Who takes the blame for being muddy, me or my pickups ?

[CrystalBearer]

I keep questioning myself, am I giving myself a convenient excuse to empty my own pockets for another New Pickup Day ?

The neck pickup tends to get muddy easily than the bridge pickup. It is quite common and understandable, I know.
Too much bass and high gain with the amp settings would likely muddy up the bottom end.
Roll back the guitar volume a bit and turn up the amp volume would probably sound better.
My Boss SD-1W could be very helpful in front of my amp, certainly.
Sometimes a little more midrange in the mix would fix the problem properly.
Why not pick the appropriate guitar to accomplish the job, perhaps a strat or tele if I have one ?

At the end of the day, I find out that my pickups are always innocent.

 

[Vinsanitizer]

What gear are you using.

 

[CrystalBearer]

What gear are you using.

My careless mistakes, actually.
Too many overdrive pedals in front mess things up. Nothing wrong with my PAFs, Goldtop R7, Blackstar 1RH and Orange cab.
Thanks for your concern.

 

[Ufoscorpion]

I keep questioning myself, am I giving myself a convenient excuse to empty my own pockets for another New Pickup Day ?

The neck pickup tends to get muddy easily than the bridge pickup. It is quite common and understandable, I know.
Too much bass and high gain with the amp settings would likely muddy up the bottom end.
Roll back the guitar volume a bit and turn up the amp volume would probably sound better.
My Boss SD-1W could be very helpful in front of my amp, certainly.
Sometimes a little more midrange in the mix would fix the problem properly.
Why not pick the appropriate guitar to accomplish the job, perhaps a strat or tele if I have one ?

At the end of the day, I find out that my pickups are always innocent.

Speaker position makes a huge difference , on the floor will sound dull . Lift the speaker up on a crate or table and there you go instant brightness.

 

[CrystalBearer]

Speaker position makes a huge difference , on the floor will sound dull . Lift the speaker up on a crate or table and there you go instant brightness.

All of my 4 x 12 cabs stand on their casters while the Orange cab and all other combo amps are directly placed on the floor when in use. Never come across this practical idea of yours to make a big difference.
Thank you for letting me know this practical intel, Ufoscorpion.

 

[tallcoolone]

All my neck humbuckers are underwound—I’ve never understood guys using even a med output neck humbucker.

 

[paul-e-mann]

I keep questioning myself, am I giving myself a convenient excuse to empty my own pockets for another New Pickup Day ?

The neck pickup tends to get muddy easily than the bridge pickup. It is quite common and understandable, I know.
Too much bass and high gain with the amp settings would likely muddy up the bottom end.
Roll back the guitar volume a bit and turn up the amp volume would probably sound better.
My Boss SD-1W could be very helpful in front of my amp, certainly.
Sometimes a little more midrange in the mix would fix the problem properly.
Why not pick the appropriate guitar to accomplish the job, perhaps a strat or tele if I have one ?

At the end of the day, I find out that my pickups are always innocent.

Are you concerned primarily with your neck pickup tone? Or both pickups being muddy? There's multiple ways to fix this and many are easy.

Does your R7 have stock pickups and pots, if not put them back, my R7 came with burstbucker 1 and 2 and 500k pots and its not muddy. Guilt would lie on your amp at that point, dial your EQ and presence to remove the mud, if still no good dial your SD-1 into a treble booster - drive off, level and tone dimed. If still no good get a different amp. This is a Marshall forum, get a Marshall, plenty of 1 watt Marshalls to choose from, DSL1HR easiest to get.

 

[CrystalBearer]

A brief recapitulation,

My vos cherry burst R9 stock PAF neck 7.79k ohm
R7 goldtop stock PAF neck 7.54k
Darkburst R9 stock PAF neck 8.13k
Pre '74 Les Paul "Crystal" 57 classic neck 8.14k
Hamer sunburst archtop stock duncan 59 neck 7.83k
Hamer Artist stock duncan seth lover neck 7.33k
Hamer Artist Studio tom holmes H450 neck 7.34k

The output impedance of these neck humbuckers are apparently within the safe zone.
Taking into consideration they impress me favourably with their consistent performance,
I will have no intention to replace any of them by all means.

 

[CrystalBearer]

Are you concerned primarily with your neck pickup tone? Or both pickups being muddy? There's multiple ways to fix this and many are easy.

Does your R7 have stock pickups and pots, if not put them back, my R7 came with burstbucker 1 and 2 and 500k pots and its not muddy. Guilt would lie on your amp at that point, dial your EQ and presence to remove the mud, if still no good dial your SD-1 into a treble booster - drive off, level and tone dimed. If still no good get a different amp. This is a Marshall forum, get a Marshall, plenty of 1 watt Marshalls to choose from, DSL1HR easiest to get.

