HOW TO: Make a 59/Custom Hybrid

[super rad stuff]

actually, i've got 2 bridge pickups right now: a pearly gates sitting on my desk and a jb in my sg. any experiences with those 2 as hybrids? i really like the PAF vibe of the pearly gates, but can be an icepick through my rig. i also like the thickness of the jb, but has waaaay too much midrange and not enough treble for my taste. i imagine that i would get a nice chime and good midrange thump with a bit of bass drop-off from a hybrid of those... any thoughts? i want a 'new' pickup without actually buying anything except maybe some tape, wax, and some wiring.

[uOpt]

HI wouldn't Iron Filings on a cardboard map out the magnetic field?

The way they are mounting it it re-shape the magnetic field, which has a direct impact on which harmonics of the strings are "seen" how strong by the total field around the coils.

The term "load iron" is highly misleading. It's just a shaper.

[BachToRock]

actually, i've got 2 bridge pickups right now: a pearly gates sitting on my desk and a jb in my sg. any experiences with those 2 as hybrids? i really like the PAF vibe of the pearly gates, but can be an icepick through my rig. i also like the thickness of the jb, but has waaaay too much midrange and not enough treble for my taste. i imagine that i would get a nice chime and good midrange thump with a bit of bass drop-off from a hybrid of those... any thoughts? i want a 'new' pickup without actually buying anything except maybe some tape, wax, and some wiring.

From my experience, 42 gauge wire "Vintage" coils work best with the 43 gauge "Custom" coils for a hotter "Vintage" tone... and 44 gauge JB coils work best combined with the 43 gauge "Custom" coils for a more balanced and dynamic "Modern" tone.
Just my personal tast... you might find some other combinations more appealing?

[super rad stuff]

From my experience, 42 gauge wire "Vintage" coils work best with the 43 gauge "Custom" coils for a hotter "Vintage" tone... and 44 gauge JB coils work best combined with the 43 gauge "Custom" coils for a more balanced and dynamic "Modern" tone.
Just my personal tast... you might find some other combinations more appealing?

actually, i find it appealingly affordable
I just want to try something different but don't have the cash to splurge on any major gear. on another note, would using the 42 and 44 wire yield a greater harmonic range and sensitivity since there is a greater difference in the coils?

[jimijames]

Not necessarily, but no one has really made a hybrid like you're talking about, with wire gauges more than 1 AWG apart. I'd just use the pearly gates if I were you, as the difference between the coils gets greater, the response is spread out too evenly - the pickup loses that compression in the midrange that you get from matched coils and artifical harmonics actually become harder to sound when compared with regular pickups. But, no one's stopping you from going crazy, if you try it tell us how it goes.

[super rad stuff]

Not necessarily, but no one has really made a hybrid like you're talking about, with wire gauges more than 1 AWG apart. I'd just use the pearly gates if I were you, as the difference between the coils gets greater, the response is spread out too evenly - the pickup loses that compression in the midrange that you get from matched coils and artifical harmonics actually become harder to sound when compared with regular pickups. But, no one's stopping you from going crazy, if you try it tell us how it goes.

then i'm trying it, since nobody's stopping me and i'm too broke to afford a new pickup! i'll let you all know once i can afford the tape, wiring and wax

[NoOnesFang13]

then i'm trying it, since nobody's stopping me and i'm too broke to afford a new pickup! i'll let you all know once i can afford the tape, wiring and wax

are u going A2 or A5?

[super rad stuff]

both, since i can just make 2 hybrids out of both pickups. i'll probably have the a5 on the one with the pg slug and the a2 with the jb slug to even the output a little when i split the coils.

[super rad stuff]

actually i just realized i do have some cash on tap *wooo!* and am about to put in an order for some new magnets: a3, a4, and a8. the a8's are for the hybrids and my jazz, and the a3 and a4 are to experiment with my phat cat.

[Got_tone?]

From my experience, 42 gauge wire "Vintage" coils work best with the 43 gauge "Custom" coils for a hotter "Vintage" tone... and 44 gauge JB coils work best combined with the 43 gauge "Custom" coils for a more balanced and dynamic "Modern" tone.
Just my personal tast... you might find some other combinations more appealing?

Hey bach, which coil (slug or screw) in a 59/jazz neck would be better for coil tapping? Same question for a 59/aph-1n? I'm gonna use a C5 slug and a 59 screw because the C5 has a pretty sweet sound when split. The thing is that the 59 has braided wire and it's going to be a problem for me. Is any of the wiring? Oh and I plan on removing the screw coils instead of the slug coils. Am I going to run into any problems?

I'm new to messing around with pickups so sorry for so many questions!

