higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
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Silence Kid
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
I have never tried "low output" humbuckers that couldn't overpower even a "high output" single coil.
Anyway, it's still funny that in threads like this, 90% of those with an opinion will say they prefer lower output... in the same space where we have JB-worship threads. I go back and forth; my favorite humbuckers are probably the JB and Demon, depending on what I want to do (clean vs. dirty, lead or rhythm, what amp I'm using, etc.) It's as hard for me to get a "bubbly" lead tone and harmonic content from the Demon as it is to get a dynamic clean or clear distorted chords from the JB. Regardless of settings, stacking pedals, etc. Then again I've played tighter/looser, brighter and darker varieties of each pickup group, between high and low output.
I have never tried "low output" humbuckers that couldn't overpower even a "high output" single coil.
Anyway, it's still funny that in threads like this, 90% of those with an opinion will say they prefer lower output... in the same space where we have JB-worship threads. I go back and forth; my favorite humbuckers are probably the JB and Demon, depending on what I want to do (clean vs. dirty, lead or rhythm, what amp I'm using, etc.) It's as hard for me to get a "bubbly" lead tone and harmonic content from the Demon as it is to get a dynamic clean or clear distorted chords from the JB. Regardless of settings, stacking pedals, etc. Then again I've played tighter/looser, brighter and darker varieties of each pickup group, between high and low output.
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Masta' C
Well-known member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
I generally prefer something between a '78/Screamin Demon/PAF Pro and a JB. So, medium to medium-high output for me. Retains much-needed dynamics (the JB, for being higher in output, is still a surprisingly expressive pickup, for instance), but gives me the push I like.
If you play through a single rig all the time, you can easily get away with having a higher gain setup and lower output pickups. For recording, that's a great formula, as well!
But, for me, I like to have a little extra "oomph" on tap when I want it and be able to back off the punch by changing my pick attack and turning the volume knob, if needed.
On the other hand, I find that I don't always gel with really high output pickups that are overly stiff or compressed. I always think they're fun in the short term, but most don't give me quite the flexibility or feel under the fingers that I like.
I generally prefer something between a '78/Screamin Demon/PAF Pro and a JB. So, medium to medium-high output for me. Retains much-needed dynamics (the JB, for being higher in output, is still a surprisingly expressive pickup, for instance), but gives me the push I like.
If you play through a single rig all the time, you can easily get away with having a higher gain setup and lower output pickups. For recording, that's a great formula, as well!
But, for me, I like to have a little extra "oomph" on tap when I want it and be able to back off the punch by changing my pick attack and turning the volume knob, if needed.
On the other hand, I find that I don't always gel with really high output pickups that are overly stiff or compressed. I always think they're fun in the short term, but most don't give me quite the flexibility or feel under the fingers that I like.
gsammo79
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
A strong high gain sound is my preference and the most fun to play, in my experience. I had a JB in a LP copy that I really liked, but it was hard to dial the gain down when I wanted to-- sometimes a pickup can have too much output, I suppose.
I appreciate the lower-to-medium output pickups like the PG, A2P-Slash, and 'Demon, and think they sound fine, but I always seem to shun pickups without a lot of output.
I had a Custom shop pickup made a while back and really gave the output issue a lot of thought before I made the purchase. 12K, A5, "Gimme all Your Lovin' " tone is what I asked for in the end
A strong high gain sound is my preference and the most fun to play, in my experience. I had a JB in a LP copy that I really liked, but it was hard to dial the gain down when I wanted to-- sometimes a pickup can have too much output, I suppose.
I appreciate the lower-to-medium output pickups like the PG, A2P-Slash, and 'Demon, and think they sound fine, but I always seem to shun pickups without a lot of output.
I had a Custom shop pickup made a while back and really gave the output issue a lot of thought before I made the purchase. 12K, A5, "Gimme all Your Lovin' " tone is what I asked for in the end
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
Exactly.. Any relative modern amp now a days have more gain/drive then you could ever need. A high output pickup is unnecessary and only really needed in a vintage or clean amp if u want alitle bit of the good stuff.
Exactly.. Any relative modern amp now a days have more gain/drive then you could ever need. A high output pickup is unnecessary and only really needed in a vintage or clean amp if u want alitle bit of the good stuff.
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
I prefer compressed dynamics and huge punch,,,,,,so high-output bridge.
