Humbuckers and clean tone

  • My Tele has a lil 59 in the bridge and a Quarter pound in the neck, which are both fairly high output. When trying to record some clean stuff every profile/setting I use pretty much sounds muddy, when what I want is more of a sparkling clean. Does this sound like a normal symptom of humbuckers with clean tones?


    My Strat sounds clear and lovely, and has lower output single coils.


    The biggest lessons I've learned from having the Kemper is that everything affects tone. I've played in bands most my life and pretty much picked guitars based on feeling and comfort and not been too bothered by the pickups and stuff. Generally audiences don't notice anyway, but when recording, it's completely imperative that you pick the right tool.


    It's a great learning tool too!

  • Try using a completely clean profile, and turn down your guitar so that the output is not as hot.


    Just a suggestion. I have no idea if this will actually give you what you're looking for!

  • What works for your strat will likely sound muddy with humbuckers. In general, it will take some searching to find really great clean tones using humbuckers.


    Try the MB OTS by MBritt on the rig exchange.

    "But dignity is difficult to maintain
    stamina requires constant upkeep
    repetition is boring
    and you pay for grace."

  • I have a USA EVH Wolfgang that has both pickups tapped to split to single coil mode. Dial a sparkling clean tone in single coil and there you have it. Now switch the pickups back to humbucker mode and there goes your sparkling clean tone, same tone now sounds muddy as if you have foam plugs in your ears and with the expected much stronger mid range and volume. Same if I switch up to my Les Paul. Just a symptom of single coil vs humbucker, you would really need a profile setting for each to get a more consistent level of brightness across the board.

  • How does the clean sound on this? (Mixing needs work)


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    Edited 2 times, last by PhilUK84 ().

  • Those cleans sound great for that track. I think if you went with more sparkle from a single coil the transition from clean to overdrive with humbuckers wouldn't sound natural. Sounds good the way it is.


    sean

  • I prefer to switch on single with a coil tap too, but on the lespaul and 335 like (both HB only) I got I fount a clean rig that fits pretty well.


    search for "lucille" on rig exchange, it's a BBking lucille sim , with 5 eq settings available on FX slots. My dakota rig is great too for this purpose ,once you setup the rig like i describe it next.


    Another way is finding a clean fender like profile and adjust gain , clarity and definition (more for HB) , a bit of direct (0.3 is enough). This trick works like a charm and I'm able to get a tele spank tone with my les paul.

  • Thanks I'll give it a go, although I do love the Strat clean!


    How does the heavier sound at the end of the track above sound to you? I'm wondering if it's in your face enough, maybe it's too distant or muffled or something? I like it though, but just wondering.

  • If you aren't averse to modifying your guitar, make sure the volume control used with the high output Tele pickups is 500k, and not the stock 250k. Nothing will suck the tone out of the highs of a humbucker more than running it with a 250k pot.


    Another thing that might help is to install a no load tone pot. I recently had a SSL-5 in my Strat and it had a muddy high end. Installing a no load tone pot made a huge difference in the trebles.


    All that being said, I have found a number of stock Kemper profiles that sound sparkly with the 57 Classic humbuckers in my LP and Epi ES-175. Many of the clean AC-30 profiles, especially Top Boost profiles, can get nice and bright with humbuckers.

  • That was it. I still had the 250k pots in as the shop forgot to do it!


    It's still not as sweet sounding as my Strat, but it's better. I'd still be looking to use the Strat for recording clean tones, live isn't as big a deal to me.


    Thanks. :)

  • That was it. I still had the 250k pots in as the shop forgot to do it!


    It's still not as sweet sounding as my Strat, but it's better. I'd still be looking to use the Strat for recording clean tones, live isn't as big a deal to me.


    Thanks. :)


    good to hear.


    also, the Definition parameter in the AMPLIFIER section is a very powerful tool to adjust rigs for humbuckers or single coils:
    - too dull with humbuckers? increase Definition (clock-wise)
    - too bright with single coils? decrease Definition (counter clock-wise)