che_guitarra
New member
Hi guys. I've recently screwed together a Warmoth-based superstrat. Maple neck, black korina body, Sustainiac and Duncan Custom in the bridge. It's a great player, but i'm yet to be convinced the Custom is the right pickup for my needs.
I'm looking to set it up as a 80s/90s hard-rock and metal machine, and I want to gift myself a guitar that makes tapping, pinch harmonics, dive-bombs and squeals as easy as possible. My bread and butter playing is rockabilly, surf, blues, groove and roots, and my bread and butter guitars are teles or strats. But I also like to rip up a bit of Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Dimebag, and old Slayer on the fretboard from time to time. This guitar is intended to scratch that itch.
I knew the Custom was a hot wind pickup before I bought it, but my ears are telling me it's a little too hot, nor is it as dynamic or articulate as I was expecting. It's all woof and no snarl/bite through my rig. And annoyingly, at this point in time, my tele is a far superior tapping/squeals/80s solo trickery axe.
I've tried to shape the tone/response via height adjustment, but I can't really get it where I want it to be. I know the guitar has plenty of bite in it - I can hear it in the neck pickup (when Sustainiac mode is inactive). But flicking between the neck and bridge pickup positions it sounds like the humbucker has the tone knob rolled back halfway... this EQ curve doesn't agree with me at all.
I think the first step is to switch in a lower output pickup, maybe even an Alnico, but I need to strike a balance with my Sustainiac install - the lower the bridge pickup output, the less effective it becomes.
Can anyone recommend a pickup that might suit me better?
I'm looking to set it up as a 80s/90s hard-rock and metal machine, and I want to gift myself a guitar that makes tapping, pinch harmonics, dive-bombs and squeals as easy as possible. My bread and butter playing is rockabilly, surf, blues, groove and roots, and my bread and butter guitars are teles or strats. But I also like to rip up a bit of Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Dimebag, and old Slayer on the fretboard from time to time. This guitar is intended to scratch that itch.
I knew the Custom was a hot wind pickup before I bought it, but my ears are telling me it's a little too hot, nor is it as dynamic or articulate as I was expecting. It's all woof and no snarl/bite through my rig. And annoyingly, at this point in time, my tele is a far superior tapping/squeals/80s solo trickery axe.
I've tried to shape the tone/response via height adjustment, but I can't really get it where I want it to be. I know the guitar has plenty of bite in it - I can hear it in the neck pickup (when Sustainiac mode is inactive). But flicking between the neck and bridge pickup positions it sounds like the humbucker has the tone knob rolled back halfway... this EQ curve doesn't agree with me at all.
I think the first step is to switch in a lower output pickup, maybe even an Alnico, but I need to strike a balance with my Sustainiac install - the lower the bridge pickup output, the less effective it becomes.
Can anyone recommend a pickup that might suit me better?
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