Ximenean:
So, I bought a cheapo SX Telecaster clone to use as a mule for experimentation. First thing I wanted to try was putting a humbucker in the neck position, so I bought a Tonerider Alnico 4, which I understand is a decent pick-up for the money.
A new pickguard and some amateurish soldering later, I had a humbucker in the neck. The problem is, the humbucker sounds very muddy. It’s all bass, no treble. I have tried adjusting the height of it up and down, to no obvious effect. It seems to me that I may need to get into the mysterious world of guitar electronics, pots and Ohms and all that, which is all way over my head.
So my question is, is there something else I need to do to make a neck humbucker work in a Tele-clone?
You likely have a capacitor in the tone circuit unsuited to that humbucker. Did you start with two single coils, and now it’s H in the neck and S in the bridge? If so, here ’s a wiring diagram from Seymour Duncan for that; note the .47 cap in the tone circuit. ETA: actually, I bet you have the cap grounding the hot side of the pickup and ignoring the pot, which would bleed all your treble to ground. Recheck the connection at the pot against the diagram I linked to.
squeegee:
You likely have a capacitor in the tone circuit unsuited to that humbucker. Did you start with two single coils, and now it’s H in the neck and S in the bridge? If so, here ’s a wiring diagram from Seymour Duncan for that; note the .47 cap in the tone circuit. ETA: actually, I bet you have the cap grounding the hot side of the pickup and ignoring the pot, which would bleed all your treble to ground. Recheck the connection at the pot against the diagram I linked to.
PS: you can test this theory by unsoldering the cap on one side – you should instantly get a ton of treble.
squeegee:
You likely have a capacitor in the tone circuit unsuited to that humbucker. Did you start with two single coils, and now it’s H in the neck and S in the bridge? If so, here ’s a wiring diagram from Seymour Duncan for that; note the .47 cap in the tone circuit. ETA: actually, I bet you have the cap grounding the hot side of the pickup and ignoring the pot, which would bleed all your treble to ground. Recheck the connection at the pot against the diagram I linked to.
Yes, it was standard Tele set-up, and is now H in the neck, S in the bridge. I will try that suggestion, thanks.