Calling R8 and R9 owners...and all guitar geeks....

I was always told to set the amp (Bass, Mid and Treb) to use to the neck pick up, then adjust the bridge pick ups tone control (on the guitar) to balance the bridges treble out... that way you get a more useable neck pick up....

you can raise the neck pickup on the bass side a bit more than treble, but what i noticed on my 57classic pickups is that i like the pole pieces a bit high on the pickup, i raise them up and lower the pickup, this helps in giving me the right bass and mid tones i wanted but at the same time keep the pickup from getting muddy if it was to get too close to the strings.

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/6475 … g_7529.jpg

in this pick ^^ you can see i have the bridge pickup at a tilt where it sits higher on the bass side, i did that to add more bass to my bridge, because it sounded a bit too bridge with it flat, you can do the same, and also raise the pole pieces so the neck pup wont get too muddy

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/6853 … 8-copy.jpg

here's a closer shot for the neck pickup ^^, you can see that i have the pole pieces at an arc that will follow the bridge and neck radius. so fine tunings help change the sound of a pickup.

if all fails and you are still unhappy with the pickups you can go the aftermarket route,  i got my self a set of Throbak limites pickups, my hole setup changed on height and pole pieces as well.

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/7752 … g_2370.jpg

i have the bridge pickup sitting flat with the pole pieces higher, and the neck pickup sinks in more than my 57classic pup. but the pole pieces are higher as well. which isnt all that clear in that shot.

sounds like you might have too much bass, try backing the pickup a bit and raise the pole pieces and see if that helps. also try a different brand of strings on that particular guitar.