Just replaced my AV 65 bridge pickup with a Novak Gold Foil: see post 13!

[wproffitt]

Hello all!
After not playing it much for a while(I’m still deep in my honeymoon with the Prairiewood I got last spring), I’ve picked up my JM and still love it. It’s got the Fender AV65 pickups which I like quite a lot more than the CP JM pickups it came with but I realize that I just don’t like the bridge pickup on its own. No amount of adjustment in height has fixed this, either.
On to my question: I was thinking of giving a try to one of the Curtis Novak pickup options. I’m looking for something that would drive the amp a bit more but don’t need anything super hot or compressed. I could choose:
A) Novak Gold Foil for Jazzmaster- a bit quirky. Probably not much more output than the AV65, but would probably have a bit more oomph and zing. Anything I should Know about this one before I buy?
B) WRHB- I imagine this would be quite bright but bigger sounding than the AV65. Anyone love these and want to testify on their behalf?
C) PAF got Jazzmaster- would my JM suddenly have a cool new tonal option in the form of a rawk pickup or am I kidding myself?

*EDIT*
BTW,
-I’m playing through a PR and a 5e9 clone.
-My Prairiewood is a junior/special type guitar with a hot-ish P90 at the bridge. It is mid focused and honky. That’s cool, but I’m not looking to duplicate this on my JM.
-I don’t mind changing the in-between sound a bit. Mainly, I’m interested in having a bridge sound that is at all usable for me on its own.

[Embenny]

I don't like HBs in JMs. You said you don't want anything compressed - both the PAF and WRHB are more compressed than a singlecoil.

The JM-FAT and JM-T both keep everything that is good about a JM (including the sparkly middle position), but give you a bridge position that is much more versatile.

I'm not trying to be fascetious, but honestly, if you want to drive your amp harder, get a clean boost pedal. There are tons of great, cheap, reliable ones out there. Sacrificing tone for pickup output is never worth it, when a simple FET boost circuit can give you 10 times more output without screwing with your tone.

I say this as someone who personally feels like PAFs and WRHBs rob a JM or Jag of their most desirable characteristics....the clarity, picking dynamics, and string definition of a good singlecoil. Plenty of people get along fine with HBs but I'm not one of them. If you want a "rawk pickup" tone, try a JM-FAT or JM-T and run it through a boost with the tone rolled off a bit, or through an EQ with a mid boost and high cut (that's what I do). Then, when you want a nice clean tone, you still have a bridge and middle position suited to it (high output bridge pickups totally kill the magic that is the JM middle position IMHO).

That, or try a JM90. I'm not a fan of P90's but lots of people love them. Lots of mids and less high end than the JM-FAT or JM-T, if that's your thing.

As for "what should I know about goldfoils before I buy" - they have a very, very, very weird characteristic to the string attack that you either love or hate. "Thunky" is the onomatopoeia I'd choose to describe it. Completely unlike any other pickup and well-suited to some styles much more than others. I'd never want to play syncopated funk on one.

[Jestapali]

In my AV65 , I have a Novak JM-Fat in the bridge. It is definitely more versatile that the original pickup and, in my opinion, provides for a better middle position sound (less shrill, clear, completely Jazzmaster) It can drive the amp hotter too, if that's what you are looking for, without being a humbucker or p90, which I would not like in this guitar.

[NICQ]

I have a JM with a JMPAF and if you want a humbucker sound you'll get it with that - but it does not sound like a Jazzmaster at all then and the middle position will also be very non-Jazzmaster like - sounds great clean and awesome with distortion :-)

The JMHC is also a humbucker but sound wise between a real PAF and Jazzmaster Singlecoil - less mids than a humbucker and still more output and punch than a high output JM pickup..

JM90 is has a defined mid-range voice and is also a very good pickup from Curtis Novak but if you didn't like the CP which are also p90-esque designs then chances are you won't be too happy with a JM90? Though Curtis' JM90 sounds waaay better and more refined than Fender's p90 Jm pickups

Haven't tried his WRHBs but they will also be quite different from a traditional Jazzmaster sound..

I also have to point out that JMPAF and WRHB will be quite compressed.. and as you've stated you don't want that we struggle with advice a bit ;-)

Do you still want to have the Jazzmaster single coil sound or are you looking for a different voicing in the bridge position?

[wproffitt]

Thanks for the opinions! Keep them coming! NICQ, while I do like the the JM middle position, the only thing that is sacred about this guitar’s sound is that neck pickup. I’m more interested in having a usable bridge sound than keeping the middle position exactly as it is.

