Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

  • SD Fullshred

    Votes: 4 19.0%

  • Bill Lawrence L-500l

    Votes: 10 47.6%

  • Dimarzio Megadrive

    Votes: 6 28.6%

  • ...other, if you think of something better

    Votes: 1 4.8%
  • Total voters
    21
C

CarniceroX1X

New member
In, for example, in the bridge of an Ibanez mahogany bodied RG w/ a locking trem.

you wanna play fast riffs under tube distortion, hear every note clearly, but still get some great, sweet lead tones without ever sounding shrill.

Kinda like Vai & Petrucci mixed w/ Children of Bodom, along those lines

And some sick sounding palm mutes and pich harmonics.

All these pickups seem to claim clarity under distortion, and if I"m not mistaken, are supposed to clean up well.

Yeah, so, what would YOU install?
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

I voted L-500l. It will do the job and offer the best veratility! Also, the 500L sounds great with either 250 of 500K pots. I have heard from people that the 500L in the bridge with a 250K pot sound just like a XL500 with a tad less output! Should be even more veratile than the L-500XL if you use the L with a 250K. For the music you want to play, go for the XL500 IMO! Its a matter if you want a bit more or a bit less output!
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

The full shred is a great pickup but its fast palm muted sound is trying because its resonance is so bright. Otherwise for heavy riffing it is great. The megadrive has a very wide frequency response and a nice smooth output it sounds a lot like a passive emg81.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

Ok, well, I already ordered the Full Shred.

I was actually leaning toward the L-500l, but I didn"t feel like waiting forwever, and it seemed complicated to order.

So I'm currently waiting till the full shred arrives. BTW, that dude Pierre says it sounds a lot better with Alnico 8 mags.....is swapping mags difficult/expensive?

and no offense or anything, but what's up w/ that chowder obsession of yours?

but yeah, thanx for the comments.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

Hey 'dude :laugh2: It sounds different. Better will be determined by your ear ;) I wanted my FS to be a bit beefier and the A8 did just that :) And it's easy. Finding an A8 magnet may not be the easiest though, maybe you could put an add on the classifieds here :)
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

So, could you please explain how to change them, in case I also end up wanting more beef? Thanx, and btw, Im not really experienced in this kind of thing, so, any input would be really great
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

More bass and mids, and it didn't lose clarity or tightness. It just became closer to a Custom basically, but still retaining this overall brightness and cutting edge.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

No no, I didn't mean tonal differences, I meant actually taking out the Alnico 5 and putting in Alnico 8, like the process and tools and all that stuff.

technical, hope its not too dificult for a novice like me.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

Ahhh sorry I misread. You need to loosen the 4 screws at the back of the pickup, slide the tape up a little, heat the pickup with a hair dryer so the wax melts a bit, then just slide a pokey thin thing inside it ti poke the magnet out, and insert the new one with the correct orientation :)
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

Pierre said:
More bass and mids, and it didn't lose clarity or tightness. It just became closer to a Custom basically, but still retaining this overall brightness and cutting edge.
Click to expand...

Hey- I've got a fullshred coming soon as well, and an a8 sitting in my desk... How did the magnet swap affect the clean tone? Also I remember you saying single note leads were a little thin- thinner than they were with the a5? Just curious since I'm kinda second guessing myself already.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

I never use the clean tone with it, I have the neck pickup for that. And no that was just the pickup a little too far from the high strings, I hadn't set it up hehe :P I'm happy with the tone there now.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

Heh, guess I'll just have to see for myself :p - I currently really like splitting my bridge bucker for bright stratty type tones so that's why I asked. Seems like the a8 might be just the cure for any potential issues with the fullshred being too thin though. Thanks for the heads up :)
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

I know you already bought your pickups, but I'll give my recommendation anyway in case someone reads this later and is curious. I have a Jackson Kelly loaded with Bill Lawrence pickups. They are simply amazing! I have a XL500 in the bridge and L450 in the neck. The distortion is heavy and yet crystal clear. It is perfect for any type of metal playing, especially fast riffs. I know Bill Lawrence is associated with Dimebag since he actualy used them, but I would say they give you a perfect Metallica/Megadeth tone. When you take off the distortion, these pickups sound beautiful. Some of the best cleans I have ever heard. These pickups/configuration are extremely versatile for any type of playing. I've tried SD pickups and just couldn't find the tone I wanted. This has it and much, much more!
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

megadrive all the way! that is one badass dimarzio that is underrated and mostly unknown. Guys the love the 81 dont know what they are missing with the MD! it is what the 81 should have sounded like.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

Ed Hunter said:
megadrive all the way! that is one badass dimarzio that is underrated and mostly unknown. Guys the love the 81 dont know what they are missing with the MD! it is what the 81 should have sounded like.
Click to expand...

You realize this is a 6 year old thread necro?

Theres a reason the megadrive is no longer standard production.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

I put the fullshred bridge pup in my dean vendetta guitar. i really love it! of course its way better than the original dean pup, but still, to make that cheap guitar sound this good is a testament to the high quality tone of SD pups.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

I haven't tried the Megadrive, but a friend of mine has one in his Ibanez S. It's real warm sounding and kind of dark so maybe it's good to. I played the Bill Lawrence (Wilde) set and liked it so much that I bought a set and it's still sitting new in the box and waiting for the right guitar to come along.
 
Re: Fullshred vs L-500l vs Megadrive

I currently own a full shred and a megadrive i have also owned 500L. and i must say the megadrive is my favorite of the bunch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Metalhead lookin for new pickups in a Mahogany Ibanez
Replies
7
Views
1K
CarniceroX1X
C
Back
Top