Bill Steer's Pickups??

Lucy Diamond

Lucy Diamond

New member
Hiya folks,

[waves]

So I'm fresh off the Carcass show from lastnight (9x26x13) at the Gramercy Theatre in New York and I've searching the web all morning trying to find info on Bill Steer's pickups.

Most of the information out there doesn't seem to be provided by guitar players and people mostly talk about his amps. People usually just post "I know he uses duncans." :sad:

Last night he had an old Wine Red Les Paul Custom with a gold cover pickup in the neck and an uncovered pickup in the bridge. It could easily be assumed since the covered pickup seemed to be aged the same as the guitar that it was his stock pickup. The uncovered pickup remains a mystery and it had two black bobbins with a row of slugs and a row of screws.

Let's be clear so we can focus:

I don't want his pickups and I'm not trying to ape the guy's tone.

I just want to know what pickups he uses.


If you can help...thank you very much.


Another thing I'm learning is that not enough people know who this guy is and he's an amazing and very soulful guitar player who blew me away live.

Later,

~LD
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

Wish I knew, too. I'm fairly certain he uses Duncans (like you said) but beyond that all I've ever seen is speculation, most people assuming it's a JB.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

I keep reading that he prefers 50watt Marshalls and it would make sense that he'd have a relatively lower output pickup because you can just hear live that his amp is doing all the work.

He uses a Peavey 5150 (mind you...not the 5150II) as well.

The curiosity is killing me.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

My understanding was that his current live rig is just the 5150? I think he used to use a Marshall and a Peavey from Heartwork-Swansong, and then pretty much just 50 watt Marshalls for his blues/rock project (name escapes me).

He also used a Marshall Guvnor as a boost.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

FIREBIRD \m/,

YES!!! The 5150 is his live rig...probably for the same reason he was using ESP for a little while...I keep reading that he got tired of worrying about his old Les Pauls although last night, he was clearly quite comfortable flying his Les Paul Custom to the US.

You are absolutely right about the Guv'nor.

So we have established what we already know about this kat.

Arrrrrrgh.....There's NOTHING about his pickups!?!?!


I'm honestly ashamed at myself for not realizing how amazing this guy really is. There is just something about his work on the Carcass albums that doesn't scream "guitar hero" and then you see him go to work LIVE and it's like "why is this dude not on the cover of Guitar World EVERY MONTH!?!?

I can't wait to hear FIREBIRD.

[EDIT]: Also...let's not forget about his current band Gentleman's Pistols.
 
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Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

Carcass is probably the least recognized of the genres true pioneers and Bill Steer might be the most musically accomplished death metal guitarist, IMO. He's not a wanky Kerry King type, content to flail around with dissonance. He actually ADDS to the song, a rare thing in that genre.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

Lucy Diamond said:
I keep reading that he prefers 50watt Marshalls and it would make sense that he'd have a relatively lower output pickup because you can just hear live that his amp is doing all the work.

He uses a Peavey 5150 (mind you...not the 5150II) as well.

The curiosity is killing me.
Click to expand...

I would say of Duncan's lower output offerings, it wouldn't surprise me if he was just using 59s.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

Back in the day he used Super3's in RG's and S's, I have no idea what he's using now, but I wouldn't guess 59's.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

I don't know about live because, the last (and only) time I saw Carcass was Wacken 2008.

I read in an interview that for studio work he uses a P-90 in a LP Junior.

Surgical Steel teaser video shows humbuckers in the orange LP - a Gibson pickup perhaps..?

Amott uses/d the JB/'59 setup, maybe Bill does too..?
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

King IzzO))) said:
Back in the day he used Super3's in RG's and S's, I have no idea what he's using now, but I wouldn't guess 59's.
Click to expand...

His other main guitar is a 50s Les Paul Junior. You don't think the 59 is likely? I don't see him using Alnico II pickups for that sharp attack.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

King IzzO))) said:
Back in the day he used Super3's in RG's and S's, I have no idea what he's using now, but I wouldn't guess 59's.
Click to expand...

Super 3 in a Les Paul or mahogany guitar is mush, nothing but mids in my experience. Considering the crazy variety of high output pickups there are today, I don't think he'd go back to the pickup he used in 1987.

Was it Steer or Amott that used the stock pickups in their RG550's? Maybe both. I think the Super 3 was in the white Charvel with the non-locking trem on the first 2 albums (in Bb tuning, that had to be fun) as well as the stuff Steer did with Napalm.

