What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

[EET_FUK]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

I think a Distortion might have too much high end in that guitar, but I don't know for sure. I say you try an Alt-8. If you dig it, but some qualities of it aren't doing it for ya, you can exchange it for a Custom, try it stock, and if you're still not digging it try swapping an A8 magnet in it, if you're open to that.

You say you love the 59/C hybrid too, and with that amp, you shouldn't have a problem with driving it enough. An A8 would beef that one up as well, just beware as swapping magnets voids the warranty on the pickup.

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

I think a Distortion might have too much high end in that guitar, but I don't know for sure. I say you try an Alt-8. If you dig it, but some qualities of it aren't doing it for ya, you can exchange it for a Custom, try it stock, and if you're still not digging it try swapping an A8 magnet in it, if you're open to that.

You say you love the 59/C hybrid too, and with that amp, you shouldn't have a problem with driving it enough. An A8 would beef that one up as well, just beware as swapping magnets voids the warranty on the pickup.

Interesting post. I'll have to look more into the Alternative 8. I've always been unsure about that one. Maybe it's because it has 'Alternative' in the name? haha.

I know I saw a vid of Ola Englund demoing the 59/Custom and it sounded really smooth and tight. Plenty of midrange and also clarity. The cleans he had going were nice also.

So right now, I've boiled it down to a couple options for passive.

SH-6 Duncan Distortion
SH-16 59/Custom Hybrid

I may consider looking into the Blackouts and the Livewires.

[Jeff5]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

When I hear metal and floyded guitar I can't help but recommended a PATB-2. (Distortion model) You will not be disappointed. For the neck you could go a number of ways but for the bridge that pick up is simply awesome.

[Grindspine]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

I have a Mesa Boogie Mark V, I play a variety of Metal styles, ranging from Thrash, Death,
Progressive, Power, and some Traditional Metal here and there. That should give you a general idea.

Nice amp! I use a Triaxis on the Mark IV sounds most of the time, but definitely dug the Mark V I played while trying out my most recent guitar. It sounds like you go for similar tones for what I do overall.

I think my three top recommendations would be Duncan Blackouts or Livewires Mustaine if staying with actives, Duncan Distortion or JB if going passive. Either of the passives can be wired to coil-split.

For the neck, the 59 (neck, or bridge if you need a little more punch) will work with either of those, as will the Full Shred (neck).

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Nice amp! I use a Triaxis on the Mark IV sounds most of the time, but definitely dug the Mark V I played while trying out my most recent guitar. It sounds like you go for similar tones for what I do overall.

I think my three top recommendations would be Duncan Blackouts or Livewires Mustaine if staying with actives, Duncan Distortion or JB if going passive. Either of the passives can be wired to coil-split.

For the neck, the 59 (neck, or bridge if you need a little more punch) will work with either of those, as will the Full Shred (neck).

Yeah, I love that amp to pieces. I did some hardcore research last year for what amp I was gonna get. I had the money, so I was trying out just about everything I got my hands on. And eventually I pulled the trigger on the Mark V and and I couldn't be happier with it. I can do pretty much anything I want with it.

I considered doing Blackouts but I need to do more research on them. I've heard mixed things about the Blackouts. I've played on them before, but not enough to have an opinion on them. The Mustaine livewires interest me, but I'm not so sure about going with signature pups, mainly because I'd like to create my own sound and not replicate someone else's, while Mustaine is a huge influence to me on guitar.

I'm really digging the distortion from clips I've heard, and I've heard a couple solutions as to what I can do to clean it up for cleans. I have the JB in my current guitar, so I pretty much know what I'm getting with that, and I do love the JB.

My main deal is to try something new and a little outside the box, while still retaining the tone I prefer, and maybe improve upon it, if possible.

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

For the neck, the 59 (neck, or bridge if you need a little more punch) will work with either of those, as will the Full Shred (neck).

I might look into the Full Shred neck. I thought about going that route. Typically I'd go for the 59, which is initially what I plan on doing, but to do something different, I might look into the Full Shred. Is there any clips that you would recommend? I can't seem to find any good ones that represent the neck version the way I've heard it been described.

