Have tried many combinations, need more tips on new pickusp to try

[doctadre]

I have had this Ed Roman Quicksilver for a LONG time, and have never quite found the perfect pickup for this particular guitar. Here are the specs:

PRS style double cut shape
Maple top, Korina back
Bolt on Maple neck, ebony fretboard
Tune o Matic bridge
Pickups are hard mounted



I originally had the blackbacks in there. They are mismatched and provided an interesting tone, but it was not powerful enough in the bridge for my liking.


Pickups I have tried:

Regular Blackback - not powerful and hot enough
Stronger blackback - more powerful but still not enough
Blackback with alnico 8 - the mismatched coils didnt work with the 8
Blackback with alnico 3- worst sound I have ever heard. Just didnt work.
Duncan Custom - Had more power but still not enough, and sounded a bit brittle
Custom Custom - nice lead tones, but not focused and crunchy enough on the power chords


I have a few PRS singlecuts with a tremonti pickup in the bridge. Its ceramic, but very rich, powerful, crunchy. I am trying to find a bridge tone in this guitar that is similar to them. Obviously I cannot match the tone since it is totally different construction and wood, but I want to find something that can get this guitar closer to a powerful high gain sound.


I am looking for a coil that is hot enough, and a magnet that will sound crunchy and powerful with rhythm chords ( full chords and power chords) and will have that nice lead tone.

I primarily want to use the bridge humbucker with high gain (modern rock/pop punk style), but also like to use the inner coils of both pickups to get nice clear tones. I am looking for something that is ballsy in humbucker mode but will still work decently split.


Alnico 2 was the magnet of choice in this guitar for its great mids in the higher register, but I have since installed a piezo system on the guitar. The bridge saddles went from metal to graphite, which I believe has changed the tone. Everything is a little "rounder", which is why I needed the Ceramic DuncanCustom in there. I am thinking of trying the Duncan Distortion, but will it be too brittle?



Anybody have any new pickups to try?



Thanks! Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to get all the info on the table!


Dre

 

[uOpt]

Re: Have tried many combinations, need more tips on new pickusp to try

Duncan Distortion.

/thread

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Have tried many combinations, need more tips on new pickusp to try

dude if you've tried numerous pickups in it and nothing seems to work, then you might just have a dud, ed roman built or not....

 

[doctadre]

Re: Have tried many combinations, need more tips on new pickusp to try

I am gonna try the duncan distortion soon.



I know that there are guitars out there that can be duds, no matter how cool the wood is and how good the construction is. However, I definitely believe that the right pickup can bring the right tone out of any guitar. I know that my guitar, unplugged, sounds good. It just needs the right pickup and magnet to accentuate the tones I want out of it.


I have not tried Alnico 5 yet. This may be another route to try. I think I need something in the 15k or higher. The Distortion may be what I need, but if it is too brittle I'll try magnet swapping. The JB would be another choice, and if that sucks, I'll try the JB2.


I have got my list of ideas to try, but I wanted to see if anyone had experience with these features (bolt on maple neck, maple/korina body) and had something that could work.


Thanks,

Dre

 

[C-Martin]

Re: Have tried many combinations, need more tips on new pickusp to try

i say try the jb, you might love it or you might hate it but just the fact that you never tried an A5 mag says that you must give the JB a try.. who knows maybe you've been trying to avoid the very thing you've been looking for.. i would try a JB before a distortion imo. Ive avoided A5's for years cuz i tried a 59 once and i didnt like it but recently discovered that the jb was EXACTLY the tone i wanted and i will more than likely never even try opening my charvel ever again cuz it sounds perfect and just exactly or extremely close to the sound i have in my head lol

btw the JB lead tones sound awesome in the right guitar and especially where you say you want more prominent mids i personally think the jb has good strong mids. As for crunchy rythm it will depend on your amp but trough my mesa mark iv or my jtm 45 i dont see the lack of crunch from this pickup, the strong mids and really high output of this pickup pushes the amp and makes it crunch and i find it rather dynamic and is in fact one of my favorite features of the JB. Hit the strings hard or softer and you can control your tone especially on leads it has a almost "wah'esk" feel if that makes any sense..

 

[doctadre]

Re: Have tried many combinations, need more tips on new pickusp to try

Thanks man! I think I will try that JB first! I have used the JB in an all mahogany guitar with decent results. I think in the Roman it might just work!! If the output is not enough I'll throw in an alternative 8 coil, and if the tone is not what I want, I will try different magnets!



Thanks!



Dre