I want YOUR opinions

[suaveymcsuave]

First off I'm new here and am excited to be involved with this forum. Alright down to business: I just got an Epi Goth Les Paul and was wondering what a great SD combo would be for it. Being an EMG man for the last several years I've never really thought about passives, but I want to change it up for a while. My musical styles are: Hard Rock, Alt. Metal, and Alternative...what would be a great combo in your honest opinions?

Going deeper, I need something that will be warm and clear while clean and nice and hard driving while dirty yet retaining clarity...I usually don't go further than drop D or Drop D down to C (that is rare anymore, but still what could accomodate me?)

 

[neosadist]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

First off I'm new here and am excited to be involved with this forum. Alright down to business: I just got an Epi Goth Les Paul and was wondering what a great SD combo would be for it. Being an EMG man for the last several years I've never really thought about passives, but I want to change it up for a while. My musical styles are: Hard Rock, Alt. Metal, and Alternative...what would be a great combo in your honest opinions? Going deeper, I need something that will be warm and clear while clean and nice and hard driving while dirty yet retaining clarity...I usually don't go further than drop D or Drop D down to C (that is rare anymore, but still what could accomodate me?)

Uh, depends. If you prefer very clean sounding pickups, a dual Jazz might be a good idea, or a dual Alnico 2 Pro. However, I'm very partial to the Hot Rodded Combo (Jazz Neck + JB Bridge) because it keeps exceeding my expectations. The Hot Rodded combo can handle Metal, as Dave Mustain's career has shown. Warm and clear is the way this combo sounds to me, and clean. Some people don't like how the JB "cleans up", but if you pick the strings near the bottom edge of the fretboard, it sounds nice even in JB-only. However, there are other opinions out there, so don't take only my word. I've never tried drop-C or down-tuning, but drop D sounds fantastic.... I hope this helps.

 

[dani]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

welcome to the forum.

i second the jazz in the neck. its clean with lots of clarity even when playing with loads of distortion. how much warmth depends on the guitar it is in. slightly warmer take would be the 59 neck. a lot boomier but lack the high end clarity of the jazz.

for the bridge, you have lots of choice there. you can either go for a vintage or higher output bucker depending on your taste and playing style. i find the custom a very versatile pickup for rock, hard rock and metal. aggressive, tight and clear. the cleans may suffer a bit though since its a higher output pickup. what i would do is use a push/pull pot to split the buckers for a lower output for cleans.

dani

 

[suaveymcsuave]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

:smack: I know I could easily use the tone wizard, but for some reason I get the idea when I enter info such as my guitar is a les paul type with a mohagany body and such I think it would think I automatically have a maple cap since most LPs and similars have maple caps therefore it isn't giving me the fairest results. Is it just me or should the tone wizard have more refining options? Anyhow, it looks like I'm hearing that I should have a Jazz Neck and either a JB or Custom Bridge. What is the Custom 5 like or would the standard Custom be better? Also I remember over a year ago when I was searching out SDs my results on the Tone Wizard were usually: JB/Jazz for every genre and body type...lately it gives you more choices. But really I would like more refining options...and now I'm blabbing on and on. :smack:

 

[theodie]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

The tone wizzard seemed like it did used to give the JB/jazz for everything! Personally, the JB is a love it or hate it pickup. The JB has Great cut when playing in a band and nice singing leeds but, to my ears I cant handle its very loose bottom end. Also, it has a high/mid spike alot of folks just cant handle either. I would recomend the Custom in the bridge and the Jazz or the Pearly gates in the neck. I actually preffer the Pearly gates over the jazz in most occasions. The PG neck is very clear and has tons of personality on tap!

 

[suaveymcsuave]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

I'm curious to see why the JB is so popular. It seems like on a lot of threads it goes from "Which Custom should I get to somebody saying "Get the JB", which doesn't bother me at all I'm just curious to see why. Do those (JBs) work well on Dark sounding guitars? And if so does it make its bottom end more balanced as opposed to a Mahogany with maple guitar because I hear a lot of complaints that it sounds great/good to some and shrill/piercing to others on your classic mahog/maple capped guitars.

