Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

[CarlosG]

Hi!
I am looking for a versatile pickup set with great cleans up. You know, if i have low volume I have clean sound, if I turn up volume pot I have great distortion.
I also need a lot of dynamics, I mean if I pick string slightly i wil get quiet sound, If i pick string strong i will get loud sound.
It must also sound good in parallel and coil tap.
I tried TB-4 and SH-2 and sound great parallel, coil tap, and series. But TB-4 hasn't great cleans up and dynamic.
A lot of people recommend here Custom 8, what do you think?
I also checked duncan samples and I like Custom Custom and Pearly Gates set
Ps. sorry for my english

[Mincer]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

The best dynamics come out of lower-output pickups. Anything in the Custom family is pretty high output, so you lose dynamics. The 59/Custom Hybrid is about as loud as I would go if you want to keep your touch-sensitivity in tact. The most dynamic pickups are the Antiquities and Seth Lovers, but I realize those won't work for heavier music. So, as you go up to more powerful winds, you tend to sacrifice dynamics for sheer power.

[David Garner]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

I would try a set of 59s. They’re potted but still low wind enough to leave you some dynamic range. They won’t be as touch sensitive as unpotted pickups but they’ll hold up better for heavier music.

It’s going to be tough to get “good cleanup” and “good coil tap” in the same pickup. You might look into how PRS pulled that off with the DGT, because it is not nearly as hot as the pickups you’re looking at and the coil splits on both pickups are amazing.

[CarlosG]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

Why high output pickups are better for high gain than low output pickups? A lot of rock and metal players have low output pickups. Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Slash, Glen Tipton, Joe Satriani...

[nexion218]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

Noone said they're better. At least I don't, that's for sure. But it sure is easier to achieve a distorted sound when your original signal is quite "big", so to say. The past few years I have learned to appreciate medium output pups more: you can always crank the amp or boost your signal, but you can't do much if your pickup has such a huge output that it just won't clean up.

[Mincer]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

Higher output pickups do hit the amp harder, distorting and compressing easier. The problem is if you play dynamically, it makes it hard to take away all that compression. Lower output pickups can be boosted later down the line. But if you play heavy stuff, by all means, get a high output pickup. If you do lots of things, get something lower output, and boost it later.

[weepingminotaur]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

As others have said, I don't know that one set of pickups can do all that for you. However (and I realize that I am the guy who says this in many threads, lol), you should consider the Black Winters. They have all the high output you need and sound great with distortion, but they're also very responsive to volume and tone knob tweaking and they clean up very well for being high-output ceramic pups. They also split nicely too. High-output pickups are never going to give you the dynamics of something in the lower range, but I find the Winters do a good job in this area too.

[David Garner]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

Hotter pickups tend to have a tighter bottom end. They don’t flub out as much in the bass. You can get that with lower winds too by adding signal like a boost. If they’re unpotted though, you risk feedback.

My point is there’s no magic bullet. Everything is a compromise. So you prioritize.

Or do what I did and have one set of unpotted PAF types and one set of hotter, potted humbuckers.

[Demanic]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

Lace Deathbuckers. Clean, clear. Loud without distorting. Roll the tone all the way down, no mud.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

[Dave Locher]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

Dang it, Demanic, now I'm back to wanting to try one of those!

Carlos, it sounds like the 59/Custom Hybrid SH-16 or TB-16 might be what you want?

[Mincer]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

Yeah, the 59/Custom Hybrid, to me, is the highest output passive pickup that still is dynamic and can have a great clean sound, too. It seems like many other pickups will always be a compromise between output and touch-sensitivity.

[beaubrummels]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

Whole Lotta Humbucker set is the only set I've played that will do everything asked for, including sound good split and parallel coils, in and out of phase.

[esandes]

Re: Versatile pickup set with great cleans up

The TB4 is the trembucker JB right?

What pickup config does your guitar have?

My JB is paired with a P90 and 500k pots. It's the best pickup I ever user for excellent cleanup at lower guitar volumes. The pots are also linear.