Bridge pickup for Rosewood board Explorer...

LP82

LP82

New member
Just picked up a Gold Sparkle Explorer with a rosewood board several weeks ago. Looking to replace the pickups. I've got a white Explorer with an ebony board and I put a Custom in it. That one sounds great. What would you recommend for an Explorer with a rosewood board? We tune down a whole step to D standard and we do classic rock and metal from the 70's and 80's. I like mid-to-high output pickups.
 
Re: Bridge pickup for Rosewood board Explorer...

LP82 said:
Just picked up a Gold Sparkle Explorer with a rosewood board several weeks ago. Looking to replace the pickups. I've got a white Explorer with an ebony board and I put a Custom in it. That one sounds great. What would you recommend for an Explorer with a rosewood board? We tune down a whole step to D standard and we do classic rock and metal from the 70's and 80's. I like mid-to-high output pickups.
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IME the ebony board will give you a more crisp attack. The rosewood will sound warmer. My current rosewood-board Explorer has the stock 500T in it. Given what you're looking for, I'd recommend a Distortion. It's high-output, will do metal, and, like the Custom, it has great definition and articulation due to also having a ceramic magnet. Plus, from what I've seen and heard, it'll handle lower tunings well. If I replace the 500T, that's the way I'm gonna go.
 
Bridge pickup for Rosewood board Explorer...

I put a jb in my explorer and then swapped for an a9 magnet. I liked the alnico bridge better than the ceramic but the distortion may be what you want. The jb is really thick sounding in it but still has alot of top end cut.

Also, anyway to get a picture of the gold sparkle explorer? I haven't seen one.
 
Re: Bridge pickup for Rosewood board Explorer...

LP82 said:
Just picked up a Gold Sparkle Explorer with a rosewood board several weeks ago. Looking to replace the pickups. I've got a white Explorer with an ebony board and I put a Custom in it. That one sounds great. What would you recommend for an Explorer with a rosewood board? We tune down a whole step to D standard and we do classic rock and metal from the 70's and 80's. I like mid-to-high output pickups.
Click to expand...

Do you want it to sound relatively the same as your other Explorer or do you want a bit of variety?
 
Re: Bridge pickup for Rosewood board Explorer...

If your not picky about manufacturer, then a DiMarzio Tone Zone is an amazing choice for mahogany bodied guitars. I've used them in Ibanez S guitars and a few others (both 6 and 7-string...) and it's gonna work and sound well for the kind of stuff your doing.

Otherwise, I too would say the Distortion or even the Custom in it would be good as well. Even though you got a Custom in the other one, you'll notice a difference in tone between the rosewood and the ebony board. But if you want something differnet between the two, then I'd say the Distortion would be the best bet, if not going with the Tone Zone.
 
Re: Bridge pickup for Rosewood board Explorer...

Despised said:
If your not picky about manufacturer, then a DiMarzio Tone Zone is an amazing choice for mahogany bodied guitars. I've used them in Ibanez S guitars and a few others (both 6 and 7-string...) and it's gonna work and sound well for the kind of stuff your doing.

Otherwise, I too would say the Distortion or even the Custom in it would be good as well. Even though you got a Custom in the other one, you'll notice a difference in tone between the rosewood and the ebony board. But if you want something differnet between the two, then I'd say the Distortion would be the best bet, if not going with the Tone Zone.
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I've got a Duncan Distortion lying around so I may try that. Thanks for the reply!
 
Re: Bridge pickup for Rosewood board Explorer...

If you want Classic 70's style tones I would try the Super D if you're not thrilled with the Distortion, I tend to prefer the Distortion in LP types myself...
 
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