New user, new guitarist, help!

[MetalWarrior]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

you'd be better off spending that money on a second guitar

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

500k- for humbuckers
250k- for single coils

thats basically all i really know, or have heard.

This is not necessarily true. You can use a 250k with any pickup. The lower the value, the darker the tone will be. Lots of people complain that the JB has "icepick" like highs. It was actually intended to be used with a 250k.

EMG pickups actually use 25k pots. As it was mentioned before, each pickup comes with a volume & tone pot, jack & battery clip; everything you need to get going.

As far as EMGs being direct replacement, this is *usually* true. I had a Jackson PS-4 that needed the cavities to be opened up a little more for the pickups to fit. If there is no room in the control cavity for the battery, you will need to route out another cavity for a battery box. They are NOT the same size as Duncans, though.

Now, back to the original question... I would recommend the JB, Distortion, Invader, or Custom. They are all high output, great for metal, rock, punk, basically anything requiring gain. EMGs are great pickups, too, if you should decide to try active. However, that's probably too much money to drop on your first pickup replacement, especially when you can grab one of the pickups I mentioned from the Trading Post for about $50 or so

[Guitarsean]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

Thanks JB, also, metal, why a second guitar? The only guitar I want right now is either a les paul (still deciding which ones) or a few other higher prices ESP. So for right now I wanna spend some money making my guitar better. But if you have something against my guitar let me know... So I totally don't waste any money.

Also, is it worth getting new pickups? I have a 200$ guitar and its not a soild body or set thru neck. Is it worth it? Or should I save my money for a better ESP or cheap gibson?

[MetalWarrior]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

basically you're talking about putting money into replacing the pickups and hardware on a $200 guitar....the money you'd spend on all that would exceed the cost of the instrument itself, and if it were me, i think that money would be better spent by going toward a guitar that starts off better.

replacing the pickups would be one thing, but doing all the hardware too, imo, is more than is worth doing.

[ArtieToo]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

I would respectfully disagree with Metal on this one.

All the guitars in my sig were under $200, except the Predator, and it was, maybe $250. They all responded well to pup/hardware upgrades. I'd put them up against anything made, at least as far as sound quality goes. The Genny is the only one that has shortcomings, because of the cheap-ish neck. But for sound - the JB and QP's make it outstanding.

I was just looking at your EC-50 on the website. It looks like a nice guitar. If it was me, I'd go with some SD passives, (I'm not a big fan of battery-powered guitars), and just use a master volume and tone. That leaves you one extra "hole" for some interesting options:

Blend control, DPDT on/off/on switch for splitting to inner/hums/outer coils. There's all kinds of things you can do, that will keep the guitar "fun".

Just my 2-cents worth.
Artie

btw - On my Genny, I've modified the volume control to be a variable load control instead. I can dial the pickup load, (ie., the effective pot value), anywhere from 100k to 600k. The affect from one extreme to the other is barely noticeable. Maybe I'll post a clip tonight with a simple chord progression while I dial it from one setting to the other.

[mod13]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

I would have to agree with Artie. I picked up a $150 Jay Turser, set neck Les Paul copy. Don't know the wood it is made out of (it is VERY light, probably some secret Chinese secret), and it sounded decent out of the box, I swapped out the pickups for a JB and '59, then put a better switch in it (the original crackled). Now that guitar is one of the nicest playing and sounding guitars I have ever had or played. The JB and '59 combo can give you almost any sound you want, from hard rocking metal to beuatiful jazzy cleans. Of course the Pickups are worth as much as the guitar if not more!!! I got no complaints, but STILL want a Cherry Burst Les Paul!!!!

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

IIRC, the 50 series ESPs are agathis, which is a type of pine. It is a hardwood guitar. I've never played the EC-50, but I have played the Viper-50, F-50, M-50, MH-50, and EX-50, and they all kicked ass, so I expect the EC is sweet, too.

