Nacho8807
New member
I am on the proverbial "quest for tone" here, friends. It's been a long journey thus far, and I've learned quite a lot. I'm here to share my experiences, and ask for guidance along the way. Hopefully this thread will be able to pass on some wisdom to others on a similar journey to mine.
The guitar: A year 2000-something MIM Stratocaster. Formerly SSS, currently single humbucker configuration. It's a naturally bright guitar, and could use some help (more) in the midrange department.
The amp: I had many amps until recently. I have since sold them off and am now exclusively using a Marshall DSL40C with a WGS Liberator speaker. It's a good base tone for everything except modern metal tones, but I will rarely go there.
I am more interested in a hard rock tone, a-la Volbeat or Mastodon. Things that are important to me are a full, yet firm low-end. Power chords that are punchy and authorative, without mushing or flubbing out. I like midrange; the growlier, the better. I want an aggressive, thick tone with a good deal of bite. The treble should be present, but due to the amp I'm using, I want to avoid any brittle, or harsh treble response. As long as my clean tone isn't sterile or overly dark or bright, I'm happy. Just nicely balanced.
When I first made the switch, I did not buy a new pickup for this guitar, I had a few lying around, so I tried those. The first was an Epiphone from a Les Paul Junior my girlfriend had from years ago. In the LP it wasn't a bad pickup at all. It was medium-hot, had a nice growly midrange and a punchy low-end. However, there was no clarity at all, and it was too compressed to be dynamic. In the Strat, the punchy low end turned muddy, and it was readily apparent that this was a cheaply-made, entry-level pickup. It came out after two days.
Luckily I also had a set of Gibson Burstbucker Pros also. These came stock in my Les Paul, and are an overwound PAF type humbucker with with mismatched coils, and A5 magnets. The bridge model gave me the first real idea of how this guitar sounds and feels with a humbucker. It still had Strat-like qualities in the attack and clarity, but it had more girth and growl to it. Cleans were deep and woody, and crunch tones gave a near dead-on ACDC impression. The heavily distorted stuff was lacking for me though. Mids were nice and open, but I would like to have thick, chewy, growling mids. The high end also seemed a bit anemic, no matter what the amp setting or gain level. The bass response was ok, but lacked punch and tightness. I decided to try my very first magnet swap, to an Alnico 8.
In retrospect I should not have expected anything but the results I got, but I did. The A8 essentially made the Burstbucker Pro a louder version of itself. The lows were fuller, but no punchier or tighter. The mids filled out slightly, but not to the extent I had hoped. And the once anemic high-end was now bright, and somewhat harsh. I didn't hate it, but I was disappointed. It was time to go shopping.
Fret not! The pickup gods are a mercyful lot. Thine local list of Craig did bestow uponst me a humbucker of legendary greatness. An EVH Frankenstein was thrust into my arms at the fair price of 85 USD. I have toyed with the idea of the IM1 humbucker from the SD Custom Shop, and according to Evan in another thread (here) the Frankenstein and IM1 are designed to sound as alike as possible using different construction. Needless to say, I was stoked. This pickup really is great. The clarity is amazing for being such a thick, harmonically rich pickup. It definitely beefs up this guitar the way I've always wanted, without being muddy or overly compressed. The midrange is everything I could ever want. It is however my first A2 based pickup, and Blueman's words echo in my head:
This could not be more true of the Frankenstein. The treble side is great, it works perfectly with the DSL's sometimes harsh high end, and weird buzzy upper-mids. The fluid, singing quality to my leads makes me kiss my fingertips and exclaim, "Mama-mia! Fantastico!" But the bass response does not fit my playing style at all. It lacks the tightness, and authority I have come to love in my Les Paul's Distortion set. It is no doubt, an excellent pickup, it just misses the mark for my playing style in enough ways to leave me wanting more.
So the simple answer may appear to be to get an SH-6 for my Strat, but I don't really want that. I feel the Distortion is much too hot, and compressed for this guitar, and I am worried the treble might kill me with this amp. One of my initial plans for this guitar was to use a JB or Perpetual Burn, and I will likely pick one up in the next week or so. However should I not be satisfied, I will be making full use of SD's 30-day return policy, and be turning here, to you all for advice on where I should go next. Sorry for this ridiculously long post, and I know it seems a little pointless right now, but I figure if any group of folks would care its some of the guys on here. I'll update as it happens.
