neck pickup?

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ok, whats a good neck humbucker for progressive metal?

the tone i really like is john petrucci's lead tone on "pull me under", you know those short fast lines he does. i 5think he used a dimarzio humbucker from hell on that record. looking at the HFH's eq, i think maybe a full shred would be good for this kinda stuff?

help me please!

[bryvincent]

Re: neck pickup?

i think thats a norton. i might be wrong

[Ellis Demon]

Re: neck pickup?

I'm in kind of the same boat. I'm looking for Petrucci's lead sound and in his custom Ibanez there was the Dimarzio steve's special bridge, and the air norton neck. I had both of these pickups and just recently switched to Seymour Duncans. I always liked the air norton because it was really bassy and had good sustain for lead. I had a Duncan JB put in the bridge of my Ibanez and compared to the Dimarzio steve's special it blows it out of the water. I had a Duncan Jazz put in the neck and now I'm wondering if I should have kept the Air Norton. The jazz isn't as bassy clean but sounds alright. But dirty the jazz doesn't sound that good. I need some suggestions myself.

[\m/(00)\m/]

Re: neck pickup?

sn't the norton kinda bassy and very middy?

i want a smooth tone, with great sustain.

i might just go with teh SS/AN combo if i cant decide on it.

[Neeradj]

Re: neck pickup?

Can't get much smoother than that Air Norton moom. I do some progressive metal myself and have never enountered a better neck pick up than the Air Norton. All the shredders or Progressive Rock players I know get 'em, because it stays very clear under high gain, hell you can even get the '90's Petrucci sound under high gain. It also cleans up excellently, like I mentioned in another topic, a guy I know has a guitar with a piëzo and an Air Norton but never uses the piëzo because the Air Norton cleans up so nicely

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Re: neck pickup?

thanks!!

it looks like thats what i may go for

but now here's another question...

what about for bridge?
shoudl i ocmplete the set and get a steve special

[\m/(00)\m/]

Re: neck pickup?

bump

[I_M_Ken]

Re: neck pickup?

hmm, im using an ibanez rg550 with an air norton in it, doesnt really give me petrucci's lead tone though, probbaly because my setup is different from his (amps and all).
but i do have to admit the Air Norton is a very smooth sounding pup. kinda like a JB in the neck postion but maybe even warmer and does cleans a lot better.

i guess if u really wanna nail petrucci's tone then u should get some mesa amps and the SS/AN setup and watever other gadgets he's usin.

[\m/(00)\m/]

Re: neck pickup?

i dont really want a full on petrucci tone. but i am getting gear similiar.

the Mesa amp, mark 4
and probably a double humbucker ibanez like a 320fm and just mod it.

[ranalli]

Re: neck pickup?

hmm, im using an ibanez rg550 with an air norton in it, doesnt really give me petrucci's lead tone though, probbaly because my setup is different from his (amps and all).
but i do have to admit the Air Norton is a very smooth sounding pup. kinda like a JB in the neck postion but maybe even warmer and does cleans a lot better.

i guess if u really wanna nail petrucci's tone then u should get some mesa amps and the SS/AN setup and watever other gadgets he's usin.

I've heard good things about the Air Norton....people say it's really warm yet clear. How would you compare it to a '59n?? I find that pickup to be awful in the neck....it seems too muddy and too warm actually....not enough clarity.

[\m/(00)\m/]

Re: neck pickup?

really?

i have a 59 in my les paul and i really like it, just not for the stuff i want to do with it.

the air norton has a bunch of mids whihc is why it stays so clear in there while teh 59 doesn't have alot of mids and alot of bass and treble.

[DiminisheD-7th]

Re: neck pickup?

i got the steves special/air norton combo on my ibanez, as you know moom.

let me try to describe them abit so you could get a better idea.
both are mid-high gain in terms of output.
lets start with the steves special:
its got great definition, scoop mid charectaristics and big bass (then again my ibanez is mahogany so maybe its over emphasised). cuts through the mix very well nontheless. very rich harmonics and just sounds very tight over all especially in the lower register. very defined pick attack. the main con in this pickup is the poor cleans. but i dont realy use the bridge position for cleans so it doesnt bother me.
the air norton is a very rich and open sounding pickup. it has very big bass, high mids and pretty high treble also.
very flowing smooth sound with great sustain. VERY pronounced pick attack, every time the pick hits a string you get a big thump of anouncment you either like it or not. i dig it, petrucci does too

DiMarzio makes great pickups, although i dislike most of them, and so i should.
the cool thing about the company is that they have a very wide selection of pickups in their line, and most of them have very unique voicings. if you get the wrong one you'll be realy dissapointed but if you do get the ones that fit you best you will be happier with dimarzio than you will with duncan, imo, that offer a more traditional sound (not saying thats bad).

i'll be glad to post clips or play it for you on skype or something if you want a demonstration. this pickups realy need to be heard rather than described because you cant get their entire sound just by their EQ because of the voicing.
hope i've helped.

[Biu]

Re: neck pickup?

Well, doesn't look like you'll be going with a Humbucker From Hell, but just so you know, the HFH is tonally a high-powered single-coil with hum-cancelling. I don't think SD makes anything like that.

And of course, as Diminished said, DiMarzio's got those insane voicings. I've fallen for DiMarzio's and there's no turning back!

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Re: neck pickup?

thanks guys

could you make a clip with teh air norton and steve special?
but i want you to make a clip with similiar settings to mine, fi you could?

what i want is a marshall tone.

gain about 4 or 5
treble at 7.5
bass at 3.5
mids at 6
no compression

a thick tone that's not compressed, but open.

if oyu oculd do that, you will eternally kick ass!!

it doesn't need to be long, just mainly some fast lines in the upper register.
if you can do that for me, then you will kick all ass

[ranalli]

Re: neck pickup?

thanks guys

could you make a clip with teh air norton and steve special?
but i want you to make a clip with similiar settings to mine, fi you could?

what i want is a marshall tone.

gain about 4 or 5
treble at 7.5
bass at 3.5
mids at 6
no compression

a thick tone that's not compressed, but open.

if oyu oculd do that, you will eternally kick ass!!

it doesn't need to be long, just mainly some fast lines in the upper register.
if you can do that for me, then you will kick all ass

How are you going to be able to tell what's the amp and what's the pickup if someone makes a clip for you?? Those settings might sound completely different with someone elses setup....