[darthphineas]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

for that guitar and for the style you're playing, I can suggest the JB or the FS or even the 59/C. the only caveat is that the 59/C won't have quite as much gain if you're looking for those screaming piercing high notes that sustain like you are used to from the JB. but it's a versatile pickup that's groovy. the FS will be that range between the JB and the 59/C. the 59/C and the FS will clean up a little nicer than the JB in the bridge slot, unless you wire up the JB to a switch to make it parallel, which is better in my opinion. then again, I tend to wire the neck pup to split for my clean tones and get better luck with that setup.

when the 59n wasn't doing it for me any more, the FSn really got me back in the right direction. I stuck with that until I tried a polished A4 mag in the 59n and I've been going back to those. for the stock versions, the FSn is a not as muddy and has a bit more bite in the highs than the 59n, and the FSn cleans up very well.

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

for that guitar and for the style you're playing, I can suggest the JB or the FS or even the 59/C. the only caveat is that the 59/C won't have quite as much gain if you're looking for those screaming piercing high notes that sustain like you are used to from the JB. but it's a versatile pickup that's groovy. the FS will be that range between the JB and the 59/C. the 59/C and the FS will clean up a little nicer than the JB in the bridge slot, unless you wire up the JB to a switch to make it parallel, which is better in my opinion. then again, I tend to wire the neck pup to split for my clean tones and get better luck with that setup.

when the 59n wasn't doing it for me any more, the FSn really got me back in the right direction. I stuck with that until I tried a polished A4 mag in the 59n and I've been going back to those. for the stock versions, the FSn is a not as muddy and has a bit more bite in the highs than the 59n, and the FSn cleans up very well.

Can the Full Shred do GOOD cleans though? I've liked what I've heard distortion wise, and it's a very tight pickup which would be perfect for me, but I heard the cleans are a tad sterile. I've also heard that the leads aren't as rich as say a JB would be.

The JB is what I have currently, and I like the JB, but I'm looking to chart into new territory, while still retaining my sound. I could just swap another JB, but I'm wanting to go a little outside the box this time.

I like the 59/Custom idea, but like you said, I might not get enough output like I'm used to getting. Although, I have an amp that can get me plenty of output, so that's not a huge issue for me.

[alteredbeast]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Believe it or not, I've come across very nice sounds with Emg select series pickups.

[Grindspine]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

I considered doing Blackouts but I need to do more research on them. I've heard mixed things about the Blackouts. I've played on them before, but not enough to have an opinion on them. The Mustaine livewires interest me, but I'm not so sure about going with signature pups, mainly because I'd like to create my own sound and not replicate someone else's, while Mustaine is a huge influence to me on guitar.

I'm really digging the distortion from clips I've heard, and I've heard a couple solutions as to what I can do to clean it up for cleans. I have the JB in my current guitar, so I pretty much know what I'm getting with that, and I do love the JB.

My main deal is to try something new and a little outside the box, while still retaining the tone I prefer, and maybe improve upon it, if possible.

The Mustaine Livewires set is just an active version of the JB and Jazz. Personally, I cannot stand the Jazz in the neck position, but an active version of the JB could have advantages, especially if you have multiple effects pedals or long cables.

The JB and Distortion do share a lot of characteristics and similar output levels, but do have a different response and feel. I prefer the Distortion, but do like the JB. Picking the Distortion as a bridge pickup will be a good choice; it has a very good response with a Mark series amp.

The SD webpage has links to sound clips for most of the humbuckers. I prefer the newer Keith Merrow videos, but many of those do not focus on neck pickups. The Full Shred clips sound better to my ears than a 59n, but many do prefer the 59. Personally, I like Alnico II style pickups for the neck position. In my main guitar I use a Distortion and Alnico II Pro. In another one of my guitars, I have a Dimebucker and Alnico II Pro.

[darthphineas]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Can the Full Shred do GOOD cleans though? I've liked what I've heard distortion wise, and it's a very tight pickup which would be perfect for me, but I heard the cleans are a tad sterile. I've also heard that the leads aren't as rich as say a JB would be.

The JB is what I have currently, and I like the JB, but I'm looking to chart into new territory, while still retaining my sound. I could just swap another JB, but I'm wanting to go a little outside the box this time.

