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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: Today at 05:18:55 PM »

So the 36th is definitely the neck model based on the model number on the base. Maybe it was an unusually hot version, although I doubt it based on the fact that they are not hand wired. I did a quick reading so there is a chance I got it wrong. What is 100% is the levels between the two pickups.  I decided to put the AN and 36th in the guitar because I wasn't happy with the previous pickups and I had these two waiting for something to do. A little research said that it could be cool, and by and large the AN in the bridge is pretty nice.  ( you are waiting for the "but", I know it. lol)

BUT in going down the rabbit hole I started gravitating towards a more classic PAF family of sounds.   I  was looking at Duncans  Alnico Pro II, Antiquity, and Custom Shop Pearly Gates. All some form of known versions of a PAF. 
I ended up putting in an order  for a Wolftone Legend set.  They seem to be a little bit of everything I ended up wanting, and was hoping to get when I bought the Skinnerburst set. Wolfe was great to work with, responded to my emails quickly and  with a great knowledge base. He already has them in the mail and I should get them this coming week. It might take a week to get them in unless I try it myself.  I've swapped pickups before but my soldering is not pro level so I might leave this to my longtime repair person.
I'll give my 2 cents once they are in and compare to what I have now.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 27, 2025, 09:43:42 PM »

That someone might have a problem pairing the 36th neck with an AN in the bridge doesn’t come as a big surprise to me. It is no wonder that you would have to bottom-out a 36th bridge in the neck position, assuming that is what you have.

I have a DP103 36th Anniversary  neck pickup in the neck.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 25, 2025, 04:10:18 PM »

Okay, I am not great with guitar electronics but I cab use a meter. AM comes in at 12.5k ohms and the 36th neck at 8.5. From what I can compare to a wiring diagram it looks to all be wired up correctly in 50's wiring. On the pots, would I just connect my probes on the end lugs of the pot?  If everything else is good, something is off with the AN to be fairly overpowered by  the 36th.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 23, 2025, 11:38:45 PM »

Thanks gregr!  I have looked at the Air Classic set in the past.  The more I look into this the more I am thinking about a new set. Another set I have looked at in the past is the Duncan Alnico II Pro set. Seems that the PAF 57 set might be in that category.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 23, 2025, 05:51:25 PM »

Not typical at all of my experience with AN in the bridge, which I have in quite a few guitars.

I suspect something is wrong with your wiring or pots.  No way should a 36th neck overwhelm an AN bridge, especially backed off.

Check your wiring, measure your pots.

I use the duncan full shred neck with AN bridge, which is typical PAF output.  Even very close to the strings, it doesn't overwhelm.

AN is on the hot side of PAF output, similar to 36th bridge.

Thank you for that info. I didn't think it would when I decided to put those in the guitar, so I was puzzled. I will look into the wiring. The guitar has  '50s wiring, that shouldn't be the cause? I will measure the pickups on my meter as well.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 21, 2025, 08:10:05 AM »

The PAF 59s are A5. Are you considering a magnet swap?

My bad, not the PAF 59's but the PAF 57's. 

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Pasul

« on: August 20, 2025, 10:04:14 PM »

Thanks for all the replies !! Just to go out into the weeds, I've been wanting to re-purpose the Air Norton, but if I didn't how would something like the PAF59 set sound?  I also have an SG with  Sanford Magnetic P90's - A2's around 7 ohms. Killer sounding thru my rig. I pulled it out today after not playing it for a while and it got me thinking. I know it's hardly  and apple to apples comparison, but was wondering what the PAF 59's with the A2 might sound like. You Tube videos not giving me a great idea. It would be more vintage for sure I think, but I think my taste has a little wiggle room.
I think the Bluesbucker would be my choice if I stay AN in the bridge.
Oh and I played the Ibby with the suspect neck today as well. Dang it still sounds good. Might have to reconsider doing something with the neck.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Pasul

« on: August 19, 2025, 10:34:07 PM »

Unrelated to the pickup question but that sounds like the neck has a hump or a rise and needs fretwork - best to have the guitar looked at by a qualified repairperson.

