Covering most ground?

[BloodRose]

Hi! As many of you have followed my saga........ I am currently unemployed and disabled (trying to get disability approved), so have to sell down my babies... *needs done anyhow as I have more toys than talent*

Anyhow, I have sold several so far and more to come. Ive stressed over, compared over, thought over,etc my LP type guitars and have decided to sell my beloved Burny, Gibson Trad Pro and keep my Dean Soltero.
Still unsure what to do with my Michael Kelly Patriot Custom..
The Gibby had a WLH set. (I put the stock pups back in). The Burny came with an EMG Zakk set which I replaced with a Bare Knuckles Rebel Yell set.. ( the Mk has a custom made Rio BBQ bridge and Stock Rockfield neck )

The Dean Soltero has Dean's pups in it. Nostalgia neck and Mountain of tone bridge. (Leslie west sig pup). sounds pretty darn good, but... Im considering changing as I am going to be down to 1 (maybe 2) LP type guitars.

Here is what my options are for this guitar.. Im looking to cover as much ground as possible and Im sooo burned out on pup swaps, I dont have it in me to try all these different combos to see what works. So am throwing this out there to see what you all think may be my best starting point..

I have several pups in storage as Im sure most of you do.. Here are what I think may be my most viable choices for this guitar:

EMG Zakk set
WLH Set
PG Set (will have to use stickers to make double black)
Bare Knuckles Rebel yell set
AII pro neck / Rio BBQ bridge
AII pro neck/ suhr Aldrich bridge.

OR.. I can use the PG or WLH with the others..

So, what do you think may cover the most ground? Im Sorry.. Years ago, Id hve just swapped till Im happy, but due to health issues and just plain burnout, I dont want to have to roll thru all these. So, Im asking for help.

What do you think may be the best combo??
Thanks

 

[Aceman]

Re: Covering most ground?

Honestly, to me, covering ground is about the amp/fx. In that situation I say go classic. The WLH set would be my choice.

Also - where are these guitars listed?

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Covering most ground?

I think you've got two almost opposite choices for what you want:

1. High output humbuckers with coil splits - High enough output to sound good split for clean stuff and will do the heavy stuff easily.
2. Low output humbuckers with pedals - Will sound great for clean stuff on their own, and will do the heavy stuff with the right pedal/amp combo.


Either way you cover a tone of ground. The WLH or PG set would be nicely balanced if you're going for 2, but I think all your neck pickups are a tad underpowered if you want to go for number 1 (Alderich bridge, Bare Knuckles Rebel Yell bridge, and maybe the Rio BBQ would work for the bridge).

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Covering most ground?

How hot is the Rebel Yell? I’d probably choose those or the WLH.

Also, if the Custom Shop Charvel ever needs to be sold, I can give it a nice home.

 

[Securb]

Re: Covering most ground?

Another vote for the WLH set. The neck can go from Jazz to Rock and the bridge will melt your face. I hope you are back on your feet again soon.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Covering most ground?

Are you dissatisfied with the Mountain of Tone? I've been dying to try one of those for forever...seems like a killer pickup

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Covering most ground?

Honestly, to me, covering ground is about the amp/fx. In that situation I say go classic. The WLH set would be my choice.

Also - where are these guitars listed?

not listed yet. will be on ebay in a couple of days. have to decide what Im going to put into the Burny b4 I list. Put the stock pups back into the Gibson already, but have not got the Burny situated yet.

 

[formula73]

Re: Covering most ground?

Honestly, to me, covering ground is about the amp/fx. In that situation I say go classic. The WLH set would be my choice.

Also - where are these guitars listed?

You know, Ace has some hidden wisdom up his sleeve.

I also vote for vintage-y pups. Once I finally figured out how to dial in my amp after owning it over a decade, my days of screaming hot bridge humbuckers were over.

I may never get compliments on my playing but everybody seems to like the sounds I can get.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Covering most ground?

How hot is the Rebel Yell? I’d probably choose those or the WLH.

Also, if the Custom Shop Charvel ever needs to be sold, I can give it a nice home.

The Rebel Yell would fit into the medium hot category imo. I have 2 sets of them, one installed in a LP studio. And one set not currently being used. These pickups are amazing and very versatile. Quite possibly the best neck humbucker I’ve ever used.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Covering most ground?

