[Zoo Keeper]

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 !

[gregr]

I had a similar experience with the AN in the bridge and Humbucker from Hell in the neck. I found the AN to be very lean in the bridge position. The HFH produces a fair amount of low end in the neck position against a vintage output pickup in the bridge, despite what the specifications imply, exacerbating the situation.

I don’t have any suggestions but have a feeling someone might mention a Fred since you like the harmonic content of the AN. Regardless, I would look at the medium output section to find an alternative to the 36th bridge assuming I wanted to keep the 36th neck in the neck position.

[darkbluemurder]

1. Neck pickup

IMHO, Bluesbucker would be a good choice for the neck spot. To me it sounds very PAF-ish, not P90-like at all. I had it in the neck spot of different guitars, and it never was too bright. Furthermore it sounds great split with very little volume drop if that appeals to you. I had/have it paired with the following pickups: Transition bridge, Dominion bridge, Mo' Joe and Air Norton, and it balanced fine in all cases without using extreme height settings.

It is true that the Air Norton is a bit lean in the bass, which is fine with me depending on the guitar.

A FRED in the neck would definitely overpower the Air Norton in the bridge, and so would a PAF Pro.

The HFH is very bright, much brighter than the Bluesbucker, but at the same time it has a lot of low end - too much for my taste. It also has more output than the DC resistance value would make you believe so it may overpower the Air Norton nevertheless, and on top be mismatched in the low end.

2. Bridge pickup

If you want to keep the 36th neck and replace the bridge pickup for something a bit stronger, Mo' Joe is a good candidate for a hot PAF type tone, even though it is probably not much hotter than the Air Norton. Norton would be the next step up. More power and more low end compared to the Air Norton without going to the extremes. Air Zone or AT-1 would even be hotter but with much more midrange. Transition bridge or Super Distortion would still be hotter.

Cheers Stephan

[Zoo Keeper]

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!

[gregr]

Since the AT-1 was mentioned I think it’s worth noting that The Breed set is back on the website. Personally, I would opt for the more balanced Breed Neck (DP165) in the bridge over the AT-1.

[darkbluemurder]

Since the AT-1 was mentioned I think it’s worth noting that The Breed set is back on the website. Personally, I would opt for the more balanced Breed Neck (DP165) in the bridge over the AT-1.

+1

Mo' Joe, Breed neck and FRED are all about the same output level.

[darkbluemurder]

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.

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.

Cheers Stephan

[Zoo Keeper]

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

[darkbluemurder]

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)

Those are good inexpensive guitars. I agree with your tech but I appreciate if you don't want to spend as much or more for the repair than what you paid for the guitar itself.

Oh and wouldn't you know it, I have a Breed set in my parts drawer as well.

Well then - why not try the Breed neck in the bridge of your guitar first and see (i) whether you like it and (ii) if not, what you want more/less from the pickup.

Good luck
Stephan

[headcrash]

Guys, keep in mind, that a few 10s of Millivolts won't make a perceivable difference in output.
The PAF 36th neck isn't really quieter than the Air Norton, the latter only has a higher inductance, thus its resonant peak shifts a few hundred Hz more towards the lower frequencies. This evens things out a little regarding their positions in the guitar, but obviously not enough.
It's merely a matter of playing with pickup height, and maybe not being afraid to go for a high output bridge humbucker to balance out with a neck humbucker. You could always bring the bridge humbucker farther away from the strings.

[Zoo Keeper]

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.

[gregr]

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

A2s are lower output and less punchy, in my estimation. Ask five different people about the frequency response and you’ll get five different answers. I would say they provide a slightly softened top end but still produce plenty of sparkle with a 42 gauge vintage wind.

I would consider using the Nash wiring on the tone control if you use the Bluesbucker.

[Zoo Keeper]

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

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

[RayBarbeeMusic]

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.

[Zoo Keeper]

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.