Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

[Monsta-Tone]

I have an Edwards Kiko L guitar.
It has a Hot Rails in the neck and a Custom 5 in the bridge.
This is a maple neck through guitar with mahogany body sides and a maple cap. It's really bright!
I bought a PATB1b for the bridge, but want to replace the neck pickup too.

With the addition of 3 more frets (5 more than I'm used to), the neck pickup is closer to being a middle pickup. It's also slanted, so I'm not sure if pole pieces would line up properly on a standard stacked humbucker.

I've been looking around at 27 fret guitars on the web. Seems like they all have rails type pickups (with the exception of a Hamer that had a PA-STK1N). Most of them have Hot Rails.

Things I would like to change about the pickup in the neck of my guitar:
Slightly less output
Darker, warmer tone
More PAF like tone
Warmer clean tone, maybe not as "Urgent" sounding as the HR

Things I want to keep with the neck pickup:
Humbucker sound
Brilliant harmonics
Incredible sustain
Incredible clarity

Keith Merrow at Duncan suggested the Cool Rails. Everything I have read here says that the CR is brighter than the HR. I absolutely do not want brighter! As it is now, I run the tone knob down about 1/3.
I love the way this guitar plays, just need to find the right neck pickup.
Any suggestions?

[Monsta-Tone]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

[Megagwar]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

Wow! That's a beautiful geetar! Is the neck scalloped?

[Monsta-Tone]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

From the 12th to the 27th. It took a bit of getting used to, but I really like it. You can bend notes and they actually grow in volume!

[Megagwar]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

From the 12th to the 27th. It took a bit of getting used to, but I really like it. You can bend notes and they actually grow in volume!

Man that sounds niiiiiiiccceeee! I played a scalloped neck one time and it felt weird hahaha.

Sorry I can't help with your "pickup hunt".
Someone will definitely be givin you some choices

[darthphineas]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

as far as the pickup, for a production model, I'd suggest the Lil '59 as it's a little PAF-ish for you and will have clarity and harmonics. for a CS model, I'd encourage you to check out the little Pearly Gates ( link ) - I've not tried it, but it looks good on paper for a really bright guitar and it would also meet your requirements. since you are NOT wanting brighter, stick with the 'neck/middle' position version.

my experience with the CR was in a basswood 22-fret Charvel with maple neck and rosewood board. I found it muddy and loose and not at all what I expected from a COOL Rail after having been using the Hot Rails, which I like for being tight and having output. the CR did clean up nice when split, but it never did win me over in series mode. but since you're saying your guitar is super bright, it might be a good option for you. maybe if there is someone that has used the CR in a more similar guitar they can speak more directly to how it might work out.

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

What a sexy guitar! MMM!!!

But please do consider the DiMarzio Chopper. I've got it in my Hamer Californian (27 frets) and I absolutely love it. I think it will do exactly what you're looking for.

[Despair]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

Strat bridge pickups are designed to be installed at a slant, so given you seem to want a warm but not too dark pickup there, something like an STK-S6 Custom Stack Plus or even STK-S9b Hot Stack Plus might be worth a look.

Or any of the little pickups might work for you. lil '59 or Pearly Gates if your budget stretches to a Custom Shop model...

[Monsta-Tone]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

Right on guys!
Guess I am worrying too much about the slanted pickup thing then? Is it only the bridge pickups that are designed to be slanted?
Sorry for the ignorance, I know a lot about amps, but very little about pickups.

Also.....
If I were to look at the Chopper, is there anything else I should know about mixing brands of pickups, other than the phase reversal issue?
I am guessing that there are tons of diagrams showing how to wire a DiMarzio with a Duncan.

[idsnowdog]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

The JB Jr and Little Screamin Demon are good neck shredders.

[Despair]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

Right on guys!
Guess I am worrying too much about the slanted pickup thing then? Is it only the bridge pickups that are designed to be slanted?

Depends on pickup brand a bit, but usually bridge pickups are spaced a bit differently than neck. Look at a strat bridge pickup.

A rail is the safest bet, as far as not having to worry about polepieces lining up. But a bridge single [or single-sized humbucker] should work fine as well. Screw polepieces in a pickup installed at a slant tend to surround each string, much like Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein bridge humbucker.

Nice thing about Seymour Duncan is you have a trial & swap period, so if 1 pickup doesn't work [or has issues like lining up] you can try another model, as long as you started the process with a purchase of a new pickup from an official distributor.

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

If I were to look at the Chopper, is there anything else I should know about mixing brands of pickups, other than the phase reversal issue?
I am guessing that there are tons of diagrams showing how to wire a DiMarzio with a Duncan.

Nope. No issue with mixing em up.

There are just different color codes for the wires:

[Monsta-Tone]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

Right on guys, thanks! Great diagram too!

[ToneScavenger]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

I have the Chopper installed in my Washburn EC26 and like it was said before, I think it will meet your requirements. I'm going to swap my chopper for a fast track now because my bridge pickup its a screamin demon and although the chopper works well with the demon, I want more of a strat single coil sound in the neck and something with less mids and bass to match the demon better, since the demon itd not a very powerful pickup anyway. I think the chopper will go well with a Custom 5.

[Monsta-Tone]

Re: Neck Pickup for 27 fret guitar?

Cool Guitar!

I'll shoot you a PM in a minute.