muddy neck HB in LP

[kellar]

I reckon your guitar is at fault Alan.  If you've tried several pickups and pots etc then there's no hope.  It's just a dull piece of wood.

My LP had the opposite problem in that it was too bright with no bass and it sounded really thin.  I traded it as nothing I did made it any better.  It's all in the wood....

Could be Dave.  I'm no expert on guitars at all, but it's not like that at all on the bridge pickup. In fact, on the bridge pickup it's the nicest (and one of the brightest) LP's I've ever played.

Well, I would think that if you can get a decent tone out of your bridge pickup, than it's just the matter of finding the right neck pickup. My Epi Lp is dark as well. Originally I had AIV Mules in it and it was quite a dark tone. I swapped them out for a SM/RR combo and they suit it perfectly.
Vintage neck pickups are notoriously a bit dark. Not muddy, I just mean that they have darker overtones. It took me a while to find a neck HB that wasn't too dark for my taste. Have you tried an EQ pedal?

[hamfist]

OK, I opened her up yesterday and totally disconnected the tone pot from the neck humbucker.  Things are significantly better now. So much so, that I am happy with the situation. The bridge and neck tones seem to complement each other nicely now.

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice guys !

[avdekan]

It's muddy because it's a LP 
you should get a guitar made of japanese folded steel that has been tempered in the firepits of hell  :D
(hope I didn't step on any LP-lovers toes. out of several dozens LPs I tried I only liked one! a 80's usa cuosom)

[kellar]

It's muddy because it's a LP 
you should get a guitar made of japanese folded steel that has been tempered in the firepits of hell  :D
(hope I didn't step on any LP-lovers toes. out of several dozens LPs I tried I only liked one! a 80's usa cuosom)

BOOOOOOO!!!! :lol:

Of course, they can be muddy. But it's something that we LP players just have to learn to deal with.
You know, kind of like Strat players having to deal with, uhh, playing Strats. :lol:

[FernandoDuarte]

(hope I didn't step on any LP-lovers toes. out of several dozens LPs I tried I only liked one! a 80's usa cuosom)

We are going to see YOU screaming muddy now :twisted:




Just kidding :lol:

[_tom_]

It's all in the wood....

I dont think the wood/acoustic sound actually makes as much difference as people would say.. Obviously it needs to sustain well but as an example the Pearl I bought off you tends to sound quite dull when played unplugged but plugged in with a set of decent pickups its just as bright as my Epi LP which is a lot brighter when playing unplugged.

[Twinfan]

It's all opinion isn't it Tom?  I've had guitars where a change of pickups/electrics etc couldn't cure excessive brightness or muddiness.  The inherent tone of the guitar came through no matter what.  The only way to get round it would be to put very high output pickups into those guitars so that's all you hear.  But that kinda defeats the object to me, and doesn't help with clean or light crunch tones.

I think it's a combination of the wood itself and the way it's put together.....

[_tom_]

Yeah good point actually, the Charvel I had sounded scooped and fizzy no matter what I put in it.

[WezV]

I dont think the wood/acoustic sound actually makes as much difference as people would say..

is this an attempt at wez-baiting? ;)

[HTH AMPS]

It's all opinion isn't it Tom?  I've had guitars where a change of pickups/electrics etc couldn't cure excessive brightness or muddiness.  The inherent tone of the guitar came through no matter what.  The only way to get round it would be to put very high output pickups into those guitars so that's all you hear.  But that kinda defeats the object to me, and doesn't help with clean or light crunch tones.

I think it's a combination of the wood itself and the way it's put together.....

I had a Les Paul classic plus that way a bright, zingy guitar.  Was great for clean funky stuff and lightly overdriven pop/rock, actually it sounded more like a 335 than a Les Paul.  Since I'm 95% a blues/rock player and like fatter tones, I ended up with a higher output pickup to compensate for the brightness - ended up with a Duncan Distortion but eventually sold the guitar after two years of battling with it and also because my other LP was far superior in every way.

My Epi Explorer was picky with pickups too (too dark), tried a Nailbomb, Black Dog, Lawrence L500XLs but eventually got sick of arsing around with it and put EMGs in there since it was my metal guitar anyway.

otoh, my LP std that I've had for the past 14 years sounds great with any pickup I've ever had in there.  It's just a great guitar which actually sounds pretty dead and uninspiring acoustically, but textbook classic Les Paul tone plugged in.

[Yamhammer]

Very interesting stuff guys!

[FELINEGUITARS]

One thing that makes Dimarzio pickups a little darker sounding is their use of a brass baseplate (even when it painted black)
Gibson, Duncan and of course BKP use Nickel Silver Baseplates

[gwEm]

One thing that makes Dimarzio pickups a little darker sounding is their use of a brass baseplate (even when it painted black)
Gibson, Duncan and of course BKP use Nickel Silver Baseplates

its true that most dimarzio have brass baseplates, though some of their virtual vintage models appear to have nickle.

[sjwebb90]

I dropped a reply on previous topic
http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=14370.0.

One thing to check first before a guitar is condemed, is to invest in a multimeter, and check the actual value of the potentiometers. Pots sold as 500K,  in reality, are rarely close to the nominal value due to manufacturing tolerances
+/- 20%, in some cases. Too higher value, the guitar will sound bright and thin, too lower value and the guitar will sound dull and lifeless. Once your pots values are correct, say for Humbuckers, (500K ohms) and using the correct capacitor (0.022uF) you should get a decent tone from the instrument. If you think the guitar is still too bright, you can always roll off some more highs by increasing the size of the cap to say, 0.033uF or even 0.047uF. (However, I personally have never had to change the cap from the norm 0.022uF).

With reference to (_Tom ) post, I have a Charvel 475 (Basswood Body, Rosewood Neck) to which I installed first a VHII. For some reason the pickup seemed to "fight" the guitar. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but it didn't sound right. However, the guitar  now has a Nailbomb fitted, everything is now in order, and it also compliments the two Irish Tours also fitted.

However, the VHII in the right guitar would sound the dogs doodles. Van Halen's original guitar I believe had Basswood body and Maple neck, which probably is what makes all the difference.

I found this article on why PRS neck pickups on their 22 Fret guitars sound dull in comparison to PRS 24 fret guitars.
http://www.edroman.com/guitars/prs/prsvsprs.htm

The Custom 22 pickup is situated in a location where the 24th fret harmonic falls. There is a node or phase cancellation at that location. This simply means that a lot of the midrange frequencies are gonna go bye bye because they are cancelled out.  You will get a muddy sound just like a Les Paul on a 22 fret model whereas the 24 fret version pickup falls off axis or away from the node. You will get a more clear lively rhythm sound.  The 22 fret sounds good for lead but at what sacrifice.  The 24 sounds good for lead also but on the 24 you don't have to sacrifice your midrange frequencies.

Cheers
SJ

[FernandoDuarte]

Dude, don't listen Ed Roman