Are you dissatisfied with the Mountain of Tone? I've been dying to try one of those for forever...seems like a killer pickup

Cant say Im dissatisfied.. Its a Very good sounding pickup. Im just rarely ever satisfied due to my skill level, (or lack thereof)... can never leave well enough alone
I will run a back to back comparo with them before I pull anything to give you an idea.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Covering most ground?

I feel like you could cover a lot of ground with the stock setup. Is the bridge wired for coil split?

 

[Juanhanglo]

Re: Covering most ground?

I'd go with the set that sounds best from your memory and experience in the other guitars (and their respective unplugged tones).

There is also series parallel/split switches you can add. High output does parallel pretty good for cleans

Amp and pedals will make the versatility and do the heavy lifting.


Sucks that you have to downsize, especially due to disability. I dont envy your predicament. While I could get down to 3 or 4 from 9 total, I would rather not.

Hope things turn around for the better, man.
Stay well.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Covering most ground?

I feel like you could cover a lot of ground with the stock setup. Is the bridge wired for coil split?

I dont think so on that guitar. Im big on options and try to set my guitars up to split and such. The Dean is still stock. I will try and check tom to see if it splits, etc..

I'd go with the set that sounds best from your memory and experience in the other guitars (and their respective unplugged tones).

There is also series parallel/split switches you can add. High output does parallel pretty good for cleans

Amp and pedals will make the versatility and do the heavy lifting.


Sucks that you have to downsize, especially due to disability. I dont envy your predicament. While I could get down to 3 or 4 from 9 total, I would rather not.

Hope things turn around for the better, man.
Stay well.

Thank you for the kind words.. Yes, its rough.. If always been a worker bee.. I was a medicaid liason at a hosp ER as one of my last jobs and spoke to so many people that were trying/wanting to be on disability for all kinds of things. (I skinned my knee 20 years ago, etc.) Id really rather work... I worked 3 jobs so my wife could stay home with our 5 kids.. Thats all I know... But sadly, my body cant do it anymore... And yes, selling off the guitars is hard.. But actually, kind of a reality check.. If I was really good and gigging or otherwise and could somewhat justify the harum... But Im not and I cant... So time to thin down.. The hardest part, is deciding what to keep and what to part with. A few years back, (when I had the 3 jobs and the income) I was rolling guitars pretty heavily. This was good in that I found out what I really liked and what I didnt. The problem is, that now, I REALLY like every one I have. So trying to decide what to sell is VERY VERY hard..

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Covering most ground?

WLH or PGs. Classic enough to make early rock sounds. Meaty enough to drive amps and effects for more modern sounds. Better to have lower output pickups when "covering a lot of ground" is the main goal. They can always be boosted, but taming high output pickups to sound more low output doesn't work nearly as well.

PGs are juicier and looser sounding than WLHs. WLHs are tighter and "colder." Take your pick.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Covering most ground?

Oddly, i ran the PG set in my LP before swapping to the WLH set. Whats odd, is I really dont recall how it sounded. It seems like I liked them alot, but like the wlh more. But, Ill prolly go with the PG set . Im just going to have to suck it up learn to make what I have work. Its easy to get spoiled, and, I guess I am. I like having the ability to grab something hot when I want, and not when I want.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Covering most ground?

Oddly, i ran the PG set in my LP before swapping to the WLH set. Whats odd, is I really dont recall how it sounded. It seems like I liked them alot, but like the wlh more. But, Ill prolly go with the PG set . Im just going to have to suck it up learn to make what I have work. Its easy to get spoiled, and, I guess I am. I like having the ability to grab something hot when I want, and not when I want.

Honestly, fewer options is not a bad thing. Limits and constraints tend to feed creativity and experimentation in my experience.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Covering most ground?

This is true. I've always found it interesting that the best players and creators don't put nearly the emphasis on the gear and subtleties as we tend to sometimes. Constraints can be healthy and even comforting...you get to know what you're working with much more intimately.

As for pickups, I think the stock Soltero pickups cover a LOT of ground from vintage to hot, even more if you can split the bridge, but the WLH set is super solid, also.