Here's my advice... for right now, just grab a new bridge pickup, and later on a neck. I really wouldn't worry too much about new pots and whatnot, unless they start crappin' out. You will hear a difference from replacing electronic stuff, but if you haven't been playing a long time, that difference will probably be pretty negligible. There are a couple Distortions in the Trading Post for $45 shipped. If you've never had a "real" pickup before, you'll swear it's the best $45 you've ever spent
After you get over how good the new bridge pickup sounds, about every few weeks, someone is unloading a '59 neck for pretty cheap, too.

As far as the "is it worth swapping pickups in a $200 guitar..." question... that's what $200 guitars are made for!

[Guitarsean]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

Well... hardware will cost 70-100 pickups will cost 45 for bridge and not sure for neck... and paint job (because how sells a bright lime green guitar with green sparkle) will be 150+... I say thats good... either way... a new guitar would only mean I wouldnt switch hardware, if it comes with all chrome I wouldnt switch it. Thanks for everything, I'm in the middle of getting a DD right now... I might have to wait til payday.

[Dark Rider]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

lol ok im thinking about doing pretty much the same thing and also want to know if it's worth it.. but im doing it with a squire affinity strat. now is this really worth the money? or would i be better off buying a new guitar? im thinking replace all the pickups: i'd change the bridge single coil into a humbucker (i might a seymour duncan distortion sh6 i think it is (dont remember) for 45$ in the trading post and then i'd get another humbucker that fits in a single coil slot for the neck tho i dont know whick kind yet. so would all that be worth it? or am i better off buying a new guitar? also im thinking about having a custom neck made with custom inlays.

[MetalWarrior]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

I would respectfully disagree with Metal on this one.

All the guitars in my sig were under $200, except the Predator, and it was, maybe $250. They all responded well to pup/hardware upgrades. I'd put them up against anything made, at least as far as sound quality goes. The Genny is the only one that has shortcomings, because of the cheap-ish neck. But for sound - the JB and QP's make it outstanding.

I was just looking at your EC-50 on the website. It looks like a nice guitar. If it was me, I'd go with some SD passives, (I'm not a big fan of battery-powered guitars), and just use a master volume and tone. That leaves you one extra "hole" for some interesting options:

Blend control, DPDT on/off/on switch for splitting to inner/hums/outer coils. There's all kinds of things you can do, that will keep the guitar "fun".

Just my 2-cents worth.
Artie

btw - On my Genny, I've modified the volume control to be a variable load control instead. I can dial the pickup load, (ie., the effective pot value), anywhere from 100k to 600k. The affect from one extreme to the other is barely noticeable. Maybe I'll post a clip tonight with a simple chord progression while I dial it from one setting to the other.

actually, you do kinda make a good point, and to a degree i'm guilty of the same....the difference being that i've gotten some completely ridiculous deals on used guitars, and spent under $200 on a guitar that, new, would have sold in the $1000 range, and then modified it with stuff that cost more than i initially paid for the instrument....but the stuff that things were modified with actually never cost more than the instrument itself.

for example...my Ibanez RG750 ($170 used) and USA BC Rich Gunslinger (trade equivalent to $120 used) both have Joe Barden pickups in them, which sold for well over $100 each, and that's 4 pickups between the two guitars....but i used to work for Barden, so none of those cost me any money, other than a little bit of my work time in a couple cases. the most i'd ever spent on a guitar (until this summer, anyway) was $350 (new) and that was upgraded for about $70....made some other upgrades to the same guitar later, but all of those were acquired at no extra cost to myself.

[Guitarsean]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

Also... Another question! Can you put chrome covers over something like EMG active pickups? If you can... any difference in sound or quality?

ALSO! Keep on looking to the first post to reference on what I am asking! I still want help!

[Guitarsean]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

BUMP... Still need help...

Can you cover active pickups (like EMG's with let's say chrome?)? Reference to my first post to see what else I'm asking.

[Dark Rider]

Re: New user, new guitarist, help!

Can you cover active pickups (like EMG's with let's say chrome?)? Reference to my first post to see what else I'm asking.

im pretty sure you can. my friend put black covers on his emg 81/85 set and i think before that he had chrome ones