Alternative 8 not doing it for me...opinions needed

S

SCOTT502

New member
Hey Everyone, I've been living with the Alternative 8 in my RGA 121 for a couple of weeks now and somehow it's just not doing it for me. It's a good pickup for what it does but it's just not what I want.

While I do like the Alt 8's singing lead quality, the output is too over the top for me and it doesn't seem to split very well. I put a Pearly Gates in the neck position and so far I like it fine.

I guess what I'm after is a versatile moderate output pickup that matches up well with the PG in the neck. It needs to split well, have nice cleans, be articluate under gain for soloing and be able to handle a good metal tone.

Thanks for the help!
 
Re: Alternative 8 not doing it for me...opinions needed

Jazz bridge!

Honestly... even less compressed than the A8, thick sounding, but very clear, under gain, vintage output and a lot of clarity in the bass. Honestly a FANTASTIC pickup for metal.
 
Re: Alternative 8 not doing it for me...opinions needed

Custom 5 perhaps? Plenty of people seem to like its pairing with the PGn.
 
Re: Alternative 8 not doing it for me...opinions needed

Hey Guys thanks for the responses.

Pierre, never thought of a Jazz bridge...I'll take a listen to the clips tonight. Would it match power-wise with the PGn?

Jay, I've got a broken Custom 5 on the shelf but as i remember it seemed a little too
scooped for my taste...although it has been several years so I may be remembering wrong.
 
Re: Alternative 8 not doing it for me...opinions needed

Yes it would. The clips won't tell you anything about the pickup though, it'll sound entirely different through your rig.

The Jazz thickens up nicely with gain, and the low end stays tight. The whole range is very defined and clear, you can hear chords pretty well, and it's a very rich sounding pickup, not sterile and warm as its name may (or not) suggest to you.
Forget it's called the Jazz, and imagin a low output pickup that never gets muddy, never loses clarity, has a very musical voicing both lead and rythm and is better for cleans than the Alternative 8.
I never tried any Pearly Gates but I'd wager it combines well enough, it shouldn't be an issue.
 
Re: Alternative 8 not doing it for me...opinions needed

SCOTT502 said:
Hey Guys thanks for the responses.

Pierre, never thought of a Jazz bridge...I'll take a listen to the clips tonight. Would it match power-wise with the PGn?

Jay, I've got a broken Custom 5 on the shelf but as i remember it seemed a little too
scooped for my taste...although it has been several years so I may be remembering wrong.
Click to expand...

try swaping the magenet in the C5 for an A8 the C8 seems promising
 
Re: Alternative 8 not doing it for me...opinions needed

Hey Pierre, O.K the Jazz bridge is on my list...any other suggestions?

NoOnesFang, the C5 has some damage windings as best I can tell so unfortunately I think the C5 is done.
 
Re: Alternative 8 not doing it for me...opinions needed

SCOTT502 said:
Hey Pierre, O.K the Jazz bridge is on my list...any other suggestions?

NoOnesFang, the C5 has some damage windings as best I can tell so unfortunately I think the C5 is done.
Click to expand...

I still need to get me some sort of custom the C8 sounds perfect for me
 
Re: Alternative 8 not doing it for me...opinions needed

How about trying an Alnico 5 in the Alt 8. Can't say I have read about anyone trying that yet. Might be perfect to tame some of the output.
 
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