[wproffitt]

More votes for the WRHB than anything else. As you can tell, I'm pretty open to all suggestions. I'd love to hear someone speak passionately about any one of these! Yes, I've used the search function and read through other threads, but would like to hear what YOU have to say! Thanks again to those who have already chimed in.

[gnoleb]

I'd suggest an option 4:

Rather than chucklehead opinion democracy, think about what you want, sound-wise, then contact Curtis Novak and go with his recommendation. He's a wizard and he's going to know pickups (especially his pickups) far better than any of the people in this thread.

That being said, you solicited opinions: I am a fan of WRHBs and have a set of Lollars in my Danocaster. I don't think that's what you want. I'd consider Novak's JM Fat and note to Curtis what you want out of it, and if you need more power than that there is a lot of merit in getting a clean boost for that. The JM Fat will likely get you to a better bridge tone that feels more like a "lead" tone, and then a nice clean boost (A Tumnus or the Full Tone clean boost are both excellent ones I have) will take you the rest of the way for drive.

[sirspens]

This is going to be unorthodox, but I recommend this:
https://www.fralinpickups.com/product/p ... baseplate/

At $10, it is WAY cheaper than a new pickup. And it will add heft and mids to your JM pickup. You can even go crazy and try a thicker brass plate to get more of a Tele crunch.

[brucer]

I'd suggest an option 4:

Rather than chucklehead opinion democracy, think about what you want, sound-wise, then contact Curtis Novak and go with his recommendation. He's a wizard and he's going to know pickups (especially his pickups) far better than any of the people in this thread.

I'd +1 this option 4 with a nudge in the direction of a JM-V bridge. You've already got midrange honk with your Prairiewood. The Novak JM-V bridge won't be thin/brittle like the AVRI bridge pickup and with add tones to your guitarsenal.

[wproffitt]

Thanks for helping me frame my thinking on this! Here's what I came up with: Ultimately, I liked the sound of the Novak Goldfoil the best of the pickups I was investigating. That's what really matters, right? I ordered that along with an ABY box so that I can plug into both channels of my 5e9 simultaneously. This way, I can set one channel to be a bit more dirty than the other and simply use the selected pickup (whose sound i like regardless) to make the "rawk" sounds with a footswitch. When I plug into the PR, I'm happy to actually use the rhythm circuit. I'll let you know how it works out when I get it all soldered up sometime next week!

[Embenny]

Cool, I'll be glad to hear how you like it. Goldfoils make for better bridge than neck position pickups in my experience, unless you play slide...neck goldfoils are smooth as can be for slide but always lack something in the string attack for my taste. Seem better suited to the bridge where the attack is naturally sharper, but they take the edge off compared to something like a JM bridge pickup.

[Sid Nitzerglobin]

The Novak WRHBs are amazing in my LRJB. Really nothing at all like a PAF sound to my ears and still really sounds like a Jazzmaster to me just a bit different take on it. All the bite of a traditional JM single coil but w/ more body and extra tasty, ubiquitous WR character to the breakup on the high strings. Pairs up great sonically w/ my P90 Jr. style guitars too... The MojoTone ones are great as well.

My second choice personally has been the Antiquity II JM.

And yeah, ultimately the most important opinion is your own and you followed it, so the above is offered purely as first hand feedback of the bridge pups I've liked in my JMs. Never tried the Novak Gold foil though.

[wproffitt]

I came home today to find a package from CME in the mailbox. It was my Novak Gold Foil pickup.




I pulled the pickguard and wired it up. I’ve never changed a pickup before but it was pretty darn easy! The longest part was pulling all of those screws and doing the resultant string change.

I’ve only plugged it into my Tweed Tremolux clone, so I can only give you tasting notes for my “low-fi” amp.
-It sounds more balanced in output to my neck pickup. There is also more going on in terms of frequency spectrum.
-Plenty of treble, mids, and bass, especially when compared to the AV 65 bridge PU that was in there before.
-The tone knob is useful for this pickup all the way up and down, too.
-It definitely pushes my amp harder than the JM PU that came out of it, but it’s not super hot or compressed, so this worked out!
- the middle position now seems to have more mids than it did before, but it’s not honky or anything.
I’ll let you know more once I’ve had a chance to play it through my PR and Marshall.

-Here’s how it looks on the guitar:

[Sid Nitzerglobin]

Sounds promising so far, congrats!

[Embenny]

Which style of goldfoil is it? Novak makes the DeArmond/Row style and the Guyatone style.

I just wired up a fresh set of Guyatone goldfoils in my Jag and I'm happy as can be. The bridge pickup is probably my favourite bridge pickup tone I've gotten out of an Offset.

Curtis just does ridiculous things with his pickups, especially on Offsets. I've had plenty of amazing pickups over the years, but I have yet to hear a single "dud" from Novak.