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Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

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  • Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

    Hello everyone, so I've been doing a lot of research online and going through different forums and have struggling with what pickups I want to go with on my Charvel Model 5fx?! It's hard because there's so many choices out there! My Charvel is the only guitar I have with active EMG's: S or SA single coil in the neck and an 85 in the bridge but I love the sound of passive pickups, especially because of the hard rock covers band I'm in but I want my Charvel to be able to do more than just 80's. Here's some of the covers we're doing now, seems like the EMG's in the guitar now are just like WAY overkill:

    Grand Funk - We're An American Band
    Judas Priest - Living After Midnight
    Kiss - Lick It Up
    Cinderella - Somebody Save Me
    Bryan Adams - Run To You
    Shine - Collective Soul
    Sin City - AC/DC
    Charvel Model-5fx EMG 85/SA
    Epiphone Les Paul Custom Korean SD JB/Jazz
    Custom Made Ernie Ball Musicman Copy Dimarzio Super Distortion's
    2019 EVH 5150 III 50 Watt Head 6L6
    1995 Mesa Boogie Tremoverb converted to Head
    Mesa Tremoverb 2x12 cab (factory Vintage 30's) converted to closed back
    Marshall 1960A 4x12 (2 Celestion G12T-75's and 2 WGS Retro 30's X patterned
    Pedaltrain Mini: Currently on pedalboard: ModTone MT-CB Clean Boost, Zoom MS-70CDR, Korg Pitchblack Tuner)

  • #2
    Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

    Couldn't you just adjust the parameters on your amp a lot easier/cheaper?

    DiMarzio Super Distortions
    Duncan JB/59s



    Sent from my REVVLPLUS C3701A using Tapatalk

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    • #3
      Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

      As much as I dont like the JB, the JB would fit, so would the 59, Custom or Custom 5. As for the neck, Im clueless where to send you since I cant say Ive ever had a guitar with a single coil in the neck, always been humbuckers
      1994 Ibanez IC500 Iceman reissue
      Jackson Soloist 7 string
      ESP LTD M-400
      Original Marshall Silver Jubilee 2553

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      • #4
        Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

        Tone Zone bridge Evo neck.

        Gesendet von meinem ASUS_X00RD mit Tapatalk

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        • #5
          Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

          Originally posted by Hsb View Post
          As much as I dont like the JB, the JB would fit, so would the 59, Custom or Custom 5. As for the neck, Im clueless where to send you since I cant say Ive ever had a guitar with a single coil in the neck, always been humbuckers
          Some combination of these. I'd say 59 and either a JB or Custom. A Custom is a more open EQ, a JB has the high mids. Pick the E! you want/need.
          Administrator of the SDUGF

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          • #6
            Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

            Originally posted by Obsessive Compulsive View Post
            Tone Zone bridge Evo neck.

            Gesendet von meinem ASUS_X00RD mit Tapatalk
            I absolutely love the Tone Zone in the bridge of my Charvel, but it's kind of a hot and bassy pup. Great for low tuned metal, not sure it's what the OP is looking for if he wants to get into more 80's rock?
            Last edited by Coma; 02-16-2020, 10:32 AM.
            --------------------------------------------------------
            1973 Aria 551
            1984 Larrivee RS-4 w/ EMG SA/SA/89
            1989 Charvel 750 XL w/ DMZ Tone Zone & Air Norton
            1990's noname crap-o-caster plywood P/J Bass
            1991 Heartfield Elan III w/ DMZ mystery pups
            1995 Aria Pro II TA-65
            2001 Gibson Les Paul Gothic w/ PG-1 & SH-8

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            • #7
              Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

              I looked up the 5FX just to know what we are dealing with. Its a maple neck through with poplar wings and rosewood fret board. It has 24 frets and one single coil neck position and a humbucker bridge position, and with a Floyd. The neck pickup is reversed angle and positioned in between the neck and middle position of a strat.

              Most of the songs listed do not need high output and some need vintage output PAF bridge position tone, depending on the amp. One was recorded with a strat single coil tone. However, maple neck through with a Floyd means the guitar is likely on the bright side.