Low and mediums can get great high-gain tones I love, but they usually just don't feel quite as strong IMO.
But like I said, I want to be able to just look at the note and have it jump out like it was slammed lol.
Lately I've been hang'n on vintage and raw-modes on the rectos with boosted high-output models.
I agree though that it's very easy to turn into mush and fizz with all hi-gain everything.
Many guys use boosted crunch-channels when using high-outputs.
I prefer compressed dynamics and huge punch,,,,,,so high-output bridge.
Low and mediums can get great high-gain tones I love, but they usually just don't feel quite as strong IMO.
But like I said, I want to be able to just look at the note and have it jump out like it was slammed lol.
Lately I've been hang'n on vintage and raw-modes on the rectos with boosted high-output models.
I agree though that it's very easy to turn into mush and fizz with all hi-gain everything.
Many guys use boosted crunch-channels when using high-outputs.
gregory
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
:smack:
:smack:
Dahla
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
Yeah, good it's the high gain players chiming in here.
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Yeah, good it's the high gain players chiming in here.
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Masta' C
Well-known member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
I thought we were giving opinions about "which we prefer"...did I miss something?
I thought we were giving opinions about "which we prefer"...did I miss something?
Dave Locher
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
See, that is where we diverge: I want percussive. I insist upon it. I want a capital K sound when I palm mute.
I do not really understand all of the "with today's high gain amps/pedals" answers. When your goal is a hard, loud, crunching tone you don't need those. In fact, I would word it like this: With a high-ish output pickup you don't need a super high gain amp or pedal. There are an awful lot of amps out there that aren't 'Boogies et al, and they sound really good when you hit them with a healthy pickup. That is my preference.
This is really not something that can be "settled" because it is a matter of taste and style. Otherwise every guitar on every song would sound the same. And most of us would not like that one sound!
See, that is where we diverge: I want percussive. I insist upon it. I want a capital K sound when I palm mute.
I do not really understand all of the "with today's high gain amps/pedals" answers. When your goal is a hard, loud, crunching tone you don't need those. In fact, I would word it like this: With a high-ish output pickup you don't need a super high gain amp or pedal. There are an awful lot of amps out there that aren't 'Boogies et al, and they sound really good when you hit them with a healthy pickup. That is my preference.
This is really not something that can be "settled" because it is a matter of taste and style. Otherwise every guitar on every song would sound the same. And most of us would not like that one sound!
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metalchurch79
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
I'm a fan of both styles and methods really. As long as the overall tone is meshing up well with what's in the signal chain then I'm good to go pretty much.
I'm more or less an active guy, so I'm sending a rather hot signal and driving it as opposed to having the amp be more prominent and do most of the work. For passive, I was and still am into the L500XL, the SH-6, and SH-13 most notably.
I went through a spell there many years ago where I was kinda into the medium-high output pickups like the SH-10 and the SH-12, as well as the DiMarzio Breed, and the L500L from Bill and Becky. I had a Digitech gsp-1101, so the medium output pickups were nice in order to tame down the input so I could dial it all in better. Nowadays, I'm running a simple balls out setup with only a slight delay to fatten up the sound and no other major coloring effects. I do miss them though. I really should just build another rig, it's so hard to mix and match certain guitars and tonal ideas and make them all work good with the same amp that I built specifically with one thing in mind. Kill.
I'm a fan of both styles and methods really. As long as the overall tone is meshing up well with what's in the signal chain then I'm good to go pretty much.
I'm more or less an active guy, so I'm sending a rather hot signal and driving it as opposed to having the amp be more prominent and do most of the work. For passive, I was and still am into the L500XL, the SH-6, and SH-13 most notably.
I went through a spell there many years ago where I was kinda into the medium-high output pickups like the SH-10 and the SH-12, as well as the DiMarzio Breed, and the L500L from Bill and Becky. I had a Digitech gsp-1101, so the medium output pickups were nice in order to tame down the input so I could dial it all in better. Nowadays, I'm running a simple balls out setup with only a slight delay to fatten up the sound and no other major coloring effects. I do miss them though. I really should just build another rig, it's so hard to mix and match certain guitars and tonal ideas and make them all work good with the same amp that I built specifically with one thing in mind. Kill.