 

[suaveymcsuave]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

So what about a DD? Would that sound good in my Epi Goth LP? And if so what about the neck? I have a Crate GT212

 

[jalguitarman]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

So what about a DD? Would that sound good in my Epi Goth LP? And if so what about the neck? I have a Crate GT212

not familiar with that amp but i will assume its soloid state with tube flex tube emulated distortion. I ahve the DD in my blues bird which is pretty much a chambered bodied les paul and i think it rocks!!!! I am asumming your axe is straight mahogany and with or with out maple cap the DD will sound awesome. However it is not warmsounding but in my guitar its not horribly bright but it has some presecnce and a ton of harmonics and an extended upper mid range but its not harsh sounding. i would say don't go with to warm of a pick up in the bridge or you will have a mud machine on your hands. I used to have a 59 in the neck and it sounded pretty good i just wanted something a bit different. It would do good clean. I have never used a jazz but i have heard very good things about it. A lower output neck bucker would likley be goood with what you describe. Since you do alt rock and all.

 

[suaveymcsuave]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

Thanks a lot, sounds good.

not familiar with that amp but i will assume its soloid state with tube flex tube emulated distortion. I ahve the DD in my blues bird which is pretty much a chambered bodied les paul and i think it rocks!!!! I am asumming your axe is straight mahogany and with or with out maple cap the DD will sound awesome. However it is not warmsounding but in my guitar its not horribly bright but it has some presecnce and a ton of harmonics and an extended upper mid range but its not harsh sounding. i would say don't go with to warm of a pick up in the bridge or you will have a mud machine on your hands. I used to have a 59 in the neck and it sounded pretty good i just wanted something a bit different. It would do good clean. I have never used a jazz but i have heard very good things about it. A lower output neck bucker would likley be goood with what you describe. Since you do alt rock and all.

 

[suaveymcsuave]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

Alright, I think I've decided to go with an EMG/DUNCAN combo. 85 bridge and unknown neck. What would go well with this kind of setup for the neck? My styles are Hard Rock, Alt. Metal, and Alternative. I play Riff/Rhythm stuff not lead/solo stuff.

Epiphone Les Paul Goth is my axe. Again thank you all for your input.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

I would reccomend against mixing actives and passives.

If you will be going with EMG's, I'd go with an 85 at the bridge and a 60 in the neck.

If you plan on going passive, and your amp has plenty of gain, I'd say an APH in the neck and a Screamin Demon would be great. I have that combo in my Hamer and I love it.

 

[dani]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

i second benjy's recommendation against mixing actives and passives and the emg 85/60 combo.

i was using an 85/60 in my strat and i replaced it with a custom/jazz combo which in my opinion, is one of the most versatile combo for rock to metal. the custom/jazz with a 250k vol pot (to tame the highs) behaves almost similar to the 85/60 combo.

 

[dani]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

jazz neck is perfect for clean rhythm and melodic chording. the custom is a fast tracking pickup with just the right amount of power, bass response and tightness for rock and metal. toss in dollops of distortion and the combo still rocks with clarity.

i tried the custom, c5, dd and jb in the bridge and a jazz, 59 and pg in the neck before settling for the custom and jazz in my strat used for hard rock and metal.

 

[stangme01]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

Use a EMG 60 neck man don't mix brands it looks ghetto :foot: But if you have to use a Duncan there is no other than a Jazz neck man, unless you are only into metal then you can go for something crazy up in the neck like an invader :smack:

 

[suaveymcsuave]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

Well...the post was entitled "I want YOUR opinions" so thanks...even though I wasn't looking for a don't mix brands opinion I did ask for opinions and I do respect everyone's. So now tell me why it is I shouldn't go with a mix? And if there is anyone who will still give a "go for it" opinion feel free. Again thanks for all your input.

 

[saladin]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

I used a Dimarzio PAF Pro and loved the tones I got in a Epiphone V.

 

[suaveymcsuave]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

you know what I actually (after some heavy thinking time) want to try out the Custom/Jazz set, that's why I came here in the first place...to switch from EMG to Duncans...thanks everyone for your input. I will let you know how everything went once they are installed. So the next question is: I have access to soldering gear and am just okay at soldering so should I still take it to a Pro or should the work be easy enough for just a lightly experienced soldering guy? :banana:

 

[dani]

Re: I want YOUR opinions

well, try soldering more and your level of experience will increase! everybody had to start from somewhere. :banana:

its a tad technical as to why not mixing actives and passive.

first and foremost, active uses 25k pots while passive uses 250k to 1meg pots. anything lower than 250k will muddify a humbucker.

unless you have dedicated vol/tone control for individual pickups, you are gonna have trouble combining an active and passive.