Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

[lazyfinger]

I have Fred on order, but now I am wondering if I should've gone with Mo' Joe (I can probably still change it before Monday). It's going for the bridge position of my alder strat with vintage trem. What do you think will be the tonal difference in application? I plan to use it mostly for classic rock/rock/hard rock, no metal. Not trying to get Satriani's tone at all.

I could've gone with Norton or Tone Zone (I already have JB), but I wanted something that had a unique voice, and not too generic or common, because I already have the modern stuff covered with another axe. So I'm not sure between these two, thanks.

I know it's a SD forum, but you guys have tone of experience with different pickups. :jester:

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

I think you'll be better off with the FRED. The Mo Joe is just a hotter louder FRED, I've heard.

 

[CountFunkula]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

FRED. The Mo' Joe is slightly thicker and hotter, but it loses a little bit of that vocal quality that makes the FRED so unique.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

Somebody PM'd me the same question. Neither one is "better," and they're not all that different. The Mo'Joe is a tweaked Fred. At first I thought the Fred was thin but after some more playing I realized it's a juicy pickup. It's made for saturating it with gain. The more gain, the juicier it gets and great overtones start gushing out.

That's pretty much the same story with the Mo'Joe but I personally think it sounds a little bit better with a clean amp or bluesy overdrive than the Fred. It's a little more defined than the Fred.

Also with the Mo'Joe, I initially thought it sounded kind of thin but I recorded several minutes of practice and realized that it's not at all. It's just the way the presence stands out on top which gives you that initial impression. The Fred is a hair brighter maybe in the treble.

At this point I would probably say that the Mo'Joe is a more modern Fred with a smidge less mid-mids and a smidge more low-mids.

It's a hard decision but I would go with the Mo'Joe probably if I had to choose one at this point simply because it's a little hotter and has an incredible clean tone too.

If you still can't decide, then take as serious look at the Norton. I have one in my Ibanez RG1570. I'm 100% satisfied with it in there and won't take it out again. It sounds a lot like the Fred and has all the overtones but it's a little fuller and hotter. It has a great split sound for bridge position, it cleans up with the guitar volume, and it has a very nice and clear clean sound.

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

Thanks, it's good that you mention the eq of the pickups though. My strat might be smidge bit on the bright side. On moderate volume, the highs used to attack the ears with stock pickup and Dimarzio chopper with 250k pots.

Anyway, how would mid mid vs low mid affect the overall tone?

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

Thanks, it's good that you mention the eq of the pickups though. My strat might be smidge bit on the bright side. On moderate volume, the highs used to attack the ears with stock pickup and Dimarzio chopper with 250k pots.

Anyway, how would mid mid vs low mid affect the overall tone?

Then you need to be checking out the AT-1 model or possibly the Breed. The Fred, Norton, and Mo'Joe are kind of on the bright side. If your guitar is already bright then you may want something like the Breed. With it you can get similar Fred type overtones but it's warm and not going to clash with a bright guitar or bright amp.

It's hard to say. The Fred was designed to get kind of squashier and brighter when it gets loaded with distortion. The Mo'Joe is just slightly tamer in that regard. However, I can't testify how well it would perform on a "bright" guitar since I installed mine in basswood and mahogany.

Now that I think about it, the Breed might be a good way to get the fundamental kind of Fred tone but thicker and less harsh in a bright guitar.

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

Yeah, in high gain, I hate that scratchy, hollowed out sound that single coils/overly bright pups put out in bridge position. With a tone control, I know I can take the edge off, but then it sort of sounds muffled and the hollow sound is still there.

*edit* someone with alder strat might be able to correct me whether Fred is a good choice for this guitar.

 

[Gplayerzzz]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

Does the Norton have more high or low mids? I've been thinking of trying it, or the EVO 2. I liked the brightness and highs from the first EVO, but its way too thin on rhythm.

 

[B2D]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

The FRED is a great pickup... I had one for a few years in my main guitar but needed something with a little more bass response. I have been thinking about giving the Mo Joe a spin just for kicks, or maybe even trying a Norton again. The FRED is a killer pickup though. It's surprisingly good at getting Van Halen-ish tones too if you dial it in right!

 

[blueman335]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

I have a couple Fred's, both with two 250K's. I like them a lot.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

The cure for overly bright bridge pickups = Alnico 8.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

Does the Norton have more high or low mids? I've been thinking of trying it, or the EVO 2. I liked the brightness and highs from the first EVO, but its way too thin on rhythm.

Yes it has a little more lows and mids, not a whole lot more. The treble is a little less than the Fred too. It's a great pickup. In my opinion, better than the Evolution. The Evo 2 is a good improvement over the Evolution but I still think the Norton is a much better pickup overall.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

I have a couple Fred's, both with two 250K's. I like them a lot.

freddy must be a real good pup then cause you are the second guy that really likes the fred here and also loves a great classic,vintage tone. STRATDELUXER97 is another big fred fan and i take value to both of your opinions on tone.

 

[Jakek5150]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

I LOVE the tone of the FRED. If it's the pickup Joe uses on the Chickenfoot album, then yeah, definetely get that cause that is one of the best tones I have ever heard.

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

I've been checking out some of that Chickenfoot live concerts, and I really like that tone, darker and organic than say Satriani's solo tone.

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

freddy must be a real good pup then cause you are the second guy that really likes the fred here and also loves a great classic,vintage tone. STRATDELUXER97 is another big fred fan and i take value to both of your opinions on tone.

Didn't you have a Fred also? You got me pretty interested in the first place with my other topic about JB.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

freddy must be a real good pup then cause you are the second guy that really likes the fred here and also loves a great classic,vintage tone. STRATDELUXER97 is another big fred fan and i take value to both of your opinions on tone.

Thanks for that forum brother...I think mine has aged nicely over the years also...Mine is one of the very earliest Freds...Bought it when it came out and it's been in my black strat ever since.

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

I LOVE the tone of the FRED. If it's the pickup Joe uses on the Chickenfoot album, then yeah, definetely get that cause that is one of the best tones I have ever heard.

I'm pretty sure that's the Mo' Joe as he's used it almost exclusively since '06.

 

[oilpit]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

I'm pretty sure that's the Mo' Joe as he's used it almost exclusively since '06.

I'm pretty sure he's been using JS1000's and 1200s which are loaded with Fred/PAF Joes, it's only very recently that he's started using the new JS2400's which have a Mo Joe in the bridge.

I honestly think that Dimarzio just wanted to release an "official" Satch signature bridge pickup. Essentially what it is is a Fred with slightly more bass and low mids, that's less dynamic with less harmonics. It's one of my least favorite Dimarzios for that exact reason, it's not just that it's an average sounding pickup that the endorsee doesn't even use live...a cash cow if you ask me.

So to the OP: get the Fred, it's just a better pickup.

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Fred Vs Mo' Joe: Help me Decide

I'm pretty sure he's been using JS1000's and 1200s which are loaded with Fred/PAF Joes, it's only very recently that he's started using the new JS2400's which have a Mo Joe in the bridge.

I honestly think that Dimarzio just wanted to release an "official" Satch signature bridge pickup. Essentially what it is is a Fred with slightly more bass and low mids, that's less dynamic with less harmonics. It's one of my least favorite Dimarzios for that exact reason, it's not just that it's an average sounding pickup that the endorsee doesn't even use live...a cash cow if you ask me.

So to the OP: get the Fred, it's just a better pickup.

Huh. I could've sworn I read some interview where he was saying he liked how the MJ is more out-front live.