Favourite pickup for ash?

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the rossness

the rossness

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I picked up a Firefly Mr. Scary/ Bones guitar. For the money, its PHENOMENAL! I’m in the middle of upgrading a few parts, namely the bridge and the pickup.

The body is ash. Ash is the one guitar body wood
I’ve never really liked. To me, ash sounds unfocused, loose and muddy. What is your favourite bridge humbucker for an ash guitar to tighten up the sound? Ideally I’d like something in the medium output range.
 
I picked up a Firefly Mr. Scary/ Bones guitar. For the money, its PHENOMENAL! I’m in the middle of upgrading a few parts, namely the bridge and the pickup.

The body is ash. Ash is the one guitar body wood
I’ve never really liked. To me, ash sounds unfocused, loose and muddy. What is your favourite bridge humbucker for an ash guitar to tighten up the sound? Ideally I’d like something in the medium output range.
Are we talking the same ash? Isn’t it believed to have strong lows and crystal highs?
 
Northern ash is a bright sounding wood swamp ash is bright but not as bright as northern ash which is a very hard wood swamp ash tends to be a little softer wood then northern ash
 
IDK; I tend to go with pickups I like irrespective of the body wood.

If you think Ash sounds muddy, then I'd look for a pickup with higher mids and/or treble; but I noticed many high output humbuckers usually boost bass so it's not icepicky I suppose?


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DiMarzio Super 2?

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https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/high-power/super-2?v=20367



DiMarzio Steve Morse model? Never tried one but, for a bridge, more mid focused, and it has lower bass than many others:

https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/high-power/steve-morse-model-bridge

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I've only played northern ash and it's bright and tight. Many people say Swamp Ash is similar may be a tad warmer but still tight lows and nice crisp highs but I've never heard people say it's unfocused or muddy.

That description is usually how I hear basswood that is not capped with maple.

If the body is like you say then those Mr Scary pickups with A-8 magnets ought to sound pretty killer in it.
 
I second Black Winter.
If you don't like it, just pull out 2 of the 3 magnets and you have a Duncan Distortion with Old English font.
 
Eddie Van Halen original Frankenstein strat was northern ash,northern ash is bright and very snappy-quick attack, also Eddies Ibanez Destroyer was also ash
 
Bodywoods don't matter for electrics
I'd say that's only partially true. IMO wood species don't seem to matter as much as density of the individual piece. More dense woods tend to sustain longer because they don't absorb as much of the strings vibration as softer wood.

What do I feel dirty talking about hard and soft wood? :LOL:
 
I'd say that's only partially true. IMO wood species don't seem to matter as much as density of the individual piece. More dense woods tend to sustain longer because they don't absorb as much of the strings vibration as softer wood.

What do I feel dirty talking about hard and soft wood? :LOL:
You need Jesus
 
I've only played northern ash and it's bright and tight. Many people say Swamp Ash is similar may be a tad warmer but still tight lows and nice crisp highs but I've never heard people say it's unfocused or muddy.

That description is usually how I hear basswood that is not capped with maple.

If the body is like you say then those Mr Scary pickups with A-8 magnets ought to sound pretty killer in it.
I love basswood. To me it sounds warm and full. I agree that a maple cap helps, but isn’t always required.

I’ve never played a northern ash body. Hmmm
 
I’ve tried and experimented with many brands of pickups(humbuckers),different magnets,different outputs and my favorite humbucker is a 8.4k Alnico 8 magnet wound by Kolev Custom pickups, Kris Kolev is extremely knowledgeable about pickups in general especially original PAF pickups
 
I've had 3 Swamp ash guitars and they've been the opposite of muddy, unfocused, loose. Must be more the particular piece of wood and construction more so than species because all 3 have been tight, focused, bright, and articulate.

Two of them I have here now: a swamp ash body maple cap Mayones. It's very tight, articulate, defined regardless of pickup. I've had a cold sweat, Painkiller, DD, and Iron Man in the bridge and its always very tight and defined and plenty bright and snappy.

I just got a Skervesen that's all Swamp ash loaded with Lundgren Black Heavens and its super bright, snappy, very articulate, extremely tight.
 
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When Kris Kolev wound me the humbucker I mentioned above the humbucker is lightly potted. Lightly potted makes the pickup breath very alive, the original PAF pickups weren’t wax potted at all. The volume and gain that I play it needed to be lightly potted. The many other brands that I’ve tried were regular wax potted(heavily wax potted like the majority of brands)which I could hear a major difference less alive if you know what I mean.
 
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