[BachToRock]

It's really a matter of what you want... the Jazz coil will obviously be a little brighter... I believe the APH coil is "very" similar to a Jazz coil...

You can run a single wire out along with the braided wire if you want to tap a 2-conductor pickup... I have seen some PRS pickups wired like that... not ideal for shielding though...

The screw coil on a 2-conductor pickup has the braid soldered to the base plate... definitely easier to swap slug coils...

[Got_tone?]

It's really a matter of what you want... the Jazz coil will obviously be a little brighter... I believe the APH coil is "very" similar to a Jazz coil...

You can run a single wire out along with the braided wire if you want to tap a 2-conductor pickup... I have seen some PRS pickups wired like that... not ideal for shielding though...

The screw coil on a 2-conductor pickup has the braid soldered to the base plate... definitely easier to swap slug coils...

The only difference between the Aph and the jazz is the A2 magnet, right?

I'm going with the jazz because the '59n can be a little "boomy" (IMO) at times. Hopefully the 59/jazz should be a good match for me. When you coil tap a neck pickup which coil are you using? the screw or slug coil?

[uOpt]

The only difference between the Aph and the jazz is the A2 magnet, right?

I'm going with the jazz because the '59n can be a little "boomy" (IMO) at times. Hopefully the 59/jazz should be a good match for me. When you coil tap a neck pickup which coil are you using? the screw or slug coil?

No, the Jazz and APH definitely have nothing to do with each other.

The '59 and the APH sound very similar with A5 in both, but people say it's also not the same coils.

[CaughtLikeFire]

I've read a lot of positive feedback on the hybrids but what will I lose when I swap a '59 slug in to my CC? just some compression? will high gain get a little mushy?

I'll be doing a 59/Jazz neck hybrid and a C5/59 bridge hybrid in my mahogany Strat for sure . . .

but for my swamp ash 72 tele, I really dig the super- thick mids of the CC and I'm not sure it's worth risking losing too much of the CC character

[dr. ad]

BachToRock, have you tried (or considered) making a hybrid out of an A2Pn and a PG1n? my understanding is that they're very similar, with the PG's slightly higher res. peak giving it a slight honk in the treble... in your experience, would you still get the benefits of a more mis-matched hybrid from this setup with the 2 coils involved being so similar to begin with? this is Re a set for an LP, i'm tossing up between another JB/CC in the bridge and a neck hybrid or just going stock with a C5/PGn set.

ANYONE LOOKING FOR EXAMPLES - FYI:
a dual screw-coil JB/custom with an A2 has an excellent EQ for pretty much anything you wouldn't want to use a single-coil or an 81 for and is easily tweaked, it pretty much sounds like you'd want it to... just the right EQ for me but got a little thin if you put any kind of filter on it (a 535Q in this case). i managed to pull a lead wire out of the JB coil when trying to put it back together (got a bit excitable about the whole thing) with 2 non-conductive spacers from an airzone and an A5 i'd gaussed up with a ceramic mag to see if this would fill it out a bit, hence creating the greatest bridge humbucker of all time... i've not yet tried a 59b/custom yet tho ; ]

if anyone else tries the above, let me know how it sounds..? i need to get another regular spaced JB... it's my first post, please be gentle

[Dirtbagg]

If I go to the user group day in April, I may see about making this my 'pickup to wind.'
Compared to the C-5, would you say it's a tad more vintage. How do the mids differ from the 59 and C-5?

Joneser, did you make this pickup at the UGD?

And did you every put your pup into a guitar, I know a few gus had not after that day.

[LtKojak]

A new bump for one of the greatest threads of all time in this forum.

Keep on "hybridizing"! (I just made this word up)

[super rad stuff]

A new bump for one of the greatest threads of all time in this forum.

Keep on "hybridizing"! (I just made this word up)

it really is one of the greats

[Got_tone?]

HUGE!

Those polepieces spread the magnetic field out over a larger area and since they don'y protrude out the bottom of the baseplate it is more concentrated within the coils for more power.

I initially tried it with an A2, but I think I like the A5 better.

I am going to make another one, but as a JB/Custom Hybrid... with either an A5 or the Ceramic from the Custom.

Hey BTR, I tried out the 59/custom A5 and can't believe the sweet tone that I'm getting! It's hot enough to play some old school metallica.

I'm now ready to put a hybrid in my aerodyne strat but I'm wondering if you ever made that JB/Custom Hybrid with the invader polepieces? How does it sound compared to a regular JB and about how much would you charge to make me one? Oh and which coil would be better for coil tapping the JB or the custom?

[AniML]

<gratuitous bump>

My 59s will be coming on a Brown truck today and my Custom Custom will come out of my brown guitar.

Then the brown sound will go into my LP Studio