SE245 'muddiness'

[NazgulUK]

Hi all,

I've got an SE 245, and before I start, I'm playing through a Spark amp, or a Mooer GE100,

I just can't seem to dial out the bass, no matter where the tone is set, it's always kind of muddy,

Any tips on setting pickup heights or other things that I should look at greatly appreciated!

 

[alantig]

Use your ears. Take any measurements as a guideline or starting point, but what matters is what sounds good to you.

Are you getting the muddiness on both pickups (separately or combined) or just one? I'd focus on one first, then work on the other. Just to simplify things. I'd lower the pickup as a whole first to get the bass where I want it, then tweak the treble side if necessary. You may want to make adjustments to the pole pieces to fine tune certain strings. Just go slow and keep notes on what's working and what isn't in case you have to go back.

 

[NazgulUK]

Fantastic, thank you

 

[toothace]

Use your ears. Take any measurements as a guideline or starting point, but what matters is what sounds good to you.

Are you getting the muddiness on both pickups (separately or combined) or just one? I'd focus on one first, then work on the other. Just to simplify things. I'd lower the pickup as a whole first to get the bass where I want it, then tweak the treble side if necessary. You may want to make adjustments to the pole pieces to fine tune certain strings. Just go slow and keep notes on what's working and what isn't in case you have to go back.

 

[Boogie]

You have a “muddy cobweb” problem. Plug your Spark into a 1000w amp, big speakers, then turn it up to 11 and jam. Think of it as a sinus headache for guitars…you’ve got to blow the snot out of there! Don’t be shy, be Marty McFly! Kinda like this…

 

[NazgulUK]

You have a “muddy cobweb” problem. Plug your Spark into a 1000w amp, big speakers, then turn it up to 11 and jam. Think of it as a sinus headache for guitars…you’ve got to blow the snot out of there! Don’t be shy, be Marty McFly! Kinda like this…

If only I had camera skills like that!

 

[EspressoPatronum]

I had an SE 245 a couple of years ago and actually found it a lot less muddy than any Les Paul I’d played.

I know the Spark can be pretty bass heavy ( I have one). You might want to think about taking the grill of the Spark off and plugging the bass port ( I’ve used a pair of socks!). It definitely helps to even put the tone a bit.

 

[Boogie]

If only I had camera skills like that!

Hey, I picked it up and played one-handed, twice! Granted…badly. We’re all friends here so a little self deprecating humor is okay.

 

[aphantomvaper]

You have a “muddy cobweb” problem. Plug your Spark into a 1000w amp, big speakers, then turn it up to 11 and jam. Think of it as a sinus headache for guitars…you’ve got to blow the snot out of there! Don’t be shy, be Marty McFly! Kinda like this…

"Woah! Rock and Roll!" - Marty McFly

 

[NazgulUK]

Hey, I picked it up and played one-handed, twice! Granted…badly. We’re all friends here so a little self deprecating humor is okay.

Ah man, I didn't realise it was you! No offence intended at all!

 

[NazgulUK]

Use your ears. Take any measurements as a guideline or starting point, but what matters is what sounds good to you.

Are you getting the muddiness on both pickups (separately or combined) or just one? I'd focus on one first, then work on the other. Just to simplify things. I'd lower the pickup as a whole first to get the bass where I want it, then tweak the treble side if necessary. You may want to make adjustments to the pole pieces to fine tune certain strings. Just go slow and keep notes on what's working and what isn't in case you have to go back.

So I finally got a few minutes to really run some tests.

It's really woolly on the neck pickup, and then with the mix, but the bridge is not so bad,

Both pickups are pretty high at the moment, so I'll dial the neck down and see what happens,

I do have a set of Fishman Fluence modern humbuckers, active, I *might* be able to shoehorn them in, they're waiting on me finishing the scratch build I'm doing at the moment, but we will see if they are that patient

Thanks all for the steer so far!

 

[Boogie]

Ah man, I didn't realise it was you! No offence intended at all!

Yeah, that’s 110% Boogie. Good, bad, and the ugly!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Yeah, that’s 110% Boogie. Good, bad, and the ugly!

“Yes Sir” you can boogie!

 

[dogrocketp]

Drop the neck pickup all the way down. Raise a little at a time till you get the sound you want. Look at the strings you use. Might try NYXL’s , which are not boomy in any of my guitars. If they’re nickel, there you have it.

 

[Barquentine]

I played through a Spark amp a couple of weeks ago. It produces an excessive amount of low end and may well be the reason for your muddiness.

 

[NazgulUK]

An update, I swapped out the pickups, but, when I removed the neck pickup I found a screw underneath that was shorting the poles, could that have been the cause?

It's certainly not muddy any more with the Fishman Fluence installed

 

[64 Tele]

I've got an SE 245, that I've had about a year and a half.
Initially, I disliked the neck pickup, loved the bridge, thought I'd eventually end up swapping for some type of Seymour Duncan (I 've got two other SE's that I put Seth Lover sets in).
The stock 245 pickups have really grown on me over time, and I'm sticking with the stock pickups.
The bridge is really one of the nicest bridge humbuckers I've ever played and the non-Gibson volume/tone control setup has REALLY grown on me to the point that I prefer it to a Gibson style volume/tone setup.
The PRS control setup makes way more sense than a Gibson style does.