help with pickup choice

S

Shredhead7

New member
Hey everyone i'm a first time user here in the forum and was wondering If you guys could help me out with a pickup selection for my guitar. I recently recieved my custom made carvin DC and its a great guitar, i love everything about it except for the pickups. They are ok, but they aren't specialized enough for what i play. I do a lot of heavy metal like Lamb of God, Children of Bodom and Shadows fall, but i also play a lot of shred too.

Basically i'm looking for a guitar with lots of clarity but also with tons of output, a tight bottom end, lots of midrange and enough treble to give defined pick attack. I've been looking through retailers like crazy, but just dont know what would suit me best.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what would work well for my styles?

By the way the guitar is a koa neck throught guitar to give you an idea of what it sounds like, its shown in my signature.

Thank you
 
Re: help with pickup choice

you just described the emg81 bridge!!!!!
 
Re: help with pickup choice

i always heard that the 81 has a really scooped midrange, which is a sound i hate, but maybe thats just because metallica used them and scooped the mids.

By the way i hate scooped midrange, stupidest thing ever. The midrange is where guitar frequencies lie so why should you try to push it into the bass and treble frequencies.

Actually i want the pickups to focus around the midrange and be very focused and tight.

Can you give me a bit more about what it sounds like to you.
 
Last edited:
Re: help with pickup choice

Shredhead7 said:
i always heard that the 81 has a really scooped midrange, which is a sound i hate, but maybe thats just because metallica used them and scooped the mids.

By the way i hate scooped midrange, stupidest thing ever. The midrange is where guitar frequencies lie so why should you try to push it into the bass and treble frequencies.

Can you give me a bit more about what it sounds like to you.
Click to expand...


the thing with emg's is that the amp matters alot !!! if your playing thru a solid state practice combo they are not gonna sound that great , but with a nice high gain tube amp !!!! OMG DUDE you can nail lamb of god tone, avenged sevenfold any metal you want !!!!!

and remember like my favorite forumite says deadskinslayer "if you want rip your fvckin face off metal tone" go with emg's!!!!
 
Re: help with pickup choice

I'd say the duncan custom (more of a medium output pickup, but has more than enough output for most situations), and if your guitar is naturally real bright, the invader. If your guitar is naturally a little dark, i'd go with a duncan distortion. Those can be a little fuzzy to my ears, but in the right guitar they can sound godly.

Really, with the right setup, any of those pickups can sound godly.

IMO I'd say that mid boosts are better on the amp side rather than the pickup side. But, its all a matter of personal preference, and the guitar you put the pickup in. Look around at pickups, try to get a feel for the basic sound you want your pickups to have. You might have to go through a few before you really find your sound though.
 
Re: help with pickup choice

whoa!!! EMG 81 Scooped mids????

Ever listen to Slayer... Zakk Wylde... their tone is full of mids, and they use EMG 81b/85n.

Metallica just scoops their eq.
 
Re: help with pickup choice

imo the distortion is way too hot !!!! lacks of bass , too thin !!
 
Re: help with pickup choice

The thing I don't like about emg's is that they are just part of a larger picture. Most people who play emg's have a distortion pedal or rackmount gear in front of their amps. Those od pedals/racks provide a major boost and a lot of the tone. What would Zakk Wylde be without the Boss Super OD? Also EMG wants to add on all of the different tone modules to fine tune $$$ the sound. BTW 9v sounds wimpy and constipated compared to 18v.

In 1990 I had a Kramer Baretta with a emg81 and the treble bass booster running 9v and it sounded dull straight to my amp a Laney AOR50. The EMG81 sounded pretty good through high gain rack mount gear but it sounds kind of flat through a stack alone. I also found that I had to totally retool the settings on my amp if I switched between Hi Z and Low Z signals. But low Z drives a longer signal chain really well. If I put an OD pedal like a Tube Screamer or my Yamaha GEP50 set to distortion in front of the amp it sounded good. But that meant turning down the distortion on the amp and using it only for amplifiaction.

Snowdog
 
Re: help with pickup choice

The invader would probably work good for you, they can be harsh though. You never know until you try it in your guitar.
 
Re: help with pickup choice

Hey shredman7,
As someone who currently works at a Carvin store in and owns
7 Carvins himself, I have a good idea as to how your guitar might sound. So if your neck is koa then I'm assuming your body is as well so if the tones you like are that of Lamb of God/Slayer and so on, then an EMG81/60 set up will do you the best.
By the way, you are very correct about the guitar being a midrange instrument and it drives me nuts to hear young kids scooping their mids when they come into the store and wonder why they have no definition or lack of cut on stage or they can't hear their bass player in their demo mix, so keep that midrange cranked around the 750 range and you'll be fine.
By the way, the EMG81 has tons of mids and highs with less but tight lows
so don't worry about getting a scooped tone with them and a EMG60 will give you a great high end clarity with really tight lows & less mids. In the neck, less mids is OK since it makes clean tones sound less "boxey" in that position IMO.
So from what you described, the EMG'S will definitely do what you want for your guitar. Koa is a very warm sounding wood similar to mahogany with some of the openness of alder so EMG's will surely accent that tone.
 
Re: help with pickup choice

If you want super high output then go with the Dimebucker or the Distortion. Personally, as far as high output pups go, I like the Dime better than the DD. If your willing to try some mid output pups, I don't think you can go wrong with a JB. Custom and Custom Custom are also great. Really, it depends more on your amp and what pedals/effects you are running. A mid powered pup can do those styles great, provided you have enough gain from your amp and/or are pushing the pre-amp with an OD/Distortion pedal as well.
 
Re: help with pickup choice

EMG 81 is tight, in your face cermaic magnet. Could be called hard-edged. 85 has a slightly softer, fuller anico 5 sound- I like it better. More organic, bassier. The 60 has a narrower sprectrum(think more prominent mids) with ceramic as well- makes a screaming slide pickup. Sounds like an 81 crossed with a soapbar and/or mini humbucker. Used by James himself to torture Boggie MKII's. 60a- alnico version of the 60. Should be to the 60 what the 85 is the the 81.

Also look into the Lawrence XL500 - sounds like what you're looking for.
http://www.billlawrence.com/Pages/Pickup_Window/500.htm
 
Re: help with pickup choice

I think for the metal tones you described the EMG's would do you quite well. You could go for either the 81/60 set or the 85/60. Many will tell you the 85 beats the 81 hands down because it's a more well rounded tone.
 
Re: help with pickup choice

I recommend going with a ceramic magnet pickup. I dont recommend a JB very much... its just not good enough for rythym. Lead tones are great and i love the feel you get from them, but you wont be happy with rythym stuff because of the flappy bass. This is why i say a ceramic magnet pickup.

EMG 81, Custom, MAYBE a full shred, Duncan Distortion
 
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