Gibson dirty fingers

AidanP13

New member
Hey guys. I just put a dirty fingers into the bridge of my epi lp, and I love it. It's really punchy, has nice highs, and retains clarity. I was lookin around at peoples thoughts on it, and a lot of people really didn't like it. I tune to D standard, and drop c, and it sounds awesome. I guess in standard tuning its a little to harsh and bright? Im not sure. I was wondering what a good neck compliment would be. I would use it for cleans, and less extreme riffs. Under distortion, i'd need it to be quite a bit mellower than the DF, but still have some kick, sometin like a hotter PAF. I would play slower, full chords and simple riffs. I wan't it to be nice and clear, but not as bright as the bridge. For clean, something nice and warm, but clear. Since i just bought this new pup, i'm gonna have to save up for a bit, so there is no rush. Thanks guys.
 
Re: Gibson dirty fingers

Is it a newer (reissue) or older version?

I have 2 older DFs and they absolutely rock. I had one in my Epi LP Ultra II. The other is still in my Ibanez.

The DF was huge in my LP. I had to use something in the neck that could keep up with it, and I like hot neck pickups anyhow, so I used a Pearly Gates Plus. It was a bigger 59 neck. The 59 was nice but the output difference was too much for me. The Pearly Gates Plus was smoother than the DF. It also had less top-end harshness that the 59 sometimes has. I had to back off the bass side and raise the pole pieces since it was a little bass-heavy, but doing that made it sound perfect.

If you're not worried about the volume difference, then the Pearly Gates neck, 59 neck, and Alnico II Pro neck were the best I tried. Well, the Seymourizer was also stellar and is the neck pickup in my current Epi LP. The Distortion neck is supposed to be what the Seymourizer became, but I haven't tried the Distortion neck, so I can't confirm that.

The Pearly Gates neck sounds like the best match for what you've described. I haven't tried a Pearly Gates bridge in the neck. That might give you the output while still keeping the PG sound.
 
Re: Gibson dirty fingers

Oh I forgot, I am playing through an old jcm 800 so I have to roll my volume knob down for cleans, so I need it to clean up good. I was thinking of the pg, but I thought it would be to bright for what I wanted. It's the reissue. I looked all over for the original, but I couldn't find a good one.
 
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Re: Gibson dirty fingers

If you think the PG will be too bright, then you could check out the Alnico II Pro. In a bright guitar I find the A2P to be articulate without being sterile. In the neck of my LP it was both smooth and articulate. The PG was less smooth than the A2P, but not as "flat" as the 59. The 59's cleans were beautiful, but I don't think it's going to give you the clarity you might be looking for. It's a warm bell-tone. The PG and A2P also give excellent cleans, just a little clearer sounding for chords, to my ears.

Here's a good comparison from a lot of members of the PGn and 59n:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=198995

In particular, I tend to agree with this post by Aceman:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showpost.php?p=2615523&postcount=8
I think the counter top analogy really stuck in my head.

I wish I could tell you one over the other for sure, but after going through swapping pickups in 5 guitars over the past 3 years I can tell you that, while there are guidelines that will help, only trying a pickup in a guitar will actually tell you if it works or not.

Take advantage of Seymour Duncan's 21-day exchange policy and give either the PGn or the A2Pn a go, then try the other if the first doesn't work out for you.

Or buy a used one. Most of the pickups I've tried were used. Plus if you buy a used one and don't like it, sell it and you'll probably break even, or close enough.

And yeah, I lucked out finding 2 DFs: 1980 and 1984 (Tim Shaw-era markings have the date codes). You can find them on ebay, but it's hard to find them for less than $100. (Un)Luckily, I am permanently attached to ebay so I see just about everything come up.
 
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Re: Gibson dirty fingers

The Dimarzio Super II, Duncan Distortion Neck or Full Shred might be a good matches.
 
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