Members Mr Songwriter Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 OK, I've just bought a brand new MIC Tokai and while I like the neck, the action and just the general feel of it a lot, especially for the Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tweedledee Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 It could be any of those things, though I doubt that removing the pickup covers would have much of an effect. You could try throwing some higher value pots in there to see if it clears things up a bit, but if you're planning on trying different pickups anyway that will solve your problem (provided the pots aren't total crap). You can also try raising the high-e side of the pickups a bit to get a little more bite out of them. Man, muddy pickups annoy the crap out of me so I know your pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Songwriter Posted March 17, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 It could be any of those things, though I doubt that removing the pickup covers would have much of an effect. You could try throwing some higher value pots in there to see if it clears things up a bit, but if you're planning on trying different pickups anyway that will solve your problem (provided the pots aren't total crap).You can also try raising the high-e side of the pickups a bit to get a little more bite out of them. Man, muddy pickups annoy the crap out of me so I know your pain. I hate muddy pickups too, but I wouldn't really describe these as muddy - the strings are reasonably well defined, just severely lacking in treble, even going through a very bright amp (my DRRI) I've just ordered an SD Seth Lover Bridge (SH-55) which I should be putting in some time in the next few days, so hopefully that will brighten it up a bit. The reason I was wondering about the pickup covers (not having owned a guitar with them on before) was this line from the description of the SH-55: The SH-55 uses a nickel silver cover instead of brass, which magnetically eliminates too much of the pickup's natural high-end tone. So I thought maybe removing the covers might make them a bit brighter, if that was what was causing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tweedledee Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 I hate muddy pickups too, but I wouldn't really describe these as muddy - the strings are reasonably well defined, just severely lacking in treble, even going through a very bright amp (my DRRI) I've just ordered an SD Seth Lover Bridge (SH-55) which I should be putting in some time in the next few days, so hopefully that will brighten it up a bit. The reason I was wondering about the pickup covers (not having owned a guitar with them on before) was this line from the description of the SH-55:So I thought maybe removing the covers might make them a bit brighter, if that was what was causing it. Removing the covers does make the pickups a bit brighter, but it's often pretty minimal in my experience. If you have the Seth Lover coming in soon (which is as great pickup, by the way) then I would throw that in there and see if it sounds like what you want. If so, then it may just be the pickups and your next move would be finding something for the neck position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkstorm Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 If the pole peices are adjustable, try raising them. That might add more treble esp if the pole peices are currently below or flat even witrh the top of pup housing. Start with them raised a good full single turn above pup top housing. Another half to full turn up if needed. Also be sure the pups themself arent too far away from the strings. Distance can affect not only pup volume but sometiems also crunch which can give more noticeable treble edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Songwriter Posted March 17, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 If the pole peices are adjustable, try raising them. That might add more treble esp if the pole peices are currently below or flat even witrh the top of pup housing. Start with them raised a good full single turn above pup top housing. Another half to full turn up if needed. Also be sure the pups themself arent too far away from the strings. Distance can affect not only pup volume but sometiems also crunch which can give more noticeable treble edge. The pole pieces are adjustable and they are slightly above the top of the pickup housing and the pickups are pretty close to the strings, I might try raising them a bit, but I've done that before on other guitars (to get more treble) and had problems with the strings being pulled slightly out of tune. My gut feeling, having mucked about with guitars for years now is that they are just not very good pickups. The SH-55 is on it's way now anyway, so fingers crossed that'll fix it, if it does and I like it I'll get the neck version to go with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikesr1963 Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 I had the same the problem with my Tradition LP and raising the PU's solved the problem quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members inkblot Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 A cheap guitar might come with cheap pots that fall well short of 500k. If the Seth Lover still doesn't sound great, I'd try new pots and make sure the caps are the usual humbucker (brighter) value, which I can't remember right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Songwriter Posted March 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 18, 2008 I had the same the problem with my Tradition LP and raising the PU's solved the problem quick. I moved them closer but it really hasn't made that much difference A cheap guitar might come with cheap pots that fall well short of 500k. If the Seth Lover still doesn't sound great, I'd try new pots and make sure the caps are the usual humbucker (brighter) value, which I can't remember right now. Seymour Duncan specify .047 mfd caps for use with Humbuckers in their schematics, but mine are marked '2A223J' which is .022 mfd as far as I can tell. The pots are all marked 500K, I tested the tone pots and they came out as ~ 450K ohms (doesn't look like I can test the volume pots without disconnecting them from the rest of electrics) Hmmm...I'm really hoping a replacement pickup will sort this guitar out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bluesidae Posted March 18, 2008 Members Share Posted March 18, 2008 which model of Tokai is it? I have a MIC 335 and it is very nice. The neck PU's is 'mellow' and the bridge is brighter. I can dial in almost any tone I need. I must admit, I use it for Blues tunes and I am not looking for real 'clear' tones. I have a strat for that My Tokai really likes to growl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members _pete_ Posted March 18, 2008 Members Share Posted March 18, 2008 Check to be sure that the capacitors are not grounding out on another wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Songwriter Posted March 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 18, 2008 which model of Tokai is it? I have a MIC 335 and it is very nice. The neck PU's is 'mellow' and the bridge is brighter. I can dial in almost any tone I need. I must admit, I use it for Blues tunes and I am not looking for real 'clear' tones. I have a strat for that My Tokai really likes to growl. It's a Loverock LP copy with flamed top (probably Sycamore) Made in China. Check to be sure that the capacitors are not grounding out on another wire. You could be onto something there, one of the caps was folded over in a funny way, I'll take the pots out tomorrow to have a proper look at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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