Metropoulos Forum

Got a pair of Throbak SLE101-limited's in a LP, and while the bridge pickup gives me wood, the neck just ain't cuttin it. Just really dark with not enough of the clarity and the cut I like in a neck pickup. Of course this set comes standard with A2 mags, so I had Jon swap out the neck Mag with an A5 in an attempt to gain some cut, the difference was very minor. So, any suggestions on a good paf style low output humbucker that has plenty of cut and clarity?

But dude....everyone says Throbaks are the S#@T so you can't be right.

My humbucker guitars all have Manlius Fat Dianes, and I really like the neck sound I'm getting, which is still deep and rich but has a nice chime and snap to it when I dig in. Another killer neck pickup is the Wolfetone Marshallhead MKII, which is flat out the clearest neck pickup I've ever played short of the '59 ES335 a buddy's dad used to have.

Did comparison soundclips of the Dianes and Wolfetones (and Ibanez Super 58's) here:

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php ... &hilit=paf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bridge pickups then neck pickups trying to stick to the same or similar phrases for comparison. The Wolfetone clip came out quieter than the others for some reason, but they were not quieter in the room, so keep that in mind.

Dude! I'm diggin the 58's!! great sound! Might have to find some. As to the Throbaks, again, I love the bridge and would fight a man for 'em. And have heard the neck PU's sound great, just not in my guitar. Man, you got me looking for old ibanez pickups now.

New Super 58's aren't supposed to be as good, but I haven't had a new one to try. I do have a spare old Super 58 in double cream here, but I had to do a little repair work and lengthen the lead and haven't tested it yet (it does read a solid 6.8K IIRC.) The baseplate had already been narrowed at the wide end (they had three point mounting) so it might fit the Gibson rout......might be fun to swap for a couple of weeks to try them out........

Flames1950 wrote: Another killer neck pickup is the Wolfetone Marshallhead MKII, which is flat out the clearest neck pickup I've ever played short of the '59 ES335 a buddy's dad used to have.

I have a Wolfetone Marshallhead set (not the MkII) but the neck pickup is very clear indeed.

Pm'ed you Flames. Is the 6.8k reading fairly typical of that pickup? A2? A5?

It may be blasphemy but the Gibson 490R sounds excellent in my LP.

F#m7, just a thought, and you may have already tried this but I figured I'd throw it out there. Have you tried lowering the neck pickup and raising the pole pieces? I got a LOT more clarity out of my neck pup (Throbak SLE101 Ltd.) by doing that. It actually balances with my bridge pup very nicely now. Might be worth a shot.

Another thought, what kind of pots/caps do you have in that LP?

Hey Mike, thanks for the idea. I have the pickup lowered about as far as it will go, but will try raising the screws to see what affect it has. Any thoughts on removing the cover? IME, not a huge difference unless feedback is what you're trýing to cure. Pots are Dr. Vintage with NOS bumblebees. I will be replacing the tone pots, as these don't have much of an effect until the last quarter of the dial.

I know it's not very "high-end" or even very authentic, but Seymour's Alnico Pro II is really nice and clear like a bell in the neck.

F#m7 wrote:Pm'ed you Flames. Is the 6.8k reading fairly typical of that pickup? A2? A5?

Checked it again to be sure, it's actually 7.2K which is pretty typical of Super 58's. A3 magnet.

Well, I raised the screws and it made a noticeable difference I must say. Not exactly what I want, but better. I'll keep experimenting.

While your experimenting, you could also try wiring the neck humbucker coils in parallel, instead of series.

zaphod777 wrote:While your experimenting, you could also try wiring the neck humbucker coils in parallel, instead of series.

Throbaks are single conductor. That would be great to try though.