Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

[gauchosilvertone]

Hi all- I just picked up an LTD MH100QM, a beautiful little gem. I'm usually more of a vintage/classic guitar guy, and until now I've stuck with SGs, Les Pauls, and Telecasters. I lean towards blues, classic rock, and jazz/funk tinged tones, but also enjoy some thick gain at times.

Now to the point- the guitar has been outfitted with Blackouts. I've never used active pickups before. From everything I've read, they are beloved by their users, but they all seem to be playing one from of heavy/high gain music or another. Has anyone had success using Blackouts for anything else?

So far with lots of twiddling, I've actually gotten some really warm, contemporary jazz type tones playing with the neck or neck and bridge pickup combinations, with the tone knob rolled almost all the way back. I'm playing through a Vox AC15.

I love this guitar and love playing it, but I'm wondering if I'm screwed as far as tone is concerned.

One last thing- I get really harsh, cold sounds in the ultra-high frequencies (sound of my left hand hitting the frets for example, or general pick attack noises). Is that just the nature of active pickups?

-The Gaucho

 

[Despair]

Re: Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

David Gilmour and Gary Moore used active EMGs a lot in the 80s. The Blackouts are more natural sounding than those old designs.

Extended frequency response is one of the features of most actives. You might be able to work around it with a parametric (likely need a particularly adjustable one) or graphic EQ.

There's a fair number of people using actives outside metal. They tend to be most popular for live use (particulary resistant to interference/noise) or when doing heavy signal processing. They see a fair amount of use in jazz fusion.

Lots of musicians bend vintage products for modern tones, or modern products for vintage tones. Pushing something outside of it's expected use is a lot of fun.

 

[LatsMcGee]

Re: Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

 

[gauchosilvertone]

Re: Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

Thanks- I'll look into the EQ thing. What I'd want is to get rid of/cut down on the ultra-high clicking type noises without losing all the highs.

I know what you mean about bending outside its normal use- If I can get a great tone from an LTD with active pickups through a Vox, I'll sound like nobody else around!

 

[Kam]

Re: Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

I remember Evan posting this a while ago. I'm pretty sure he's using Blackouts.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

Writing as another Seymourised LTD owner, if you like the general Blackouts vibe but want more of a Classic Rock tone palette, change to SD Live Wire Classic II HBs. I installed these in my EC-401w.

 

[xntrick]

Re: Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

i don't hear those harsh tones with my emg 81x, i also had Blackouts but they were too loud with far too much output, all my picking dynamics were lost with them..i was playing with an emg 60 for a while and i really liked the balance it had between clean and dirty tones, i still have it and it is tempting to get my frakenstrat routed out so i can use it in the neck position...

 

[gauchosilvertone]

Re: Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

I remember Evan posting this a while ago. I'm pretty sure he's using Blackouts.

I believe those are Blackouts- that tone sounds really familiar though I'm using a much different guitar. You hear some of the noise I'm talking about in his post (in a very subdued, unoffensive way)- the ultra-high frequencies coming through pretty clear. They're subdued with his tone being fairly mellow, though clear, and since he's tapping rather than attacking with a pick.

The video also highlights what I do like about the pickups. In a clean setting, they have an extremely clear, spacious sound about them- very "open" sounding if you catch my drift.

Thanks all for your input.

 

[TeleLubber]

Re: Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

Hollow. That's what the active pickups sound like to me. Not open, not clear. Hollow. Sterile. I prefer vibe and groove at the cost of hum.

I think they have their application, very quiet to be sure in a live situation, with a huge rack, high gain amp, etc..

I use a kill switch.

 

[gauchosilvertone]

Re: Blackouts: Useful for anything but high-gain music?

Beauty is in the ear of the behearer I suppose.

It's very easy to plug in my old Ibanez Les Paul and get a great sound- any of the three pickup positions, with virtually any setting on my amp- it's all good. I have to work a lot harder with the Blackouts- but it doesn't mean that I can't get what is, to me, a good tone. A modern tone, for sure, but still a good one, and it can be warm as well, though of course differently warm than a vintage warm. The plus is that it's far more distinctive. Any of those LP sounds might be great, but it sounds like Les Paul, all the way, all the time. Anyone listening blind could tell you immediately, that's a Les Paul. Not so with this new set up, and as far as actually playing paid gigs for people other than musicians, having a unique tone is far more important than having one that other guitarists deem good. So I'm just hoping I can do that and still have a variety of sounds.