'gainest' pickup from SD?

Deke

Deke

New member
since i'm a little pessimistic about going active via EMGs, i'm wondering if there is a duncan pickup that matches the EMGs in terms of sheer gain. i'm looking into building a strat with high gain pickups (HH strat) and molding it into something like tom morellos during his rage against the machine days.
 
Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

I guess without going active, you'd be looking at a Parallel Axis Distortion Trembucker. It's got a DC Resistance of 21.3k I believe. OR you can probably get a Duncan pup close to what you are looking at and get an EMG-PA2 to give you more output. thats what I'm thinkin of doin.
 
Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

Duncan Distortion kills the 81. I switched from an 81 to a distortion and couldn't be happier.
 
Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

Pickups don't produce gain. They just help with it by overdriving amps a more than lower output equivalent. You'll always be limited by how much gain the amp can deliver.
PATB Distortion I'd say as well.
 
Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

The PATB Distortion is a great high output pickup, but the resonant peak is kind of low. So it ends up being a little smoother and thicker, rather than aggressive like a regular Distortion. The Dimebucker or Diablo are probably pretty cool too.
 
Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

My recommendation would be to go with lower output pickups, maybe something in the medium output range. With a Mesa Dual Rectifier, there's plenty of gain at hand so no need to push the pre-amp very hard at all. Plus, lower output pickups will give you more clarity and you'll be able to hear what you're playing. Go too hot and it'll all become mush. Just my opinion.
 
Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

I also prefer vintage output pickups.

But if you want something with alot of output that sounds good, I'd go for the Duncan Custom or Duncan JB or Dimebucker or maybe the Invader.

Lew
 
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Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

The Invader wins in the gain department but, I have not played the Parellel axis distortion trembucker. The Invader is very think and gainy and sounds HUGE! IMO, it is too much pickup to match the Tom Merrello sound though. You could also take a look at the Duncan Live wires Heavy metal active pickups! I hear they are insaine!
 
Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

I think Tom Morello is using more a crunchy than a really high gain sound ...
 
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Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

thanks guys for the replies. yea i'm trying to nail the morello sound, maybe not on a dual rectifier but when he does his scratches (which sound like turntables) he uses alot of overdrive/gain/etc to produce that effect. i don't want to get a pickup that won't let me get that effect easily but with the EMGs that he has, he's not only able to create that intense overdrivish sound but also be able to create massive amounts of feedback from his amp.
 
Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

I've yet to put my hands on an OHMYGODLOUD pickup that makes me smile as much as the Custom. It just sounds...like I want it to sound and offers all the output I want for my more raucous moments. I bought it exclusively for that stuff, but found that I liked the sound of it so much that I wanted to use it for all sorts of music, which actually became a bit more of a challenge because convincing an amp to behave when you're pummelling the input stage can sometimes (depending on the programme material) be a little tricky.
 
Re: 'gainest' pickup from SD?

theodie said:
You could also take a look at the Duncan Live wires Heavy metal active pickups! I hear they are insaine!
Click to expand...
They are. Those will hit your amp harder than any other pickups I know about. I'm not really sure that's what you want, though.
 
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