Carcass' new album is making me reconsider my stance on reunion albums. I like that they didn't do the multi amp thing again, because too many bands do that now and it's overrated (I prefer Necroticism's tone; a lot less slick, more straightforward and weird).

Do JCM900's (SL-X) actually sound anything like Necroticism, or was there a whole lot of EQ-ing of the guitar tracks after they were recorded?
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

Bill Steer used a couple of S series and Mike Amott played an RG550...both completely stock.

...that's the reason I bought my black S540LTD back in '94 :D Did'nt change the pickups till a few years ago and that was only because the hex poles had rusted badly & the ones I replaced them with made those pup's sound like ****
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

p4vl said:
Do JCM900's (SL-X) actually sound anything like Necroticism, or was there a whole lot of EQ-ing of the guitar tracks after they were recorded?
Click to expand...

Could be that, could be an EQ in the effects loop. That's where you really shape the tone for deeper sounds. I typically run pedals and amps with all EQ settings at noon, and then run an EQ after the preamp section.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

Whoa...this kinda took off.

So...back to the original post...

We got nothin huh??

Either way, I'm sitting here 4 days later and I STILL feel like I left that show a better guitar player. Bill Steer is probably the most underrated guitar player I've ever seen and I've been listening to a bunch of different Firebird tracks on youtube and I'm going to just buy everything.

I really wish more people knew about this guy.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

Absolutely 100% Gibson Les Paul Custom in Wine Red.

This (including his use of ESPs) has all been covered in my original posts.

Also, (besides surgical steel which was just released) Bill Steer's last album was with Gentleman's Pistols in 2011 and don't even get me started on all his work with FIREBIRD which is beyond amazing.
 
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Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

Lucy Diamond said:
Absolutely 100% Gibson Les Paul Custom in Wine Red.

This (including his use of ESPs) has all been covered in my original posts.

Also, (besides surgical steel which was just released) Bill Steer's last album was with Gentleman's Pistols in 2011 and don't even get me started on all his work with FIREBIRD which is beyond amazing.
Click to expand...

That humbucker could be anything, even Duncans without the logo on the bobbins are easily found. Even if you were to interview him, you might get the typical "Oh, that old thing? It was in the case when I bought it off some bloke." routine, which is sometimes misdirection to keep people from ripping off their tone (Eddie Van Halen is the king of that). Could be a Bare Knuckle.

I think Steer is placed upon a pedestal; definitely within the grindcore genre. They stick to the first 3 albums (or first 2, if they're really raw grindcore), but they appreciate Steer.

There are thousands of Melodic Death Metal (*vomits*) bands that have clearly ripped off Steer's ideas from Heartwork.

Amott is well known because he left Carcass and went to Arch Enemy, a band that is a little more in the vein of Heartwork (low tuned tight riffing, Maiden harmonizing, and flashy solos). Steer's wiki states that he avoids endorsing gear, which is not at all what Amott does.
 
Re: Bill Steer's Pickups??

Okay...check me out here....

I read the posted article from a couple of posts ago and I've done a ton of research on this kat through articles and youtube videos but that interview that P4VL posted definitely spoke VOLUMES about Bill Steer as a person and I have a theory about this pickup...

Are you ready??

Based on what I've learned about Bill Steer in the last 4 days alone, I think he took the pickup cover off his Les Paul pickup.


[holds for applause...or...um...thrown fruit]

I can't go back to the interview and cut and paste quotes line by line because I'm at work but I'll paraphrase.

1) He uses mostly borrowed or rented gear live.

2) He actually PREFERS p-90s


Now...I'm pretty sure he owns this Les Paul I saw last Thursday because I've seen it in pictures BUT...I don't think this kat gives half a F#^k about what pickups are in his axe.

I genuinely think he uses straight up $h!t that he's into and gets the BEEF from tuning down to B.

It even states in that glorious interview that my new best friend P4VL posted that he doesn't care if an old guitar has ALLL original parts as long as the pickups, saddle and wood are original.

I genuinely don't get the "oh...that old thing" vibe from this kat and believe me...I know exactly what you are talking about :D.

I really don't think this dude gives a F#^k...I think he's just amazing.


Final Verdict Based on Speculation and 25years of gear hounding:

Stock Gibson Pickup with Cover Removed.

:headbang:
 
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