The guitar: A year 2000-something MIM Stratocaster. Formerly SSS, currently single humbucker configuration. It's a naturally bright guitar, and could use some help (more) in the midrange department.
The amp: I had many amps until recently. I have since sold them off and am now exclusively using a Marshall DSL40C with a WGS Liberator speaker. It's a good base tone for everything except modern metal tones, but I will rarely go there.
I am more interested in a hard rock tone, a-la Volbeat or Mastodon. Things that are important to me are a full, yet firm low-end. Power chords that are punchy and authorative, without mushing or flubbing out. I like midrange; the growlier, the better. I want an aggressive, thick tone with a good deal of bite. The treble should be present, but due to the amp I'm using, I want to avoid any brittle, or harsh treble response. As long as my clean tone isn't sterile or overly dark or bright, I'm happy. Just nicely balanced.
When I first made the switch, I did not buy a new pickup for this guitar, I had a few lying around, so I tried those. The first was an Epiphone from a Les Paul Junior my girlfriend had from years ago. In the LP it wasn't a bad pickup at all. It was medium-hot, had a nice growly midrange and a punchy low-end. However, there was no clarity at all, and it was too compressed to be dynamic. In the Strat, the punchy low end turned muddy, and it was readily apparent that this was a cheaply-made, entry-level pickup. It came out after two days.
Luckily I also had a set of Gibson Burstbucker Pros also. These came stock in my Les Paul, and are an overwound PAF type humbucker with with mismatched coils, and A5 magnets. The bridge model gave me the first real idea of how this guitar sounds and feels with a humbucker. It still had Strat-like qualities in the attack and clarity, but it had more girth and growl to it. Cleans were deep and woody, and crunch tones gave a near dead-on ACDC impression. The heavily distorted stuff was lacking for me though. Mids were nice and open, but I would like to have thick, chewy, growling mids. The high end also seemed a bit anemic, no matter what the amp setting or gain level. The bass response was ok, but lacked punch and tightness. I decided to try my very first magnet swap, to an Alnico 8.
In retrospect I should not have expected anything but the results I got, but I did. The A8 essentially made the Burstbucker Pro a louder version of itself. The lows were fuller, but no punchier or tighter. The mids filled out slightly, but not to the extent I had hoped. And the once anemic high-end was now bright, and somewhat harsh. I didn't hate it, but I was disappointed. It was time to go shopping.
Fret not! The pickup gods are a mercyful lot. Thine local list of Craig did bestow uponst me a humbucker of legendary greatness. An EVH Frankenstein was thrust into my arms at the fair price of 85 USD. I have toyed with the idea of the IM1 humbucker from the SD Custom Shop, and according to Evan in another thread (here) the Frankenstein and IM1 are designed to sound as alike as possible using different construction. Needless to say, I was stoked. This pickup really is great. The clarity is amazing for being such a thick, harmonically rich pickup. It definitely beefs up this guitar the way I've always wanted, without being muddy or overly compressed. The midrange is everything I could ever want. It is however my first A2 based pickup, and Blueman's words echo in my head:
This could not be more true of the Frankenstein. The treble side is great, it works perfectly with the DSL's sometimes harsh high end, and weird buzzy upper-mids. The fluid, singing quality to my leads makes me kiss my fingertips and exclaim, "Mama-mia! Fantastico!" But the bass response does not fit my playing style at all. It lacks the tightness, and authority I have come to love in my Les Paul's Distortion set. It is no doubt, an excellent pickup, it just misses the mark for my playing style in enough ways to leave me wanting more.
So the simple answer may appear to be to get an SH-6 for my Strat, but I don't really want that. I feel the Distortion is much too hot, and compressed for this guitar, and I am worried the treble might kill me with this amp. One of my initial plans for this guitar was to use a JB or Perpetual Burn, and I will likely pick one up in the next week or so. However should I not be satisfied, I will be making full use of SD's 30-day return policy, and be turning here, to you all for advice on where I should go next. Sorry for this ridiculously long post, and I know it seems a little pointless right now, but I figure if any group of folks would care its some of the guys on here. I'll update as it happens.
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