I have a repair tech that I've been going to for quite a while, he was the person that showed me what was going on when I complained about the fret buzz. There is a hump around the 15th fret, where the neck joins the body. My tech says he'd have to pull the frets and plane down the fret board to get rid of it. Even with the action fairly high - which I don't mind - it still frets out a smidge on the wound strings. Still playable but I don't think I'd have the work done. I bought it for $300 about 10 years ago. ( late 90's RG550) It has a Fred in the bridge and a PAF Joe in the neck that I could always use elsewhere since I have the original Ibby pickups.
Oh and wouldn't you know it, I have a Breed set in my parts drawer as well.

I feel like I am going down a rabbit hole now with this pickup quest. LOL

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Pasul

« on: August 18, 2025, 08:20:12 AM »

Thank you both for replying!

gregr- Funny you mentioned the Fred. I have an older Ibanez that has a neck that over the years ( I am at least the 3rd owner and can't vouch for how well the guitar was taken care of before me) has gotten to the point where it will need a lot of work to straighten out. It has a Fred in the bridge and a PAF Joe in the neck. That guitar is still playable, but even with nut shims and a lot of truss rod and bridge adjustments it buzzes on the higher frets and barely doesn't at the lower frets. I could use the Fred in the bridge.  Not sure how much less lean the Fred would be in the bridge than the Air Norton.

darkbluemurder- thank you for the great scouting report on all the pickups you mentioned. It's funny how Dimarzio's tone rating has the Bass on the AN a 6 but it is still a bit lean. Goes to show that specs don't tell the true story sometimes.  Based on your kind reply, I think the Bluesbucker would be a great choice if I kept the AN.  If I wanted to keep the 36th in the neck, and I'm kinda leaning ( no pun intended!) that way now, a Norton or Mo'Joe have been pickups I have wanted to try in the past. The AN could go back in the old Ibanez neck. Based on the Mo'Joe not being too much hotter than the AN, the Fred might not be a good choice in the bridge with the 36th neck, eh? 
Just a last question, is the matching 36th bridge a warmer option than the AN? I am assuming that as a set the bridge would play nice with the neck.

Thanks again!

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The Pickup Place / Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 17, 2025, 04:06:43 PM »

Hi all, new here.
 First off I want to thank Budd Royce for helping me with getting registered. Thank. you !!

I have a early 90's Orville Les Paul Model - not the upgraded Orville by Gibson which has USA electronics and hardware. I was underwhelmed by whatever pickups came with it. Not horrible but not great.
I had an Air Norton and a 36th Anniversary Neck in my parts drawer so based on a couple of things I've read about the Air Norton in the bridge I had them put in. Air Norton in the bridge and the 36th in the neck. I like the AN in the bridge, but the 36th in the neck seems to overpower the bridge. I have the 36th as low in the pickup ring as I can, under it actually and likely close to falling off the screws.
I'm looking at some options that would have me swap out one of the pickups, either the 36th from the neck, or leaving the 36th in the neck and swapping the Air Norton out.  ( I do like it but open to trying something else)
This guitar plays classic rock, blues, and a few tunes like Larry Carlton's "A pair of Kings"  I want a neck pickup that is bluesy, a little swampy, but not boomy or too thick.
I have thought about a Bluesbucker  to follow the Nash guitar  LP rebuild formula of a AN and the Bluesbucker. Watched the video for whatever it's worth. My worry is that the Bluesbucker might be a little bright ?
Ive also looked at ( on the Dimarzio website- comparing specs) the Air Classic neck model, the PAF 59 neck, and even one of those two pickups bridge model for the neck.

If I was going to try leaving the 36th in the neck because I do like how it sounds on it's own, the 36th bridge would seem the most obvious choice. But I don't know how it compares to the AN  other than the specs. So what might pair well with the 36th neck that isn't a 36th bridge? I do like the harmonics of the AN but I don't want to make that the only criteria.

The reason I swapped out the original pickups was to get something a little more beefy, but not over the top beefy. The originals were fairly thin.  I get old PAFs were brighter than many people think, so vintage is not a requirement, but I don't want to go completely the other direction either.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated !