Re: H/S/H combi for Godin Solidac?
I have an ESP LTD EC1000s that has the standard Duncan 59/JB combi in it and I really like the sound. I have a Godin Solidac with Godin pickups that are just OK. I like the piezo in the bridge and sometimes need to switch back and forth but want a better electric tone.
SOOOOO. What is a good H/S/H combi that splits the buckers well to sound decent for 2/4 positions yet still throw down pretty well?
Thanks in advance.
Ah, silverleaf maple body. That's a nice way of saying "soft maple".
I had a soft maple body Ibanez. It was H/S/S. I tried the Classic Stack Plus neck and middle, with the JB bridge, not knowing yet that it was soft maple. This produced an ice pick JB and some raunchy sounding classic stacks. Needless to say, it wasn't good.
Then I tried two Alnico II Pro Staggered neck and middle with a Custom Custom bridge and 250k pots (the ones it had originally). That combo sounded the best by far. The Custom Custom had that nice fat-vintage-over-wound sound, and the neck and middle sounded much better, more like single coils should. Granted, Alnico II Pro Staggered pickups sound MUCH better in my Lite Ash Stratocaster (swamp ash body), but anyways, for what it's worth, that's how it worked out for me.
To be honest, I've never tried the Alnico II Pro Humbucker, but if this was my guitar, I'd get the Alnico II Pro Humbucker for the neck and the Custom Custom for the bridge. I might even get them with covers since (supposedly) nickel covers help tame the highs.
Hopefully silverleaf maple doesn't have krappy lows. My soft maple body Ibanez had horrid lows, and the Custom Custom doesn't come equipped to impart tight nice lows. Great for rhythm playing, not good for speed metal / shred. I don't know if that was the fault of the Custom Custom or of the soft maple body, but I mention it anyways.
When I had called in to Seymour Duncan directly, after knowing it's soft maple, the guy on the phone said to only use pickups with alnico ii magnets. He was dead-on correct.
I absolutely hate the sound of soft maple, but my friend who plays bass at our church loved the way the Custom Custom sounded in soft maple body. He plays a nice Carvin bass, for what it's worth.... He likes the sound of strong low-mids, and the Custom Custom apparently has some good low-mids.
Hope this helps!
