Highway One: Neck PU is nulling out harmonics

I recently acquired a used Highway One. Serial # search says it's a 2009/2010. This is supposed to have the hot alnicos PUs with the Greasebucket tone circuit.

The neck PU seems to null out harmonics, in particular the 2nd octave at the 5th fret, and the 12th at the 7th fret.

Is this a "feature" of this PU? The bridge PU is fine, but I find this trait of the neck PU strange and annoying.

I don't have much experience with Fender single-coils (my '75 Thinline has the Wide Range 'buckers, all my other electrics are Gibsons) so I can use some enlightenment.

Brian

That is the placement of the Neck Pup in all Teles...that's why I like Esquires.

Welcome Brian!

I found this explanation on "Gearslutz" forum from 2008:

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If your harmonics all ring true using the bridge pickup (the one that is least likely to fall physically under a "null" point in the string's vibrational nodes when harmonics are struck), then the problem most likely lies with the position of the neck pickup. I don't have a guitar on hand at the moment, but the fifth fret is sort of the same distance from the nut as the neck p/u is from the bridge. This would place the neck p/u at about the null point of vibration in the string when ringing a harmonic at the fifth fret."
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So apparently Mellecaster is correct. I read some replacement PUs have a slightly displaced pole piece centerline which mitigates this problem (either by happy accident or by design.)

What neck PUs do some of you chaps recommend? I'd like something good for a good fat jazz sound, and/or more of a strat shimmer, when required. Otherwise, I'll do most my playing on the bridge PU.

Brian