None of mine have stickers on the baseplates, but they do have stickers wrapped around the ends of the pickup cables saying "bridge" and "neck".

[Doog]

I've got a bridge stormy monday in the neck of my ibanez rg (on tim's recommendation, before anyone asks :lol: ) and it's almost indescribably good.  it's not muddy at all for me - the notes ring out as clear as bells.  I got to put my guitar through a marshall vintage modern amp last night and it sounded awesome 8)