              Perhaps a Duncan 59/custom hybrid for the bridge and Dmz Area 61 for the neck.

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              • #8
                Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

                Originally posted by Lake Placid Blues View Post
                I looked up the 5FX just to know what we are dealing with. Its a maple neck through with poplar wings and rosewood fret board. It has 24 frets and one single coil neck position and a humbucker bridge position, and with a Floyd. The neck pickup is reversed angle and positioned in between the neck and middle position of a strat.

                Most of the songs listed do not need high output and some need vintage output PAF bridge position tone, depending on the amp. One was recorded with a strat single coil tone. However, maple neck through with a Floyd means the guitar is likely on the bright side.

                Perhaps a Duncan 59/custom hybrid for the bridge and Dmz Area 61 for the neck.
                Me and the other guitarist both do rhythm and leads and play 70's/80's classic rock/hard rock covers in standard E tuning. My primary rig right now is EVH 5150 III 50 Watt 6L6 head thru my Marshall 1960A w/2 WGS Retro 30's and stock celestion g12t75's in xpattern with my pedalboard: Korg Pitchblack tuner, ZOOM MS-70CDR and ModTone Clean Boost. As we are doing more shows, the EVH rig will be for live shows and right now my other guitarist is letting me use his Blackstar HT5R 1x12 Combo running through the matching Blackstar 1x12 cab and my aforementioned pedalboard is running through the effects loop. My other guitarist also usually does anything requiring whammy but I'm not 100% opposed to doing anything requiring whammy. He also uses newer Ibanez Premium Steve Vai JEM's (I'm pretty sure he has all of them in the Premium JEM series! He loves them!) through Line 6 Relay G55 (Live) then into the newest version of the Marshall DSL100 head through a Bugera slant 4x12 with a mix of Celestions Vintage 30's and G12K100's through a Line 6 POD HD500 for just effects.
                Charvel Model-5fx EMG 85/SA
                Epiphone Les Paul Custom Korean SD JB/Jazz
                Custom Made Ernie Ball Musicman Copy Dimarzio Super Distortion's
                2019 EVH 5150 III 50 Watt Head 6L6
                1995 Mesa Boogie Tremoverb converted to Head
                Mesa Tremoverb 2x12 cab (factory Vintage 30's) converted to closed back
                Marshall 1960A 4x12 (2 Celestion G12T-75's and 2 WGS Retro 30's X patterned
                Pedaltrain Mini: Currently on pedalboard: ModTone MT-CB Clean Boost, Zoom MS-70CDR, Korg Pitchblack Tuner)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

                  Your amp has plenty of gain on tap......as in almost more than anybody needs.
                  In that sense you could indeed go for something low output, and let the amp do the lifting for the heavier tones if needed.

                  Left field suggestion: PATB 3 to thicken the tone, but still stay in the low-ish output camp

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                  • #10
                    Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

                    Simple: Fishman Fluence "Classic" in bridge with a push/pull pot to access both voices on the fly. You get a great passive PAF sound in the first voice and a late-'70s JB tone on the second. All the benefits of active, but react far more like the passives you want. Plus, you can keep your existing neck pickup (or swap for a matching Fluence model)

                    Outside of that, all the other suggestions here are great, as well.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

                      Here is one of the pictures I took of my Charvel last week along with a picture of the Gold Original Floyd Rose that came my Charvel Model 5fx Someone a long time ago told me it is a early '90s vintage. I was thinking when I take the Charvel to go get the much needed TLC she needs, to have them take the black original Floyd Rose off and put the gold one back on and see if they can clean up the Gold one

                      Click image for larger version

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                      Charvel Model-5fx EMG 85/SA
                      Epiphone Les Paul Custom Korean SD JB/Jazz
                      Custom Made Ernie Ball Musicman Copy Dimarzio Super Distortion's
                      2019 EVH 5150 III 50 Watt Head 6L6
                      1995 Mesa Boogie Tremoverb converted to Head
                      Mesa Tremoverb 2x12 cab (factory Vintage 30's) converted to closed back
                      Marshall 1960A 4x12 (2 Celestion G12T-75's and 2 WGS Retro 30's X patterned
                      Pedaltrain Mini: Currently on pedalboard: ModTone MT-CB Clean Boost, Zoom MS-70CDR, Korg Pitchblack Tuner)

