Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

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plissken

New member
I realize I am posting on a Seymour Duncan forum(hello btw), however I was wondering if anyone had made a similar transition. I got the Mustaine Zero Angel II guitar for an excellent price, of all his guitars I actually like the look of it the best. It came with Dean design humbuckers. I really like the pups as is, however I can't help but want to try the Livewires found in Dave's higher end guitars. I play classic rock and metal mostly(learning with Rocksmith, best learning tool of all time btw).

I don't have any hands on experience with active pick ups, so I'm not even sure if I'll like them. For that matter if I'm going with actives, why not the ever popular EMG 81/85 set? Ugh, main question is, will there be $190 worth of difference?
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

I've only had 81/81 and 81/85 sets as far as actives go. They're cool. They're very compressed and sound huge through my recto.

I've had a JB in a USA marty friedman sig KE-1, it was killer too. Don't know about the livewires, I imagine they're just a hotter version of the JB/59 set as that is what our boy Dave used to play
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

I've used them both. The Livewires are better than the EMG's in my opinion. They're warmer and less ice picky-y.
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

That's what I was thinking the difference would be, more warmth. Been listening to a lot of Megadeth recently, and the more I listen to them the less I like Metallica's sound(post Black Album anyway), Hammett and Hetfields guitar riffs just sound sterile compared to Mustaine's. I've got a coupon, ordering now, along with a dual 9v batter holder, may as well go for the 18v mod while I'm in there. :naughty:

Love your signature btw, strangely hard to stop watching it lol.
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

LW-Must doesn't allow to connect them at 18V.
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

Ah, it CAN be wired up for 18v, however after your response I read that Seymour Duncans don't benefit from it(one guy who did it said it made zero difference), so I just cancelled that. Thanks brotha!
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

plissken said:
That's what I was thinking the difference would be, more warmth. Been listening to a lot of Megadeth recently, and the more I listen to them the less I like Metallica's sound(post Black Album anyway), Hammett and Hetfields guitar riffs just sound sterile compared to Mustaine's. I've got a coupon, ordering now, along with a dual 9v batter holder, may as well go for the 18v mod while I'm in there. :naughty:

Love your signature btw, strangely hard to stop watching it lol.
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Keep in mind most of Mustaines classic tones were made using good old straight JB's the live wires are fairly new. That being said I dig them they are super quiet and are similar to a JB.
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

Ah, another Deth head I see! I'm pretty sure you know this by now, but Mustaine used the JB/Jazz combo in everything from Killing Is my Business up until his hand/nerve injury in 2001 or whenever that happened. I'm sure his new signature pickups sound amazing, but if you wanna recreate those awesome Rust in Peace tones, all you need is a JB. And mad skills of course :)
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

Indeed, I love many kinds of guitar music(except country), but I always come back to metal. Just saw Megadeth with Slash and Black Label Society here this last weekend(front row!). I really want to see that Iron Maiden/Megadeth show down in Austin in September, but I want to score a pit ticket if I'm going to make the drive from Dallas(no luck so far).

Would that be the SH-4 JB? I definitely do want the Livewires for this guitar(I'm still a fan of Megadeth, their new stuff is great as well), however I've got another guitar that JB could go into.
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

Hey - I'm a Dean player (and Dean forum member).

There will be a WORLD of difference between the pickups in there and the Livewires. At least $100 worth. If the rest after that is worth it to you, go for it. But I agree with everything you have said.

- Yes, Dincan > EMG
- Yes, BIG sound improvement

And dfor the record - the Zero is a hella bargain. Every one I have played (and I live like 10 miles from the Dean HQ) has been awesome.

Enjoy :headbang:
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

Excellent, the pups will be here Friday, can't wait to play em! Yeah the Angel 2 is getting to be my favorite player, the explorer body type just feels good. I got mine for only $275 on eBay, B stock, it has a small crack in the finish around the bottom tone pot, well worth saving $225!
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

plissken said:
I really want to see that Iron Maiden/Megadeth show down in Austin in September, but I want to score a pit ticket if I'm going to make the drive from Dallas(no luck so far).

I'll be there, front and center! Hope you can make it!
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Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

PM sent.

One more bit of advice I'd ask here rather than start a new thread, on the JB pickups. What ohm pot(250k, 500k, 1000?) would you recommend to get that 80's metal sound out of it? Whichever one it is I'm looking for a coil tap pot for it. My buddy who wires up everything for me will insist that 1000k is the best, but his specialty is amplifiers more than guitars.
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

No way would I do 1000k with a JB... most people do 500 though some find it too bright like that and use 250k's If the guitar is warm and even use 500's if its bright use 250's
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

The Mustaine livewire bridge is supposedly just an active version the JB (can't remember if the neck is like the Jazz or the '59). going with passives will be more cost effective now and down the road (considering batteries and the time to change them)...unless you don't care about the cost. DMT makes some awesome pickups and getting the Baker Act bridge and the Nostalgia neck will be like a product-improved JB and '59. either way, the livewires are supposed to have more character than the EMGs.
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

Cost of the batteries is nothing, I have a friend who delivers I-V pumps, whenever he picks one up it has a barely used 9v battery that must be discarded anyway, so he gives me those. I've got a drawer full of em, I use them in my pedals lol.

The guitar I have in mind for the JB is an Epiphone Jr I don't use anymore, the single JB in would be perfect to replicate the old Mustaine tone.
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

darthphineas said:
The Mustaine livewire bridge is supposedly just an active version the JB (can't remember if the neck is like the Jazz or the '59). going with passives will be more cost effective now and down the road (considering batteries and the time to change them)...unless you don't care about the cost. DMT makes some awesome pickups and getting the Baker Act bridge and the Nostalgia neck will be like a product-improved JB and '59. either way, the livewires are supposed to have more character than the EMGs.
Click to expand...

Come on dude... saving money on batteries from actives? pffft... I get usually a year and a half or so out of a battery on guitars I dont play much as many as 5 years, I lose more in change on the couch than the battery cost.
 
Re: Going from Dean pickups to Dave Mustaine active Livewires?

Edgecrusher said:
Come on dude... saving money on batteries from actives? pffft... I get usually a year and a half or so out of a battery on guitars I dont play much as many as 5 years, I lose more in change on the couch than the battery cost.
Click to expand...

Sounds like we just look at things in different terms.



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