Ironbird666
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
I've used everything from actives to low output passives before finally settling back to high output passives again. I can get roughly the same tone I was getting before, only now I don't need a pedal boosting the amp nor do I need to crank the preamp gain on my amp to get there. One more thing - I tend to prefer the way a lot of the high gain passive pups are voiced. There's a certain level of snarl and aggression I wasn't getting with the other pickup options that I'm getting now. Eh, as long as you are happy with your tone and like the sound you get it shouldn't be a huge debate.
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I've used everything from actives to low output passives before finally settling back to high output passives again. I can get roughly the same tone I was getting before, only now I don't need a pedal boosting the amp nor do I need to crank the preamp gain on my amp to get there. One more thing - I tend to prefer the way a lot of the high gain passive pups are voiced. There's a certain level of snarl and aggression I wasn't getting with the other pickup options that I'm getting now. Eh, as long as you are happy with your tone and like the sound you get it shouldn't be a huge debate.
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EDX
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
i have a rig that can do death comfortably with a pearly gates, but i strongly prefer the tone that i get by punishing the front end with a really hot pickup and a grit texture adder (overdrive or eq) with amp gain around half, it just sounds meatier, tighter and has a lot of thump and ohmm each time i smash the srings
i have a rig that can do death comfortably with a pearly gates, but i strongly prefer the tone that i get by punishing the front end with a really hot pickup and a grit texture adder (overdrive or eq) with amp gain around half, it just sounds meatier, tighter and has a lot of thump and ohmm each time i smash the srings
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
Guys, use the right tools for the job
High output pups for metal or prog stuff and low to medium pups for rock, blues jazz etc. For metal, we need the fast/tight response we get from high output pups
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Guys, use the right tools for the job
High output pups for metal or prog stuff and low to medium pups for rock, blues jazz etc. For metal, we need the fast/tight response we get from high output pups
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Dave Locher
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
Fixed that for you. (Yes, I know a lot of punk stars use lower-output pickups but to me the "fast/tight" is just as important for punk as for metal. And I have seen plenty of punk gods live who had a thinner tone than I would prefer.)
ThisDyingSoul76
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
I seem to prefer the medium output territory for my bridge and low output for the neck.
I like my guitars to clean up when I roll back the volume and I just don't seem to get that with pickups like the Duncan Distortion, Dimarzio Super Distortion, JB or Tone Zone.
Maybe I just haven't tried the right high output pickup, but medium output like the APH-1 or Gibson's 498/490 pickups seem to suit me best. I've honestly never tried a vintage output pickup.
I seem to prefer the medium output territory for my bridge and low output for the neck.
I like my guitars to clean up when I roll back the volume and I just don't seem to get that with pickups like the Duncan Distortion, Dimarzio Super Distortion, JB or Tone Zone.
Maybe I just haven't tried the right high output pickup, but medium output like the APH-1 or Gibson's 498/490 pickups seem to suit me best. I've honestly never tried a vintage output pickup.
gsammo79
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
I used an Antiquity Bridge humbucker for a while in a LP copy and it was a good, smooth pickup, but, for my taste, it was just too mellow. I've always liked the PAF style pickups, but the medium and high output types are always gonna be my preference
I used an Antiquity Bridge humbucker for a while in a LP copy and it was a good, smooth pickup, but, for my taste, it was just too mellow. I've always liked the PAF style pickups, but the medium and high output types are always gonna be my preference
Progbusters
New member
Re: higher output pickup gain or lower output pickup gain
well I just got a Dimarzio Air Zone. Its pretty hot. But my wiring and pots let me turn the volume down to 4 or 5 on the guitar, and i get a great low output rock sound that is the same as my other pickups at volume 8. And then I dial the Air Zone up to 8, 9, 10 and i get some compressed hotness for saturated solos and cranked stuff. Pretty cool. On the other hand, with low output like my Pearly Gates i have to tweak the amp or pedals when I turn it up. Still the PG is my number one. Custom5 (another lower gain hot paffy pup) is my number 2. Its the tone after all.
well I just got a Dimarzio Air Zone. Its pretty hot. But my wiring and pots let me turn the volume down to 4 or 5 on the guitar, and i get a great low output rock sound that is the same as my other pickups at volume 8. And then I dial the Air Zone up to 8, 9, 10 and i get some compressed hotness for saturated solos and cranked stuff. Pretty cool. On the other hand, with low output like my Pearly Gates i have to tweak the amp or pedals when I turn it up. Still the PG is my number one. Custom5 (another lower gain hot paffy pup) is my number 2. Its the tone after all.