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

                        I am having issues trying to upload the other pictures I took of my Charvel last week
                        Charvel Model-5fx EMG 85/SA
                        Epiphone Les Paul Custom Korean SD JB/Jazz
                        Custom Made Ernie Ball Musicman Copy Dimarzio Super Distortion's
                        2019 EVH 5150 III 50 Watt Head 6L6
                        1995 Mesa Boogie Tremoverb converted to Head
                        Mesa Tremoverb 2x12 cab (factory Vintage 30's) converted to closed back
                        Marshall 1960A 4x12 (2 Celestion G12T-75's and 2 WGS Retro 30's X patterned
                        Pedaltrain Mini: Currently on pedalboard: ModTone MT-CB Clean Boost, Zoom MS-70CDR, Korg Pitchblack Tuner)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Pickup Suggestions For My Charvel Model 5fx

                          Originally posted by Coma View Post
                          I absolutely love the Tone Zone in the bridge of my Charvel, but it's kind of a hot and bassy pup. Great for low tuned metal, not sure it's what the OP is looking for if he wants to get into more 80's rock?
                          With a no-load tone pot I think the Tone Zone works great for that application. If you want to brighten it up even more, flip it so the screw coil is towards the neck . . . it can take on a sound similar to a JB like that.

                          The only issue I found with the Tone Zone and neck EVO in my Charvel So Cal is that there isn't as big a difference in tone as I'm used to switching between the very bright neck and the meaty bridge sounds. Both pickups split really nicely though.
                          Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

                          Originally posted by Douglas Adams
                          This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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                          • #14
                            Sorry to bump an old thread, if I stuck with EMG's and went with an EMG 89 in the bridge to be able to go from humbucker to single coil, was also thinking of having the wiring checked and maybe go for modern wiring with a treble bleed if I have problems with brightness, is that possible? Is doing it this way, does the volume acts as a volume control, and the tone acts as a tone control?
                            Charvel Model-5fx EMG 85/SA
                            Epiphone Les Paul Custom Korean SD JB/Jazz
                            Custom Made Ernie Ball Musicman Copy Dimarzio Super Distortion's
                            2019 EVH 5150 III 50 Watt Head 6L6
                            1995 Mesa Boogie Tremoverb converted to Head
                            Mesa Tremoverb 2x12 cab (factory Vintage 30's) converted to closed back
                            Marshall 1960A 4x12 (2 Celestion G12T-75's and 2 WGS Retro 30's X patterned
                            Pedaltrain Mini: Currently on pedalboard: ModTone MT-CB Clean Boost, Zoom MS-70CDR, Korg Pitchblack Tuner)

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Charvel1975 View Post
                              Sorry to bump an old thread, if I stuck with EMG's and went with an EMG 89 in the bridge to be able to go from humbucker to single coil, was also thinking of having the wiring checked and maybe go for modern wiring with a treble bleed if I have problems with brightness, is that possible? Is doing it this way, does the volume acts as a volume control, and the tone acts as a tone control?
                              Treble bleeds are super simple circuits. Just make sure you check your values, I would assume you need to adjust for the active system, as most if not all values you find instructions for online are for passive setups.

                              Good choice on the 89, I have one in my Larrivee and it's a great pickup.
                              --------------------------------------------------------
                              1973 Aria 551
                              1984 Larrivee RS-4 w/ EMG SA/SA/89
                              1989 Charvel 750 XL w/ DMZ Tone Zone & Air Norton
                              1990's noname crap-o-caster plywood P/J Bass
                              1991 Heartfield Elan III w/ DMZ mystery pups
                              1995 Aria Pro II TA-65
                              2001 Gibson Les Paul Gothic w/ PG-1 & SH-8

                              Comment

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