Or, am I wasting my time.......

TADodger

I have a G&L Tribute ASAT Bluesboy SH which I quite like for the balance, neck and weight, but have always felt that the neck HB is quite muddy and just a bit dull. I quite like the bridge pu (5.6k G&L MFD single Coil) and thinking about either swapping out the neck for a different HB or even a HB size P90, or replacing both Neck and Bridge.

Or, am I wasting my time and should trade / sell the G&L and move to something else, but what...

Options for a replacement neck pu, or pair of pu's keeping the HB / SC or P90 / SC config, or other thoughts please?

KDS

Used USA G&L in U.K. Are brilliant value

Schnozz

A Humbucker sized P90 would certainly give you a brighter sound - Something like a Bare Knuckle Blue Note etc.

I wouldn't change the Guitar as those Indonesian Tributes are probably the best bang for buck Sub £600 and are now getting harder to find - I kick myself for selling an L2000 Bass.

My Swamp Ash / Flatsawn Maple G&L has a Seymour Duncan '59 in the Neck and it's perfect for that Combo, so do you have a Rosewood Fingerboard? I think the US Bluesboy has a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover.

Zoolooter

Speak to Ash at oil city pickups. He made me a great Winterizer for a tele.  It's a 60's spec Firebird neck pickup but made as a full size humbucker. It's straty, and chimes like a bell. Nothing muddy about it, all sorts of tones can be had.

HAL9000

I've also got an Indonesian Bluesboy semi-hollow and IMHO the neck humbucker is excellent.

One man's meat etc.

If the rest of the guitar is to your liking then I'd swap the pickup as it's a fairly easy change. If there are other things about the guitar that bother you that are more difficult to change (such as, say, the neck), then I'd move it on and start again.

Collings

Maybe its not that the neck humbucker is dull and more that the bridge pickup id bright in comparison. I believe the g&l mfd is a ceramic magnet pickup and they do tend to be very bright and snappy and do sound great.

TADodger

Thanks for the thoughts.

@HAL9000 - is yours the SD Seth Lover, or the later G&L Paul Gagon designed pickup, I believe the Seth Lover is a great pickup. I agree with you about the rest of the guitar and I have a feeling that is why I havent just tried another pickup yet. The neck on my Bluesboy is laquered and can be a bit grabby (as oposed to sticky) so this needs to be fixed too.

@Collings - you could be right. I very nearly bought Solamente when I picked up the Bluesboy and the MFD sounded really great in that guitar, but I was after a humbucker at the time.

HAL9000

TBH I'm not sure which neck pickup my ASAT has. It was only bought a few months back so I guess it's the later type. I'd probably describe the sound as mellow/warm - it's certainly not bright.

Sassafras

P90.
Clarity, definition and a bit of growl when needed.

photek

Have you tried winding the humbucker down as low as it will go and then winding up the pole pieces a bit higher?

I do this with my Les Pauls and it brightens them up a treat plus its a free mod

Sassafras

photek said:

Have you tried winding the humbucker down as low as it will go and then winding up the pole pieces a bit higher?

I do this with my Les Pauls and it brightens them up a treat plus its a free mod

That's not a bad tip. I've done that on a couple of humbucker guitars and it does work to a certain extent.

HAL9000

Sassafras said:

photek said:

Have you tried winding the humbucker down as low as it will go and then winding up the pole pieces a bit higher?

I do this with my Les Pauls and it brightens them up a treat plus its a free mod

That's not a bad tip. I've done that on a couple of humbucker guitars and it does work to a certain extent.

Actually, now I think about it I did lower the humbucker on my ASAT.

TADodger

HAL9000 said:

Sassafras said:

photek said:

Have you tried winding the humbucker down as low as it will go and then winding up the pole pieces a bit higher?

I do this with my Les Pauls and it brightens them up a treat plus its a free mod

That's not a bad tip. I've done that on a couple of humbucker guitars and it does work to a certain extent.

Actually, now I think about it I did lower the humbucker on my ASAT.

Thanks, I will try that first.

TADodger

TADodger said:

HAL9000 said:

Sassafras said:

photek said:

Have you tried winding the humbucker down as low as it will go and then winding up the pole pieces a bit higher?

I do this with my Les Pauls and it brightens them up a treat plus its a free mod

That's not a bad tip. I've done that on a couple of humbucker guitars and it does work to a certain extent.

Actually, now I think about it I did lower the humbucker on my ASAT.

Thanks, I will try that first.

That went well - lowered the humbucker and set the pole pieces to match the fretboard radius a litte and the difference is very noticable. Im not sure if there is any recomended optimum height or just trial and error, but just winding down a little it has made a pleasant difference.

HAL9000

TADodger said:

TADodger said:

HAL9000 said:

Sassafras said:

photek said:

Have you tried winding the humbucker down as low as it will go and then winding up the pole pieces a bit higher?

I do this with my Les Pauls and it brightens them up a treat plus its a free mod

That's not a bad tip. I've done that on a couple of humbucker guitars and it does work to a certain extent.

Actually, now I think about it I did lower the humbucker on my ASAT.

Thanks, I will try that first.

That went well - lowered the humbucker and set the pole pieces to match the fretboard radius a litte and the difference is very noticable. Im not sure if there is any recomended optimum height or just trial and error, but just winding down a little it has made a pleasant difference.

O mine I lowered things so that the pole pieces were 3/16" below the strings as my starting point. Then lowered the bass side a little more as the bass strings were noticeably louder than the trebles.

TADodger

HAL9000 said:

TADodger said:

TADodger said:

HAL9000 said:

Sassafras said:

photek said:

Have you tried winding the humbucker down as low as it will go and then winding up the pole pieces a bit higher?

I do this with my Les Pauls and it brightens them up a treat plus its a free mod

That's not a bad tip. I've done that on a couple of humbucker guitars and it does work to a certain extent.

Actually, now I think about it I did lower the humbucker on my ASAT.

Thanks, I will try that first.

That went well - lowered the humbucker and set the pole pieces to match the fretboard radius a litte and the difference is very noticable. Im not sure if there is any recomended optimum height or just trial and error, but just winding down a little it has made a pleasant difference.

O mine I lowered things so that the pole pieces were 3/16" below the strings as my starting point. Then lowered the bass side a little more as the bass strings were noticeably louder than the trebles.

Thanks, i'll try that and see how it sounds compared to now.