Washburn N4 is really bright.

Rusty Riffs

Rusty Riffs

New member
Hello I have a N4 I’ve recently acquired and I love it. My only question is for those who have one how did you tame the high end? I love it at lower volumes but when I crank the amp it is crazy bright. Thoughts?
 
Change the pickup. A lot of guys seem to like the original Bill Lawerence version. Even though its still BL its not the one they first used. We need an expert in here, lol
 
Regardless the original bill and Becky pups are on the brighter side. Just stick a JB with alnico 2 in it and call it a day. I have one of those pups and like it but I can see where it would be too much. Huge part of Nuno's sound though.
 
That's the nature of the beast with either the BLUSA L500XL or the Bill and Becky L500XL, the mids and highs is where the aggression and easy pinched harmonics comes from with those pickups. Nuno rolls alot of mids and highs out of his amps and adds quite alot of bass where you would not do that with Seymour Duncan SH-6 Distortion pickup that is more bass heavy by comparison.

There are pics of Nunos DSL Marshall settings and it's quite shocking where he has to run the tone controls to balance out the mids and highs of the L500XL's. They are a very unique pickup that have their own thing going on how they crunch and produce harmonic content but they do that with the emphasis on mids and highs and are a little thin on the low end but that's why they are tight on the chugs. You either love what they do or you don't.

You can always run a either an MXR 10 or parametric in the loop of your amps to add or subtract the frequencies you like while retaining what make the L500XL such a cool pickup.

I found the BLUSA L500XL in my Dean ML only sounded great through my full Dime rig, Furman PQ3, MXR 6band and Randall RG100ES. Through any of my other amps I didn't enjoy the pickup as much. So at the amp try adding some bass, pull some Treble and Presence out (and it may be quite alot) go by your ears.... then dial mids to taste.
 
The Nuno is very bright, and even trying to balance it out won’t mask how snappy it naturally is. Not saying that’s bad, at all, but I had the same thought.
 
I've run through quite a few pickups in my N4 Vintage. The B&B L500XL is definitely thicker sounding than the BLUSA. The Suhr Aldrich sounded really good in the guitar. Right now I have A BKP alnico Nailbomb in mine. Which is working really well.
 
In other news, the sun is hot!

If you want it to sound something like a normal guitar you're going to have to put in something quite warm on the top end. They are awesome guitars, but they definitely are made to cut. Cut and honk.
 
SoooRad said:
In other news, the sun is hot!

If you want it to sound something like a normal guitar you're going to have to put in something quite warm on the top end. They are awesome guitars, but they definitely are made to cut. Cut and honk.
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I agree. I’m with Mooncobra, a tone zone (or gravity storm) would fatten it up, or at least give it that perception by warming the lower mids rounding highs.
 
SFW said:
I've run through quite a few pickups in my N4 Vintage. The B&B L500XL is definitely thicker sounding than the BLUSA. The Suhr Aldrich sounded really good in the guitar. Right now I have A BKP alnico Nailbomb in mine. Which is working really well.
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Nailbomb is a great choice for the N4 as well. That guitar has absolutely studio crisp articulation and note separation on its own, I would definitely seek pickups warmer or darker than you typically would go for. Here are a few I would consider

Dimarzio Tone Zone, Gravity Storm, maybe even dive back to a Steve special, big maybe. The AT is great as well, but it’s balanced in a warm guitar.

BKP - Nailbomb or Crawler, black dog if you want lower output. I would be careful with BKP, they are, in my experience, the most accurate and clear/articulate pickups I’ve used. What comes with that territory is often the appearance of cutting or bright. I’ve been through about 8 sets and they were all some of the best pickups on the planet, but a lot of handwound or scatter wound pickups seem to have extra clarity. An Alnico Nailbomb is a phenomenal choice.

Suhr - DSH

Rio Grande - BBQ Very fat and warm hotrodded PAF.

Rewind - Great person and prices, can definitely get you where you want to be. If you aren’t looking for something too hot check out the Creme Brûlée.
 
It'd probably help if you told people which N4 you have, i.e. which wood, and which pickups are in it, then someone who's had one could help. . I have 1 of the cheaper Washburn Nuno's and I ended up putting Bare Knuckles Rebel Yells in it and they matched it great, but mine won't be near as good a model as the real n4's. Good luck
Eric
 
Lots of things to do.... Try lowering the pickup (on the high E side). Changing to a 300k or 250k volume pot. You could add a tone pot (or circuit) inside the control cavity, set it and forget it.
 
psychodave said:
Lots of things to do.... Try lowering the pickup (on the high E side). Changing to a 300k or 250k volume pot. You could add a tone pot (or circuit) inside the control cavity, set it and forget it.
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This is a good idea try that first. Or an alnico II pickup as I had mentioned. Actually alnico 8 would be great too. A snappy guitar is always going to be that. I had one and the remedy was a rosewood neck and a more balanced pup. The Aldrich did the ticket before I swapped it for a tonenerd proto type.

Also, Nuno's original pup is the L-500L I think. That's what I've got. But yes, it is a shit ton of high end but the squealies are sweet!
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
This is a good idea try that first. Or an alnico II pickup as I had mentioned. Actually alnico 8 would be great too. A snappy guitar is always going to be that. I had one and the remedy was a rosewood neck and a more balanced pup. The Aldrich did the ticket before I swapped it for a tonenerd proto type.

Also, Nuno's original pup is the L-500L I think. That's what I've got. But yes, it is a shit ton of high end but the squealies are sweet!
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The L-500-L from thr 80s is now called the L-500-XL. Same pickup. They came out with a lower output pickup that they now call the L-500-L.
 
I've owned an alder N4 for a long time and had the same issue. I tried the BKP cold sweat and ceramic nailbomb and while they were good, i missed some of the chunky qualities of the L500XL. I ended up going with a Wilde L500XL with chrome housing. It seems to have done the trick for me as the chrome housing is said to roll off some of the highs.
I also agree about changing pots, pretty cheap and quick fix if you can solder. Also mess with the pickup height as that is free and may fix it enough for your ears.
Side note, I saw Nuno on the Gen Axe tour and he messed with his volume knob a lot. I know on mine before the pickup swap that vol knob on 10 was too bright but 9.5 was great. Might be worth getting used to using the volume knob to tame the highs.
Good luck.
 
Fwiw, I had an N4 ages ago (wish I still had it) ... switching to the Bill 'n Becky 500L from the BL USA one did wonders for it. Still lots of highs, but it wasn't nearly as thin.

As noted, with the BL pickups you need to approach your EQ a little differently- they don't loose as many highs as other high output pickups.
 
beej said:
Fwiw, I had an N4 ages ago (wish I still had it) ... switching to the Bill 'n Becky 500L from the BL USA one did wonders for it. Still lots of highs, but it wasn't nearly as thin.

As noted, with the BL pickups you need to approach your EQ a little differently- they don't loose as many highs as other high output pickups.
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Was that a new L500L (9K) from B&B or a L500XL(13K) from B&B.
 
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