Neck humbucker volume roll off

[dingleberry]

Howdy folks,

Wondering about bkp neck humbuckers lately, specifically in how they sound as you roll down the volume pot.  I've been playing some dynamic stuff with my PRS shown here:

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28540.0 with Emerald bridge, a short review at the bottom to supplement the very in-depth one recently done

The big difference between the bkp bridge and the seymour duncan jazz neck is when I roll down the volume pot it retains the emerald retains treble content while the jazz loses any kind of chime or brightness.  Sometimes makes it feel more like a tone pot, which is not what I'm looking for.  I'm assuming that bkp neck pups will behave similarly to my bridge models, can someone confirm my suspicions?

Ultimately I'm looking to get Since I've Been Loving You type tone and dynamics from the neck of this guitar.  I've heard some awesome clips in the players section with a variety of pickups; hunter's clip with black dog was amazing but there are great clips of the mule & riff raff as well.  This guitar is quite dark and polite I've also been looking some hotter models like abraxas and emerald too.  Any suggestions?

[Lezard]

If you're worried about losing the highs when you turn down the volume,you could try a treble bleed mod.

[Deafcat64]

The treble bleed, or bypass mod will definitely help. All pickups, unfortunately, lose some treble when you roll back the volume. BKPs suffer much less from it, but it's still there. I have a Mississippi Queen in the neck of my SG Standard, with an Abraxas in the bridge. I found that the treble loss was not excessive, and certainly not enough to require a treble bleed mod. With the stock pickups, and all the others I tried (Lollar, Fralin, Duncan, DiMarzio, etc.), the treble bleed was a necessity. You won't be disappointed with Bare Knuckle Pickups.

[BigB]

All pickups, unfortunately, lose some treble when you roll back the volume.

This has nothing to do with the pickup itself - it's just the result of the low-pass filter formed by the volume pot and the cable / amp's front / whatever you have after you guitar capacitance.

BKPs suffer much less from it,

Yes they do - but BKPs (as well as some other high quality brands) have other qualities (name it "clarity", "definition" etc) that tend to make it a bit less of a problem.

@OP : there are two "wiring tricks" that do minimize the problem: "treble bleed" networks and gibson 50s wiring (google is your friend for more on these wirings). Note that both have pros and cons, so you'll have to experiment to find out which one works best for you. The gibson 50s wiring is the easiest to get right...

[bandmaster188]

Definitely try the 50's wiring mod. I've just done it on my axis super sport which turned to mud as soon as you went anywhere near the volume pot. It's certainly helped a lot.

[Deafcat64]

I didn't imply that it was the pickups themselves losing treble. I did find that the clarity of the pickups, and the quality of the pots, caps, wire and workmanship, have a direct effect on the overall sound quality of any guitar.

[dingleberry]

I had considered a treble bleed but I've installed a few for others and I found it affected the tone in a small but perceivable way even with the volume pot maxed out.  Just tried out the 50s wiring on that pickup and definitely seems to get the job done, I'm going to experiment with similar wiring on the bridge pickup for kicks tomorrow.  Perhaps I'm just gasing for another pickup lol anyone have a neck pickup preference for zep tone?

[darkbluemurder]

Doesn't this scream for completing the Emerald set ;)?

50s wiring definitely helps to retain highs when turning down the volume control. The only quirk is that when the volume control is not full up, the tone control acts different in that it does no longer cut highs but mids. That can be used to one's advantage though.

Cheers Stephan

[Philly Q]

50s wiring definitely helps to retain highs when turning down the volume control. The only quirk is that when the volume control is not full up, the tone control acts different in that it does no longer cut highs but mids. That can be used to one's advantage though.

I really must try '50s wiring at some point.  Does it work well with P-90s?

[darkbluemurder]

I really must try '50s wiring at some point.  Does it work well with P-90s?

I think it does. Filtering out some mids for rhythm tones can be the ticket sometimes.

Cheers Stephan

[dingleberry]

Doesn't this scream for completing the Emerald set ;)?

50s wiring definitely helps to retain highs when turning down the volume control. The only quirk is that when the volume control is not full up, the tone control acts different in that it does no longer cut highs but mids. That can be used to one's advantage though.

Cheers Stephan

I've put the 50s wiring on my Emerald bridge and am getting some really cool sounds, the tone knob has a huge sweep now and when set low enough has a fuzz-like feel.  I'll be leaving them wired in 50s style for the time being, best thing is if I get tired of it, it's about 10 minutes of casual labour in restoring it to modern specs.

There is a noticable difference between the usable dynamic range of my duncan neck pickup vs bkp bridge, didn't think I was going to but I'm liking it much more on the bridge atm

As far as completing the emerald set, I can easily picture myself frantically trying to get my post count up to do a WTB short leg emerald neck in the seconds out forum lol. 

[Philly Q]

The Emerald neck has been getting a lot of positive comments recently, probably more so than the bridge.

For years the Emeralds were among the least-mentioned pickups on the forum, they seem to have generated a lot more interest in the last year or so.  The Abraxas was another "sleeper" set.

[darrenw5094]

Abraxas in my '93 Gibson Les Paul Standard and they won't be coming out....ever.

[bandmaster188]

gonna stick an abraxas bridge and emerald neck in my axis ss and get rid of those nasty dimarzio's as soon as i can get the cash together. those god damn bills just keep on comin' though!