Best SD pickups for me?

R

rjtm

New member
Hey everyone,

Im new to this forum and this is my first post. I dont know much about pickups and would like to learn as much as I can from this forum.

For this thread, I was wondering what pickups would be best for me. I play mostly 80's hard rock/hair metal (VH, GNR, Ozzy, Maiden, A little AC DC and a little Metallica), and I was looking to put some new pickups in my eppi LP standard. It is a nice one, and I'm lookin to upgrade it to make it close with my gibson LP. I was wondering what pickups would be best for me. Im going through a marshall silver jubilee, and I dont need to much distortion from the pickups, so moderate or a little high output would be fine (just not too high).

The main ones I'm looking at so far are the alnico II pros, 59's, Jbs, and the Customs. At first, I was thinking about putting a JB in the bridge and an alnico II pro in the neck, but I listened to some demos of the JB and found it to be shrill sounding in my opinion. I really like the sound of the 59's though but havent heard much of it. What would be the best pickups out of these or the best combos for me? Also if you could post sample vids that would be awesome.

Thanks,
rjtm
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

PG NECK, 59 BRIDGE

Actually - there isn't a good combop for all your likes, so I'm recommending an awesome all around set

VH = 59 or CC = Killer MArshal and mxr phase
GNR = A2P + JCM 800
Ozzy = 59 = mxr distortion
Maiden = DiMarzio = MXR distortion
AC/DC = PG's + JCM 800

Go with low out puts and crank the silver, maybe add a dirtbox.

By the way, welcome! And great question...you'll go far.

Epi Custom + Duncans = WIN
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

The PG neck and 59 bridge combo is a great suggestion. Its a great all around set up. While maybe not as close as you could get to specific tones from other pickups its a set that will work very nice with your Silver Jube. If you want a bit more modern vibe you could go with a Custom or C5 bridge. Theres actually a lot of great options for what you want.
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

Ok thanks Ill check out some of those combos. I'm not looking for those specific tones really, but something that can do most of them well. If you guys could put vids of your pickups that would be awesome, especially a comparison between two, that would help me decide a lot

thanks,
rjtm
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

Sadly being im in beijing i dont access to youtube so i cant help you there but hopefully some of the others have clips that can help you decide.
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

would 59's work for GNR (obviously not as good as a2p's but would they work decently)? Also, which neck pickup has a nice creamier lead tone, the a2p's or the 59's?

Thanks,
rjtm
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

rjtm said:
would 59's work for GNR (obviously not as good as a2p's but would they work decently)? Also, which neck pickup has a nice creamier lead tone, the a2p's or the 59's?

Thanks,
rjtm
Click to expand...

a2p is smoother -and is what slash used on appetite but a 59 is bigger and more hifi.....but a 59 with an a2 magnet! yeeeah baby! sFat and warm.
i have a marshall master volume MKIII and it sounds pretty damn spectacular with a2 modded 59 set, but if you are not ready to start swapping magnets then yeah...a2hs (and 59s for that matter) are in a whole other league to epi pickups.
If you go for 59 neck, then maybe pair it with a custom (5) bridge for some serious pants kicking.
If you go for an a2p in the neck then match it with a custom custom bridge.
You will find a lot of guys here an the forum like magnet swapping as a way of tailoring their pickups. FOr example, the custom can sound killer with a ceramic mag (regular custom), a2 mag (custom custom), a5 mag (custom5), a8 mag etc....
Magnet swapping is cheap and easy once you learn how.
59's are also known for being very flexible in that they sound great with a variety of mags too....so......
maybe get a 59 neck and a custom bridge, and order a handful of a2, a4, a5 and a8 magnets and you will be guaranteed to find the sound that is perfect for you.
im guessing a 59(a2) and CC combo will fit the bill perfectly, but have an experiment and let us know what you find out!
 
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Re: Best SD pickups for me?

rjtm said:
would 59's work for GNR (obviously not as good as a2p's but would they work decently)? Also, which neck pickup has a nice creamier lead tone, the a2p's or the 59's?

Thanks,
rjtm
Click to expand...

The a2p is creamier, but some say the '59 is more toneful.
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

gripweed said:
Sorry, but the '59 does not sound hifi. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Firstly you should make sure you know in what context things have been written before you make these kind of dismissals.
Secondly, if you are going to go making statements such as this then perhaps you could consider using "in my opinion" or another similar preface.
Thirdly, save your eye rolling for the school playground.
Lastly, consider getting your hearing checked.
 
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Re: Best SD pickups for me?

Best all-around Duncan p'up combo:

'59n with an A4 magnet for the neck
Custom with an A8 magnet for the bridge

Can't ask for a more versatile and toneful combo.

That's the combo in my #1 guitar.

HTH,
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

I would go with Full Shred Bridge, and '59 or Pearly Gates on the Neck.

The Full Shred will give the right amount of control on every freq range, well articulated for every gain structure, and nice harmonic content. It's very close to Custom with less output and more clarity. It's also a treat to the ears with mid gain chords like Guns'N Roses songs.

The Pearly Gates sounds fantastic in the neck of Mahogany guitars. So does '59. I prefer PG for it's sweet but slightly more punchy tone. '59 has more bight, which could be a good thing if your LP is dark sounding, and a bad thing if it's already bright sounding.
 
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Re: Best SD pickups for me?

Ok so Im heavily considering these choices (in order):

1. A2p in neck, 59 in bridge
2. 59 in neck, Jb in bridge
3. 59 in bridge and neck
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

Which one do you suggest as a better combo for my style of music which can cover most of those artists that i listed above? Also, if you could include any mods that would make the combos better, that would be awesome too.
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

My top two choices for what you're after would be

1: S-Deco with an A5 magnet
2: Custom with an A8 magnet

I love both those pickups; they cover a HUGE range of rock and roll real estate and they do it very well!

there are a few neck pickups that would work. Nothing wrong with a good 'ol 59 though!
 
Re: Best SD pickups for me?

pair of 59s is a great place to start. It will transform your epiphone.
Then later if you want to tailor the sound with mag swaps that option is there for you.
Also, if you want more beef in the bridge, then you can put a custom in there which also handles mag swaps beautifully.

but right off the bat to cover all those sounds you mentioned i reckon a2p neck for slash type lead tones and a cc bridge for all the hard rock and hair metal with a vintage flavour would most likely be pretty awesome. However, a 59n and custom bridge will take any magnet swaps you throw at them so you can go for Kojaks recommendation, or use a2s in both (very similar to an a2p/cc combo) or whatever other mags you like to get the perfect sound for your preference, your particular guitar and amp without having to go thru 20 different pickup sets.
 
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