Hi El Tedesco,

Increasing the cap value might help, the '69s are more bright than other types, and you might still lose some clarity. Usually, people change to '69s to get that bright sound, reminiscent of some Hendrix songs. The newer BJrs can be bright also. Have you tried another amp, or maybe use the BJr with a closed back cab?

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Try adjusting your amp's tone controls down and use the guitar's only minimally for fine-tuning.

HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I'd like to know who's "teaching" that tripe.



Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Have a ball.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

You scared him off!

I think that when you quit the forum, all of your posts are deleted. Now we'll never know how to "break in" our pups.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Perhaps he's off consulting with boffins more knowledgeable than we......



Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I admit, I got excited for a moment when I signed on and forgot it's just another internet forum. Here is my original post again.

Hello everybody,

I finally arrived here! I didn't find an introduction sub-forum, so I am getting right to the point.
I am in the process to customize a beautiful Natural Ash MIM Strat w/ Rosewood fretboard.
I now installed a set of CS 69 Custom Shop pickups. Everything else is MIM stock.

They sound very good, but I am quite at the point where I am getting the tone I was hoping for. The set sounds very "up in my ear" and I am missing a little bit of "the magic", I thought to find.

Using a stock Blues Jr, I have to back of treble quite a bit, which is ok. I also roll off the tone knobs to anywhere between 5-7. That's also ok, but...

... it seems to me I am loosing more clarity then I would want to, but have to back off the tone, else they are too bright!

Esp the Middle. The bridge sounds fine, the Neck maybe a little too mellow.

I notice the stagger and may have to set the saddles to give it more of a radius?

How low should I set the pups ideally? they barely show maybe 2 millimeters above the pickguard, Neck/Middle

Alltogether they are sitting very low, except the bridge, where I tried to compensate to get even output. I have some guesses to get a little more sweetness out of them, (not too much though)

1. the cap - it still has the stock MIM .022. I might have to go with a .047 Orange Drop or PIO any suggestions?

2. the strings - it still has the strings the guitar came with (used), they sure don't sound like Addario XL's, maybe flatwounds??

In a nut shell, I was thinking with the Ash body and Rosewood fingerboard, she should come off sweet enough, yet still with full clarity and "throaty" character. I don't want her "too sweet", for that I have another Strat.

I feel I am almost there, just a little more. I don't really want to replace the pots and wiring, they work fine IMO.

Any tone experts have an opinion?

You don't think that would be the first thing I'd do when dialing in new pickups?

Internet wise crackers reside in every Internet Forum. Apparantly no exemption here.
I wonder what makes a real "boffin". One who, despite 5 pick certification (sorry, 6 pick), goes off on single line of rethoric, that maybe doesn't exactly fit his own idea of "mojo"?

Easy!

Someone was yanking your chain about the "pup break-in", no such thing.

Five picks....one for each finger. Six picks and you have a spare.

All joking aside, Retroverbial is one of the most knowledgeable members here, and doesn't suffer nonsense at all. I agree.

BTW, welcome back.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

It sure does crack me up. No such thing? Sure, just like any other "Mojo"
My ears' objectivity may not be consistent, depending on the time of day and the level intoxication, yet my hearing has never betrayed me. If it wasn't so, I could care less about any other details of an electric guitar or bass, for that matter.

Fact of physics:
Strings induce current, magnets pick it up, the wound copper coil transforms it into a signal. Hence current is flowing. The structure/position of atoms, molecules of the copper wire are getting in motion, therefor their dynamics change,
... and yes, it's one of my favorite "mojos" when starting out on new pickups. I enjoy listening to it and call it "break in"!

I wonder why everybody is so crazy about "old stuff"?

Ps, that's got to be the fastest derailment of a thread topic I have seen so far ....

Wow, what is that... alchemy?

The only molecules in motion are the electrons, and when one moves out, another takes it's place. Or, holes are moving depending on which way you want to think of current flow, conventional (Franklin) or electron flow. But, no, the copper doesn't change and there is no break-in period. Even the insulation on the wire will break down over time, but again, no break-in period.

The magnets will weaken over time, that's a given, but there is no period where they break-in either, they just get weaker and weaker over time. The magnets getting weaker is the mojo that you might be referring to, in the older pups. Strings, however, will break in after a period of stretching, at which point they begin to decay at a rate determined by their environment, sweat, temperature, etc.

Can you state this unnamed "fact of physics" that says that copper has a break-in period. What your ears hear has nothing to do with your mind reaching a false conclusion. You don't believe that meat turns into flies do you? I can show you that it does, and it was an accepted "scientific fact" not long ago, along with the elements including fire and smoke. Speaking of smoke...whatchu smokin'?

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Oh no! Is Toppscore back? Maybe we should let Brad know ASAP.

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Bill

You're really takin' it away, aren't ya? Nowhere did I state that copper has or requires a break in period. But, thanks anyways, for explaining the relationship between my hearing and my mind to me.
I suggest, if anything at all, maybe a better comprehension of what I tried to say. Certainly a great notion for a "welcome committee". I shoulda known better ....

You're killin' me here, Shimmilou!



Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY