Custom Walnut guitar, Pickup/Tone questions

jonny24

jonny24

New member
Hey everyone!

I'm building a guitar soon, this will be my second. It is going to have a black walnut neck, black walnut body with a maple cap, and an ebony fretboard.
I read a lot of differing opinions on the tone of walnut, theres a lot of people sayings its middy/low end, and some say its bright.

I play a lot of classic rock, Zeppelin/ZZtop/ ACDC, and some 80's metal stuff, some Poison, Def Leppard, etc.

Been thinking either Pearly Gates, the Slash A2p's, or maybe the C5b/59n... Any opinions, suggetstions?
 
Re: Custom Walnut guitar, Pickup/Tone questions

If you have a feeling that it is going to be bright, or if it really does turn out to be bright, I would put nothing in there but a set of PATB's. PATB-3 if you want a PAF flavor in the bridge, but my favorite is the PATB-1. The PATB-1 will do everything from classic rock to 80's metal and just sings under gain with amazing articulation. The neck pickup is a perfect match and will give you all the classic neck tones you are looking for.
 
Re: Custom Walnut guitar, Pickup/Tone questions

Black walnut seems to have a warm, dry tone with a woody/spongy tap. I'd try the slash A2Ps first and see what it sounds like.
 
Re: Custom Walnut guitar, Pickup/Tone questions

You've been thinking along the right lines with the Pearly and Slash pups. Can't recommend the C5, I really don't like it. The '59 is a really good pup, but it is very scooped and bright even in the neck. You may need a mag swap to get some more mids.
 
Re: Custom Walnut guitar, Pickup/Tone questions

I had a black walnut sg that I went through a ton of pickups in...
(Pearly Gates, 59's, Custom-Custom-5-2-8, JB, Dimarzio 36th Anniversary PAF, Screamin' Demon, Slash A2 Pros)
I tried these in a lot of matched and mixed up combos...

I never found one that was what I was after - but the Slash A2 Pro set was the best of the bunch with this guitar.

I'd start with those and possibly save yourself some time.
 
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