Just the stock PAF neck, to be exact.
I was fooling around with my blackstar 1 watt head at the time. I have the DSL 1H with me actually.


'96 Les Paul R7 Goldtop #7 6726 9.68 lbs

neck stock PAF 7.54k ohm
mid position 3.84k
bridge stock PAF 7.83k

volume pot CTS 440-70035A R1379626 500K audio taper
tone pot CTS 440-70035A R1379626 500K audio taper

ceramic cap 203M

 

[CrystalBearer]

The whole idea is to learn by experiment in different gear to see how my pickups react and behave with its unique character, unavoidably, learning through mistakes along the way.

The valuable opinions from all of you have indeed benefited my belief and have enriched my inadequate knowledge. The truth is always around the corner when someone gives me a handy tip.

Lookers-on see most of the game.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Just the stock PAF neck, to be exact.
I was fooling around with my blackstar 1 watt head at the time. I have the DSL 1H with me actually.


'96 Les Paul R7 Goldtop #7 6726 9.68 lbs

neck stock PAF 7.54k ohm
mid position 3.84k
bridge stock PAF 7.83k

volume pot CTS 440-70035A R1379626 500K audio taper
tone pot CTS 440-70035A R1379626 500K audio taper

ceramic cap 203M





View attachment 143850View attachment 143853View attachment 143854View attachment 143855View attachment 143851View attachment 143852View attachment 143856View attachment 143857

So your guitar is stock? The neck pickup is muddy through the DSL too?

Here's an article from Seymour Duncan that explains how to add a capacitor inline with the pickup wiring to brighten muddy neck pickups:

My tone is muddy, what can I do to brighten it up?

There are several things you can do to help brighten up your pickups if you are getting a muddy tone. First, try adjusting the height of the pickups by adjusting the screws. If that doesn’t work, t...

seymourduncan.zendesk.com

 

[CrystalBearer]

So your guitar is stock? The neck pickup is muddy through the DSL too?

Yes, everything is stock. Never had any muddy problem with the Marshall amps.
Just the Blackstar head, its clean mode is OK. I found the neck PAF not tight enough in overdrive mode when cranking up the gain on the Blackstar.
I believe, only a matter of time, I can fix it properly with your suggestions.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Yes, everything is stock. Never had any muddy problem with the Marshall amps.
Just the Blackstar head, its clean mode is OK. I found the neck PAF not tight enough in overdrive mode when cranking up the gain on the Blackstar.
I believe, only a matter of time, I can fix it properly with your suggestions.

Easy remedy, get rid of the Blackstar and just play the Marshall...

 

[CrystalBearer]

All my neck humbuckers are underwound—I’ve never understood guys using even a med output neck humbucker.

Hi tallcoolone,

Since you brought this 'underwound-neck-humbucker' subject up which holds a strong interest for me,
would you mind telling me your views on these pickups for neck position :

Gibson 57 Classic Underwound alnico 2 potted 7.2K $129
Gibson CustomBucker Underwound alnico 3 unpotted 7.2K $229


Currently, my R7 goldtop 57 classic neck is around 7.54K. Are there any big differences between 7.2K and 7.54K worth mentioning ?

 

[tallcoolone]

Hi tallcoolone,

Since you brought this 'underwound-neck-humbucker' subject up which holds a strong interest for me,
would you mind telling me your views on these pickups for neck position :

Gibson 57 Classic Underwound alnico 2 potted 7.2K $129
Gibson CustomBucker Underwound alnico 3 unpotted 7.2K $229


Currently, my R7 goldtop 57 classic neck is around 7.54K. Are there any big differences between 7.2K and 7.54K worth mentioning ?

Sorry I forgot about this thread. Those pickups are more than fine output wise, I’ve had several LPs with 57 Classic neck pickups and they were pretty good. I got another R8 last year and it has the Custombuckers which are some of the best LP pickups I’ve ever had—disclaimer I’ve only tried them in this guitar tho. I’ve tried a lot of pickups in Les Pauls and if I were to say the most open, clear neck humbucker I’ve tried I think it would have to be the Fralin pure PAF. I would bet his Unbucker would be even more so but I have No experience with those

 

[El Gringo]

OP , if you don't mind spending some $ try ThroBak pickups - MXV-SLE-101 Plus with A5 mags. No mud at all on the neck pickup and they pair so nicely with my Marshall 2555X's . www.throbak.com

 

[Filipe Soares]

lower the pickup, raise the poles. how much? it is a matter of keep trying until you are happy.

if the pickups are the root cause, this might save you.

 

[Kinkless Tetrode]

If it's an A5 magnet in the neck pickup, swapping it for an A4 often helps. An A2 might be good also but it could get spongy. If it's already an A2, you could try swapping it for an A3.

 

[SmokeyDopey]

+1 Lowering the pickup, and maybe consider trying harder pick material.

 

[killyridols]

Try this.

www.mylespaul.com