Alternative 8 and Sentient

[bigchuggs]

Hi all

Thinking of putting an alternative 8 and a sentient in my LP studio. Anyone got any experience with this combo, or have any other suggestions for the neck pickup?

[Mincer]

Re: Alternative 8 and Sentient

Welcome to the forum!

What do you like in a neck pickup? What do you hate about your current pickup (and what's the rest of your rig?)

[Ascension]

Re: Alternative 8 and Sentient

The Alt 8 and Sentient is one of my all time favorite combinations! Have that combo righ now in my KOA Carvin DC 127 and the guitar has been a real workhorse. In particular that combo is fantastic when you add a split to the humbuckers and set up right is super versatile. As far as the neck pickup the Sentient is my all time favorite neck pickup. Have run many and for me consistently since I found the Sentient it has become a go to. In fact I am installing a floor custom Zebra Sentient with a matching Zebra Perpetual Burn in my new Purple Quilt Carvin DC 127 today.
Some live clips of the KOA Carvin with the ALT 8 Sentient set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2qBzG7qrLs&list=PL4Xz--pZhwstAAtIrpvg09Cshb16ANtW5&index=95&t=0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbqHBNO9EC4&list=PL4Xz--pZhwstAAtIrpvg09Cshb16ANtW5&index=97

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh5dMr8I_18&list=PL4Xz--pZhwstAAtIrpvg09Cshb16ANtW5&index=108

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pgcwoE3ie0&list=PL4Xz--pZhwstAAtIrpvg09Cshb16ANtW5&index=84

[bigchuggs]

Re: Alternative 8 and Sentient

Welcome to the forum!

What do you like in a neck pickup? What do you hate about your current pickup (and what's the rest of your rig?)

Honestly I'm unsure since I've always just played the 490r/498t standards that are in most LPs. I just know I really dislike how thin-sounding they like. My amp is an Orange dark terror. I usually play a lot of sludge/post-metal type things, and generally prefer my cleans to be as warm as possible and distortion to be punchy by emphasizing low mids.


Reason I'm thinking of this combo is I was looking into the Nazgul-Sentient combo. Nazgul sounds good, but clips I've heard seem to have this high-mid spike that I'm not a fan of. Happy for any recommendations other than Alternative 8 as well, but it's just an interesting-sounding pickup from what I've heard.

[Ascension]

Re: Alternative 8 and Sentient

Honestly I'm unsure since I've always just played the 490r/498t standards that are in most LPs. I just know I really dislike how thin-sounding they like. My amp is an Orange dark terror. I usually play a lot of sludge/post-metal type things, and generally prefer my cleans to be as warm as possible and distortion to be punchy by emphasizing low mids.


Reason I'm thinking of this combo is I was looking into the Nazgul-Sentient combo. Nazgul sounds good, but clips I've heard seem to have this high-mid spike that I'm not a fan of. Happy for any recommendations other than Alternative 8 as well, but it's just an interesting-sounding pickup from what I've heard.

The Sentient as a neck pickup has become one of my favorites. Have run them with a number of pickups in the bridge. Those include the Alt 8, 59/Custom Hybrid, Perpetual Burn JB and a Dimarzio Gravity Storm. Have 2 guitars with the Sentient in play now and the third will get one today. Those are my 93 KOA Carvn DC 127 with the Sentient/ Alt 8/ My DC 400 with the active passives and the Sentiet/ Hybrid and today plan to drop a Sentient / Perpetual Burn in my Purple Quilt DC 127 Carvin. Had a Sentient/ Hybrid set in both my AE 185 and my ST 300 at one point and both now have SNS sets.
Spent some time with a high end neck through ESP with the Sentient/ Pegasus set through a Shiva last week and wasn't really floored by that combo. Cleans in particular didn't do much for me and though several other bridge pickups matched the Sentient better in both tone and feel.

[Mincer]

Re: Alternative 8 and Sentient

Pickups like the Sentient and Jazz might be too tight in the bass for things like doom. I might even consider an Alnico II-based pickup instead. You certainly won't think an Alnico II Pro or Slash is thin.

[bigchuggs]

Re: Alternative 8 and Sentient

Thanks. Just a follow up, but do tone-pots matter? Just have the standard that came with my guitar. Think LPs usually have 300k pots?

[Mincer]

Re: Alternative 8 and Sentient

Thanks. Just a follow up, but do tone-pots matter? Just have the standard that came with my guitar. Think LPs usually have 300k pots?

Yes, they matter, but LPs have used different values over the years. Some used 500k, some 300k...and of course, there are tolerances, too so they never really read exactly what they are rated.