Ultra-bright guitar

[gutter0909]

I posted my latest build(link) over in the 'strat-style guitars' section but after some playing experience, I've come across a very frustrating issue. That guitar is ultra-bright. Like ice-pick, painful, almost unplayable but I love everything else about it. I've double and triple checked the wiring and that's not an issue. So, for some more details that I think may help:

Body: basswood (could this be a factor?)
pickup: DiMarzio Super Distortion (shouldn't be the problem, I have another guitar with SDs and they're great)
the pickup is direct mounted to the body, no rings, used foam.
String thru body
Gotoh GTC102 bridge with steel saddles (steel saddles? I have a set of graph-tech saddles, would those maybe help?)
graph-tech nut
the neck has SS6105 frets, do stainless frets make a difference?

I have a parametric EQ and an MXR 10 band and I was able to get rid of some of the shrill with those but it sucked too much other tone away with it. Please help, I'm desperate to fix this. I have a spare SD Invader pickup laying around I'm gonna chuck in there this evening to see if that'll help anything.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Scab Pickens]

What are you playing it into?

I like "ice-pick, painful" ... probably of no help to you . I've always found it easier to roll back high end than to try to create it when it isn't there in the first place.

What type of tone are you going for?

 

[gutter0909]

Marshall DSL40CR. I have another warmoth partscaster, a couple Jacksons, a couple Fender Strats, and they all sound great through the Marshall except for this guitar. I play mainly 80s metal (Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, along with various other rock from the 70s to more recent stuff).

I have been considering swapping the speaker in my DSL40CR to a creamback of some kind or the WGS Invader.

 

[jjwu]

Is it possible your guitar is lacking low mids and you perceive it as too much highs? I had one basswood guitar. No matter what pickups I put in it it sounded hollow. Though I wouldn't describe it as harsh. It also had an Ibanez fixed edge bridge, rather unique, so maybe that was the culprit. Who really knows?

Only other thing I can think of is resonance. Play into a DAW and pull up SPAN to check. (Dampen strings behind the nut either way.)

 

[gutter0909]

When compared back to back with any of my other guitars, the low end sounds pretty much the same. I don't do the computer stuff and I'm only vaguely familiar with a DAW but I don't have a clue what SPAN is.

 

[Scab Pickens]

I have been considering swapping the speaker in my DSL40CR to a creamback of some kind or the WGS Invader.

If all your other guitars sound great through this amp, I would not suggest swapping the speaker. It is not the kind of amp I play through. However, I do have a Supro Keeley 1x12" with the creamback. It's great for what I use it for. Nice for old school grit and grime, but for defined metal style tones, I would probably go for something else. It sounds, to me, like a pickup problem (or an electrical detail of some sort) more than an amp problem. How does the bridge pickup compare to the neck pickup (if I'm looking at the correct thread)? Maybe put up the link to your original topic so folks can see what you are talking about?

 

[gutter0909]

When I say the other guitars sound great, I mean relative to this one. I've been considering a speaker swap since before I finished making this particular guitar. The sound clips and youtube videos I've seen with DSL40CRs loaded with a creamback sound great for 80s metal but so do a couple others. I'm also considering selling the DSL40CR and getting something different. I just play at home and don't really need such a big amp but that's a whole different can of worms.

As far as linking topics or threads, this is the only thread I've made except for the build thread which is linked so I'm confused as to what you mean.

I'm hoping swapping pickups might make a difference and maybe I have a defective Super Distortion.

 

[Scab Pickens]

Sorry, I didn't notice your "sneaky link". It blended right in with the rest of the text. I had to do an investigative search to figure out what you were talking about.

Also, you didn't answer my question.

How does the bridge pickup compare to the neck pickup

Whatever. I'm tapping out on this one . Too many variables for me to get involved with. Good luck!

 

[gutter0909]

The neck is still a bit bright as well but not nearly as bad. I don't blame you on tapping out. I'm considering getting an alder body to paint come spring and seeing if a different body helps. I'll update when I finally get around to swapping the bridge pickup, hopefully soon. It was also suggested elsewhere to try a different capacitor, so I'll have to look in my parts bin.

Also, I added "(link)" to hopefully help others find the link as well.

 

[Hodgo]

Pot values, wiring setup?

 

[gutter0909]

500k, vol/tone, nothing fancy, .022uf orange drop capacitor just like all my other (humbucker) guitars.

 

[rockandroller]

Graphtech saddles should warm it up a touch more than steel. But I suspect a wiring problem. Could the bridge pickup accidentally have its coils wired in parallel, or internally shorted? What's its DC resistance??

 

[jjwu]

When compared back to back with any of my other guitars, the low end sounds pretty much the same. I don't do the computer stuff and I'm only vaguely familiar with a DAW but I don't have a clue what SPAN is.

Voxengo SPAN. Free spectrum analyzer plugin. How's it sound acoustically? If you can tell it's piercing bright without plugging in, then it's a mechanical issue.