Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

gtrgrl

gtrgrl

New member
It's been a while since the last time I was here. Changed jobs a couple of times, moved, got into other things, relationships, craziness :oo. Anyways, I am buying myself a new guitar!!! (Long story, my present to me. And it will be a blue one :laugh2:) I have already decided that I will be putting Seymour Duncans in it.

I have an ESP/LTD EC1000 that has a JB and a 59 in it. I play a lot of 80's glam metal on that :headbang: Although lately I have really been into Led Zepplin. Have to get the Led out on a Les Paul style!

I also have a Dean Hardtail, a blue one! I ended up with a Custom 5 and a Jazz in that one. It's kinda my everything guitar.

I have a Dean acoustic, which is blue too, but that really doesn't count. :18:

The guitar is going to be an Ibanez. I'm a HUGE Steve Vai fan. I figured it was time to get over my fear tremolo bars. So I'm getting an Ibanez S570 in, can you guess, what color???? :laugh2:

Anyways, I love the sound of my Seymour Duncan pickups so much I want to put them in this guitar too! I know he uses Dimarzio, but is there something that Seymour Duncan makes that might be in the Ultra-Zone as far as Steve Vai tone goes?

I have never got pickups for a guitar with a tremolo, but I'm pretty sure they are spaced differently. I also have never got a single coil Seymour Duncan before. So what do you suggest?
 
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Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

How about something with a suitably metallic/Tolkein-inspired name such as Black Winter or Nazgül? Also, are you sure that six strings would be enough? There's schtuff coming out now with eight strings and over.
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

The S570 you're getting... maple top, or something else? I have one of the quilted sapele top jobs, and I'm in the middle of putting in a full set of SD Parallel Axis's's's... I hope to complete that this weekend.

If you're wanting to get your Led out, Whole Lotta Humbuckers would be your answer, but I hesitate to say that the S570 is the answer to that... the Dean or the ESP may be the better idea there.
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

I really like the quilted maple top. I already have a Zepplin guitar. This is for Steve Vai music. I gotta learn how to play with a tremolo.

What's the Parallel Axis all about?
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/high-output/patb1_parallel/

Basically, they're p'ups designed specifically to work with locking tremolos (not that standard trembuckers don't do that just fine), but they have less magnetic pull, so they effect sustain less. Very flexible - pop, rock, country, blues, metal... they'll take whatever you want to throw at 'em, and sing while doing it.

The S470QS I'm putting mine into are actually the second guitar I've had them in. The only reason I took 'em out of the last guitar they were in (an Ibanez RGT42), is that I had a pair of Dimarzios I needed a home for, and couldn't think of anything to put between them (RGT42 is only 2 hbs, not an x70). And Masta'C on here was selling a single stack version, sooo... voila, wiring project. ;)

Not sure what else would work well from SD for Vai tones... Obviously, there are a few Dimarzio models that'll get you there, but IIRC, most of Vai's Jems are basswood, instead of mahogany like the S series... may effect how close you can get.

Heh - just noticed you're in Atlanta. I'm in Athens. Howdy, neighbor! :D
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

jtougas said:
effect
Click to expand...

Speaking of which, Mister Vai does make extensive use of numerous signal processors. For stunt guitar playing, any decent high output humbucker will get you into the general zone.
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

Given how clean and articulate Vai's tone is, you'll want a Parallel Axis set - PATB-1 or PATB-2 for the bridge, for sure. He'll eat your lunch on picking and fretting technique anyway (like he does with everyone) so don't be too disappointed that you're not getting as crisp and clear a tone as he is with just a pickup swap, but the PATBs go a long way toward helping with that.

And yes, the Master Of The Harmonizer will confound you with trying to match his tone, even if you have one.

As for the whammy bar, don't be skeered of it. It takes skill to master.
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

In my opinion Steve Vai usually creates clear and clean everything, so you may prefer a Slash set or even enjoy a WLH set.
Of course everyone has their own opinion and nothing can be for sure, and you may even prefer a set of 59's. Good luck!
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

Just going to throw this out there;

While I applaud your loyalty and love of all things Duncan, maybe you should live with the pickups in the guitar a bit before we go all swap crazy out of the gate?

For the Record: Not an Ibanez guy (owned an old Vintage shred stick a ways back, with DiMarzio's), Not a Trem Guy (had a couple though), Not a Vai fan (Have Passion & Warfare, Roth, etc).

Just saying - no hurry. Give the stock ones a Listen, see what you need more/less of, in what tone range B/M/T, output, etc...
 
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Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

Well, yeah, there's that. It might actually come with decent pickups, after all. Better still, get yourself a JEM of some sort and it should come with Steve's choice of DiMarzios.
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

I like Vai's playing and music. I hate that hand grip neon yellow guitar. What was he thinking? :boggled: The vine inlay is really pretty. :8:

What pickup would be good in the middle? And can I get a PATB-1 for the neck and a PATB-2 for the Bridge?

I didn't find any of those pickups in any shop I was in, and I didn't find any guitars that actually had them installed.

What is the PATB3? I found a video on YouTube of that.
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

There is a Parallel Stack, that's designed to sit either at the neck, or in the middle, but mounting it in an S570 will take a (very) small amount of surgery - it's a tall pickup, and while the middle cavity is deep enough, you need to carve out a *little* bit of relief for the cable from the neck pickup. Again, nothing serious, but possibly worth having a pro do it.

The PATB-3 was designed for Blues Saraceno - same construction, just a little different wind and EQ.
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

Is there a particular reason you don't want an Evolution?

If you want an Evolution then just get one. Actually, in some cases, I've found a lot of people who want an Evolution find it to be too much...they actually want an Evolution 2.

If you want to get some Zeppelin in, then the Breed is a pickup that tries to make a shredstick sound more like a Lester and while completely different than the Evo is still Vai approved. The Dominion is the evolution (pun intended) of the Breed. Tighter, more presence. Basically a Breed with the fat trimmed off and washboard abs.

If you insist on Duncan, I'd go with a Full Shred set. They're not quite like the Evolution, but they're as close as you'll get and they are killer pickups.
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

tc said:
Is there a particular reason you don't want an Evolution?
Click to expand...

I played an Ibanez JEM with them. I didn't like them.

I'm not trying to imitate Vai's sound. I just have never liked the sound of any guitars with Dimarzio pickups that I have played. Not that I have played that many.
 
Re: Hey everyone!!! I'm back and I'm gonna need new pickups!

I agree with Aceman. Play the instrument for a while with the stock PUs. It will help you determine what you want more of and less of in the tone of the instrument. It will give you a starting point, which will expedite your tone search and help other people help you. Good luck, and may the tone be with you!
 
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