I like the 59/Custom idea, but like you said, I might not get enough output like I'm used to getting. Although, I have an amp that can get me plenty of output, so that's not a huge issue for me.

sounds like it might be a good idea to go with the pups you are familiar with and let the guitar be the difference. then you can know more about the characteristics of each guitar and what they can do. and then down the road when your ears have broken-in to that factor, you can make a choice based more on what you know about the guitar. just an idea.

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

The Mustaine Livewires set is just an active version of the JB and Jazz. Personally, I cannot stand the Jazz in the neck position, but an active version of the JB could have advantages, especially if you have multiple effects pedals or long cables.

The JB and Distortion do share a lot of characteristics and similar output levels, but do have a different response and feel. I prefer the Distortion, but do like the JB. Picking the Distortion as a bridge pickup will be a good choice; it has a very good response with a Mark series amp.

The SD webpage has links to sound clips for most of the humbuckers. I prefer the newer Keith Merrow videos, but many of those do not focus on neck pickups. The Full Shred clips sound better to my ears than a 59n, but many do prefer the 59. Personally, I like Alnico II style pickups for the neck position. In my main guitar I use a Distortion and Alnico II Pro. In another one of my guitars, I have a Dimebucker and Alnico II Pro.

Do you think having an Active with a passive pick-up would affect anything? Just curious on how that would go. Being as how the Active would most likely have to be powered by a battery.

Do you think the distortion would be too bright for the guitar? Since it is an Alder body with a Maple neck. But it wouldn't react any differently than a JB would then in that regard I suppose? Because the Distortion might be what I might go for. I saw a clip not too long ago of someone doing cleans with it, and it actually sounded pretty good. I did notice they had some chorus on it though, which I was eventually gonna buy a chorus pedal for cleans anyway. And, they also demonstrated it being coil splitted, which made it very Fender-esque, which I'm definitely not opposed to at all. That was my main concern was the cleans on it. But I figure if I back the volume knob off a little, throw some chorus on it and adjust the EQ, I could definitely get some usable cleans.

I wish there were more vids focusing on neck pick-ups. Someone should start something like that. I would be extremely interested in the differences between all of the neck pick-ups. It would definitely make this process a whole lot easier.

[EET_FUK]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Do you think having an Active with a passive pick-up would affect anything? Just curious on how that would go. Being as how the Active would most likely have to be powered by a battery.

Do you think the distortion would be too bright for the guitar? Since it is an Alder body with a Maple neck. But it wouldn't react any differently than a JB would then in that regard I suppose? Because the Distortion might be what I might go for. I saw a clip not too long ago of someone doing cleans with it, and it actually sounded pretty good. I did notice they had some chorus on it though, which I was eventually gonna buy a chorus pedal for cleans anyway. And, they also demonstrated it being coil splitted, which made it very Fender-esque, which I'm definitely not opposed to at all. That was my main concern was the cleans on it. But I figure if I back the volume knob off a little, throw some chorus on it and adjust the EQ, I could definitely get some usable cleans.

I wish there were more vids focusing on neck pick-ups. Someone should start something like that. I would be extremely interested in the differences between all of the neck pick-ups. It would definitely make this process a whole lot easier.

You can't mix passive and active because actives need different pots, switches, etc.

As I said earlier I do think the Distortion might be too bright in that guitar, but your tastes are different than mine.

I have to ask, why not just use your neck pickup for clean tones? That way you wouldn't find yourself having to choose between distorted tones or clean tones out of one pickup. I personally prefer clean tones from the neck pickup anyways.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

You can't mix passive and active because actives need different pots, switches, etc.

Nope you can do it. My Warlock says so. EMG81 and a Dimarzio SuperD happily together. There are some trade offs but it can be done.





For the OP I would want to hear the guitar acoustically before I decided too much on pickups. The rest right now is academic.

[EET_FUK]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Nope you can do it. My Warlock says so. EMG81 and a Dimarzio SuperD happily together. There are some trade offs but it can be done.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]45584[/ATTACH]



For the OP I would want to hear the guitar acoustically before I decided too much on pickups. The rest right now is academic.

Wow, I stand way corrected. That's really awesome dude! B*tchin' guitar too!

Agree on the acoustic thing too.