Distortion disappointments :(

HetfieldRules

HetfieldRules

New member
well i recently upgraded the pickups in two of my guitars ...made an LP copy a bit classier w/ some vintage LP-ish pickups....love the sound it gets .... exactly what i wanted ..... i also have an ESP LTD F200...i was hoping to slap in some good ol metal pickups and use it in my all out metal band....so i got a Distortion Bridge and a 59 neck ...seemed like a safe combo.....well the neck is sweet.....but the distortion is terrible :( ..... i may just be used to EMG's but the distortion sounded like muffled much....wasn't at all what i wanted....it actually sounded like what i thought an Invader would sound like....the only thing i can think of is the fact that the guitar has that EMG gain booster....it's active...which is odd seeing as the stock pickups were the Passive EMG HZ-4...idk it's the only thing i can think of that might mess with it....i dont have it on....it's a push pull pot....so idk....i was just very dissapointed....i was kinda hoping there was something wrong and not that for metal i really need my EMG's....
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

probably the electronics or your amp/distortion setup becaue the dd is a killer pup
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

yeah. or the pup height man. my DD id lower than my jazz neck. the DD is a really good pup. maybe not your cup of tone but it is definately not a terrible pup.
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

Gotta chime in and say be sure you don't have electronics issues and that you have that DD adjusted properly. Mine is a 'When you pry it from my cold dead fingers' type of relationship! I've had that same DD in both my Strat and a Paula and have been very satisfied. Now it has taken a while to make peace with a neck pup for it but there was never any doubt on the DD in the bridge slot!
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

I you want less fur and more punch you can add a very small resistor to the hot lead.
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

I wasnt a fan of the distortion but it was pretty clear, just too compressed for my ears and not as organic as I would've liked. I'd check out the PU height but it may a simple matter of the pickup not liking your guitar. Sometimes a PUP can be finicky.
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

well i can def tell you it's not my amp ....every other guitar has nailed the tone i wanted from it....i'll check the height and try again....i know the pickup shouldn't be bad...to my ears its just mush! which doesn't seem right....i really dont think its the fact that i am so used to the uber articulate EMG 81...anbd i just have to adjust to the passive sound....cause i know this pickup is supposed to be pretty clean w/ distortion
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

HetfieldRules said:
well i can def tell you it's not my amp ....every other guitar has nailed the tone i wanted from it....i'll check the height and try again....i know the pickup shouldn't be bad...to my ears its just mush! which doesn't seem right....i really dont think its the fact that i am so used to the uber articulate EMG 81...anbd i just have to adjust to the passive sound....cause i know this pickup is supposed to be pretty clean w/ distortion
Click to expand...

It could be that "gain booster" portion of the circuit you mention creating some type of mismatch too. Especially if your rig nails it for all your other tones. My experience is that my rig nails it for all my tones...including the DD. The DD just allows me to go straight into my amp instead of having to put a distortion pedal in front of it.
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

Scoop your mids a bit and lower the pickup some... That normally gets rid of the "muffled" sound some pickups can have.
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

I've had and emg 81 loaded guitar and my main USA Custom guitar is loaded with a DD. The 81 is little clearer, but I just can't imagine the DD sounding like mush in comparison. I have had a completely opposite experience with it. I really think this might be a case of an electronics problem, or maybe even the off chance of damaged DD or something.
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

That shouldn't be the case. I did have one Distortion go bad on me once. That was a weird situation and what made me join the forum.

That Distortion should sound almost indentical to a EMG 81 but with more soul and warmth.

Either there's something up with the wiring and that boost circuit or you may have a bad pickup. I'd try to take out the booster circuit.
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

i didn't do any of the wiring myself...brought it to a shop....payed $75 for both pickups to get put in....so i hope it's not the wiring....that would be money very poorly spent
 
Re: Distortion disappointments :(

Mush could =compression to some peoples ears, and lord knows the SH6 is muy compressed. That said, so is an 81, but the difference in clarity could be where the 81 is tolerable for you and the SH6 is not.

I've heard other people get decent tones with the SH6, but I've never much cared for it. I remember lowering/fiddling with the height on mine quite a bit and when it became "uncompressed" enough for my tastes it also got pretty inarticulate and bland. YMMV.

that said, I would rule out the electronics first, and make sure you have quality 500K pots and a decent cap/s.
 
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